Rock crawling, best quad?
#41
03-02-2006, 10:47 PM
Rock crawling, best quad?
Originally posted by: montyh
turtle, there's a guy on some of these boards by the name of fattireracer that has a KQ set up for crawling. it looks pretty capable. i only bring this up baecause you mentioned the KQ, and i also believe the KQ should be on the list.
like you say, there is more than one way to crawl. just like the jeeps, samari, landcruiser, bronco,ect. the mods and the driver make more difference than the base machine (within reason). some guys run big block blazers and broncos, while others like the little samauri. shoot, i saw a brand new 1-ton diesel King Ranch Edition ford (with lift and tires) on the Poison Spider trail last year running with some tube framed jeeps and Hummer H1s.
i chose the 650i for the v-twin (gotta love 'em), knowing full well that there may be a better rock machine out there. but with the right mods, it'll hold it's own. i am thinking a set of Elkas set up for crawling ought to just about put me there. (already have Bighorns and clutch springs)
there is no stock atv that is ideal for crawling. you'll have to tweak it. i think any of those on your list can be made to craw very well. even with the mods, you'll have to decide if you need the very best crawling ability, or if you need a machine that can crawl well, and still be somewhat reliable, comfortable,and safe for other tasks as well.
monty
turtle, there's a guy on some of these boards by the name of fattireracer that has a KQ set up for crawling. it looks pretty capable. i only bring this up baecause you mentioned the KQ, and i also believe the KQ should be on the list.
like you say, there is more than one way to crawl. just like the jeeps, samari, landcruiser, bronco,ect. the mods and the driver make more difference than the base machine (within reason). some guys run big block blazers and broncos, while others like the little samauri. shoot, i saw a brand new 1-ton diesel King Ranch Edition ford (with lift and tires) on the Poison Spider trail last year running with some tube framed jeeps and Hummer H1s.
i chose the 650i for the v-twin (gotta love 'em), knowing full well that there may be a better rock machine out there. but with the right mods, it'll hold it's own. i am thinking a set of Elkas set up for crawling ought to just about put me there. (already have Bighorns and clutch springs)
there is no stock atv that is ideal for crawling. you'll have to tweak it. i think any of those on your list can be made to craw very well. even with the mods, you'll have to decide if you need the very best crawling ability, or if you need a machine that can crawl well, and still be somewhat reliable, comfortable,and safe for other tasks as well.
monty
#42
03-03-2006, 12:07 AM
Rock crawling, best quad?
Alot has to be said about who's butt is in the seat. I saw a guy ride a Suzuki 2wd (Ozark I think) ride anyware a 4wd could go, this guy could really handle the little Suzuki. He got everything out of it, he was riding a rocky area that had rocks as big as a refrigerator and making that thing climb right over. It was amazing. The last 50 yards he was on the end of my winch cable because of the extreme incline and just unbelieveably large boulders, it was an unmarked trail at Windrock... just awesome place to rock crawl. My skid plates have many scars from just 3 days of riding there. Next month we are off to Harlan County, KY for 4 fun filled days of riding. Anyone ride there? The videos I have seen and the pics do not do it justice I hear. A group of 12-15 FF's and cops from our city will be traveling down on April 20-23, can't wait.
#43
03-03-2006, 12:49 PM
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Rock crawling, best quad?
You all have been great about helping this newb to utility machines get educated. I began looking at Honda Foreman 5 speed and Rincon. I then looked at where I would be likely to need help in the back country. The process took me to the Kodiak for compactness. I was swept up with the Outlander high performance. This Bomb diversion opened my eyes to the possibility of something other than Hon or Yam. Now here I am waiting to see the Arctic Cat 700EFI and I run into great reviews of the Cat 650H1 and even the Cat 500 5 speed. I have 35 years shifting gears on dirt bikes and one year shifting on sport quads so the idea of a 5 speed with diff lock, high/low range, and IRS like the Cat 500 5 speed is intriguing. I also like the 6.5 gal tank on the H1 and 500 5 sp. Meanwhile, the King sets as top contender.
#44
03-03-2006, 06:58 PM
Rock crawling, best quad?
v2: the Gators are a good tire. i bought them for my little Suzuki because it riquires goofy sizes, and nobody else made a six ply in both sizes. (lotsa jagged rock on some local trails here so i needed something pretty tuff).
they are pretty good in snow if you turn them around and lower the pressure, and a good trail tire if you don't run on the blacktop much (highway miles are hard on 'em). they are not the perfect tire here because we have much more hard trail surface than soft. they shine in the soft stuff, but the rock eats away at the lugs. still, not bad on rock, no flats and better traction than the stockers. if i had to run in both mud and rock they'd be my first pick, but i hardly ever see enough mud to matter. another tire that might be worth a look is a new tire that just came out at the powersports show at indy called the Terracross. i think there are pix up at Kawiriders. but for now they are not proven and just look good, but the Gator is a proven tire. the little suzuki has a top speed of about 35 or 40 mph so i can't say how the handling at any higher speed would be.
i gotta agree with Cap'nKodi too. the rider makes a bigger difference than the differences between the machines. in a shootout between these atvs, the one with the best rider will win. and if one rider tests all of these machines, the one he or she is most comfortable and confident on will be the winner.
it looks like oldturtle is gonna have the research done so he'll be the guy to ask about this. i have to agree with his thoughts throughout this thread. i'll be interested if the final pick.
monty
they are pretty good in snow if you turn them around and lower the pressure, and a good trail tire if you don't run on the blacktop much (highway miles are hard on 'em). they are not the perfect tire here because we have much more hard trail surface than soft. they shine in the soft stuff, but the rock eats away at the lugs. still, not bad on rock, no flats and better traction than the stockers. if i had to run in both mud and rock they'd be my first pick, but i hardly ever see enough mud to matter. another tire that might be worth a look is a new tire that just came out at the powersports show at indy called the Terracross. i think there are pix up at Kawiriders. but for now they are not proven and just look good, but the Gator is a proven tire. the little suzuki has a top speed of about 35 or 40 mph so i can't say how the handling at any higher speed would be.
i gotta agree with Cap'nKodi too. the rider makes a bigger difference than the differences between the machines. in a shootout between these atvs, the one with the best rider will win. and if one rider tests all of these machines, the one he or she is most comfortable and confident on will be the winner.
it looks like oldturtle is gonna have the research done so he'll be the guy to ask about this. i have to agree with his thoughts throughout this thread. i'll be interested if the final pick.
monty
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