Safety Question

I just heard that about Reed. While that sucks, it will make this SX season more interesting.

I think it will be Windham or Lusk, and I wouldn't rule out Vuillemin either - even though he hasn't shown much in the last couple of years.

In a few year Stewart will be on a 250, and then everyone else is toast!

[Pete]

Originally posted by BDA116
That said, Honda's current kid quad is a pile, essentially the same thing they have been offering for years, and isn't as safe as the newly engineered ones.

Can you give me just a quick rundown of the attributes of your Polaris 50 that make it safer? I really am totally clueless, but very curious.

Thanks!

[BDA116]

Pete, reading your post showed me I screwed up again. The baby Predator is actually a 90, not a 50 (although there is a 50 for '04). Oopsie.
Anyway, the basics that make it more safe overall are:
Full floorboards, negating the chance of being spiked by the footpeg, slipping off the footpeg and being dragged under the machine, etc. while the Honda and Yamaha only have heel cups behind the pegs.
Suspension travel almost twice that of the Honda and Yamaha, so bumps and jumps don't jar the rider so much - it is also preload adjustable, unlike the others. It is also more stable.
Electric start - why? Well, it eliminates hand and arm injuries from the recoil pull start on the Honda. Also, the rider has to have the brake engaged for it to start, so it's not gonna roll away while they start it, plus there is a tether that will cut the engine if the rider falls off.
The automatic tranny keeps them from worrying about the gear they are in so they can concentrate on riding - although it also doesn't help them learn to shift if they are gonna be moving up in quads later.
They all have a throttle limiter now, but the Predator also has a jumper in the ignition box that can keep it to a crawl (I don't recall exactly but it's either 2 or 5 miles an hour) for when they are first starting out.
Polaris also throws in a helmet, flag and video with the machine, which is just a little plus really.
On top of all that the Predator 90 is 10 or so pounds lighter, has more ground clearance, and the two stroke 90 goes pretty quick with the throttle limiter removed and a fat-assed dad on it.
It's also a bit cheaper than the Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki.

I looked at them all pretty close when we bought it. I wanted to go with Honda, but there was just no reason to do so in this case.

Originally posted by lfg929

I can only think of one time when the quad ran over me after a crash and that one was bad enough to break my leg.

enough said!

How many of us that ride dirt bikes have ever been run over by our own machine? I thought so. 0.

[Pete]

DBA, seriously, thanks for the information, you saved me a lot of time, since my son just announced that he wants a quad for Christmas. He's likely to change his mind within the next week or so, but you definitely saved me some shopping time, and those are all good things to know. Thanks again.

-Pete

[BDA116]

Originally posted by Pete
DBA, seriously, thanks for the information, you saved me a lot of time, since my son just announced that he wants a quad for Christmas. He's likely to change his mind within the next week or so, but you definitely saved me some shopping time, and those are all good things to know. Thanks again.

-Pete

No problem, Epte. Glad to help.

[Pete]

Originally posted by BDA116
No problem, Epte. Glad to help.

OLL...oops...LOL!

[ND4SPD]

Originally posted by Pete
DBA, seriously, thanks for the information, you saved me a lot of time, since my son just announced that he wants a quad for Christmas. He's likely to change his mind within the next week or so, but you definitely saved me some shopping time, and those are all good things to know. Thanks again.

-Pete

Can I have a quad too?

[luvtolean]

Originally posted by johnnycrash
A high priced doc like RC has can probably do that - but when I tore mine it took a good six months before I could even walk very well, and a year before I raced again.

A torn ACL SUCKS!!!

Yes they do. I tore my ACL (and miniscus) in my right knee for the second time this year. 12 weeks ago I had surgery to repair them by Dr. Ting, and my therapist told me if I wanted to go roadracing I was ready 2 weeks ago. 3 weeks after I was walking with no crutches. Now, I run 1/2 mile every morning, swim 50 laps 4x a week and lots more. The last things I am waiting to get cleared for are mt biking and dirt biking. Still verboten...but I don't need to make my living riding so there's never been a hurry.

[luvtolean]

Originally posted by sportbiker929
enough said!

How many of us that ride dirt bikes have ever been run over by our own machine? I thought so. 0.

I got my first dirtbike about 14 years ago, and never once have I been hit by one. In 3 pavement falls, I haven't been hit either. Of course it can happen, but it's not nearly as common.

[Pete]

Originally posted by ND4SPD
Can I have a quad too?

Um, let me think about that for a, uh, no.

LTL,

MAN! TWO torn ACL's? That's gotta suck! Bike related or what?

Still, your recovery sounds pretty fast. I had my surgery back in early 2000 and from what I hear they have gotten better at the procedure since then. I had an autograft where they took the donor tissue from my patellar tendon. It seemed to me that the wound from where they cut into my kneecap was the worst part of my recovery.

One of my other buddies had the cadaver method done where they get donor tissue from a dead guy. His recovery was at least twice as fast as mine. Yet another buddy recently tore his and had it replaced with tissue from his hamstring. His recovery was faster than mine, also.

That said, all my orthopedic problems happened on the bike and not on the quad. I have been riding dirt for 27 of my 34 years, and out of hundreds of crashes (at least) I have only been hurt twice. Also, I never REALLY got hurt till I started actually racing MX. The learning curve was pretty steep for me. Or ... maybe I just have bad technique like lfg929 said. LOL!

I know I posted above that I think quads are more dangerous than bikes and then later go on to say that I have only been injured on a bike. That is because you can go so much faster and clear (well, most of the time) so much bigger jumps on a bike than you can on a quad - and I never really ride that quad. I never would have even attempted the stuff that injured me if I had been riding a quad. Ever seen the start of a Pro MX quad race and what happens when those guys get their wheels together? It's end over end flipping down the track, usually pummelling the rider with a 350+ pound machine.

Ironic this is all in a thread titled Safety Question.

[luvtolean]

Nope. First tore it wakeboarding. The surgeon didn't place the screws properly (according to my new doc) so it tore again...who knows when. Maybe wakeboarding after the first surgery, maybe dirtbiking, hiking, mt biking, running...I have many hobbies.

The first time I had it done it was with my patella. It did heal slower, but I had what I now would consider very poor care both in surgery, and especially in rehab.

This time I had the cadaver, awesome doc and therapists and other than some atrophy in the muscles around it, the ACL is perfect. Unfortunately, the miniscus tear has been kicking my ass, so I do still get pain. But they're telling me it will go away with time, and assure me I'm not doing more damage, so I just push through it...

Originally Posted by sportbiker929

enough said!

How many of us that ride dirt bikes have ever been run over by our own machine? I thought so. 0.

uh....

?????

Oddly enough my worse injury in the dirt was from a bike also. But I also do things on a bike that I wouldn't do on a quad. I've done 3-wheelers and hate them, yeah I'll still ride one but would rather ride a bike. Perhaps with todays quads they are better for kids to start on. I just always remember having more fun on the bikes. But I come from a bike family also. A Honda bike family at that lol. Good luck with whatever you get your boy Pete.