Description:
We like to ATV as a family. We got started in '03 when I bought a 1990 Polaris Big Boss 250 4 X 6. Then came a new 2005 Bombardier Outlander 400 MAX XT, so now I could take friends out on trails with me when they came up to the cottage to visit. In 06, we bought my (then 9 year-old daughter Michelle) a 2006 Arctic Cat DVX 50 in lime green. She loved the colour, so we got helmet, gloves, goggles, mitts, toque, and Arctic Cat Jacket, all in lime green. We dumped the little 16" turf tires and went for 22" Mud Lites on the rear. My wife Sharon then got a new 2007 Eton Viper 90, a 4-stroke with reverse, which Michelle and I bought her for her birthday. (Again, 22" Mud Lites on rear.) Then came her '07 Eton Vector 250 - for Mother's day. We put 25" bear Claws on that, but the traction stinks in winter and they rub on the fender sometimes, so I may switch to Mud Lites. Then in Sept. of '08 we gave away the Polaris to a friend, and traded in my '05 Outlander 400 for an AWESOME new 2009 Can-Am Outlander 650 Max XT. A big issue for me is safety as it pertains to kids. Michelle has been fully trained with an all-day ATV course, and has a Canada Safety Council certificate to show for it. She is a safe driver, and quite skilled. An even bigger issue that I would love to talk to anyone about is girls on ATV's. I believe that experience with an ATV can help to overcome some of the sex-role stereotyping that often puts women and girls at such a disadvantage when it comes to mechanical knowledge, confidence in their physical abilities and the like.
April 18, 2009 update: Sold the Arctic Cat DVX 50, and bought the new ('09) Arctic Cat 150 that just came out, which has dual halogen headlights, reverse, racks front and back, and even tows 300 lbs. - nice quad for my daughter, and it will carry big kids, too!