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The CycleA fictional story about the quad and accessory purchasing process that might not be so fictionalMay 28/10 Written by Greg After spending countless hours on Quads.ca researching what quad to buy, you finally decide on a sweet little 450cc utility. It's a reasonable size, will get good fuel economy, has enough power and manoeverability to do everything you want it to do, and it fit the budget. Perfect! Okay, so you've just purchased a brand spankin' new quad! Let's hit the trail! After a few days of riding, you realize a few things. Those stock 25" tires leave a lot to be desired, especially on a slick or loose terrain. Four-ply? What's up with that? Would have been nice to have more aggressive tires in that mud. Maybe larger tires for additional clearance over rocks and deadfall. A winch would have saved 30 minutes of digging through the snow. Okay, time to accessorize! A trip to your local accessory retailer nets you a set of 26" six-ply tires (with about eight times the tread depth of the stockers) and a shiny new 2500-pound winch wrapped with shiny new aircraft cable. Oh, and also a winch mounting plate and a winch accessory kit. It's amazing how much better the bigger and more-aggressive aftermarket tires are. That and the winch give you the confidence to push the boundaries a bit, to go further than you would have gone before. Your new-found confidence persuades you ride more difficult trails... where you suddenly realize that the bottom of your ride is totally exposed to those mean, jagged rocks, and your CV boots are in danger of being torn by strategically-grown pokey sticks! No problem. Another trip to your local accessory retailer and you walk out with a shiny new set of aluminum skidplates and A-arm guards. Now you can slide over the rocks with impunity, and worry less about a skewered CV boot. And now you can tackle even tougher trails, without fear of undercarriage damage. After a few days of riding your newly-armoured quad on the tougher trails, you notice that you're frequently placed into off-camber situations, resulting in that tippy feeling. Sure would be nice to have a wider track. Hey, a nice set of aftermarket aluminum rims to replace the stock steelies would do the trick; the offset would increase the track a bit and make the quad more stable. And you'd get a reduction in unsprung weight. It has nothing to do with looks, at least that's what you tell yourself. Okay, another trip to your local accessory retailer, and you leave with a set of shiny aluminum rims. Quad's looking pretty good now (but it's NOT about the looks). After a few days of riding your wider, more-stable quad, you realize that you can no longer fit through some of the trails that you used to be able to just squeeze through. Your wider stance is just too wide for the narrow trails. Well, not a lot you can do about that, except ride other trails. You also notice that you're getting covered by a lot more mud than before, no doubt a result of the offset rims causing more of the tires to protrude beyond your fenderwells. No problem, a quick trip to your local accessory retailer for a set of overfenders will solve that minor problem. This time, you're amazed that you walked out of there spending less than $200. You decide that you need a break from the hard-core trails, so you bomb around on the FSR's with your buddies. Then you realize something else: the larger tires have reduced your accelleration! The resulting change to your gearing and the additional weight of the tires have slowed your initial launch. Hm, a clutch kit, aftermarket air filter, and aftermarket exhaust will restore the snap. And with the air filter and exhaust, you'll also require an aftermarket fuel controller. Hm, that programmable ignition and fuel controller will do the trick. Another trip to the local accessory retailer, who now greets you by your first name as soon as he sees you walking through the door. Alright, time to hit the trail with your new performance-enhancing accessories! I'm talking about the quad; get your mind out of the gutter. Cool, the snap has been restored, and you're a happy camper again. After a few days of riding with your performance-restored quad, you come to the realization that your buddies are leaving you behind on the long stretches. Their big-bore quads just provide more power out of the box than your smaller-engined quad can ever hope to have even with the performance mods. As a result, you're always last. Huh, maybe it's time to upgrade to a bigger quad! After spending more hours on Quads.ca researching big-bore quads, you finally make your decision, sell your 450 to a new guy who gets a great deal on a fully-equipped quad, and bring home a sweet 800cc V-twin utility! It's shiny and new, and boy that exhaust sounds great! Time to hit the trail! Oh, the salesman talked you into a shiny new helmet to match the colours of your shiny new quad. This helmet has air vents, nicer padding, and a better crash rating; it has nothing to do with looks (at least, that's what you tell yourself). Ah yes, after a few days of riding your new big-bore quad, you realize that you have to do a few improvements if you want to continue hitting the same trails you were riding before. Aftermarket tires; the stockers are 26" so let's make them 27" (and might as well get the rims while you're at it and save on the mounting fee because you know you'll eventually get them, and the savings from the mounting fee will pay for the interest on the credit card! At least that's what you tell yourself). A 3000 pound winch this time because you have a bigger, heavier quad, and likely will get stuck worse if you do manage to get stuck, and with that fancy (and more expensive) synthetic rope for the weight reduction and ease of handling. Skidplates and A-arm guards again of course, a no-brainer. Yeah, and the overfenders again because you figure you're spending too much time cleaning and not enough time riding. With the increased torque, you don't even notice any reduction in accelleration with the bigger tires. Awesome! Now you're all set to tackle the baddest, ugliest, gnarliest trails! Bring it on! You're now an experienced rider, with a machine built to take anything thrown at it. You ride the toughest trails like a pro, making them look easy. Well, really, they ARE easy now. You start trying crazy lines, or deliberately taking poor lines, in an effort to make the trail more challenging. You are the baddest of the bad! There are times when you leave your buddies behind and have to turn around, because now you're riding trails that are outside of their comfort level. You suddenly realize that the challenges are gone and you are BORED. You remember what it was like when you first started riding. You had an inexpensive quad that did everything you needed it to do, that fit the narrow trails that you used to like riding. You had to pick a good line, relying on your riding skill and finesse to get you through. Those were the days! Then... you sell your big-bore quad, and buy a sweet little 500cc utility. You ride it stock, and once again enjoy the challenges of even the simplest trails. Ah, paradise! Although, perhaps you should get some better tires... and a winch... • Discussion thread |
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