[kenfyoozed]

Went on my first real trail ride today. Only got about 30 miles in. Went with friends and family. All the rest were on utility quads. I found out first hand that me and sand dont mix. Crossed up the bars in a turn and laid her down. No damage done. My dad hit a stump which threw him into another tree, upending the quad and it rolled over his ankle. Hes ok, but sore. Headed down the other loop and I hit a stump i didnt see and bent my gear lever, stop and straightened it, no harm no foul. A bit latter, more sand and this time i tried as hard as i could but the front wheel was crossed up and i tried with all my might to correct, but nothing doing. Ended up on my side again, but no damage. A bit further up the trail i catch my brother who was stopped. I knew the look on his face. He hit a tree with my quad and snapped the front steering knuckle. I think he hurt himself as well, but he wouldnt admit it. No major injuries, just a bunch of bruises. I knew going in that I would drop my bike several times. This didnt surprise me. My biggest problem was riding into a turn, where the outside burm was kicked up by quads. I could not make my front wheel stick, and i would end up riding over the berm and out through the woods. Im sure i was riding all wrong, but i enjoyed myself, and plan to go back. I really like the bike better than the quads. Now i got to fix the quad. Funny thing is, this happened to my best friend the last time we were on this trail at about the same place. And this was the first time back. One day we might just be able to conquer it!!!!

 

[RockyTFS]

Any of you guys ever thought of SLOWING DOWN?

 

[Skyking]

We probably need to see some pics of the kind of terrain y'all are riding in/on; even if they're cell phone pics. I also think you may need to consider a different front tire for the type terrain you're doing.

 

[elime]

Stand on the pegs. You'll do better.

 

[mrbracket]

Like Tony said.. Stand on the pegs.. Also move your weight to the rear when riding in sand, keep weight off of the front tire.

 

[slinky]

I've just returned from a wk end of soft sand and beach riding. I took up a small air compressor and let 90% of the air out of both of my tires for it. It felt like I was riding on the road when I was on the softest sand on the beach. Try that next time, I doubt you will drop it as many times although I did drop mine when I rolled around at slow speeds. I found that keeping the pace up is quite handy too. Good luck with your quad bike repairs.

 

[jckosnow]

hidden stumps?! sounds rough. I ride a lot of rock filled trails, but you can see the rocks!

 

[kenfyoozed]

hidden stumps?! sounds rough. I ride a lot of rock filled trails, but you can see the rocks!

The trail was cut to be 48" max, over time the tress that were left in the wrong spots have taken abuse. The once finally taken out, their stumps were left. The one i hit was just tll enough to catch my gear lever. It was on the outside of a turn, I went to wide, to high, and found it.



Yeah, once i slowed my pace to what i was comfortable with, i did better. Each fall was in a curve with sand. I should have taken pics, but didnt. I will next time, as we had a good time. Even the kids enjoyed themselves. The trails were a combination of hard pack dirt/clay and then areas of washed out sand.



Surprised I am not more sore, than I am this morning. Which brings me to protection...saw some guys on "larger" dirt bike fully dressed out in matching gear. We all had helmets , and wore gloves, and work boots. I will be getting some riding boots, but what else should i invest in?if anything for trail riding protection.?

 

[dubstep]

knee pads! elbow pads ! minimum

( in addition to the big boots )



I got an AXO mesh jacket.. has pads elbow shoulders and a back protector..



very glad I was wearing on occasion!

 

[lower al]

Thanks for telling us about yalls ride sounds like yall had fun.

 

[kenfyoozed]

http://www.outdoortrackandtrail.com/Statepages/MS/ms07001.htm



this isnt me, but found a video of what most the trail looks like. Yes its probably mild compared to what most of you ride. And yes the kid in the video seems to be better than me, But i was cruising through about 20-30mph. Switching from a 650 Brute Force SRA to a tw200 is a world of difference in riding styles......



this is I wanted to ride, or tried to ride........ never rode like this either........



http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=GDs3dbURlDc&desktop_uri=/watch?v=GDs3dbURlDc



Does the tw200 even have the ppowerban to do this, like sliding/powering through the corners? or is that more of a technique?



I just realized that the problem is probably me. Ive been use to riding an automatic 650 with plenty of power to break loose the wheels on any given surface, So power sliding /drifting the turns had been no problem for me on the quad. Heck, im still having to remind my self to clutch when i shift. Several times yesterday i shifted with out the clutch.......I need more seat time

 

[dganey]

Went on my first real trail ride today. Only got about 30 miles in. Went with friends and family. All the rest were on utility quads. I found out first hand that me and sand dont mix. Crossed up the bars in a turn and laid her down. No damage done. My dad hit a stump which threw him into another tree, upending the quad and it rolled over his ankle. Hes ok, but sore. Headed down the other loop and I hit a stump i didnt see and bent my gear lever, stop and straightened it, no harm no foul. A bit latter, more sand and this time i tried as hard as i could but the front wheel was crossed up and i tried with all my might to correct, but nothing doing. Ended up on my side again, but no damage. A bit further up the trail i catch my brother who was stopped. I knew the look on his face. He hit a tree with my quad and snapped the front steering knuckle. I think he hurt himself as well, but he wouldnt admit it. No major injuries, just a bunch of bruises. I knew going in that I would drop my bike several times. This didnt surprise me. My biggest problem was riding into a turn, where the outside burm was kicked up by quads. I could not make my front wheel stick, and i would end up riding over the berm and out through the woods. Im sure i was riding all wrong, but i enjoyed myself, and plan to go back. I really like the bike better than the quads. Now i got to fix the quad. Funny thing is, this happened to my best friend the last time we were on this trail at about the same place. And this was the first time back. One day we might just be able to conquer it!!!!

IRC-GP1, Shinko SR244, ect for the front tire. Instant improvement in sand and every thing else. Air down the back tire. Technique will come with experience on the bike.

 

[RockyTFS]

Does the tw200 even have the ppowerban to do this, like sliding/powering through the corners? or is that more of a technique?



I just realized that the problem is probably me. Ive been use to riding an automatic 650 with plenty of power to break loose the wheels on any given surface, So power sliding /drifting the turns had been no problem for me on the quad. Heck, im still having to remind my self to clutch when i shift. Several times yesterday i shifted with out the clutch.......I need more seat time

Short answer: NO



The TW has neither the suspension travel nor the power to do motocross style riding....it is designed to go slowly on rough, steep trails and carry some gear while doing it. It has TOO MUCH traction, if that can be considered a problem

.



It sounds like you should have bought something like a WR450F instead if you want to do that kind of riding. Or you could slow down and smell the roses...

 

[michael b]

Went on my first real trail ride today. Only got about 30 miles in. Went with friends and family. All the rest were on utility quads. I found out first hand that me and sand dont mix. Crossed up the bars in a turn and laid her down. No damage done. My dad hit a stump which threw him into another tree, upending the quad and it rolled over his ankle. Hes ok, but sore. Headed down the other loop and I hit a stump i didnt see and bent my gear lever, stop and straightened it, no harm no foul. A bit latter, more sand and this time i tried as hard as i could but the front wheel was crossed up and i tried with all my might to correct, but nothing doing. Ended up on my side again, but no damage. A bit further up the trail i catch my brother who was stopped. I knew the look on his face. He hit a tree with my quad and snapped the front steering knuckle. I think he hurt himself as well, but he wouldnt admit it. No major injuries, just a bunch of bruises. I knew going in that I would drop my bike several times. This didnt surprise me. My biggest problem was riding into a turn, where the outside burm was kicked up by quads. I could not make my front wheel stick, and i would end up riding over the berm and out through the woods. Im sure i was riding all wrong, but i enjoyed myself, and plan to go back. I really like the bike better than the quads. Now i got to fix the quad. Funny thing is, this happened to my best friend the last time we were on this trail at about the same place. And this was the first time back. One day we might just be able to conquer it!!!!

hope all is well. I know I took a beating up at Evert Trail in Michigan. Trail was just B R U T A L !! It was my first time on it, and did I pay the price. I wasnt riding the T-Dub, but my Honda crf- 150. any one that has been on that trail knows the difficulty of it. 21 miles of ass kickin. Good news was that I made it without killin me or the bike. Oh yeah, LOVED every minute of it !! Went out for a ride today, 42 degrees and breezy. Still breakin in the new 2013 TW. Up to 200 miles now.

 

[admiral]

I found out first hand that me and sand dont mix.



Crossed up the bars in a turn and laid her down.



My biggest problem was riding into a turn.



I could not make my front wheel stick,



One day we might just be able to conquer it!!!!

I visualized your ride very well,

trading tree stumps for rocks, some hidden as you mentioned.



Skip to about 1:30 or so to see the sandy dry creek bed I was riding.



Skip to about 3:15 to see "Man Down".



http://www.youtube.c...h?v=OHjfXjyvNAg

 

[Skyking]

Nice vid Ad. Hope you're OK. How is it that your dog is able to stay on; what with some of those jumps and all?

 

[kenfyoozed]

Short answer: NO



The TW has neither the suspension travel nor the power to do motocross style riding....it is designed to go slowly on rough, steep trails and carry some gear while doing it. It has TOO MUCH traction, if that can be considered a problem

.



It sounds like you should have bought something like a WR450F instead if you want to do that kind of riding. Or you could slow down and smell the roses...

Thats good news. I really liked how the tw perfromed. And yes slower is better for me. Im sure a wr450f would be the death of me.

 

[kenfyoozed]

I visualized your ride very well,

trading tree stumps for rocks, some hidden as you mentioned.



Skip to about 1:30 or so to see the sandy dry creek bed I was riding.



Skip to about 3:15 to see "Man Down".



http://www.youtube.c...h?v=OHjfXjyvNAg

I sorta had the same happen to me, My leg was pinned under the bike. It wasn't painful, but was a bit frightful to know i couldn't get my leg out. I cant wait to go back!!!!

 

[RockyTFS]

Thats good news. I really liked how the tw perfromed. And yes slower is better for me. Im sure a wr450f would be the death of me.

Quite possibly! And don't feel it's you that can't do sand. The TW just doesn't do sand well at all, speaking from personal experience....

For sand the front wheel needs to float up on top, and steering is done with throttle.....neither one the TW's strong suite.



It can be done in 3" or less, but you need to be wound out in second and be prepared to fight the front end, which wants to tuck given the slightest excuse.

I changed out the front tire for a Kenda 270 (Shinko 244 just as good) at 3,000, but I doubt if that would help on sand. For my kind of riding, down steep rocky slopes or on gravel Forest Service or County roads at 35, it made a huge difference....the stock front tire has a well known tendency to break loose just when you don't want it to. (That's why experienced riders call it the Death Wing!)

Plenty of time to figure this stuff out after you get a couple thou on it.

 

[andrewsclues]

in sand... 2nd gear, your weight on the back tire and constant throttle. when i practiced sand riding, i got more comfortable and improved greatly. Kenfyoozed i'll bet the next time you go you'll be much better at it!