I dont think BG rode like a nut . Actually his riding style seemed rather tame, comparatively speaking. His screen name is absolutely misleading.

ASARAN, BG is hot chit and he can ride .

 

He just gets in screwy crashes. Climbing a rock (And, yes it was scary steep. I did it one time and that was enough) and rolling the quad end over end, doing donuts in soft sand and getting thrown off, etc. Other than the rock one, most of his incidents were pretty tame. But, we did get to calling him Tippy for awhile.

Was thinking about my "crashes". 1st one was on a Kawasaki Lakota 300. Was backing down a hill and got sideways. Just did a lazy tip on its side. No harm. 2nd one was accidently going on a motocross trail (Signs warning about it being motocross only had been blown off and I fit between the gate uprights.) Got on a right turn where the right side of the trail was a good foot or more higher than the left side. (Polaris Sportsman X2 500) I was standing with both feet on the right side footwell. As I was going up the hill I bumped a rock that was just a few inches higher than the ground around it. Was enough to launch my, at the time, 353 lbs. over the quad, down the hill, and almost in a swamp. I looked back to see the quad had tipped on its side and got caught by a pine tree. Otherwise I might have got to play catch. $400 of plastic to fix the rear dump box. 3rd was out in Utah on the Paiute Trail in 2013. Was power sliding around a corner (Polaris Touring 550) and heard/felt something let go in the front end. All of a sudden, I was going straight. Was a birch on the left coming up fast so I got over as far as I could to the right. Still clipped it and ended up taking an unscheduled flight over the handlebars. Good Lord provided a nice soft spot of soil and leaves to fall in. Hurt my right wrist a bit and quad had a broken lower A-arm and a debeaded tire. Don't know if the tire went first and caused it or if it was the lower A-arm first. $180 of damage and a sore wrist for the rest of the trip. Last one was two winters ago on a trail ride in Warren, NH where quads are allowed on groomed trails. Was a good 2 feet out from the edge and my right front tire got sucked off the trail and I plunged into the soft snow on the side doing about 25 mph. As it went forward the quad hit an unseen tree that was bent over and launched the quad sideways and threw me out on the trail. Was a pretty good impact. Broke my glasses frame. Was okay otherwise. Quad was on its side and it leaked a little bit of oil from the breather tube. Couple guys on sleds stopped and helped me get it off its side and winched back on the trail. Got to a gas station that had both super glue and oil. Had a great ride the rest of the day. Not too bad for someone who's been on and off quads since 1984.

But, it goes to prove engine size isn't the main contributor to accidents, at least in my case. Most accidents, in my mind, are caused by errors in judgement, surprises on the trail, and not paying attention.

 

I've had my share of accidents but one was really stupid. The trail went around both sides of a tree the was basically standing right in the middle of the trail. While I was trying to decide which side to go around I was still moving. I hit the brakes too late and hit the tree but not very hard. There wasn't any damage to me, the quad or the tree that I can recall but it was embarrassing.

My one of my last rides I almost had an accident that would have been due entirely to too much speed. It felt like I went up on 2 wheels around a curve and it was really scary. If I rolled the quad at that speed there's no question of whether I would have been hurt or not.

 

Cant argue that point. You can wreck a 300 just as easy as a 1k. None the less a 1k rolling on 30's will close down private trails much faster than a 300.
I dont care if someone wants to buy and ride a 1k or bigger. I know half can ride and the other half are posers. However I do care when some dip chit acts like a retard on a high performance machine and I with others suffer the consequences of their ignorance on land they dont own.... The key phrase is "on land they dont own"....

 

Dips ride every kind of machine out there too. They can ruin trail systems by riding like idiots on a 250 two-stroke all the way up to a 1000 cc beast. Run into them far too often.

 

None of the trails here are on private land as far as I know but the state and federal government can close down trails at any time. I know some that have been re-routed and one that partially closed while another part stayed open. It doesn't matter what kind of quad is on the trail. It's how you ride that counts.

One dipstick I used to ride with did donuts in the parking lot one time throwing gravel all over the place. Years later when his son did donuts in another parking lot the dad told him to quit. I don't know if he realized his son was just doing the same thing he used to do. Other places people just won't stay on the trails.

 

I've also seen donuts in the parking lots. Real bright. Some people just don't equate their stupid behaviour with closures. Up here in New England most of the trails are on some form of private property where the land owner has given permission. That permission can be ended faster than you can blink an eye. Then those same idiots who do donuts in parking lots, wheelies down public streets, flee from the police, argue with landowners, go off trail, etc. wonder why the trails aren't open anymore. In the case of systems like the Paiute Trail that is on public lands, and federal lands, the same thing can happen, except that it's the county, state, Forestry Service, or other government official closing the trail.

 

When I first started riding ATVs the state of Michigan had a definition of what an ATV is. 3 or 4 wheels, straddled like a motorcycle, etc., and one thing was an engine between 50 and 500ccs. After everyone started making 600, 700, 800cc quads they changed the definition. AFAIK they could change it at any time to eliminate the big bore machines. I hope it never happens because half the people I ride with have 700-1000cc ATVs. At this point it looks like the industry is saying 1000cc is enough.

 

It finally gets to the point where the size and weight becomes a detriment to the machine, not an asset. Yes, you can always make them bigger and more powerful but unless you're racing, the extra power and speed just makes for a heavier, bulkier more expensive atv that will never be allowed to fully stretch its legs. Some people actually prefer the smaller 250-300cc machines because they are easier to handle and more nimble. They might not have the straight line top speed but can actually get down trails faster with their reduced weight and tighter turning radius. Not to mention costing a lot less too, that might be the greatest asset of all.

 

One of my friends rides a 200cc Blaster and she can outrun most other people on a narrow trail.