A New Danger on the Trails

[6speedthumper]

its not the machine, its the rider. i think they're cool, and i'd like to have one. i get it. they're wide, and fast, and people suck,, generally. but couldn't the entitled mountain bike hippies say all the same things about trikes? dangerous,, too fast,, bad for the trails,, gonna take one of us out,,,etc,, etc,, problem is the rich horseback people can say the same for the mountain bikers. pretty soon, everything is banned. people like different things. its always gonna be that way. my guess is the a-hole in the rzr would be just as much an a-hole on a quad, trike, dirtbike, mountain bike, or in the saddle. bottom line is you gotta be safe and treat others with respect. no matter what you drive. my 2 cents El. also, the rzr's look cool and go fast

I ride horses as well, although I'm not rich, and certainly not a stuck up hunter/jumper, or dressage pansy. But, I will say this; in a certain respect horse people have a little more room to make a complaint. Yes, whenever there is someone riding dangerously, be it showing off or riding fast, or other, anyone can get hurt. However, a horse WILL spook at certain things where as a piece of machinery won't. Now, my horses generally don't. They're used to quads, trikes, trucks and skid steers roaming our property. I also take the time out to train my horses and de-sensitize them to many things so they are safe. That being said, a horse is a fight or flight animal, and when you get some dopey that flies past you, especially from behind, or does something just totally stupid, a horse will most likely spook and as a result the horse's rider stands a far greater chance of injury then a rider of an off road vehicle. Then there is the horse getting hurt as well. I've read stories, and have known people, that a horse was spooked by someone, they fled (flight instinct) and the horse ran out into a road to get away from what they view as a danger, and have gotten hit by a car. In the case of animals, horses or other, EVERYONE should be considerate, maybe overly so, to them and yield the right of way. Far more can go wrong when an animal is involved. But, yes, in general, one form of out door activity will usually complain about another.

[Dirtcrasher]

its not the machine, its the rider. i think they're cool, and i'd like to have one. i get it. they're wide, and fast, and people suck,, generally. but couldn't the entitled mountain bike hippies say all the same things about trikes? dangerous,, too fast,, bad for the trails,, gonna take one of us out,,,etc,, etc,, problem is the rich horseback people can say the same for the mountain bikers. pretty soon, everything is banned. people like different things. its always gonna be that way. my guess is the a-hole in the rzr would be just as much an a-hole on a quad, trike, dirtbike, mountain bike, or in the saddle. bottom line is you gotta be safe and treat others with respect. no matter what you drive. my 2 cents El. also, the rzr's look cool and go fast

One time, a few years back, my buddy Ross I worked with was on the RR tracks and could see some people up ahead on horses. He shut his gas off, layed his 250F down and sat to have a smoke. When they came buy they totally scolded him and HIS CHOICE of sport. They got 50' away and he proceeded to fly by them pinned on a wheelie.

Maybe not the best retaliation for the horses but those 2 people said "you can't ride on the track beds, who do you think you are!!" when he was trying to be respectful, so he took matters into his own hands.....

[slashfan7964]

but couldn't the entitled mountain bike hippies say all the same things about trikes? dangerous,, too fast,, bad for the trails,, gonna take one of us out,,,etc,, etc,,

Absolutely. And they do, to this day. Ignorance for our machines is never going to go away.

Matter of fact I was hearing it this past Saturday when I was out riding. A lot of my friends love three wheelers, the know they are stupid fast and that they can make it through a lot of crap. 200X's, 250SX's and Big Reds are popular here, and most of them have some kind of seat time at least on a Big Red or an SX, but they know that X's and R's are mean machines that are not to be screwed with in a race. But then one of them started saying oh I bet my Can Am would blow it away on the trails and handle like trash on them, saying that some of the trails they ride I would they'd be waiting for me. I had to look at him like "wat" and I shook my head saying, "you really have no idea do you. They ain't just fast in a straight line, they are trail machines. Have fun keeping up". I just thought "man, you haven't been a on a proper three wheeler haha".

[200x350xtriz250]

I have a 2008 RZR and love it! I don't get too crazy - wife wouldn't let me even if I wanted too. Best option for safety is 1 way trails but that is up to whoever owns/runs the trails. That won't solve everything but it does help. I came face to face with a Jeep out on the trails once...didn't crap for a week.

[6speedthumper]

One time, a few years back, my buddy Ross I worked with was on the RR tracks and could see some people up ahead on horses. He shut his gas off, layed his 250F down and sat to have a smoke. When they came buy they totally scolded him and HIS CHOICE of sport. They got 50' away and he proceeded to fly by them pinned on a wheelie.

Maybe not the best retaliation for the horses but those 2 people said "you can't ride on the track beds, who do you think you are!!" when he was trying to be respectful, so he took matters into his own hands.....

That really sucks, man! I can't stand other horse people that feel their sh*t don't stink. I won't lie, MANY horse people are off their damn rockers, and I don't associate with them. If it were me, I'd have thanked your friend for being so considerate. Heck, I'd have probably talked to him about his bike! If someone wants to stop their car on a back road and let me ride by, that is great. But, they don't have to. All they need to do is slow down to a safe speed and drive past, leaving me plenty of room.

[justin4]

I too came across the trail danger in the form of a k5 blazer. He missed me by 5 feet. Nellis dunes/apex. Dumont seams to be more civil . The rails run where they run and the smaller 3/4 wheeled bikes have there space. Just be safe and keep your heads on a swivel .

[fabiodriven]

I personally haven't had many run-ins with them but it has happened, nothing crazy though. However the scenario has crossed my mind many times. What I do know is those things move the fork out and it's amazing what they can do. I've often wondered what it would be like to see one coming at you full bore and I'm not interested in finding out. I don't like them but I'm a triker. That's how I like to roll.

The biggest problem with these machines is similar to the problems snowmobiles have from time to time- Their ease of operation. Any nitwit can ride a sled or drive a side by side. All they have to know is how to press a gas pedal and viola! You see them every day on the road, you're just not used to seeing them in the woods.

[6speedthumper]

The biggest problem with these machines is similar to the problems snowmobiles have from time to time- Their ease of operation. Any nitwit an ride a sled or drive a side by side. All they have to know is how to press a gas pedal and viola! You see them every day on the road, you're just not used to seeing them in the woods.

Ain't this the f'n truth!!!

[El Camexican]

There are a few things I slow down, stop or even shut off for:

Hikers
Mountain bikers
Horse and Donkey riders

But that just me. The same guys that blast past an anchored canoe in a 200HP boat pinned out also ride bikes, quads and even (gulp) trikes.

My main issue with these things is width coupled with speed. I can avoid a quad, or a slow moving jeep. What I can’t do is avoid a 64” wide 1,200# buggy doing 25MPH+ on a 70” wide cliff side trail.

This old video gives you an idea of what kind of roads we encounter a lot. This one is pretty straight and we aren’t racing, but many have a blind corner every couple minutes. Yes we’re riding side by side in this 3 year old video. We don’t do it anymore.

[El Camexican]

The biggest problem with these machines is similar to the problems snowmobiles have from time to time- Their ease of operation. Any nitwit an ride a sled or drive a side by side. All they have to know is how to press a gas pedal and viola!

Yep, just add "Has room for a beer cooler" and you've got all the bases covered for a potential problem.

[badass350x]

Beautiful riding area in that old video El,, those roads look better then the one's I drive my truck on here in town!

[C.J]

The sxs's are ruining my few riding areas as well. I was out on my zook last November and was coming down one of the trails I upkeep and I've got a nice big sweeper of a turn right? A turn that (I thought) only I would blaze into. I was WRONG. Needless to say, my zook and I went as hard as we could into a briar thicket to avoid being eaten by a Commander. And the 32" Outlaws he was running destroyed my trail! I made sure to fell a few trees on the other end of the trail but went back a few weeks later and my perfectly groomed sweeper was a mud pit. Pissed me off. Side-by-sides are cool, but the owners/drivers are 9/10 times a complete douche that has no care for his fellow powersport enthusiasts.

[DohcBikes]

Your thread reminded me of this vehicle. Wait till the SXS guys get a hold of a WRX.....



I always enjoy your ride videos!! Ride safe :

[El Camexican]

Your thread reminded me of this vehicle. Wait till the SXS guys get a hold of a WRX.....

I always enjoy your ride videos!! Ride safe :

Those tracks sound like 4 600cc jap bikes running down the road. Maybe I should get one and terrorize all the Side X Sid guys?

I've got hours of GoPro ride videos, but I don't know how to edit them to compile the good stuff. That and I seem to forget to wear it whenever I plan to crash.

[6speedthumper]

Just wait until the day something new, and cool, comes out and all the azshole side by side drivers start complaining about THOSE drivers/riders/users! lol