ATV...A love/hate game

[pls1911]

ATV give folks who would otherwise never have access to remore regions an opportunity to enjoy the back woods.
That's good...

ATVs, more often than not are ridden irresponsibly and inconsideratly, have add-on loud pipes, drive off wildlife, can be a terrible nuisance to those seeking silent solace in the backwoods, and hiked many hours to earn the priviledge... and wreak havock on trails with only a few abusive passes.
That's bad... especially during hunting season.

OK, I am a lifelong hunter/backpacker/outdoorsman and have 4 ATVs. For each ATV I have fabricated addional mufflers from tractor units which render them vitually silent, and ride gently, in a stealth mode. ATVs have their place when used responsibly and with common sense...too bad there's so little common sense in the user community.

Comments?

[Shooter]

My quad is a backwoods power wheel chair since my knees went out. They need to be as silent as possible, and ridden responcibly. A 4X4 quad causes less trail damage by not spinning.

[pls1911]

Shooter, you're spot on to my message.
Responsibly used, we can enter and exit our areas will no auditory or terrain disturbance.
While I fab my own add on mufflers there are other units commercially available which accomplish the same purpose.
See "silent runner" on You Tube. Mine's even more quiet, but the runner makes a huge difference at 20 feet and beyond.

[krag35]

I had my Polaris out yesterday. We covered 35 miles of country I would have never seen had I been on foot. I stayed on established trails, and while we did not see any critters, tracks and sign were everywhere. I only saw 1 beverage can on the entire trip, and I picked that up. Only other people we saw were 4 motor cycle riders, a Jeep, and a pickup. Around here, most of the national forest is locked up and their reason is ATVs. There real reason is something else because I have seen very little destruction caused be ATVs, and that caused by a few individuals. I am interested in your add on muffler system would you post pics? I'd like to quiet mine down, but $175.00 for a silencer is not in the budget just now.

[pls1911]

Great effective exhaust silencers can be made VERY inexpensively.
The Honda foreman forum link below should get you to pictures, discussions, various design ideas for alternative approaches. Also included in the post are references for source materials. My conversation is focused on hondas because that's what I have, but could be altered for just about any application. I've made one up for a polarus before, but it's a little more tricky because of the exhaust outlet of the OEM unit.
You might consider a full replacement of the OEM muffler with a FORD 8N tractor unit, which runs about $25-$30. It's a long, quiet unit, but would require a fabbed spark arrester VERY EASY.
http://www.hondaforeman.com/130-fore...silencers.html
PM me..I'll be happy to help.

[krag35]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WLK-22022

It looks like this one will pretty much attach to the outlet and route exhaust to the other side. Would have to come up with a mounting bracket, but that should not be to hard to do. Attaching it to the existing muffler would probably require welding.

[pls1911]

Bingo... thats the one i use, and it works great.
Look at the link above and it will walk you through simple steps for honda applications.

[izzyjoe]

i don't mind wheeler's, but where i deer hunt they use them to head of the dog's, and if you are still hunting, it's rather agravating.

[375H&HGuy]

They are like anything else, I supppose. When they are used properly and responsibly they are alright. When they are abused they cause problems. I see their legitimate use as hauling an animal out of remote location after a successful hunt and as a convenience for a hunter who simply cannot walk into his/her hunting location. They are also good for pre season food plot work and carrying equipment.

The problem around here is that too many people seem to view them as amusment park rides. As a case in point. Our hunting club gave up the lease on a roughly 1000 acre tract before last season. It was a good, productive area but due to financial issues in the club we had to let some land go. The land was leased by a few other guys not in our club. A friend of mine who is in our club paid the new leasors so that he could continue to hunt this tract. He told me that he would not be waisting his money on it next year because the hunting on this otherwise good tract had been compromised in just one season by ATV abuse. He said the new leasors drive 4 wheelers over every square foot of the place that they can and it isn't worth fooling with. They lease it and can do what they want but it illustrates to me what not to do if you want to have a good area to hunt.

Another thing that has turned me off ATV's is my neighbors have a grand daugther who has clocked enough time behind the wheel of one of those 4 wheel buggies to go from here to Mars and back. Her day consists of driving the thing at full throttle with a cell phone glued to her ear. She averages about 6 hours a day in the summer on the thing. Round and round and round she goes. What worries me is that it won't be long until she'll be on the highway in a car doing the same thing at 90 miles per hour.

[Kull]

It would be nice to be able to ride an atv or whatever into the back country where currently you can not. Make one silent, do what you must to insure the thing poses little or no fire starting risk, ride with care and I wouldn't have a problem. Most people though are going to have a huge issue with allowing anything with a internal combustion engine up a trail head. Here when they outlawed tying your horse to a tree, I actually seen a gal in a group of backpackers lay down in the trail under protest. Even the horse looked at her like she was nuts when we walked right over.

[pls1911]

375 and hull, your right on point;
I don't exectly know where some folks lost a sense of personal responsibility for their actions which affect others.
If quiet, responsible use was the goal of all ATV operators, there would be few restrictions on their access.
Unfortunately the first tendency for many folks is to run wide open throttle at all times, never mind to care for/repair trails, a do donuts and burnouts wherever they can leave a scar.... then the rest of the community suffers the consequences.
I find it curious that in many areas where ATV use is restricted or banned, law enforcement patrol on ATVs!!!!

[Clinebo]

My newest pet peeve is those damn boom boxes they sell now for ATVs. If you want to hear some tunes while you ride,why not use one of those headsets? Thank God no-one around here has one yet. But I bet it's just a matter of time.

[Lloyd Smale]

I guess i think a bit differnt. I feel that if your not breaking any laws its not my bussiness to determine what you consider fun. Just because im getting old and feeble and slowing down doesnt mean i should judge someone who is 25 and is using his bike and the woods we all know to do what he considers fun as long as its not breaking any laws. I dont own the woods anymore then he does and dont feel i should be trying to make up my own rules to fit the way i feel the woods should be used. Here in michigan we allready have laws dealing with this stuff. All atvs have to have a spark arrestor installed to prevent fires and in deer season you can only ride before sunrise, for a two hour period during lunch and then again after dark. So theres no one racing around on atvs or snowmobiles other then on desinated trails and i guess if im so dumb as to hunt next to a snowmobile trail then i deserve it. This arguement kind of reminds me of the recent gun control issues. Lots of people dont have a use for an ar15 or a high capasity mag so they think that if I dont need an ar15 to hunt deer because its loud and scary you should be able to do it either. Bottom line is theres allready 10 times to many laws in this country as it is. If you hunt where people raise hell on atvs go hunt somewhere else. Kind of reminds me of the people who buy homes under a flightline or next to a freeway that complain about the noise.

[Tazman1602]

What Lloyd said.............................

Art

[starmac]

Geesh laws about what hours one can ride, who would thunk it???

[pls1911]

Great to see the comments, and underlying the comments run a common thread. It's about personal responsibility, and at times consideration for others and the environment.
Great discussion gents.