Quad Bikes

BM · 23rd February 2004

After having a rip around on a mates bike the other week I have decided that I want one! Unfortunately I know **** all about them

and there doesnt seem to be much info on the net.

First of all I would want a road legal one but what exactly needs to be done for them to be legal. I understand that they need to be regged as PLG so tax is the same as a car, but do they need to have an MOT?

Can anyone provide some links to any club sites or anywhere I can get some information. Also any sites where I can get a cheap one

Cheers
BM

**TwoPlAnKs** · 23rd February 2004

you'd get a lot of looks on the road with them - i saw a road one for the first time a few weeks ago and was alarmingly excited since it was something new

seriouisly though - i assume they will need all the same documetns and liscences as a moped

**maverick_15** · 23rd February 2004

Q: Can I take my quad bike on the road?

A: Quad bikes are designed for off-road use only. They have special low pressure tyres which are not road legal. Most bikes have a fixed back axle, which makes them unsuitable for cornering on hard surfaces. The factory supplied lighting kits do not conform with the Road Traffic Act. From a comfort and vehicle safety standpoint, the ATV must meet certain vehicle harmonic requirements.

The answer, therefore, is no …. in almost all circumstances. However, for limited road use as an agricultural vehicle, the bike can be modified to comply with the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989. This means it must have indicators, dipping headlights and brake lights, all set at the correct height and location on the bike. Likewise, the ATV must comply with the relevant sections of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. As far as we are able to tell, this means that the ATV must have a horn, a speedometer and the fuel tank must meet with specifications. The ATV is exempt from an MOT but must be registered and display a number plate. Third party insurance is also essential. ATV's have a 20 mph speed limit on the road.

http://www.atveng.com/faq.html

that might be of some help mate

**TwoPlAnKs** · 24th February 2004

the one i saw wasnt very legal - was going well over 20mph and guy wasnt wearing helmet or anything

**Jack-daniels** · 24th February 2004

Just watched Pulling Power on ITV

Quad bikes just been made road legal & no helmet required!

JD

BM · 24th February 2004

Yeah some are legal, i think they need dipped beams, indicators, mirrors and plates. The one i went on must have been doing at least 30mph (tho it felt more) and you dont need a helmet on the road.
I like the look of this one:
http://www.quadbikesrus.com/Specs/ram100e.htm

BM · 24th February 2004

Originally Posted by maverick_15

ATV's have a 20 mph speed limit on the road.

Well thats annoying
BTW the one i tried was not road legal and was on private land

**MoNkFiSh** · 24th February 2004

Quads are now for sale in road legal status from most big motorcylcle dealerships - theres a couple knocking around in my town now they are classed as a car (4 wheels) so no helmet is required - but only a fool would venture out on one without a crash helmet - they are not limited to 20mph either they are subject to the same speed limits as cars, you will need a full car licence to ride (drive?) one though. In my opinion they are a novelty for use on the road they dont give any benefit over a car -whereas a motorbike will get u thru traffic faster a quad has to sit behind cars with u sitting on it choking on the car in fronts exhaust fumes and freezing your tadger off.

BM · 24th February 2004

Yeah might take a trip round the local dealerships. They dont give any benefit really but they would be cool for the summer!

BM

**GhettoMoose** · 24th February 2004

I agree, Quads are great fun, but bar no purpose for road use, maybe if you live far out, and you switch between the road's and the hills, but what benifit does riding/driving down the A14 at 40+mph have? Maybe when it gets hotter and in the summer, I can half seen the benifits, but winter time? and the typical UK weather its just pointless. But if there is somthing that has not been done before, there are always people who want to do it!

**Manc** · 24th February 2004

Ther only requirements to use your quad on the road is MOT, tax and insurance.

Quads on the road are great fun and a great head turner.

how much do you want to spend m8?

Take a look at the autotrader site for some prices as this is the best source of decent quads in the uk, id go for something with at least a 250 engine(yamaha blaster is a good starter model) anything else will be too slow to be decent on the road.

I wouldnt buy new, you can save a bit of money with a couple of years old one and anything thats broke/breaks on them generally isnt very hard to fix.

If you have a few grand to spare, the yamaha banshee(660cc) is the ultimate quad, i know a guy who has a road legal one of these and its amazing.

**Manc** · 24th February 2004

*As i cant edit anymore i had to post this seperate.

Just noticed i made a mistake above, the Raptor is the 660 model, the Banshee is a 350, a mint one is about �2000 and it would suit you perfectly but its a little bit ugly.

I also checked the autotader site and its crap as you have to search so you'd need to know what your looking for, get yourself to the shop and buy a copy of biketrader instead(get autorader too as it has a bike section).

Google seems to have a fair few links though.

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...8&q=quad+bikes

ABCMan · 24th February 2004

also add to the cost a good life insurance policy (if you have a family) and private medical insurance.

quad bikes are simply the most dangerous form of transport, they backflip realy easily and with no rollcage / rollbar you take the full weight straight onto your head / neck, two recent cases brought that problem more to the publics attention were rik mayil(sp?) and ozzy osbourne, ozzy was lucky as he's already almost a cabbage and got off lightly with only a few weeks in hospital, in rik's case he was touch and go for a while and although he's almost completely recovered now for a year or so it looked like he wasnt going to be acting again.

i dont mean to bring a downer on the situation but it is best to be aware of the downside to these things.

BM · 24th February 2004

Cheers ABC, yeah I know they are fairly dangerous (i found that out last week when I nearly came off) but I have read that the roll cage makes them more dangerous. I dont know if this is due to weight or aerodynamics or if its just quite easy to get limbs caught if it rolled. And I am really not surprised that ozzy came off. He shouldnt have been riding the thing in the first place, the man can bearly walk.

Manc, looking to spend under 2k nearer 1k but its not looking likely. I am sure that for MOT you would need lights and mirrors, but where MOTs quads? Would it be a bike place? Thanks for the google search, I hadnt thought of that :nowords:

**Manc** · 24th February 2004

Id presume any MOT testing center could MOT one, as long as it meets the requirements(lights, plates etc), all the work could be done yourself i think.

Have a look in the autotrader before you give up m8, you will get a decent one for a G if you do a bit of searching, getting the number of a dealer and phoning them about the MOT requirements is the best way i can think of for advice.

The main danger with quads is when some wheels grip, when others dont, also flipping them is quite easy if you put the power on too quickly, with experience comes the abilty to be able to handle it properly though, id say motorbikes are far more dangerous and the posibilty of getting hurt isnt generally a good enough reason to stop me doing something.

**sjunky2000** · 26th February 2004

I broke my arm last year the quad bike flipped over (was only doing about 20mph) threw me off as i looked up the bike rolled onto me fracturing my arm if i wasnt wearing a helmet would definatly have had some permanent injuries but quads are not a joke if you go to anyplace that lets you ride there are normally signs all over with warnings and they make you sign waiver forms just incase you get hurt, but if you still want one my m8 sells them and he will do u a deal.

BM · 27th February 2004

Can you give me some info about your m8? Does he have a web site?

Cheers
BM

**Cam** · 28th February 2004

Originally Posted by MoNkFiSh

Quads are now for sale in road legal status from most big motorcylcle dealerships - theres a couple knocking around in my town now they are classed as a car (4 wheels) so no helmet is required - but only a fool would venture out on one without a crash helmet - they are not limited to 20mph either they are subject to the same speed limits as cars, you will need a full car licence to ride (drive?) one though. In my opinion they are a novelty for use on the road they dont give any benefit over a car -whereas a motorbike will get u thru traffic faster a quad has to sit behind cars with u sitting on it choking on the car in fronts exhaust fumes and freezing your tadger off.

when i was younger i wanted to get 1 and ride on to spain on it (with a trailer and tent) my parents used to drive us down 2 day trip through fance but mid summer spain and fance will be boiling warm.....that would be pretty sweet to do.... open air and passing the french and p1ssin them off (thats a bouns on its own)