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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
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  #1  
Old 9 May 2006
slim161's Avatar
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Quad for Girlfriend
After transversing 10 countries in Africa on the back of my GS my girlfriend has decided that she wants to do the next half of the trip on her own bike. The kicker is she doesnt want to do it on a motorcycle out of fear of falling off and getting hurt. So we came up with the idea that a Quad would be perfect for her.
I started looking into quads and there arent any street legal/modified quads made. I did find a company that makes radial street tires for quads at $100 a tire it seemed like a pretty good deal.
Other modifications I would have to make are 1)lights/blinkers 2) gas tank 3) brakes (disc brakes might be the best option)
I am thinking of a 2 wheel drive version just to keep it simple, less possible parts to break and also saves allot of wieght over the 4wd versions.
Honda will probably be the manufacturer I go with, Old Red always seem the most reliable.
I will probably step down to a 250 or 400 cc motorcycle for myself so we can travel about the same speed. On the GS or even a KTM Adv it would be too easy to pick up speed and leave her behind.

So if anybody has any advice or know of anyone who has done long distance on a quad please let me know.
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  #2  
Old 14 May 2006
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never heard of any long distance quads, and they have always struck me as more dangerous than bikes anyway for a few reasons:

If you come off they are more likely to land on you

They are harder to jump clear of

They can't keep pace with traffic so you will constantly have trucks roaring past and trying to force you off the road

you could always try and build her confidence by wraping her in good armour then dropping the bike (serious risk of this plan backfiring and seeing you travelling solo!!), or have you thought about a 4x4 - you can still get to some wild places, there is potentially a lot more comfort, and with a few modifications you can sleep in them, making the trip a whole lot cheaper (erm, apart from fuel costs). If you want a FUN 4x4 have a look at the Barber Wildcat - plus you can lways strap a scrambler to the back

that said I am a new biker, and have only had a machine for a few months (and clocked up 13000km - am stuck in siberia) so feel free to ignore me

happy travelling

Henry
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  #3  
Old 5 Jun 2006
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I'm of the opinion that quads are less safe than bikes for a number of reasons:
They tip over easier
They land on you when they do
You sit lower so have worse visibility and are not as easily seen
They don't handle as well or turn as tightly
And they are juicy.

If you do deciede to go for a quad, I'd spend the extra and go for a Honda. We have a 10 year old Big Red on our farm made by the big H and it just goes on. It gets used everyday in a foot of mud and hasn't missed a beat in all that time. The only things that have been replaced are a couple of wheel bearings and an exhaust (relient ones fit and are much cheaper than H ones by the way!)
Its just immortal.
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Old 5 Jun 2006
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Talking 4 wheelers on the road
Here in Montana USA we can license any fourwheeler with lights a electric horn and a rear view mirror for road use. They fall under a standard auto drivers license so there is no special license required. Tires are a problem because the standard off road tires wear out crazy fast. If you convert to auto tires try to find the lightest wheels you can. Some conversions use trailer wheels which are super heavy and have been known to cause clutch/trans problems. Most people go with a 14" wheel and a all season type tire. I work at a yamaha/honda shop and the big honda and big yamaha will reach speeds of 100kph but they both weigh 600 pounds and push a lot of air so you will be lucky to get half as much gas mileage as the same engine in a two wheeler. That said the yamaha 660 with automatic with locking differential and 4 wheel drive will go places your two wheeler won't and carry 300 pounds of gear while doing it. We also don't see the 4 wheelers represented in on road accidents, at least here in montana the land of great gravel roads and low population.
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  #5  
Old 5 Jun 2006
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In Arizona, one can street register a quad, however, neighboring states won't recognize the tag and will cite you for riding on public roads.
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  #6  
Old 6 Jun 2006
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QUad in the UK
I've seen them driven on the streets of London!!! Also although don't know anything about them I've seen them in the Dakar race and if they can do that race they can do anything (it's both on and off road.

Good luck

Ken
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  #7  
Old 6 Jun 2006
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quads
yes, why not a quad to travel Africa?

one thing is for sure, your girlfriend will have a lot more attention on the quad in Africa than you have on the bike.

In Germany (I think one of the worst places with road and safety regulations) you can register a quad for road use, but you have to wear a crash helmet.

I used a Kymco quad 250 cc for five days in Hamburg, last week. Yes, it is noisy and you have a lot of attention. I dont know much about the technical details, but I did not like the automatic transmission (being a biker ...) and the thumb accelerator. The quad I used was nearly new (500kms) but the engine did not sound too good. So, I would say better go for a Yamaha or Honda quad for a long journey.

In Namibia and RSA you will find all the parts for your quad that you need, I remember even a good shop in Libreville (Gabon) - Wildrider - they work on quads and could get quad tires.

enjoy,

and I know most of the people here on the HUBB envy you for a girlfriend that has the guts to drive a quad thru Africa

mika
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  #8  
Old 6 Jun 2006
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Thanks for all the input on the quad, please keep it coming.
Great advice on the manual transmission vs automatic and also on thumb throttle (probably change that out to a twist throttle)
I definately have to say I am pretty lucky to have such an adventuresome girlfriend.
I got to ride a quad this weekend with road tires on it and it road pretty good. The main problem was high speed turning and the tip over factor but that is all just learning to ride and shifting your weight to counter the roll of the quad, easy for me but for 50KG's of Polish girl it may be a little harder. So I think we will just be riding a little slower which means more time to enjoy the sights.
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