ATV Florida Forum

Anyone out there interested in given a newbie interested in the sport some advice on how and where to get started. Thanks.

welcome to da site

Thanks. I don't have a bike yet but I'm interested in learnin more bout the sport before I make a decision on which way I want to go. I am a girl so i do belong in the ladies lounge. ;D

Welcome to the site...

Do you want to race or are you looking for info on trail riding???

Jennifer Albright

probably trail riding at the moment but I'd be willing to give racing a shot at a later date if i thought i was any good at it lol. I'm not sure. My dad picked up a brochure about the Hatfield-McCoy Trails in WV. on the way home from vacation and it got me really interested in the sport. I don't know anything about it and I'm trying to figure out a place to learn before I go out and spend loads of money on something I know nothing about. So any advice from anyone would be helpful. What kinda ATVs you would recommend to a beginner to places to ride. I'm open to any and all suggestions.

I know I'm not a lady..thats forsure. But here are some things to narrow down your choices.


The question is, what type of bike do you want? What types of bikes do your riding partners have?

Lets talk sport bikes. First bike, maybe I would try a 300ex-400ex if you are a fast learner. But, while you can fly through the trails, if you have friends that ride the utility bikes and go for a ride, you may see yourself sitting out most of your ride because sport bikes aren't too good in the mud. They have really low ground clearance, 2 wheel drive, and the chain will hate you for driving in so much muck.

Now, lets see about utility's. Say you go for maybe a Foreman 450 or yet again, something depending if you catch on quick, a grizzly 660 or another "Big Bore" bike. Well, here is where you separate the Utes from the sports.. Sure a utility may be able to run 55mph wide open. But if you are riding trails, I can guarantee that you wont get out of 3rd gear or risk yourself of flipping because of the Higher ground clearance. You will be able to make it further than a sport bike in mud and deep water with a Ute.

It comes down to this, Do you like Adrenalin rushes? Or kicking back with your buddy's and slinging mud at each other.

As a new rider, I would get a utility until I learned the basics of a fourwheeler. Try both styles out, whichever you have fun with, stick with it.

we "belong" to the whole site! not just the ladies lounge! *oh yea* welcome to the site!!  :D   where do u live?  ill tell ya some good *and closeby* places to ride!

courtney   :P

Hey RED welcome to the site.  ;D

Thanks for the advice and the warm welcome everyone. I'm in the Orlando area so nothing round here that I've heard of anyway except Ocala and Croom. I don't have any riding buddies at the moment so I'm hoping that I can find someone to show me the basics. Deciding which kind of bike is gonna be a toughie. Fast is good but slingin mud is also fun. Only quad I've ever ridden was about 15 yrs ago and it was automatic so I'm guessing it was a Ute. So I definitely have a lot to learn before I go out and buy. Thanks again for the help.

Welcome Red. First thing to do is take the SVIA ATV safety course. You will be bored for some of it, but it will give you an idea of how to ride safely. Your local dealer can get info for you or look online. WEAR A HELMET!!

wearin a helmet will definitely be a normal thing for me. I'm assuming u have to have a quad before you can take the course right?

I don't think so. Check it out.

Red-
Look here-

http://www.svia.org/asi.cfm?pagename=Rider%20Training&content=146FF3B2%2D6097%2DA1D4%2D670CE9A7E0061D8C&referer=ATV%20RiderCourse

Thanks for the info! I'll definitely check it out.

welcome to the site.  has been nice chatting w/ you about the wolverines.  look forward to meeting you when you figure out what you want.

I'm a newbie to this site too and a newbie to quads as well.  These are great ppl.  They really help out.  GSPKurt, that's a great site for the ATV Rider Course.  You have so much info.  No wonder Stitches in is love with you.  Thanks and have a great day.

Stop it, Kat! :-[ :-[ :-[

I'll bring my camera Saturday so you'll have some photos to post here! You DO have a helmet, right?????

As you will note at the bottom of my profile, I have added that we have helmets.  Absolutely, we have helmets.  Never ride without protection.  Practice safe riding. :Clap.gif      We should all have a great time this weekend.  Hope we get some good pics.  Have a great day to you and Donna.

Rednkgrl34,

If you ever need info on the Hatfield McCoy Trails, let me know.  I live in the area and can give you good, accurate information.

I hope you enjoy your riding.

trailhouseowner -

We're heading up there in October.  We were thinking about Hatfield McCoy but might end up going to NC instead to save some driving time.  Do you know anything about the riding around there? 

Just saw your post, welcome to the site, you will meet a great bunch of people.

Welcome to the ATVFlorida family!  ;D

An easy way to "try before you buy" is hookup with one of the women here [or guys ;D] and come to one of the events like MS&G.  Women never have a difficult time finding someone to ride double with.  QT can find you a ride in under 2 minutes I'll bet.

If you know someone local check out Sea World.  It's about 2 miles south of Central FL Pkwy on International Drive.  Look for trucks on the left where the second set of power lines cross Internation Drive.  Sunday is the best day for Sea World.  Just ask anyone where the big mud hole is.

By the way, real women ride utilities (4x4's).  Good Luck!

Thanks for the welcome. I'm lookin at sport/utility so the wolverine it is. Just gotta get the money together. I've been to Sea World 3-4 times but only in trucks and it's been about 6-7 years since I've been. They used to go in where that new bank is but I'm not sure if that mudhole is even there anymore. Mud is just dirt mixed with water and it all washes off lol. So as soon as I get my quad I'm gonna have to meet up with a bunch of mud lovers and give it a proper initiation along with me as the rider lol. Thanks again for the welcome. Lookin forward to meeting y'all as soon as I get a bike.