winter riding

[Ryoushi]

Where are the good places to go ride in the winter? I just moved here and don't know my way around. I have a pair of Raptors I would like to get out.

[Dave S]

It'll be a tough find. Tri-County might be the best bet and even that might have too much snow. Especially for 2-wheel drive.

[dogs]

Try the groomed trails in the Danbury Wisconsin some nice rides up there, tolerable now with out the dust.

[knoppers]

most trails are closed to riding in winter becuase of trail grooming for sleds.

my advice, get a snowmobile, they are much more fun to ride in winter.

[Hard617]

You try riding those SNOWMOBILE trails and you will either find yourself beat up by a bunch of snowmobilers for wrecking their trails, of have a ticket in your hand for riding on trails that are closed to atv's. It's up to you, but I would put stabil in it till spring or get a snowmobile.

[Sandmannd]

Why are there no trails for ATV's? They're fun to ride in the winter as well.

[Caleb S]

A lot of the ATV trails in the state double as snowmobile trails. Snowmobiles rule the roost when it comes to the trails.

And yes, the snowmobilers get a little excited if you take a quad on groomed trails.

[jltimm]

Actually riding snowmobile is boring to me.Drive down a groomed trail woohoo. Might as well take a wheeler down a dirt road! Besides most snowmobiles suck gas like a fullsize pickup and you smell like gas and smoke when you get done riding them. No thanks! This is the first year in quite awhile that we actually have enough snow to ride a sled.

[Roofer]

Ya, I agree, snowmobiling does get a little boring. I just hated waiting for snow. I had both and the atv's are just better overall.

Caleb, you just need a better machine, and the atv will rule the trails.

HARD617, as long as the trails are open for atv's, we have never had a problem. The snowmobilers need to get their heads out of the clouds. NOBODY OWNS THE TRAILS! It's a privilege to all of us and we should work together.

Check some vids out on youtube of winter riding and tell me it isn't fun.

[Caleb S]

My comment about ruling the roost wasn't about machine performance but simply about popularity on the trails when snow covered.

As far as riding a sled being boring, I am guessing you must be making this comment regarding riding on the groomed trails? I haven't heard a lot of people say they thought riding a sled was boring. 3x the horsepower of a quad, much better HP/weight ratio, and capable of speeds much faster than a quad. What's not to like?

[Hafnutz]

Look on the DNR HSOforum. There's lots of atv trails open in the Winter if you're willing to drive a ways. Can't go on the snowmobile only trails in a lot of cases because they cross private property and they don't want atv's tearing up their land.

[knoppers]

I belive spider lake is open to year round riding, check it out on the DNR site.

[jltimm]

Snowmobiles are a different animal.When you try to turn,they take a little while to do so, not like a wheeler. When you get stuck with a sled, your day is usually over, unless you think sweating like a pig and slaving away to get the worthless,heavy snowmobile out of the snow is part of the ride or fun? The only time you feel the power of a sled is in ideal conditions when traction is excellent. Then when your on the gas all the time you have to go put over 10 gallons of gas in the pig!Which won't last you very long! Nope,not for me, I'll stick to my wheeler.

[knoppers]

turning is just as good as a wheeler, you just need some carbide wear rods.

I believe that the average wheeler weighs muck more than the average sled.

if your getting stuck, there is lots of snow, and there is no ATV that I know that will even come close to getting through that.

some of the new 4 stroke sleds get better gas milage than any wheeler.

riding groomed trails, you would be suprised at the good milage any sled gets. riding in deep powder is when you use gas like there is a hole in the tank.

just some points that I think some need to here

[Sandmannd]

I agree, always gonna be a wheeler for me. Just way more fun and versitle.

[Caleb S]

jltimm,

The biggest sled cat makes is a 1 litre that puts out 162hp and weighs in at 515lbs. Your quad must weigh in around 650lbs so while both are heavy I don't think you can knock the weight of a sled. If you ride a sled with a studded track on hard packed snow you ride a wheelie like you wouldn't believe. I do agree they are a thirsty animal though.

[Roofer]

Those sleds sure do seem heavy when they get stuck though. That was the last time I rode my snowmobile a few years ago. It was a 1994 Polaris 440 liquid. Drove down the ditch, got stuck, went and got the wheeler and pulled it out. Sold it and never looked back. Snowmobiles are fun in perfect conditions, but it's so far and few between. The atv's ride so much smoother too.

[Roofer]

Also, it took me from 1994 buying that new till 2001 when I sold it. Had only 1200 miles on it. I hit 1200 miles on my brute force within 2 years.

[jltimm]

I know my wheeler will not go through the amount of snow a "snowmobile" will, thus the name. I would pass on the riding groomed trails also, I like to make my own trail! My wheeler is alot easier to get unstuck than a sled. If I cannot do this by hand I have a 2500 lb winch that is always there. ATV's also hold their value, where a sleds price drops like a rock. My wheeler won't sit in the shed for 8 months out of the year and be in my way when I'm in my garage.

[knoppers]

I know my wheeler will not go through the amount of snow a "snowmobile" will, thus the name. I would pass on the riding groomed trails also, I like to make my own trail! My wheeler is alot easier to get unstuck than a sled. If I cannot do this by hand I have a 2500 lb winch that is always there. ATV's also hold their value, where a sleds price drops like a rock. My wheeler won't sit in the shed for 8 months out of the year and be in my way when I'm in my garage.

its more like 10 months a year, except this year, we may get up to 3.5 months of use.

I bought my winch after I got my wheeler so stuck in a bog, that I almsot had to leave it for dead, it was that bad. my winch pulled me out of a situation this fall, well worth the 400 bucks. I love riding my wheeler in winter, most of that riding is on the lakes though, as snow gets too deep, even though I have very agressive tires.

[CaptainMusky]

jltimm,

The biggest sled cat makes is a 1 litre that puts out 162hp and weighs in at 515lbs. Your quad must weigh in around 650lbs so while both are heavy I don't think you can knock the weight of a sled. If you ride a sled with a studded track on hard packed snow you ride a wheelie like you wouldn't believe. I do agree they are a thirsty animal though.

Actually it is 1100 ccs of fire-breathing adrenaline with 177hp. Fastest production sled made, period. I have ridden snowmobiles since I was two and there is absolutely nothing like it. The acceleration is phenomenal. The only boring riding would be to go down a freshly groomed trail that used to be an old railroad grade. Otherwise ditch riding, powder or anything with bumps is a blast.

I rode my new ATV today for 3 hrs. I put on a whopping 40 miles. On a sled in that amount of time I had put on 150 in multiple occasions.

From a useability standpoint, a wheeler wins hands down. The lack of snow that last several winters led me to ditch my sled and get a wheeler. I miss the sled this year with all the snow, but, most years I can ride a wheeler year round, this year it is a little difficult.

[jltimm]

Yeah, but it's the first year in quite a while when the snow is actually getting to deep to ride a wheeler without tracks.

I would think with 177 hp you would put on over a hundred miles in 3 hrs.The track must never stop spinning, only when you pull up to the gas pump!

[knoppers]

actually that is one of cats 4 stroke sleds, so it will still get respectable milage, unless you have the turbo going full tilt.

[Caleb S]

Captain, you are correct in the 4 stroke is bigger. I was quoting the 1 litre 2 stroke.

[jltimm]

A 4 stroke with 177 hp! WOW! I thought the Yamaha's were nuts!