ATV Industry Facts: Did You Know?

Where it really all began.

While off-road modified machines have been around since the advent of the combination of engine and wheel (think tractors), the generally regarded first commercially available ATV was called the Jiger and it was invented by a man named John Gower (Rempel) in the early 1960s.

These machines initially used a pair of 2-stroke chainsaw engines but then later switched to a single 4-cycle powerplant.

The machines were built-to-order beginning in 1961 by JGR Gunsport in Toronto and were mass-produced by Jiger Corporation beginning in 1965.

The dream came to an end in 1968 when the company collapsed upon itself. This, surprisingly, wasn’t due to a lack of demand but quite the opposite- more demand than they could meet.

Bonus Fact: The concept of the multi-wheel-driven amphibious ATV had already caught on domestically by the time Jiger folded. In fact there were over 70 manufacturers producing amphibious ATVs in the US by the 1970s.