Sounds stupid but an article I read raised a question. This one page article tells and shows how to hop a log, the article was put together with the help of Mike Penland and his prairie 700. The pictures all look logical and everything makes sense. In the second step it says, "Lean back and blip the throttle, raising the front tires off the ground. Make sure you’re that your tires clear the obstacle." I don’t know about other quads but my rancher doesn’t exactly have the power to wheelie on command. What I do is I approach the log when my front wheels hit it I give gas pops the front end up then when the back wheels hit give it more gas, just enough to get them over the log then let off and the quad comes back to earth. The front wheels of my quad go up when they hit the log and don’t come down till after the back wheels are over the log. Which way makes more sense to you? And how do you do it?

 

I approach the log at a slow speed, just as the front wheels are about to hit the log I blip the throttle. Then as front tires are coming down on the other side of the log I give it a little more gas until the back tires are over. When I used to ride sport atv's I used your method.

 

On my 4x4 I lean back on it and go slow to get the front tires over then punch it to get the back over.

 

I just take it easy the whole time. No problems.

 

I'm with windmill on this one

I get my chain saw out and saw the dang thing outta my way, if not then I approach the log with 4x4 engaged and in low range depending on the size of the log, I think slowly ease the front tires up and over the log then I apply brakes as the front tires go down the backside of the log so I don't slam my skidplate on the top of the log. Once the quad is sitting on the log I lean way way back and give it a little gas to the the rear wheels up to the log, then I lean way way forward and teeter totter the quad to the front and hope I get enough traction on the front tires to pull the rear tires up over the log, if not then I hook up the winch..

I paid a crap load of money for my 05 Griz, you won't catch me slamming the belly pan on logs.

Or where you talking about 4 inch logs? Then I just ride over them lol


The logs that concern me are the ones you can teeter totter your quad on top of, 4 foot dia logs [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

That's right. 'Log' is a bit vague. If it's big enough to teeter on I ease the front over in a low low 4wd lock gear until the belly pan touches. Then I do a great big 'bow to the emperor' forward from a standing posture ending up with my thighs hitting the handlebars and me over the front rack, throwing my weight forward. This is enough to get both front tires to touch the other side, and a blip of throttle at this moment drags the quad on the plastic slippery skid plate so the back tires are against the log and the front stays on the ground. Then it's just creep off the log and ride away. Wouldn't work on a 4 foot log, I'm sure. Coming down off a 4 foot log while riding on the seat is not something I would try at this point in my life, and probably not before, either. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

oh sorry. i ment logs that are about half the hight of your tire. do you wheelie over or pop the front end up once it hits the log?

 

That's a stick. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

On my dirtbike I like the front wheel to auctually hit the log with my weight shifted back and power on. If you wheelie too high then the front tire will go over top of the log and your backtire will slam into the log, with that much power on the rear suspension it will be squatted, the lack of suspension travel will cause the back tire to slam the seat of the bike violently upwards, which can buck you right off the seat and send you over the handlebars. I prefer to just unload the weight off the front and let it hit the log that way the whole bike will raise in the air once your back tire hits the log causing the bike to jump level off the log. If the log is a bit sideways and you can't hit it perfectly square then I try to let the front tire hit just above where a branch is, idea being that the tire will won't wash out on you if a branch holds it in place.

On my sport quad I do much the same, except that I won't do it at the same speed or size of log because it doesn't have as much suspension as the bike. If the log is about 10 inches then I will approach the log slowly and pop the front over the log and try to carry enough speed so the rear tires will also pop over.

On the Grizzly with a 10 inch log I just ride over it slowly in 4x4



next chapter I will talk about logs that are suspended and not just laying on the ground

 

Just go slow and keep it in 4-wheel-drive. If you need a little more to get over the top, just give it a little blip of throttle.
If you had a sport quad Id say do a little wheelie to get the front tires over, but if you have a 4x4 its not neccesary.
Cap'n