Which is harder to ride...Dirt bikes or quads?

[micah]

I am curious to everyones opinion on which they think is all around harder to ride. I think that atv riding is much harder. There is more weight, they are unpredicable, worse crashes, slower and much harder to jump...and keep straight in the air and control the landings.

Does anyone think that its easier to ride a quad hard then it is a dirt bike?

[CHAUNCY]

IMO opinion it depends on the terrain. If you are at the dunes probably a quad but for where I ride a bike is easier and I am less sore the next day when riding a bike:ermm:

[JUSTINcredible]

depends who u ask.. a bike rider would probley say a quad is harder to ride and a quad guy will probley say s bike is harder to ride. but it depends on the terrain too

[Sportrax10]

For beginners, I would think the bike would be harder to ride. For any riding more advanced the quad is hard to ride.

[BoMbEr416]

well i just started riding bikes lately, and i'm getting a YZ 400f tuesday. in my opinion a bike is a lot harder, i gotta concentrate a lot more on what i am doin. but a quad beats your ***** a lot more, harder on the body.

[batgeek]

IMO opinion it depends on the terrain.

definitely!

a nicely groomed mx track, i'll take the dirtbike. tight wooded trail with mud and crap...quad.

yep, terrain dictates it all for me.

[gun32boarder]

as i ride both i think dirtbikes are harder to ride all around but in the jumping aspect bikes are easier to control in the air then quads are

[micah]

I think just the whole jumping aspect of riding quads makes it more difficult. On a bike you only need a couple inches of a smooth lip to take off. On a quad it will kick you in all directions. Plus even the best quad suspensions dont seem to soak up big hits like stock bikes do.

[Chanman420q]

im scared of bikes so when ever i get on one i ride like a little girl so bikes are easier on me :macho

I think it takes more skill to ride a bike..... but quads beat the hell outa ya. the other day me and my friend went riding, and he rides a RM125, we went for loike 6 hours. I was tired as ****, i went to bed after i got outa the shower, the next morning i talk to him and hes had went to a party.... im just like howd u stay awake man:eek:

[4TraxRider]

I'm equally decent on both, and find i crash my quad a lot more, but crash my bike harder. I used to only ride bikes and thought quads were harder, now i'm changin my mind.

[sweet300ex]

Originally posted by MNmxblaster37
depends who u ask.. a bike rider would probley say a quad is harder to ride and a quad guy will probley say s bike is harder to ride. but it depends on the terrain too
exactly

[micah]

I am talking about mainly motocross.

[hondafox440]

Quads are easier. You don't have to balance or anything. But dirtbikes are easier to jump..

you need to be alot stronger to race a quad, i think motox ing with a quad is a ton harder than a bike , but a wet woods ride is easier on a quad

[MxDale71]

Racing a bike is a lot more rider involved in the corners while on the jumps, you always have to worry about the quad getting thrown all sideways. I love coming up to a big jump now and not having to wonder if the face is smooth enough to throw me straight. The suspension on quads is terrible too. I rode a 250R w/ TCS shocks that were set up for someone that is my size and riding skill (so basically set up for me as well) and those shocks were no better than my stock suspension on my 250F. If anything, my bikes suspension is better than the TCS on that R and I haven't completely dialed mine in yet.

I think it's more fun to ride the bikes because I can ride longer, it's easier to throw a bike around in the air and have some fun w/ it, and it takes more work in the corners. On quads, you can just throw the quad a little sideways on the jumps but they're to heavy to really do anything with, and in corners you just lean all the way inside and powerslide which isn't as fun and fast as railin the corners on a bike.

[EXracer8604]

well, i have ridden both, and personally i think a dirtbike is hella easier to ride, people say the the front tires slides out from under you in mud and such, it actually does not, i just sold my 2000 kx125, and it was much easier to ride.

hmm.. i would have to know what kind of quad and what kind of dirtbike you are talking about? say a 250ex and a xr100,,,,,if a beginner and never ridden a thing. due to the fact that a 250ex is on 4 wheels and you cant tip over and no clutch i would say 250, fourwheelers you cant flip totally over easy, dirtbikes, very easy. i would say dirtbikes are harder to learn.

[ZRider400]

IM glad i read this thread........im tryin to decide what to get...... another quad (400ex) or get a dirtbike. still not 100% sure on what im doing :ermm:


I rode a cr250 the other day...was really fun, but i look like a dumbass on it because im not used to it lol. I Just need some seat time on a bike to see if i really like it i guess.

[crap-banshee32]

i think quads are harder when u get into more advenced stuff!!

[dirtriderex]

I had a XR100 and a cr250, now I have a 400ex. For racing, quads flip much easier and are harder to maneuver around. Dirtbikes are easier to whip around. But I respect quad racers more.

dirtbikes are harder to ride if your talking about what takes more strength and which is rougher then its a quad


dirtbikes take skill to ride just about everywhere where as a quad u can rider over your head and pull it off sometimes, bikes take pure skill and quads take 75% skill, 25 expirience

well personaly i thought at first bikes were easier..but i learned how to ride in sand....so when i got on dirt i was like wtf....this is easy...but i am better on my quad and feel a lot more comfy on it....i have a LOT of seat time on bikes..but atleast 5 times more ona quad...i just dont feel right riding bikes....

[300exQuadracer]

i got started out on a dirtbike back in the day and i`m glad i did because the dirtbike teaches balance, good clutch control and you learn to know the powerband in every gear, i sold the dirtbike and got my 300 and i can competively keep up with the bigger quads

[wilkin250r]

Terrain has a huge affect, I agree. However, it also depends on the skill level in question. You can put somebody that has NEVER ridden before an throw them on a stock 400EX, as long as they understand how the clutch works. But you can't just take a newbie and throw them on a CR500, they'll kill themselves. So for a newcomer, a quad is definitly easier.

That's where all the lawsuits of the late 80's came from, because you can't throw a 12yr old on a powerful two-stroke dirtbike, he won't get 20 yards before he crashes. And when he does crash, he usually just falls over, or wheelies and falls off the back, nothing serious. But you can throw a 12yr old on a 250r, and he will ride it. Then, because he CAN ride it, but lacks the wisdom to ride within his abilities, he will push the quad too far. He will try to jump it too fast, or he doesn't have the wisdom to realize that the other side of the sand dune is a 12ft drop, or he doesn't know enough to watch out for other riders and gets into a 30mph head-on with another 12yr old.

Quads are definitely easier to learn on, but when you get into the advanced stages, they become more difficult. Its much harder to hit a 40t double on a quad than on a dirtbike. It's much harder to hit a set of whoops at 20mph on a quad. There is no way a quad can keep up with a dirtbike on a MX track. Dirtbikes are just much easier to ride.

[FourFiftyFour]

Im a big loser... I cant even stay balanced on a BMX bike..so I wont even try to ride a dirtbike... for some reason, bein on a quad is the most natural thing to me.. so I think bikes are impossible hahahaha I stick with quads. what im a natural at..... I have a fondness of my bones bein in one piece.. first ride on a bike and I would kill myself

[MxDale71]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
You can put somebody that has NEVER ridden before an throw them on a stock 400EX, as long as they understand how the clutch works. But you can't just take a newbie and throw them on a CR500, they'll kill themselves. So for a newcomer, a quad is definitly easier.


Ok, if you want to look at it like that, you could put a beginner on a xr 100 but you couldn't just put somebody that has NEVER ridden before on a fully setup drag racin banshee. The CR500 is a hard bike to ride and kind of an unfair comparison. I've seen guys that race MX in the int. and pro classes that say they don't like riding CR500's because they are too much bike for them.

Originally posted by MxDale71
Ok, if you want to look at it like that, you could put a beginner on a xr 100 but you couldn't just put somebody that has NEVER ridden before on a fully setup drag racin banshee. The CR500 is a hard bike to ride and kind of an unfair comparison. I've seen guys that race MX in the int. and pro classes that say they don't like riding CR500's because they are too much bike for them. cr500's are for pussies:o

[MxDale71]

Haha... riiiight :D

[Chanman420q]

i dunno i might wanna get a dirt bike, i rode my friends RM for about 45 mins the other day and i must say. the suspention is soooooooooo much better. and i like the feel of being on a bike. im not completely sold yet if i wanna get one but im reallllly concidering it

[HONDAofTROY100]

i race both and hands down i'd say bike. i could race a endurence race on a quad but the bike whoops the crap out of me.

[BuiltBlaster88]

I'd say bikes are harder, but both take a good amount of skill.

[wilkin250r]

Originally posted by MxDale71
Ok, if you want to look at it like that, you could put a beginner on a xr 100 but you couldn't just put somebody that has NEVER ridden before on a fully setup drag racin banshee. The CR500 is a hard bike to ride and kind of an unfair comparison. I've seen guys that race MX in the int. and pro classes that say they don't like riding CR500's because they are too much bike for them.

Yeah, but you can put a person that has never ridden on a STOCK banshee. But I would say that you CAN'T put a beginner on a stock CR500.

Let's take two comparable engines. I think a beginner, provided they know the fundamentals of a clutch, can possibly hold on through the powerband of a 250r, but can't hold on AND balance through the powerband of a CR250.

[MxDale71]

Try comparable power. A CR250 puts out WAY much more power than a 250R. A beginner can go out on a 400ex and not have to much problems, and a beginner could go out on a XR200 and not have to many problems either. But then at that point it is still a little harder to ride the bike.

But when it comes to speed, it's harder to ride a quad fast on the track than it is to ride fast on a bike. When you are still at teh point of rolling stuff and are scared of the obsticals, it's harder to ride the bike because you have to balance it. But when you try to ride that quad fast, little bumps or ruts in the face of jumps will throw the quad all sideways, and it's harder to move through the air. Whoops are just flat out he11 on a quad, and you have to square off the jumps or risk the quad getting thrown all sideways and trying to barrel role.

[ex kid]

i think a quad is harder to ride competitavly than a dirtbike. i have riddin both and put lots of hours in the woods on both and enough on an mx track. with a quad you have to be very proactive and think alot. you have to gauge how close you are to a tree and really watch yourself. a dirtbike is more finesee ,a quad is more brute strenth. dirt bikes are kinda gas it and hang on. a dirt bike is easier on a track but not the woods. its a tought argument, they are both hard to ride fast and it requires hundreds of hours of practice to feel very comforable as to the point where u dont think and just react.

[Nausty]

if its just new people then i'd say quads are easier. If your talking expert level i'd say quads because it gets so technical.

[86350x]

Well I ride both, and this could be a touchy subject.

Trail riding a bike up here, requires more skill and energy then a quad (whooped out and sandy)

But riding a quad on most of our local motocross tracks is more difficult then a bike. If you come up short on a jump, your gonna be introuble, and if it starts floating on you in the air, or if you just plain get launched at an angle, its much harder to correct before you land.:confused:

So my vote goes for bike for trails

Quad for track

Make sense to anyone else:confused:

[Crazy4bluEx]

My 400ex is comparable to an Xr200, they both have a moderate "power" band..... now i got on my bro's cr250 the first day he got it, and i about chit on myself, that bikes power is crazy, and i think comparing 4-stroke power, and 2-stroke power is another factor.... i am positive i could take a 250f dirtbike and run circles around myself on a cr250... because i think i could "decently" control the 4 stroke, whereas with the 2 stroke 250 bike, i would be hanging on for dear life....Jmo

also i am almost 17 * in october *
and i have been riding since i was 2 *trx 70* quads
and since i was 3 *xr 50*
by 4 i was on an xr80
and by 6 i had a kx80
by 10 i rode a 300ex
and i bought my 400 when i turned 15
so...... i have "decent" experiance

[HONDAofTROY100]

Originally posted by nacsracer27
well personaly i thought at first bikes were easier..but i learned how to ride in sand....so when i got on dirt i was like wtf....this is easy...but i am better on my quad and feel a lot more comfy on it....i have a LOT of seat time on bikes..but atleast 5 times more ona quad...i just dont feel right riding bikes....

B/C IT TAKES TALENT TO RIDE A BIKE.
-any retard coudl hop on a quad and ride it, how many people can do that on a bike?!

[YLW400]

Well Wilkin250R, I have to disagree with you on " there is no way a quad can keep up with a dirtbike on a MX track" I see it all the time...actually I do it all the time, and I am a "C" rider. As a matter of fact the last time I rode some of the quad riders asked if they could ride with the "A" riders. And one of the "A: riders said. "thats fine, we are just going to pass them anyway"....lmao So a friend of mine took that kinda personal I guess. He is a Quad "A" rider....I think he picked every last one of them off, one by one...... There were about 7 of them....I think quads can corner faster then a bike. I heard that Tim Farr had a faster lap time then Carmichael at Budds Creek :eek:

[JabberJaw]

Either one beats riding a bicycle with no seat on it...down the railroad tracks....

[stace609]

I would say for a beginning rider a quad is easier because you don't have to balance and it's easier to turn. I tried riding a crf230 and when I turned the handlebars nothing happened. lol. :eek2: i layed it down a couple times. but i've watched my husband and it seems like hills are easier on the bike than on the quad. so i dunno. but learning is definitely easier on a quad.

[MxDale71]

Originally posted by YLW400
Well Wilkin250R, I have to disagree with you on " there is no way a quad can keep up with a dirtbike on a MX track" I see it all the time...actually I do it all the time, and I am a "C" rider. As a matter of fact the last time I rode some of the quad riders asked if they could ride with the "A" riders. And one of the "A: riders said. "thats fine, we are just going to pass them anyway"....lmao So a friend of mine took that kinda personal I guess. He is a Quad "A" rider....I think he picked every last one of them off, one by one...... There were about 7 of them....I think quads can corner faster then a bike. I heard that Tim Farr had a faster lap time then Carmichael at Budds Creek :eek:

You heard wrong. Tim Farr had comparible lap times to some of the pro's at Red Bud but he was not faster than Carmicheal at Budds Creek or any other track. I'm also pretty sure that the Red Bud race was also almost rained out for the bikes and EXTREMELY muddy. One of the local quad guys here is 2nd in points in the 250B class in the nationals and if he stays healthy he will win the B class (Nationals... not local), and I know most of the 125 Novice riders here could easily beat him on the track. I'm not calling you a liar, I just think that if that actually happened, that A class rider should be riding pro in the nationals and the bike guys at your local track are just slow.

Sorry, but the quads just can't keep up w/ the bikes on the track. When you get into the pro ranks, there are things that the bike guys do to cut down their time that quads just can't do. And quads may look faster in corners some times, but when you power slide, you are spinning and that means loosing time. Bikes rail corners and keep more traction so they lose less time.

[YLW400]

Maybe I was misquoted on the times at Budds....But I do know what I saw......And I personally don't think the guys on the bikes were slow either.....just my .02

[TheRedRebel17]

heck..mike brown would prolly smoke farr if the were both on decent track surfaces. And with RC, theres no way.

[micah]

Just got back from the desert with my new dirtbike.

Without a doubt the dirtbike is much harder to ride. Its a 125 and it screams . The only thing that is easier on the dirt bike is the whoops, but if you have a quad with an aftermarket suspension (PEP, AXIs) it may not be that much easier.

Turning on a dirtbike is so much harder. Having to balance is something that you take for granted on a quad.

Put it this way, I have a z400 and a rm125. My girlfriend has never ridden a quad or a dirtbike. There is no way i would let her on the dirbike, but the quad is another story.