How do I ride ruts ?

[RED PRED]

These horrible items are the 4x4 brigades way of annoying quad riders, they create the things and make life interesting and difficult at the same time .
Generally they are good fun but require a fair amount of concentration .
I only get stuck on them when trying to go fast and lose concentration so there lies the awnser .

[catmandoes]

How about improving your ground clearance ? Bigger tyres etc.

I just dont get this 'fashion' to be as close to the ground as poss. Ok if your going to be on the road, but for off-road it's a major disadvantage.
And quads are supposed off-road vehicles.

I hated ruts for a long time until i realised that theres a lot of skill in taking a quad down a rutted lane. Bit of a test of the rider. I would never go alone down a heavily rutter land though just in case i got stuck and needed help.

The Ultimate answer is of course to buy a 4 wheeler with high clearance, such as the Polaris scrambler in fact :p A radar then been the essential accessory.

[RED PRED]

The `fashion` to be close to the ground stems from a desire to have a stable quad with a low centre of gravity that reduces the tendency to tip over, as you say, perfect where high ground clearance is not required .
I guess us sports quad owners have to pay a price for stability :D

[catmandoes]

Low ground clearance if of course a lot more stable. It looks so wierd and just not right though, its kind of like turning a quad into a go-cart.

I reckon it does show how flexible quads can be though, with a few mods a quad can be a Tractor or a Go-cart.

What we really need is a nurse to go riding with us, so if we get stuck on a rut and fall, someone can apply the sticking plasters.

[RED PRED]

Or if we ride into a ditch, to tend to our wounded pride :o

[admin]

Way way way off topic Mr Pred !!!!!:(

[RED PRED]

Looking at the previous posts I wouls suggest you went off topic first :D

[catmandoes]

Any post that mentions me driving into a ditch is always off topic. lol lol lol I get the feeling im not going to live that one down for a very long time. :mad:

I need to do somthing equally stupid next time we go out to keep you in material - hmmm maybe not :) :)

[RED PRED]

No more mention of it then, but, everytim I put a wink in a post I will be reffering to said incident ;) I have now ditched that subject

[catmandoes]

Ok, got your answer to the rut problem.

Talk to NJK, he's definatly the master at this one. We did some well ploughed lanes at the weekend which he handled brilliently on his pred.

[RED PRED]

Even NJK got rutted yesterday :D, its one of those things that have to be dealt with in a calm manner .
I usually only get stuck on ruts early on in the ride, probably due to starting off enthusiam and adrenalin and getting carried away, rut riding requires a calm and planned approach, studying the terrain is vital as is the correct speed, go to fast and you cant read the terrain properly, the line you take is vital but sometimes you cannot plan for the back wheel/s slipping off the rut and into the channel thus grounding the axle .
Yesterday I got stuck in some moderate ruts but later rode some very bad ones with ease, it takes a lot of skill to successfully negotiate ruts, I would think that the majority of `rut stuck` quads is due to going to fast and making an error of judgement .

Observing the following should get you through the worse,

1. Approach the ruts at a slower speed
2. Study the terrain ahead
3. Chose a line and stick to it if possible
4. Stay calm
5. Only go riding with a 4 wheel drive quad to pull you out if you get stuck
6. Beware of ruts with water in as its usually deeper than you think