How did you get into Quads?

[Mech]

You guys were spoilt. My mates and I started out on garage finds, things like James, BSA, Jawa, which we spent more time getting going than riding.

[Gwbarm]

Oh you were riding high on those bikes, we just had little tiddlers but they were probably hondas most reliable engines, pushrod, only a few came over in the early 60s they were so smooth and quiet, no overhead cam and tough as nails.

[megaminx]

We always used ATVs - 90s Polaris Sportsmans - to get to our camp in the bush. Growing up those were my favorite memories. Now I'm a mechanical engineer and I've been rebuilding a lot of the machines we used when I was younger. It's been great to address all the issues. I have no interest in mud bogging and crazy new machines, I really see ATVs as work machines to achieve a greater goal. 

[SCmasterTech]

I started when I was around 8 with a Honda big red 3 wheeler.. After a few years later I got a XR100, then a KX80, and finally a CR125. Then I had nothing until recently when I got my kids a Bayou 220 to ride around.

[kawasig]

I first road My Sons Bayou 220 in Aug of 21. I tore all the tendends in my rotator cuff and ripped My bicep coming down from a jump. Had surgery to repair My shoulder in the spring off 22. I know own two quads and am looking for a third! Even pain and agony can't keep Me away! 

[SCTBird92]

Wanted one for work around the house. Now I have 3 and a SxS. Good for work and play!

[Gwbarm]

Kind of the same senario, the only problem i have is deciding which one to use. So i just decide which one i havent started in a while and use it. Unless i am in a hurry and then i use the one that has a good charged battery.

[vlxerdon]

I have been an avid motorcyclist since I was big enough to get on one. Street bikes were my forte. My doctor  told me that due to an illness I had last winter that my bike riding days are done. This pretty much crushed me. A friend that was doing some work around the house( He was being paid ) heard me telling my wife how bad I was feeling. My wife said how about a trike ,would that be alright.  said yeah anything I don't have to balance. My friend at this point stated he had an aty that was sitting for years and he would trade me for  one of my guitars( I have 14 both electric and acoustic ) He stated it need work but I love a challenge so at the age of 78 I have my first quad.. After a carb and battery it started right up. I live on a dirt road so Told the wife to hope on and away we went. After just a short ride I am hooked.

[kawasig]

Riding is a awesome way of life 2 or 4 wheels! At 60-70+ years old in the dirt I like 4 wheels Myself. I'm leaving the two wheels to those young rubber men that still bounce when they hit the ground! I just lay there thinking DAM This is gonna hurt for awhile! Lol

[Gwbarm]

Yeah, took a good fall a couple of years ago at 65, you dont just get up and shake your head and keep going like you used to, in fact you get up slowly and see if everything works, then try to determine your pain level. Luckily nothing was broken, which was a miracle in itself, but i still have trouble with neck and shoulder on that side. So 4 wheel are good.

[George Henry]

Don't forget three wheels people. I still ride my 1985 Honda ATC 250 SX trike. I prefer 3 wheels but I love quads as well. 

[Gwbarm]

Never rode one of those, but i know they had a great engine.

[Mhatayas]

Kinda a norm around here , everyone and their dog has a quad . Can even legally drive them on the streets now , pretty cool . Anyway first one I ever rode was an atc, Honda Yamaha and I now own a Suzuki lt250ef . I like the older bikes . Do some snowmobiling and dirt biking too 

[opnea]

Started off with a free moped I was gifted. I got it running and decided I wanted more fun so I cut it in half and welded it to the front half of a go-kart body. Turning it into a reverse trike. The thing was pretty cool but it was super slow so I posted it on a marketplace. Ended up trading it for a non-running chinese atv and some predator engines. Fixed up the old 125cc Chinese ATV and the predators. Sold the predators and rode the small ATV for a while until I sold that too, from there on I snowballed through anything with an engine, buying, fixing and selling for profit. My last project was a free 2000 suzuki ltf500 4wd quad that I just sold. Now I'm working on a 1991 lt230e that I picked up for $200. 

[Suzukiquad]

I have been on something with a motor since I could walk and hang on to my dad. Been on dirt bikes, quads, 3 wheelers, snow mobiles, motorcycles, pretty much everything. But, I have just always gravitated to quads, and what I am starting my kids on. 

[Ajmboy]

Thank you everyone for sharing, some pretty cool stories on how people got into quads. I'll reference when I first posted in this topic, back in May 2008!  Its crazy how long this community has been online.

 

[406offroad]

In May 2019, my wife and I went on a two week land and sea cruise trip to Alaska. One of the excursions was an ATV tour outside of Denali national Park. I knew then that atvs were in our future. I bought our first ATVs about 9 months after that trip.

[newguy024]

Like you i am a late bloomer when it comes to toys im 34 now and never really had any money, i bought my first quad a few weeks ago, a 1987 suzuki quadrunner, only paid 500$ for it runs and drives, but he said it has a bad oil leak, i brought it home and drained about 3L of oil out before it went down on the sight glass lol 

Edited May 27, 2024 by newguy024

[Gwbarm]

Those are great machines good luck good luck with it.

[newguy024]

thanks, im hoping that it will last me a while even though it was only 500$

[Dadclan623]

Video games got me into them, I always thought they were cool & then I started playing motocross games on N64, & then Xbox came out & I was introduced to MX Unleased, it's history from there

[Norseman69]

Always been into anything that can say wroom and more.   But atv has always been the it thing for me in mx or cross.   Somewhat safer than mx ( getting old and kids need food).  And of course drifting.  Nothing beats drifting.  And nothing drifts as an atv hucking thru the woods.  

[Gwbarm]

So true! Nothing like easing through the woods on ATV calming relaxing and peaceful.

[Mrdale907]

Traded a ZR 440 motor for my first quad which was an arctic cat 300 4×4.Been hooked since

[jmercer]

Riding as a kid

[Chucksta]

How did I get into quads?

Wow..  I so go against the grain on this one. 

About 10 years or so ago, ( I was in my mid 50s'), I met my girlfriend. Her family had a cabin in Northern Ontario, about an hour and a half North East of North Bay. There was, on said property, a 1996 Honda Foreman. It had been in the Family since day 1, and , not that it was abused, but more just neglected. If it broke, someone would fix it, or it would go to the Dealership, ( but it virtually never broke down). It just got ridden, and ridden...  Drain fuel out.. spray fogging oil in it for the Winter??  ...  Ahhh heck no..  Oil changes?  Once again...nope.. Virtually nothing was done to it as long as it would start, and go down the road. 12,000 K.M. of that kind of care.

About four or five years ago, it somehow became MY responsibility to keep it proper. The girlfriend's Mother signed it over to us..  Oh but wait!! Girlfriend didn't really care for riding 2 up with me, so, it was time for a new Honda Rubicon..  Suddenly, the Honda started to get referred to as " Chuck's ATV>"  WTF??  How did I become responsible for this hot mess??

I asked the girlfriend's brother, when the last time the valves were set was..  He looks me dead in the eye and says " They're hydraulic.. they self adjust"..  I knew not to discuss maintenance with him beyond that point. New battery, oil, filter, air filter, ball joints, tie rod ends, winch cable, hitch, spark plug, new muffler, and set the valves before putting on 4 new tires.  

Once again.. a "free" thing just ain't free. No way.

So.. it starts, it runs, it is ( for what it is), a really reliable beast. 

Now... here comes the hard question..  Do I like ATVs, or riding them..  Short story is that I can't 'effin stand them!!  And it's not just my ( sorta) Honda, that I can't stand.. I ridden several other brands and styles..  I completely dislike them all.  Our Community had an AYV run last weekend..  You coudn't have paid me to go..To me, it's like 4 hours in a washing machine.

Would I ever get on one and just go for a ride?.  Heck no.. not unless you are holding a shotgun to my head. I would, however, get on  one and ride through knee deep crud, to go somewhere fishing. Sorry.. but to me, it is, at best, a tool!  It pulls down trees, it pushes snow, it goes places and carries stuff that would otherwise be impossible. But, other than that, it can sit in my garage, and wait till I need it. I feel the same about the 4 Ski doos that we own..  They are there to take me ice fishing.. The chances of getting on one, just to go for a boot, is zero. Now, if we've got company, oh yeah!!  Bundle up and get on!!  But that's just as a treat for them..

And it's not like I don't like speed.. My retirement gift to myself was a 1985 Honda Interceptor 1,000 CC..  I sold it when I retired to the land of dirt roads.. 

[Joeboe]

I started with an ATC 90 long ago.

[Joepelchat]

I'm needing info on no spark on my 2001 bear tracker 250 I've changed the stator cdi starter bottom works lights but it blo n the neutral light twice now I can't figure it out 

 

[Gwbarm]

They were a lot of fun and lately have been developing a huge fan base, seeing a lot of those being restored.

[mas214]

my dad got me a dirt bike all the time when i was a kid and my girlfriend was scared to ride dirtbikes so i got her a suzuki ltf500f for her to ride then i started liking to fix them up