I went out riding today with one of my friends. We were on many trails that were extremely tight off camber climbs. One of the trails followed a river and we would have to go high up on a bank to get around a fallen tree. He would gas it up and around the trees full throttle and have little difficulty getting up and around them. He did roll his quad twice during the day. I on the other hand chose to take the slow and methodical route. On many ocassions I felt so close to rolling it I had to get off and physically hold the quad up while walking it through some areas. I have noticed on a whole the people that blast through the trails dont seem to have the difficulty I do getting around difficult obstacles. I tried the full throttle method but found once I started the descent after the apex I would turn the handle bars and the quad wouldnt want to turn. I almost ran into trees three or four times after using the full throttle method. What are your opinions regarding the slow and easy method or the floor and see what happens method? All in all it was a humbling day..I thought I was getting the hang of this thing...

 

waht quad is it first of all?

i woudl recomend.. 1st gear... slowly adding to the throttle as needed... dont full thottle it please... it will go out of control if traction is suddnely found

 

I'm no expert but I do spend alot of time riding on off-camber terrain and sometimes find it best to put my entire body on the up-hill side of the quad by putting one foot on the peg and one on the heel guard (even better if you have floorboards, I don't). As the quad completes the apex I just throw my leg back over the seat and finish the downhill. Works very well for me.

 

You don't need full throttle but there are many times where some speed and momentum will carry you through when 'slow and steady' will cause you to lose control.

Best examples are off cambers and short, steep uphills. Just think about those ATV riding videos - somebody takes a sport bike up the side of a bowl shaped hillclimb. They go up, they arc over and then they come back down again. No problems. Now imagine if they stopped when they reached the top of their arc path. They would tumble side over side.

Find someplace where you have an off-camber situation but you have plenty of room to manuver. Practice running further and further up the side of the slope. You'll find that the feel of the bike is different with a little speed behind it.

On the flip side, there are some trail situations like rock crawling where slow and steady is the way to go.

I'm not an expert but years ago I was riding with my brother on a washed out section of trail. We were both on identical King Quads. He went first on the alternate trail that went down a ravine and then back up a steep slope on the other side. He took it with a little speed, made it OK but it sure looked dicy to me. I followed, put it in 4wd low-low and crawled up the slope. You never do forget the feeling of a full sized utility quad dropping down upside down on top of you.

Jaybee

 

tbonez, it sounds like you are still fairly new at riding. If you haven't already, taking a safety course may help you out some. Other than that, try and practice on some smaller/less steep off cambers and hill climbswhenever possible and work your way up. Yes, speed and momentum can be your allies in overcoming many obstacles, but you need to have a healthy dose of control mixed in there as well. On more than one occasion I have seen a 4x4 try to follow me up a short yet steep hill climb on my sport quad. I'll get a little speed up and power on over the top. The 4x tries the slower, more methodical approach and runs out of traction. The key here is momentum.

 

When in doubt, get the chainsaw out!

heheh

you ride a Ute so one of the advantages is having toys on your toy [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]



Other than that, do what the others said. Pratice Practice Practice!

 

Can you shift your bike from 2 to 4 wheel drive?? If so were you in 4 wheel drive or 2??

A 2 wheel drive bike will pivot around something far easier than a 4 wheel drive. I still wouldn't have a 2 wheel drive Ute or Sports, but a selectable bike would be nice.

My own bike is permanent 4 wheel drive, and it's a pain at times. Though with experience, I can now take my bike alot further than I could when I first started. Momentum and body weight has a lot to do with it. Even tyre pressures for that matter.

This is why a Warn 4 2 4 Select is the next thing on the shopping list.

JF

 

I can shift my quad from 4 wheel to 2 wheel drive. I will try that. My problem is the trails are so tight that when I carry any momentum into the corner I almost run into trees because I have to much speed to turn tight. For some reason when I am going down stepp hills the bike doesn’t seem to want to turn. I think two wheel drive and a bunch of practice might help. Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think I need to go out to a hill and really learn when this thing is going to turn over.

 

If you try and actually lift your bike onto its side, you would probably be surprised how far it will go before toppling. The 'wall of death' theory is a good tip too though takes a bit of confidence. I used to find if I thought I was going to tip I would panic and slow down or even stop, at which point the bike often rolled. Now, as long as I keep moving fairly fast it wont roll. If there is a particularly tricky piece of terrain (though short), more often than not I will drive it fast.

JF

 

I think you call this experience. We have trails here that some people can not drive because of this... that's why we have more than one trail. I would stick with the if you are in doubt then say no. if you feel you can handle it ok. My concerns are not with the driver it's their followers that might not be comfortable with the trail. Speed it normally the ticket sometimes all you need is a little motion and sometimes you need more. The more you use speed the fast things can go from bad to worst. The roll feel you have could be an is feel rather than a straight rear axle. On some trails I might only have 2 wheels touching the ground and then it matters where you are leaning and where your weight is distributed. Typically low range and a putter is better than high speed. Also be aware that you didn't roll the machine yet so you don't know where the limitations are of the machine. Your starting angle and how you approach and steer also will decide if you roll or not. I've been with a group of 9 where I had to take all 9 bikes through one section. Those riders are aprecitive and I'm sure that if you talk to one of your friends you could find one that would take your bike for you. Your best bet to get a feel for the machine is do go over a trail you would concered tough in both directions. The trees around me are safe, and contray to what others believe no trees don't move in the forest so no trees will jump out in front of you.