why are atvs getting so BIG?!

[SYKO]

New atvs seem to be getting bigger and bigger at a frightening rate! I mean do you really need a 1000cc sport 4x4? wtf?! I went by a local riding park to run out my daughters 250ex today and couldnt do anything all the trails are 2 ft deep ruts left by monsters I packed up and left only after 20 mins. Everyone had 600cc+ machines out there just to ride! what happened to being happy on a 200? 250? etc etc? now you got to have 800 900 1000cc! this dosnt count 450 sport machines becouse they are very much the same as older 250 smokers but will there be soon a 1000cc raptor for a sport machine? The way things are headed I think so. Dont get me wrong I love a machine thats pure overkill....only if its custom made no fun in going and buying a new machine that will destroy everythign in its path I would have rather made it.

I think the market is going sour all these huge machines are just tearing everything up I see kids younger then my daughter on 600+ cc machines on 30's, and they wounder why atvs are getting a bad rap, you cant possibly enjoy riding trails on those all the time and the cost is unreal! I cringe to think that the guy with a thundercate on 32's paid for it and the mods done to it, hell I could buy a pretty damn nice truck for less hell im selling mine for less then a down payment on one of those! I know the manufactureres only see money signs so its like pissin into the wind but damn!

ok done ranting

[Vealmonkey]

Remember when Datsun and Toyota only made minitrucks? Look at them now. The makers go where the market is.

[84honda200s]

ill agree to all that you have said. the machines now are a beast of a diff. bread altogether. its just getting way out of hand too quick. soon they will be making them with sport bike (crotch rocket) power plants.

[fire1]

same thing with personal watercraft keep getting bigger and bigger almost like riding in a boat .I agree with you on the big cc machines seems like they cant concentrate on making it better quality or more innovative.....just make it bigger

[atc007]

Well,,,,I will say..While I am quite obviously a barbaric 3 wheeler fan,,,,owning all sorts of ATV's.. There is nothing on this EARTH like riding up and thru the woods on a Can AM Outlander,,Not a fan of the Renegades at all,,,Even had a 2011 XXCR.. But the ground clearance,horsepower,,ability to blow thru stumps,and logs,,that leave us feet down and rocking on a 3 heeler,or lesser quad,is an absolute rush!! Being a dealer,,Honda supporter,and a 3wheeler guy,,I have Fought the movement ALL thru the years,,While Polaris and Cat and Yammie had their 500's,600's,and 700's.. Honda was trying to stick to 400,and 450's.. And I would "sell",,Noone needs that much atv!! If you're gonna buy that ,,why not just go Buy a Jeep!.. Then ,,in 06,,one of my customers pulled in with a Outty with 261 miles on it,,,Take this for a ride,,it's cutting out on Top end! I said,,it's got warranty! He said,,no I want your opinion! ,,,The rest is history.. I still had cattle at the time,,Also had new Rincons and Rubicons,,,Well,,when the cows got out ,and I'm going XXC chasing cattle,,I TRIED going back to the hondas,,,WHat a joke!!! Like riding a 110,,compared to a 350X,,Literally.. I TOTALLY understand where you're coming from,especially if your riding areas are torn up. That is awful to here.. I know noone here wants to here this! But,,riding a wheelie in reverse is quite fun : ),,as is wheelying at will,,IN 4 wheel drive,,while already going 45 ! They are an insane rush... And again,,I'm riding on MY land,,ruts are NOT allowed! I would never go anyhwhere and tear stuff up. Except the racetrack.

[RIDE-RED 250r]

Although I have noticed the general hugeness of todays 4x4 quads and scoff at the idea of paying so much for a wheeler, it just comes down to different strokes for different folks. My in-laws have a couple of 660 Grizzlies. And while I would never sell any of my classics to get one, they are kind of fun to ride. They are very comfortable and have a good bit of gitty-up-n-go. Im sure there are alot of people who buy machines like that that dont understand why on earth a guy like me would ever want to sink 2 grand into my antiquated old trike to hop it up to the point no 450 could catch it. Quite a few of those folks look at people like us as crazy for riding those dangerous, sinister, evil trikes that killed so many unsuspecting people back in the '80s.

I do hear ya on the 4 foot deep ruts these machine make. I have noticed this in certain public riding areas where I ride. But, one good side effect of the way things are going is more and more people are getting into the sport. And the more we are, the more influence we can have in maintaining riding areas and opening new areas. I was just reading in my local newspaper today that Yamaha Corp just donated a $10,000 grant for trail development to an ATV club just 20 miles from my driveway.

There is a good side and a bad side to everything depending on your point of view.

[HuffieVA]

If I needed something that big I'd find an old Ford 8N... I'm sure they are great, but I've drug 12/14ft logs with an 84 Big Red (not that it enjoyed it) the size worries me because of the weight. Myself I would much rather have a 300 lb Tecate land on me than a 1000 lb quad, I think you have to know how you ride, I know for a fact if I had a 1000 lb ATV I would eventually kill myself on it because I like to play a little too much, but I guess for guys/girls that generally keep the wheels on the ground they are ok...

[cr480r]

Myself I would much rather have a 300 lb Tecate land on me than a 1000 lb quad, I think you have to know how you ride, I know for a fact if I had a 1000 lb ATV I would eventually kill myself on it because I like to play a little too much, but I guess for guys/girls that generally keep the wheels on the ground they are ok...

Thats exactly what keeps me on 2-strokes... In my area we have tons of hillclimbs, everything from the very easy to the impossible.. The new giant machines may make short work of most of the sane stuff, but I can hit sketchy lines with confidence on a 300lb machine knowing that I can manhandle the machine on a steep slope after a get off. I have seen many heavier machines disintegrate into confetti as they decent back to the bottom of a hill. If the rider is fortunate enough to get off and away from the machine safely on the hill, he most likely will not be able to save the machine when it weights 500+

[Jon Boy]

only complaints i have are the overall size of the machines. having to pull completely off a 5ft wide trail to let a 4x4 quad pass about the size of a suzuki samurai is a bit much IMO. i wouldn't want to have something that big on top off me.

[rjs89ia]

this is my first time ever replying to a post and it may be out of control let me know what you think , but imo i believe its all about the size of the check book now when it comes to performance. i dig the speed and being crazy but i dont have a lot of money to be that flexible in my bikes and actually like to learn from my hobbies, i would probably enjoy the thrill of jettin around on a 1000lb 1000cc gorilla of a machine like those of today but can anyone honestly feel proud to desimate every wheeler around and say they bought it new like that. having put no effort in that machine to make it fast and wanting to gain respect from diy people such as myself, "that spend many hours in dirt grease and sweat", after they stomp all over my 250. i dont think i could ever have respect for someone that (laughs in my face) "not saying that happens" after they beat me on something that engineers and designers put so much time and effort in to build, i'm speaking of factory stock machines that is and this is probably the same thing henry ford thought when someone built something faster than one of his cars, everything i've said probably makes no sense, and i do agree with the out of control rutting and bulkiness of these monster machines many times ive been stuck in a mess thats been left by one of those machines they should almost be restricted to jeep trails. sorry for the story

[Chazz of Blades]

Ever notice the pro racers of the Trike Era? 130 lbs, 5'7" on a 250 tinger, that's plenty!

People don't want to have to work for something, they think if they pay for a fast quad, they don't have to do anything to it. In the end, money will always win over pride, and these people with these 10 grand quads, and 13 grand and up side by sides will always rub it in the faces of those who don't.






But I'll be damned if we see much of this newer stuff around in 20+ years. That's why you can easily find a tractor from the 40s or 50s still out working in the fields, but repair shops are FULL of new stuff with everything but the cupholders and air conditioning vents broke.

[swampthang]

I have a 500 Honda Foreman with a 2" Highlifter lift kit and 28" Vampire tires and I still get stuck just riding the trails because guys in my area cut massive ruts on Can-ams with 32" Gorilla Silverbacks running enough ground clearance to clear a 5 gallon bucket. I know theres old Farmers around here that don't know anything about ATV's and just go into the dealer and ask to buy the biggest ATV they can get. Can you image a inexperienced rider cracking back on a 70+ hp atv?? Todays super atvs are very impressive but I think its massive overkill. If Honda could make a 250 Big Red that was a stump pulling torque monster then I think they just need to refine on there past machines instead of reinventing the wheel with Crotch rocket engines on 4x4s. But If someone was to donate me a 1000cc Can-Am just make sure it has a windsheild I wouldn't want my hat to blow off my head at 80 mph!

[fabiodriven]

But I'll be damned if we see much of this newer stuff around in 20+ years. That's why you can easily find a tractor from the 40s or 50s still out working in the fields, but repair shops are FULL of new stuff with everything but the cupholders and air conditioning vents broke.

Amen to that. Everything made these days is a disposable piece of sh!t. Most times you just toss the machine or a fairly good sized component instead of disassembling and repairing. Doesn't matter what brand name you buy anymore either. Everything's junk.

Although I do agree with all of the above statements about why people have these giant machines, there is one thing that nobody has touched on. The sheer size of American people these days is just plain off the charts. An average size man these days is probably at least 200 lbs. I'm 5'10" and about 150 and get called a skinny focker plenty. Truth is, most everyone else is fat. I really noticed it when I went to Germany. Most people are about my size there. America is like the land of the giants. It's gross if you ask me. I have more than one friend I wouldn't let ride my trikes just because of the abuse the trike would absorb from their sheer weight.

About 2 or 3 years ago a group of us were up in New Hampshire on a trike ride when a group of 4x4 (quad) guys rolled up and stopped to watch us rip around the pit. We ended up having a nice conversation with the guys, but they looked like a group of circus bears on their easy-chairs on wheels. They may as well have had a rotisserie going while they rode. Actually, I'm not 100% certain they didn't. I couldn't help but chuckle as the 800 lb machines rolled away with their 300 lb riders. This is what America is all about.

[Tri-Z 250]

I think from what I've read we all agree...Getting rolled over on, or flicked like a bugger off a machine that weighs 2-3X your weight is of no intrest. I've seen many novice riders +35 yrs of age get outta shape going downhill mostly. The rear tire slip from the trail sucks them and the beast toward the bottom of the valley. Yeah HP is King...IMO the weight becomes an issue when it has more control than you in normal trail conditions. Flatland crusing the Caddy apeal of a huge couch might make you feel real important....Sliding down a super steep washout with bowling ball bolders with all that weight...might make for a good Charmin comerical.

[Mosh]

Ever seen the movie Wall-E?

Where people became so fat and lazy, they floated around on self guided hovering machines tethered to the internet for the rest of their life?
Then when they crashed them and fell off, a automatic robot came over with sirens blazing and put them back on their machine...

That is where we honestly could be headed down the future road.

People want to ride, but they want every creature comfort and ease of use made available.
I have had 300-400 lb machines hit me, land one me, and roll over me..It friggin hurts with full gear on.
No way in hell would you get me on some 700# plus machine.
You may as roll a jeep down a hill with no roll bars or seatbelt on.

I think it is just a social subconscious addiction to size and excess. People build 4000 sq ft homes for a 3 person family, and drive a Escalade 5 miles to work and drop off one kid at school in a SUV that seats 10 people and gets 10 galllons to the mile. All in the sake of vanity...IMO
This country would not be in its current economic collapse if people just lived within their needs, instead of wants.