Tips For Buying An ATV That's Right For You

Tips for buying an ATV that's right for you from Yamaha, the ATV people. There are so many all-terrain vehicle models to choose from, find out what you should look for.

(NAPSI)—When buying an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), there are numerous models to consider with different features that provide a variety of benefits. Depending on your situation, you might need four-wheel drive, independent suspension or even power steering. All of these and more are available today, but there are also some great value models that might get your job done.

The countless options make it important to do your homework. Here are some tips:

• First, consider how you will use your ATV. Recreational riding? Then a two-wheel drive sport ATV might be your ride. High-performance models combine fuel injection, hybrid aluminum frames and race-ready suspension. Or you can find value buys, especially for entry or step-up-level riders.

Working the land or hunting large acreage? A utility ATV is what you need. Something that can handle towing and hauling, crawl through mud and over rocks. Top-line models feature full four-wheel drive systems, but there are also lower-priced two-wheel drive utility options.

Whatever your priority, work or fun, look to a reputable manufacturer. Companies like Yamaha, which assembles many of its ATVs in its Newnan, Georgia, factory, will stand behind their product with warranties, parts, and dealers with service departments. Buying from a lesser-known manufacturer can get you a cheap price up front, but low quality and no dealer support will almost surely have you paying more in the long run.

• Next, think about what size engine you need. Are you going to be hauling big loads or pulling light chores and riding around your property? Many ATVs can do both, and some of today’s machines boast engines up to 1,000 cc, but if you are a cost-conscious shopper with a lighter workload, then you can probably find a smaller-cc engine that will get you around just fine. Still, look for the models with automatic, dual-range transmissions. The high- and low-range options will help you tour and tow better no matter the engine size.

• Then, read customer reviews online, talk to friends who ride ATVs and look for third-party endorsements. For example, a company that works with motorsports dealerships across the country, ADP Lightspeed, recently released a study showing that Yamaha’s CVT, or Continuously Variable Transmission, was more durable than similar systems in competitive models. A specific third-party finding like this goes a long way in backing up a company’s own claims, and a lasting transmission means more time working or playing on the trails.

• Finally, there’s price. And as mentioned before, each of the different categories—sport, utility, four-by-four or two-wheel drive—will come with a variety of pricing options. Balance your needs with your budget and you should be able to find a model that matches both.

For more information, visit www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor.

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Traffic? That’s No Excuse for Slush

Everyday I wake up, kiss my wife, walk the dog to the coffee shop and then drive to work. I do so by getting on the 101 South, by volume the most heavily trafficked strip of road in the world. I then get to merge onto the 110 South through Downtown Los Angeles. If you’ve never had the pleasure, a toddler could waddle through the interchange faster than the cars go. Moreover, since I’m heading south, I need to merge across seven lanes to get all the way to the left. Traffic sputters along until I’m past the Staples Center and USC and then I can go about 80 mph.

Until I hit the 110/105 interchange. Once there, two lanes of traffic are controlled by two lights that let four cars go at a time in 15-second intervals. It’s a minimum three quarters of a mile back up. Minimum. Once clear of that obstacle, I get to merge onto the 105 West (the freeway Keanu and Sandra bus-jumped in Speed), a sure fire slow crawl. Aside from being one of the main arteries feeding LAX, most of the traffic on the 105 is actually just overflow from the dreaded 405. Before I got this job, I used to judge the quality of my life in L.A. by how many consecutive months I could go without ever setting rubber on that accursed road. And, you guessed it, after the 105 I merge onto the 405. Everyday. I laugh at – no, I spit at – your notion of traffic.

My point? Three days out of four, I do the above dance with a manual transmission and never think twice about it.

There’s a whisper that can be heard if you hang around fast cars and the people that drive them long enough. Listen long and hard enough and it’s something of a perennial whine. It goes like this, “I love performance, but I’m always in traffic. So I got an automatic.” How many times have you heard this? How many times have you said it? I just don’t get it. What’s so bad about rowing-your-own in traffic? Look, if you have a bum knee or are missing a leg then, OK, you’re excused. But if you’re able bodied and still do not want a manual because of traffic? Well… why?

The implication is that if you didn’t have to shift, if you didn’t have to take control of your car’s gears, you’d like owning a manual. If road conditions never changed and you could plow along at a steady state, you’d totally want a manual. But since road conditions force you to change gears, you don’t like to do so. To me that’s like saying, “I would’ve gotten a steering wheel, but the road curves.” I just don’t get it. Neither does my colleague, Mike Febbo, “I used my 911sc with a cable-operated clutch — a sport clutch — as daily driver in Las Vegas for four years. I eventually got another car to drive everyday which was an automatic. I regretted every creeping moment. Just because you’re sitting in a car doesn’t mean your legs become non-functional. Automatic drivers are the people that stand on the moving walkways in airports. They aren’t so you can stand. They’re pedestrian turbochargers. Nature invented legs to walk and operate pedals.” Yeah, Febbo. And another thing, yeah!

OK, maybe the opinion of one Motor Trend editor is a tinge biased. So here’s the opinion of another, Scott Evans, “It’s a rare case when a manual transmission bothers me in traffic. Every car I’ve owned has been a manual and I’ve driven them in all manners of traffic in L.A. and in the San Francisco Bay Area. The only times I ever find myself unhappy with a manual is driving something clearly not meant for the street with a heavy left pedal and grabby racing clutch, such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. If my leg starts aching from working the clutch, we have a problem. Otherwise, it doesn’t bother me at all. Unless of course we’re talking about trying to drive a Challenger R/T on the hills of San Francisco in rush hour. Then it gets a little old.”

Obviously, Mr. Evans isn’t as philosophically hard core as either me or Febbo. But he’s still pretty adamant about my larger point: the traffic boogeyman is no reason to forgo a manual transmission. Look, I’m no luddite. I’m also not one of those “manuals or nothing!” crusaders. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, the two best transmissions I’ve ever experienced are found on the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Nissan GT-R. Both of those are dual-clutches with no third pedal. See, all I want is control, control over every aspect of the car. As another Motor Trender — Mike Shaffer — explains, “I’ve never been in traffic and wished for an automatic. However, I have been on an awesome mountain road and prayed for a manual.” Amen. I happen to think that nine times out of ten, the lowest-tech manual makes a significantly better choice than the automatic option. Especially in traffic.

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