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Enjoy Your Off-Road Adventures With An ATV - Featured Article

April 1st, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

ATV stands for “all-terrain vehicles”, or basically any kind of open and small, motorized buggies and tricycles that are made generally for off-road riding. And all terrain vehicle is basically designed to have only one operator at any one time. Using and riding an ATV is very similar to an ordinary motorcycle. However, all terrain vehicles have an extra set of wheels that give more stability at slower speeds or when stopped.

The first ever ATV, which were designed with six wheels, was introduced to the public around 1950s. However, Honda improved the early models by producing the first three-wheel all-terrain vehicle. It instantly became famous when it was publicly displayed in the 1971 James Bond Movie - Diamond’s are forever.

The History Of ATVs

After the release of the three-wheel ATVs, various models were produced for recreational use. These improved models offered big balloon tires without mechanical suspension. It was only in the early 1980s that lower tires with suspension were introduced.

The popularity of ATV was due to its ability to pass anywhere on terrain, which other kinds of vehicles cannot cross. These all-terrain vehicles instantly became a hit with Canadian and US hunters.

Aside from recreational use, sport models of ATV became popular when Honda released the 1981 Honda ATC250R with an impressive engine placement, full suspension, 5-speed transmission and stunning design.

When it comes to four-wheel models, Suzuki develops high-performance all-terrain vehicles. Since the company introduced the very first ATV for beginners in 1983, it continuously produced a variety of 4-wheel ATVs for both beginners and professional riders. Other leaders in ATV production include Yamaha and Kawasaki.

In the 1980s, a variety of safety issues was raised regarding the three-wheel all-terrain vehicles. Because of this, all manufacturers of ATV ended the production of 3-wheel and switched to 4-wheel models. Six-wheel models are also available. However, these all-terrain vehicles contain a small, dump bed and additional set of wheels that increases load capacity.

Today, you can find all-terrain vehicle models for both utility and sport markets. Utility ATV models are bigger, 4-wheeled vehicles with speeds of up to 65 miles per hour and have the capability of towing small trailers or dragging small loads on racks or dump beds. However, sport all-terrain vehicles are designed with a manual transmission that has a 2 Wheel Drive and a smaller, lighter design that can go at speeds up to 90 mph.

It’s no wonder that so many different people are now participating in ATV riding not just in the United States but all over the world. It gives adults the ability to ride and enjoy the race with an outstanding vehicle performance in a specific unique design for a racing model in the off-road world.

5 speed transmission, all terrain vehicles, atv, Honda ATC250R, James Bond

Before You Buy a Chinese ATV

May 15th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Let’s face it, not everybody has the cash to put out for a top of the line Honda or Yamaha ATV, an Artic Cat, Bombardier or Polaris. And even the smaller models are relatively expensive. But you still want a ride so you keep looking around.

There are used ATVs and you can save some serious coin by picking up a used model, if you’re able to determine why it’s being sold and what it’s condition really is. The nature of ATV trekking and racing isn’t the gentlest of activities and an ATV can age remarkably rapidly because of extreme stresses. Maybe the seller is telling you the truth when he says he only did some flat trail and sand riding a couple times and never ever went muddy or airborne. Or maybe not.

You need a competent mechanic to check out a used ATV and even then he or she isn’t going to be able just how stressed and close to the breaking point some parts may be. So while you may be getting a great deal you may also be looking at some unanticipated repairs, real soon now.

Recently a variety of Chinese manufactured ATVs have become available. These ATVs are generally much cheaper than comparable well known brands. Usually there are fewer models and smaller engine sizes. The smaller ones may be ideal for a child’s first ATV and the low cost makes it more practical in that sense. There are also now some bigger models suitable for adults.

A plus is that the engines tend to be cloned versions of Japanese engines which means that the designs are basically decent.

There are some problems however. Quality control can be a major issue with products from some Chinese factories, so you need to be very clear on what kind of warranty you’re getting. Generally you’ll also need to accept that these machines are not as well-finished as the big name brand machines.

The major kicker, however, is parts availability. With any kind of a machine which is subject to rugged conditions of use - that is why you want an ATV after all - things will break. No matter how hot the name, how good the quality control, how high the price, when you bounce off rocks and slam the ground, launch a quad airborne, run through mud and sand and generally have a really good time, you are going to get breakage and plain old mechanical wear, tear, fatigue and eventual parts failure.

Getting parts to fix up your Chinese ATV could be a nightmare. Maybe they’ll come in six weeks, six months, maybe never. So before you put down one cent, do your absolute best to ensure that the dealer - or some dealer you can get to easily - really and truly has parts. Ask him to show you what he keeps in stock. They want to sell you a quad so they may stretch the truth some. Check on the internet, see if you can find other people who’ve bought the model you’re thinking of and find out what their experiences have been.

Buy a model that you know is being sold fairly widely. That doesn’t mean every seller will have parts, but there’s a better chance that a supply chain will exist and that you will be able to get parts relatively quickly. If you are going to be an occasional rider, a Chinese ATV may offer you a whole lot of machine for a lot lower price and the parts and service issue would be slightly less important. However, if you are going to be using it daily, if it’s essential to your work, then you need to be very very sure of the quality, the warranty and service and parts availability.

Doing your research first can make the difference between getting yourself a great deal versus sliding into a no-ride nightmare.

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Mini Fire Truck ATV for Downtown Patrols

May 12th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

So often when Down Town areas revitalize, parking is an issue and there is not a lot of space downtown for full-size fire trucks to do their job. Often parking behind buildings is limited and they really pack in the available parking. In front there is also little if any room and it takes too long to get a truck in, find a hydrant and douse the blaze. Yet consider if you will a smaller more versatile unit?

Perhaps an ATV mini-fire truck makes sense? Well it just so happens that many such units are available and they do exist. An ATV mini-fire truck geared correctly can get to the blaze quickly thru heavy traffic and right to the fire without the extra waiting time. Even if it cannot put out the entire fire it can subdue it and curtail its spread until re-enforcements arrive.

This is why when considering Down Town revitalization project the economic development associations should consider mini-fire trucks rather than adding too much cost to tearing down all the buildings to make room for large fire trucks in case of a fire. Here is a picture of the most simplest of models and Fire Departments can speck them out from there;

http://www.alexisfire.com/FireEquipment/NewDeliveries/GrandHavenCC114/Rrear_zm.jpg

The key is to limit the gallons per minute on the pump and use a more restrictive flow for a more powerful spray to conserve the limited on-board water supplies. It is a worthy concept and this is why more and more down town areas are considering ATV fire suppression enabled technologies to be deployed to protect the people and those down town returning shoppers bringing more sales tax revenue and jobs back to the city. Consider all this in 2006.

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