Hi Everyone.

I want to ride off road and have never done so. I am 42, 180lbs and 6 feet.

I would appreciate your thoughts on which is the safer way to go for a newbie--atv or dirtbike. I read about a lot of crashes here and the thought of a 500lb machine landing on me is intimidating. But bikes look unstable too.

I would appreciate your comments on the pros and cons of dirt bikes vs. ATVs. I know this is an atv forum, but I am sure
you guys have experience with both.

I realize neither is totally safe, but which do you suggest? I want a vehicle to ride on logging and fire roads and some trails. Mild stuff to start. Please try and be fair to both categories and assume I will wear full safety gear in either case.

Thanks to all posters--I need your advice!

True North

 

dirt bikes are fun as long as you learn to balence and turn atv's are fun 2 but they are more forgiving i would lean twards the atv i ride both and a dirtbike is definitly harder

 

What is safer 2 wheels or 4 wheels? How you ride will affect everything else. I am not a motorcyle guy. I love the 4 wheeler, I think less chance of injury.

 

it all depends on what you are more comfortable on. I'm way more comfortable on a quad than I am on a bike. But that's just my 2 cents worth.

 

ATV's are more stable for a newbe and can give a false sense of security. For a newbee, bikes are harder too ride, requiring more rider input and skill. Then you have the weight issue...and the size of an atv...which is obviously less safe for a crash (and you WILL crash on occasion). I will probably be against the grain here....but I recommend starting out on a bike from a safety standpoint....+ you will be a much better quad rider if and when you make the switch as well IMO.
Gary

 

I agree with garyc660R the bike is better to start out with.
Thats what i started on way back when. I would much rather dump a little bike then a big ol quad.
Just don't start out on a really fast bike like a 250 2-stroke or anything.
I've heard the CRF250's or YZ250F are both nice bikes with super smooth power bands seeing as there 4-stroke.

 

Having ridden dirt bikes for many years, plus quads for the last seven or eight, I'd have to say the dirt bike is the safer option.

Reason? The consequences of a crash are less severe. Wipe out on a dirt bike, and it flops over on it's side and stays there. The quad, due to it's square shape, rolls and keeps on rolling. Also, dirt bikes can negotiate the side of a hill a lot easier, all they need is a narrow track, whereas the quad wants to roll sideways.

It takes more skill to ride a dirt bike, and they are more physically demanding. But, as others have said, the quad gives a false sense of security. They will roll, and when they roll, they can really mash you. A dirt bike will bruise you, maybe break an arm or a leg. A rolling quad can kill you. I attribute the fact that I've never rolled a quad on my rather hilly farm to the years I spent riding dirt bikes, and the instinctive caution that I learned.

 

Atv, is safer.
Yet theres alot of places that you can go on 2 wheels that you cant go on 4. But then again I aint ever heard of a 2 wheeler having 4 wheel drive.

 

how does it being able to go more places safer?

 

Quads are 150 percent safer...I just heard of an experienced rider get killed on a dirtbike at Silver lake michigan last week. Up there about 7 out of 10 accidents involve bikes.