Hey again, as you know my dad bought me an arctic cat 300,and we both like to ride on it together even though the manual says not too.
if you ask me i think they say this so they dont get sued,does anyone else here carry passengers?
oh yeah my dad weighs 220 pounds and i weigh 115 is that to much weight?

 

I think that is why they say not to ride double. Ive rode my girlfriend several times with me and other friends. Its a little uncomfortable and you need to be more careful but i dont see why you shouldent. You and yours dad weight should not be a proublm, I've seen this man on a 300 that looked like a sumo in traing go pull stumps out of his yard. But of corse when i ride double i take those little cusions (like the ones you get at baseball games or a race) and bunji it to my back rack so your butt(passenger) dosent hit the rack. cuz, man does that hurt!

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~Arctic-Cat 500 4x4~ Http://users.pcnow.net/mindz ICQ - 8968820

 

I, too, ride passengers and I do feel that it is the legal reason why the manual says NO! There is no reason why you can't put a friend or family member on the back if you're just riding leisurely down fire roads or rolling terrain, but I do not endorse one riding motocross style with a passenger. I have seen people do it and I've seen them get hurt.

 

Probably the strong majority of utility quad owners ride with passengers some. I always have. In fact, the day after I got my cat, i drove around for about an hour before I found a boat cushion to match it. Nobody likes to sit on the racks!

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

It is not just common, but neccesary for many people to carry passengers at times - if you only have one ATV and try to leave the house without the wife, it might not be wise to even come home! And I am sure that the legalities of the situation (This IS a "lawsuit happy society" we live in!) played a large part in the Manufacturer's warnings. With all that said, please allow me to cover a couple of the safety reasons for not carrying passengers - or at least being extremely careful when doing so. As we all know, an ATV was designed to be "Rider Active" meaning we must shift our body weight at times to maintain complete control of the ATV - unlike a car where you just turn the steering wheel. Will a passenger know to shift their weight with you or will they remain where they are when you shift your weight? Everyone likes to see where they are going. With a passenger this generally means looking over your shoulder. That means it is possible that the passenger is leaning in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION of your weight shift, thus canceling out your shift altogether! Going up hills is especially dangerous when carrying passengers. The added weight on the rear can virtually gaurantee an accident. It isn't illegal here in my state to carry passengers. It's your ATV, so you can do whatever you want with it. Just please be extremely careful when carrying a passenger - there are more things to consider than just the manufacturer being afraid of a lawsuit!

Mark Vinson

 

If we accept that a passenger and their not shifting there weight or shifting it in the wrong direction as being dangerous on something with four wheels then how do we explain street bikes being allowed and designed to carry a passenger! If you have ever had a passenger sit up in a fast tight corner because they weren't shure about being that close to the ground then you clearly understand about informing the passenger about how to shift there weight and to always no matter what look over the inside shoulder which lends itself to proper weight and body position. We as ATV riders need to take responsability for our passengers and make sure they now how to position there body if we end up in a dagerous position it is clearly the drivers fault for either not informing the passenger what was expected or
choosing to take machine and passenger into a dangerous situation exceeding passenger comfort or drivers abilities. I agree that the warnings are to protect the manufacturers from lawsuits but this I believe started from them getting sued by drivers/passengers saying the atv is unsafe because they were doing something stupid and dangerous to start with. Therefore the easiest remedy is to put warnings everywhere to compensate for common sense. Read the manual of any new atv. I find it hard to encounter a safe situation while driving one of these atvs according to the manual everything is dangerous. I'll step off my soap box now just one sore spots. First its atv's then guns and cars when are we going to hold the consumer responsable for the safe operation of the things we choose to purchase.

Muddy Doug E
2000 kodiak, 98 425 magnum, 94 Bayou