My buddy who rides a dirt bike called today, and he just got out of surgery for a broken leg and is looking at 3 months to heal (off work!), then another surgery after that.

His dirt bike is already sold, and he is going back to a mild 400EX when this is all over!

 

It is good that he found his limits before he got seriously hurt. I personally feel much safer on a dirt bike, especially at any sort of speed. What happened to your plans to buy dirt bikes reconranger? Did you change your mind?

 

Bman, what type of area are they going to be learning in? If it's going to be rocks, and muddy a lot, I'd lean toward the quads for the younger ones. If it's sandy a dirt, I'd go for the bikes. Seen my nieces and nephews dump the bikes numerous times in the sand, and never got hurt. Last time we were out on the trails, one of the girls rolled he little 50cc quad. Nothing more than a bruise, but she was terrified to get back on it. Just something to consider, they will have an accident. How that affects them, will also affect if they want to continue riding.

Regardless, wrap up 'em up in all the gear you can get for them. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I sold the dirt bike! I wanted it to replace the utility quads, for technical trail riding. I absolutely loved it everywhere EXCEPT on nasty technical downhills (exactly the terrain I bought it for). On these, all you can do on a dirt bike is lock up the rear end and slide all over the place, or just blast through it way to fast. It was just easier on the quad!

 

I would definitely rather be on a dirt bike in that situation. Its good to know what you can and cant do so we all dont end up in the hospital. Everyone is different, and should find what they are comfortable on. I dont think Ill ever feel safe going fast on a quad. It seems easier for me to pick a 6" wide line than a 4' wide line.

 

Huh? So reconranger would rather ride an atv down a nasty downhill than a lighter, much more nimble bike? Did I bump my head or am I actually reading this correct?? I would have to agree with MWQ, I would rather be on a bike on a nasty downhill anytime over an atv.
My opinion, both have their pros and cons as mentioned earlier.....and I feel they both weight out pretty evenly at the beginner level.

 

I see a lot of people buying more quad than they can handle and/or use. This IMO is a big reason people get hurt. As Moto said above it's easy to get a false sense of security on a quad, especially for a newbie.

 

I would have to say, a beginner would be safer on a quad. When they run into trouble, they have a better chance of having a bike on top of them, then a quad

 

Wrong tool for the job!

What finally made my mind up about the dirt bike was some descents in the local mountains. The trails are way steep and hardpacked, with a layer of coarse sand on top that makes them slick like ice. And throw in lots of rain ruts and rocks to dodge just for fun. Lots of mangled, rolled machines come out of this terrain!

The dirt bike does an admirable job going UPHILL. The big advantage is that you can run between the rain ruts and usually pick a rideable line. On the quad, you have to straddle big ruts that will eat your tires if you make a mistake and slip into one.

But going DOWNHILL, on the dirt bike there is no option but to lock the back end up, and then you slide all over and risk dropping it into a rut. The sport quads, with their low center of gravity, wide stance, and wide tires, have little trouble in this terrain! Utilities are more problematic, because if you drop a wheel into a rut, these more narrow top heavy machines are more likely to roll over.

I'm absolutely no lover of utility quads! Even the little Rancher which is way smaller and lighter than average, is to clumsy for my taste compared to a sport quad. I was looking for a utility alternative, but the dirt bike wasn't it.

But, might get a dual sport bike sometime.......

 

Maybe it was the wrong operator for the tool!

Either machine in the wrong hands is a accident waiting for a place to happen. The key is to find a machine that you are comfortable on. And then get as much experience on it as possible. Putting me on a quad and telling me its the safest way down the hill would probubly get me hurt. Putting you on a dirt bike and telling you the same thing would probubly get you hurt. Each rider needs to feel comfortable on what ever machine they choose to ride. I dont think you can say that either machine is a safe machine. Because of this I like to dress for the crash, not the ride. That makes either machine a little safer.