ATV's and Overlanding ....

[Desert Runner]

I have 2 ATV's, a SUZUKI KQ 700 (2006), and a 2002 POLARIS 500 (Remington Edition). The Suzuki (fuel Inj) just about does 120 miles, and is on fumes. The Sportsman 500 (Carb), even with it's bigger tank, is on fumes at around 80 miles. Been so close to being out of fuel a couple of times. I do a lot of desert trails/dirt roads, and find that 35-40 mph is just about as fast as you want to go, if you don't want to start concentrating on the trail ahead, to avoid obstacles. At most speeds higher than that you stop admiring the scenery and worry about ruts and washouts. I had a incident right after installing my high end ELKA shocks, which in reflection, saved my bacon. If I had still been on the OEM's, it would have been bad, real bad. I managed to ride it out, doing close to 50 mph on a power line road. Hit a somewhat shallow washout, and managed to keep it straight, and me on top of the bike.

My motto is enjoy the ride, not the horse race. 200 miles a day for me and my friends is about the limit of a ride. Doing it for a week, no way on a ATV. That 200= most of a day......4 hr's or so, in the desert. Doing that in the mountains, I want to be in camp before sunset. Pushing 12 hr days would be to much of a grind.

In my post #36 above, I said............"In Utah you have a large expanse of trails, many of them linked, which allows you to base camp from a town, and hit the trail in all directions. Fuel, time, and days allotted to exploration are your only limits. I have seen many camping videos off the back of a ATV, where the riders planned fueling stops into a town, was the only limitation".


Yes it can be done, camping and exploring, my comment inference was that most of us would explore from a base camp, if using a ATV/UTV, not that you couldn't. Most people just would not be so hard-core in attempting that. Keeping a speed average that allows a 400-500 mile day is not something I would be comfortable with on a ATV, and probably not a UTV either, roll-cage included. Hwy speeds are best left to the hwy. Las Vegas to Los Angelos at interstate speeds (65-75), takes around 3.5 hours...275 miles. ATV tires at that speed........blow out...........NO WAY....it would be a GAME OVER...

Just IMHO...........

PS.....Not sure what my BIL's POLARIS 1000 side x side gets for fuel mileage, or what range he gets on it, but I know he carries a Roto-PAX spare with him, on longer rides. Cell service is hit or miss, so most of the time it is a group ride environment for safety and better enjoyment. He also has a Ham license and radio installed on the RZR, with repeaters keyed in.

 

[Boostpowered]

I sold all my quads and dirt bikes a few years ago. I just wasnt riding them as much as i should so i figured and i grew tired of cleaning ethanol gas gum out of the carbs. If i get another small vehicle it will be one of the japanese 4x4 kei mini trucks at $2000

 

[MidOH]

The TAT was made for adventure bikes.

That being said, my Drz400 is in the bed of my truck to serve as a life boat. There's nearly always a Napa within range of that bikes 2 gallon fuel tank. (130miles).

Don't underestimate the wear and tear on Atv's. You'll spend as much time wrenching as traveling. They aren't made for long journeys. Even bikes stop for fresh tires and chains on the TAT. My Drz eats a chain and sprocket every other year, and two sets of tires a year.

 

[Misplaced Overland]

We did 300 miles over Labor Day weekend this year. It’s a great adventure but the difficulty is staying legal. Knowing where to ride is tough adds a whole new dimension to planning the trip. If we could just explore without boundaries it would be so much better.

 

[xterramom]

Maine ... thousands of miles of trails . My honda rancher never lets me down . 50 miles a day just exploring. Never fails to bring joy .... explore on !!!!

 

[Overland A Far]

A group of us completed a combo of 4X4 overlanding by vehicle towing our ATV/UTV units to run a series of designated trails here in west central Alberta. These trails are designated 4X4 and ATV trails. We hit the Ruby Falls, Crystal Falls, Cardinal Falls and a old coal mining town (Mountain Park) from the early 1900's. Put 130 kilometers on in two days with some fairly technical ground and swamp.

 

[LowbuckLS]

A group of us completed a combo of 4X4 overlanding by vehicle towing our ATV/UTV units to run a series of designated trails here in west central Alberta. These trails are designated 4X4 and ATV trails. View attachment 169410We hit the Ruby Falls, Crystal Falls, Cardinal Falls and a old coal mining town (Mountain Park) from the early 1900's. Put 130 kilometers on in two days with some fairly technical ground and swampView attachment 169404View attachment 169409View attachment 169405View attachment 169406View attachment 169407View attachment 169408.

It’s beautiful country out there... I see you are from Rocky, I just joined and I am from Sylvan Lake

 

[Boostpowered]

I sold and traded all my quads and bikes years ago, my wife wasn't really happy with me getting wild on a dirt bike. For a side by side your looking at spending more than a used 4x4 even for an older model rzr they go for more than 7k. Id recommend not to get a Chinese knockoff sxs especially if its the tao tao brand the engines are OK most are yamaha 50-125cc knockoffs the frame and quality of the welds on the crappy metal is what you will want to worry about and what keeps me from messing with em. Imho those little suzuki mini 4x4 trucks are the way to go if your looking to trailer something n g in and go mini overlanding, like this they are way cheaper, reliable and you have an enclosed cab with a/c.

 

[Billiebob]

It would be awesome to do we come across this old mate from Germany on a trip to cape york a few years back this thing was insane had everything you could ever need

View attachment 2548

Yeah, I'd love something like this but the laws are so against them in BC they are virtually unuseable. There are a few remote communities who cater to them and have specific routes you can use them on but for the most part communities are dead set against them and the police, municipal bylaw enforcement people have a bunch of laws to restrict their use. They are treated the same as a race motocross bike, every year public pressure closes more areas.

You pretty much need to live in the midwest with wide open areas to use them.

I'm more a fan of the CJ2. Street legal everywhere.

 

[Atc210]

I picked up on these gizmo's a few months ago. Been upgrading and playing on my 10 acres with it now due to park closures and capacity limits. But I am planning to drag it around with me on some trips. Just got back from Moab and Great Sand Dunes and it would have been the perfect companion to have on the trip. But I was not driving my rig.

 

[lukes3415]

This is my old boys rig with his chook chaser on the back, he loves his little Kymco.

 

[Shokgoblr]

Today I learned what a Chook & Chook Chaser are!
cool!