ATVs: History, Manufacturers, Guide & Uses
The most common expansion of the ATV acronym throughout the United States stays as All-Terrain Vehicle. The ATV is also known as a quad bike.
The ATV is a dedicated off-road vehicle meant to be ridden on trails. The vehicle is not designed to be driven on streets or highways like cars or bikes. Riding on a paved road is illegal in many parts of the US, Australia, and Canada.
You must check with your DMV to know about the ATV restrictions around your area.
Riding an ATV is a thrilling and adventurous experience in itself. As you will ride on different terrain where any other vehicle would get stuck, it would fill your heart with a wide sense of freedom.
The All-Terrain Vehicles are available in different sizes and features, so you can easily plan a small ATV tour with your friends and family.
Thus it is important to know what ATV vehicles stand for.
If you check out the definition of the ATV acronym according to the ANSI or American National Standards Institute, you will find the definition of ATV a very detailed one.
It has been somewhat defined as an off-road vehicle with features such as tires, low pressure, a seat straddled by the rider, and steering control in the form of handlebars.
ATV Origin and History
Royal Enfield was the first company to introduce the concept of ATV as a quadricycle in 1983.
The vehicle was very similar to a bicycle in some ways. The handlebars, tire style, and many features were similar to the modern ATV.
The term ATV originated with six-wheeled, amphibious all-terrain vehicles.
The most famous example of this type of vehicle would be the Jiger model, which came from Jiger Corporation.
In between the 60s and 70s, Terra Tiger ATV and the Amphicat from unlimited mobility inc were introduced. Then came into the world the first three-wheeled ATV called the Sperry-Rand Tricart.
Large companies like Honda and Yamaha then stepped into the market. Honda was especially the category king when patented the All Terrain Cycle (ATC). Further unto the ’80s, companies like Suzuki and Kawasaki developed their models.
The Tiger 500 was later the fastest ATV present in the market. Along with final drive gearing changes, the ATC could reach the speed of 100 mph. But ATVs of Tiger brand and the Polaris company were not very popular.
Later on, Suzuki became the leading producer of four-wheel ATVs. The first four-wheel model came into mass production in 1982, named Quad Runner LT125.
You might have already grasped much more knowledge than what it stands for.
After a few years, around 1985, the high-performance ATV was introduced by Suzuki under the name Suzuki LT250R Quad Racer.
Then one by one, several models like the Honda Four Trax TRX250R, Kawasaki Tecate-4 250, and the unique ATV from Yamaha named Banshee 350 came into existence.
Nowadays, models depend upon the purpose of use and are broadly categorized into sports and utility markets.
What is the seating difference between ATV and UTV?
ATV is generally used to be driven by 1 person. The main driver is in charge of performing the ride. On the other hand, UTV or Utility Terrain Vehicle allows up to 4 passengers to sit. Passengers in UTV can sit side by side.
Where can you ride an ATV?
It has been designed and built in such a way that the ATV can run properly in a wide range of terrains, not bothered by the ground weather formations.
They have been driven in deserts, hills, forest trails, snow, and various other surfaces with unruffled control. Various prestigious sporting events involving ATVs are held in various parts of the world.
Uses of ATVs Other Than Trail Exploring
All-Terrain Vehicles are considered for various uses nowadays for their unique abilities and vehicle structure. The ATV is also called a four-wheeler in New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada.
This four-wheeler has found its application in several industries and efficiently performs with unique maneuverable capability and off-track stability.
There are commonly being used in agriculture nowadays to provide the advantages which tractors and trucks sometimes fail to.
The prime advantages are the light footprint and the speed of the vehicle. The other areas and industries where the ATVs have made a place for themselves are as follows:
How Can You Usags an ATV?
- Construction industry for riding on rough and limited spaces.
- In Emergency Medical Services for reaching locations where any other vehicle would face trouble.
- Surveying by forest department officials.
- Even used by the Fire department of various states.
- For searching and rescuing civilians.
- For managing small-scale forestry.
- Oil and mineral exploration.
- Used in border patrol by militants.
- Law management and enforcement.
ATVs in Racing
Racing sports with ATVs have found immense popularity in several states.
All over the United States and the United Kingdom, there are several ATV racing clubs in quad cross areas and also have enduro sections.
But the ATVs that are used in sports racing have a different build and design than the ones you can use for adventure riding and other uses mentioned here.
They are meant to perform with different objectives, suggesting the ATV has varying features. The racing quad bikes must be light in weight with great suspension and also a low center of gravity in the ATV.
One of the famous championships that US citizens are passionate about with ATVs is the National Motocross Championship with ATVs.
The other ones are the Quadcross of Nations, Championship Mud Racing games, FIM Cross-Country Rallies World, and many more.
What Are The Best Manufacturers of ATVs?
ATVs are manufactured majorly by;
- Suzuki
- Kawasaki
- Yamaha
- Polaris
- Honda
- Can-Am
There are few other manufacturers, but predominantly ATVs are sold by the above companies.
Why Do You Need To Own An ATV?
There is a lot of stuff that you should know before trying your hands on an ATV and riding off into the trails. Just take it slow when you are learning to ride your ATV. Learn the smart way and keep an expert by you to learn the ways.
The first step would be to choose the ATV machine. Make an intelligent choice and use a simple ride to learn the tricks and the process of controlling an ATV.
If you choose a complicated high-profile ATV, then it would just make your learning process slow and cumbersome. Controlling an ATV is a tuff job and needs a lot of patience.
So taking a simpler ATV would be very beneficial to you. The second thing to remember would be to be off the road. They are not meant to drive on the road, and is also not legal in various regions to be driven on the streets.
Sometimes you need to be on the roadside for crossing or some reason, but that should be avoided till you become an expert more or less. Thus it’s not just enough to know what atv stands for. You should know more.
Every company of ATV provides a manual to explain the whole vehicle to you in features and parts. They would teach you in a very informative way that would help you learn faster and better understand the vehicle system.
You should also have ATV safety training which would educate you on the matter and suggests which risks to take and which not to take on the wild terrains.
The training might even be free of cost if you purchased your ATV recently.
The world of ATV vehicles is very big today. Along with many brands and models, ATV riding is very common in countries like the US and the UK.
Riding an ATV is such a thrilling experience that is unique and special in itself.
When you are riding on wild terrains on which no other vehicle would run that smoothly, it makes you feel very liberated and free. Besides just fun, ATVs have various spaces of use as well.
