I am new to the sport of 4wheelin' and love it !! A couple of months ago, I bought a spanking new 2001 Honda Foreman 400 (green). I have always ridden dirtbikes and stuff so I wasn't too afraid if this 4wheel monster machine and when I got it, I took it out and ran it thru the works pretty much. Trail riding, hill climbing, etc.. For the last month and a half, I've had a blast riding thru the woods and pretty much going wherever I commanded the machine to go. However, for the last week, I've been laid up on the couch recovering from one of my stupid mistakes. I made several mistakes the night of my accident. The first was thinking that this machine would go anywhere I told it to. Why wouldn't it? It had up until now. So, down into this valley I go with snow on the ground. At the bottom of the hill was a ditch which would create a problem of getting a run at the snow covered hill. My second mistake was waiting till after dark before heading back out of this valley. I tracked back to the base of the snow covered hill and found that ole betsy would sit and spin at the bottom of the hill. No climbing this one unless it was dry! Then a slight sense of desperation set in (my third mistake). I didn't want to leave this $6000. piece of machineary in the woods for someone to come by and claim, so I just had to find another way out of that valley. So, I tried and tried to find another way out, but everywhere I went, I ran into another dead end. By this time I had given up on getting my 4track out of this hole and thought that I would try to cross my original path leading out and take her to the base of the unclimbable hill and leave her till morn. Then I could come back with a come-along and accessories and get her out. Now you would have to see this place to believe it. Nothing but a quagmire of boulders, steep terrain, blown down trees, and a sapling thickett. Backtracking on my original trail would be dangerous to say the least. So, I cut a new path diagonally up the hill to try to cross my original track. At this point the hill wasn't too steep at all. I ran into another obstacle keeping me from my original track. It was a small sapling, the same size as many I had already ridden down. So I eased her up against this sapling with the intention of riding right on over the top of it. This was my last mistake of the evening. I climbed up the tree a few inches, and no give. Climbed a few more, no give. Backed back down a few inches and then stood on the foot pegs putting all my weight on the front end. Here we go again.... Well, I don't know how that powerhouse got up that tree so fast but the tree didn't give and there was only one way for the 4wheeler to go... STRAIGHT UP!!! . Nothing I could do but bail and fast. I tried to jump away and to the side and when I hit the ground I managed to roll one time trying to get away from this 600 lb monster before I took a quick glance back. Well you didn't make it... OOOHHH SSSH@T. I curled into a ball belly down and covered my head. I didn't have time to pray. Then this thing hit me like a brick wall. I don't know exactly which part hit me except that I don't think it was the handlebars least I'd be dead right about now. Anyway, extreme pain and fast prayers set in and I knew that I had finally made the big F#@$-Up!! You know, Busted liver, kidneys, Collapsed lung, etc.. Real lucky for me all I had was a case of SEVERE pain and pulled muscles in my back and obliques. I managed to turn her upright and climb back on and get to the base of the original hill. Then it was time for the long, painfull walk out of there!! Hell, I had too!! It was either that or lay in the snow all night and take a chance on somebody finding me by morning.
I hope my telling of these stupid mistakes saves at least one person from making the same mistakes. I know I sure learned several lessons that night. Maybe you could share some of your stupid mistakes with everybody so that I might not make any of them. I sure don't want to be the one getting ridden anymore!! 600 lbs HURTS Like Hell!!! On a positive note, I hope you all keep 'em upright. I can't wait to heal up so I can climb on her again !!!!
Bullshooter

 

Not long after I got my Kodiak I made the SAME mistake on three seperate occasions. I would put it in 4wd to get through mud and/or rough terrain. Then I would forget to take it OUT of 4wd. A little later I would try to do a power slide or donuts. Each and every time I flipped it. You just can't do donuts when the 4wd is engaged. The last time I flipped it is when I got hurt. I decided to land on my butt, figured no damage would happen there. I was so wrong, landed on my tail bone and the damn thing hurt for a couple of weeks. Anyway, I finally learned my lesson. I do NOT forget to disengage the 4wd these days.

 

Did you have any trouble getting it up the hill the next day... was there any damage to the bike

 

Bullshooter,

Please see my post under "Other ATV Topics" entitled "I pulled a real bonehead manuever."

GreenRuby

P.S. If you really want to read a good (bad) one check out my post at ATV Time under "Experiences you wish you never had," called "It doesn't get any worse than this." Brother, I feel your pain.

 

Lucky for me, I was able to get ahold of ole uncle. I was on the couch, doped up from prescription muscle relaxers and pain killers. He went and got it out for me. He has bailed my butt out several times (unsticking 4wh trucks out of mudpuddles). As far as damage goes, I haven't made a real detailed inspection yet. It did bend the speedometer housing down against the fr. rack which I think I can bend back. What I am a little worried about is that it seems like it is harder to turn when turning to one side (can't remember if it's to the left or right). The 4whlr flipped straight over (from a standing on rear tires to laying upside down on it's seat and handlebars). I managed to push it over on it's side and then upright. I don't understand how this could effect steering on one side only though. It is a possibility that I may have thrown it out of alignment or something motoring over some of the logs or treetops in that valley. I don't know, but I sure would like to know where to start looking for the problem and how to fix. If anybody has a clue, please let me know!! Bullshooter
2001 Honda foreman 400 (olive green)

 

I forgot to add... Yes he did have a heck of a time getting it out of there! Took him about 5 hrs. He had to cut his own trail and come-along it up a hill. Next week I'm buying a 12v winch !!

 

Yesterday, I was out with some friends and i rode a wheelie out of a ravine and right into a friggin tree. Now the 4-wheeler has a broken front plastic, the racks are bent badly, and the elecric started dosent work.

 

bullshooter,

when i first got my arctic cat 500 4x4 auto i was wondering what the reverse override would actually do. so i pressed and held the button, shifted the ac into reverse, gave it some throttle and that's where the fun began. the ac lurched backwards at 15 mph and for some reason i turned the handlebars--the last thing i remember is hitting the ground and having the 650lb ac tilted over on it's left side threatening to fall on top of me. luckily it righted itself and all i got was a bruised *** and a big mud stain on my jeans (at least i think it was mud). i haven't used the button since.

texascat

 

Last weekend I went out to wash my Warrior, after getting it all clean and shiny I thought I better 'air-dry' it so I went out for a ride. I took my helmet but left my other gear laying on the floor - after all I was just going to cruise around until it was dry. Well, one thing led to another and pretty soon I was doing some serious riding. I started cutting in one of my old trails that had become overgrown with bushes, coming up a steep incline I gassed it hard, cleared the top about the same time a blackberry branch reached out and grabbed my pants. It ripped my foot off the peg, around and under the rear tire - then I landed. When I got home from the hospital, my Alpine Stars were sitting there on the floor mocking me for being so stupid. The only reason I read this thread is because I have this cast on my foot now and can't ride this weekend. On a positive note, this should give me time to tear the bike down and get the frame powder coated. Head this lesson: Wear all your gear!

 

I had just recently taken delivery of my brand new 98 Big Bear Special Edition and decided to go for a weekend of Spring riding at my in-laws cottage (located a little further past the middle of nowhere). Looking back now (isn’t hindsight wonderful??) I can see where things started to go wrong.

#1 Do not go off riding (especially by yourself) when you haven’t let anyone know where/how long you are going for.

#2 Do not attempt to ride sideways across the face of a hill (even one that doesn’t appear too steep/off camber) especially when not paying attention to #1 above!

#3 Never assume that you can’t get into trouble in a big hurry when you least expect it.

I was riding across the face of the aforementioned small hill in #2, when all of a sudden my trusted steed decided that it wanted to lay down (on its side of course) for a rest!! Deciding that I probably didn’t want to be aboard the beast when it did this, I had no option but to bail (on the downhill side of course!!) and attempt to roll out of the way … fast.

A stump suddenly popped up out of nowhere and proceeded to stop my downhill rolling progress. In the nanosecond that followed, I braced for the inevitable “hurt” that I figured I was about to receive. I looked up in time to see my bike tipping over, in slow motion, like a giant redwood on a collision path with several of my vital organs. I braced/winced/tried to make myself small and miraculously nothing hurt. The same stupid, rotten stump that had gotten in my way, held my bike up enough that it didn’t land on me. Boy did I thank that nice, sturdy stump! The handlebars had missed me by mere inches and the footpeg was dug into the ground right next to my leg. I was trapped under the bike, but the “beast” had failed to inflict any injury to me (other than the thought of how stupid it was going to look when someone, years from now, finally found my bones, long after the forest critters had had their way with me!!)

The bike was still running (if I remember correctly the wheels were still spinning in mid-air) and gas was leaking out of the many orifices that gas can leak out of when you are trapped under a 600lb bike. I figured that it was gonna go bang … big time. I somehow scurried out from underneath the bike (its amazing how the fear of being burnt to death can motivate you) and managed to get the engine shut off. Gas was now leaking all over the place and I thought for sure that it was gonna catch fire (at least I had fire insurance!!!).

Surveying the scene, I decided that it was going to take a Herculean effort to get it back on all four tires. The only way to go was to try and push it back the way it had come … UPHILL!! It took everything I had to even budge the thing (a background in physics would have been a good thing to have right about then) but it barely moved. The ground was “spongy” and trying to get any footing (while standing downhill) was next to impossible. Then a brain wave hit me … I had a 2000 Warn Winch and every conceivable gadget/accessory that you might ever need (and then some). Even though the bike was upside down, I could still get at the winch switch that was mounted on the front rack and the winch cable was easy enough to get at (even easier now that the bike was almost upside down). There was only one little problem … there wasn’t a ******* tree or anything within hundreds of yards to anchor to. I was in a minefield of broken/rotting stumps … none of which would take any kind of strain (god knows I checked them all out). I contemplated walking out (after all it was only 8 or so miles cross country according to my GPS) but who has ever ridden on any trails that are “straight”. It would be dark in about an hour and not being a fan of the dark, I ruled out this scenario in an awful hurry. (I thought that if the bike did catch fire, it would at least provide me with some entertainment, warmth and security from the “critters of the night” and then I could walk out in the morning like nothing happened).

I gave it my all once again (using rocks/logs/etc.) and after what seemed like forever, I was able to get the “beast” back on its feet. What a relief that was. There was no damage to the bike (after all, the stump/ground was very soft) and more importantly, there was no damage to me (after all, I am very soft) other than a sore back from pushing the bike right side up. I rode the bike back out of the bush and promised myself that I would never go riding again (yeah as if).

Lessons learned:

Do not assume that things only happen to the other guy (this time I was the other guy).

Be prepared to help yourself, as it might be a long time until help gets to you.

Let someone know where and how long you will be gone for.

Be prepared to spend the night (eternity??) in the woods. (I had everything but the kitchen sink in my rear box, but I still didn’t relish the thought).

Ride with others (when possible) so that help is readily available (or so that it can happen to them … while you have a good laugh of course).

This was as “innocent” a ride as you could imagine (it wasn’t even muddy) but it could have worked out much worse than it did (I laugh when I think about it now … but I certainly wasn’t laughing when it happened).

Since that day I have seen/been involved in several “bone head moves” committed by myself and others, (none of which you would consider “risky” by any means) but all have happened “innocently” enough.