Whisky: I don't care if you can spell or not. My mother can't spell, and not very many (smart) people make fun of her! I'll tell you what I do care about... I like to ride quads. I like to ride with my friends. It's all about friendship, competition and fun. What anyone rides, (3 or 4 wheelers), whatever brand name, is not important. Riding is not our job, it's what we do to reward ourselves for having a job. (Of course I think most of us would love to ride quads for a living)!

JUST RIDE! No test required.

 

I just got back into ATV riding at the age of 34. When I was a teen I had great fun riding a Honda Oddessy along with my neighborhood buddies on their ATCs and YZs. It was probably 17 years that I went without riding; but then I started to remember what fun it is. Anyways, I have to say that things are a lot better in the ATV world than they were 20 years ago. I liked almost all the ATVs I saw when I went shopping- but I could only get one. I wanted to go with a Honda because I have had good luck with their cars and my old early '70s Oddessy. So I bought a Honda 400EX this past July. My first ride was quite an experience I'll say. I had never driven anything that you have to shift with your foot and clutch with your hand, so that was new and strange. Add to that a 50" wide ATV trail through 16 miles of dense Michigan woods. I was amazed at how easy the 400ex was to operate, maybe a little to easy. After a couple hours of riding I felt quite comfortable darting through the trails. That's when I nailed the tree with my front right wheel. Wow, that hurt! In the crash I twisted the entire thumb throttle assembly and brake lever about 90 degrees around handlebar with my thumb. I twisted it all back into place and had an agonizing 8 miles of trail back to the truck with a sprained thumb/wrist. That incident, along with another spectacular wipeout weeks later, inspired a time of contemplation and reflection. I don't need any serious injuries at this time in my life: I should be more cautious. Well, I found some better(wider) public trails and made new friends to ride with.

One of my better riding buddies has a Banshee. Its common knowledge that a 400EX will whip a Banshee on the trail, right? This is going to make me a pariah, but my friend kicks my butt with his Banshee. That's OK with me though. I ride as hard as a can but don't push it beyond what I feel comfortable with. My friend is a skilled rider, though, and can really tear it up. He even beats 250R's on these trails.

Where am I going with this? Oh yeah, maybe it's not so important how much better your machine is against another machine. I'm more impressed with someone who can operate whatever they're riding with a high level of skill: to push their machine towards the edge of its performance envelope and still be in 100% control.

 

Whiskey, stay cool and remember: Don't Sweat the Petty Things, Pet the sweaty things!!!

------------------
Mud_Runner 98' Wolverine,Warn Winch, Aluminum Skid plate, A-arm guards.