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Forum
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RE: Midwest Riding Locations
Wisconsin has great trails, all in a connected system, from the Minnesota border all the way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Specifically Hayward, Park Falls and Mercer-Hurley areas have the most connections, and they're all ATV-friendly towns where you can ride through, stop and get what you need. The northern third of the state is filled with trails, and I've heard good things about the Black River Falls riding.
Minnesota's riding areas are mostly isolated, and not connected to each other - but there are a lot of fun places to go - the Iron Range OHV Park in Eveleth, Red Top in Isle, MN, Spider Lake, St. Croix and the Akeley area are some of my favorites.
Also, the Upper Peninsula has a lot of riding that I've yet to check out. Near Ironwood looks good, towards Lake Gogebic, and also up in the Keeweenaw Peninsula.
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trkaiser
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07/09/10 08:00am |
ATV Forum
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Power Steering Shootout (June 2010)
Hello everybody,
We posted our power steering ATV shootout (Ground Control, from the June 2010 issue) up on www.atvmagonline.com today. The machines compared include the Grizzly 550, King Quad 500 AXi, Sportsman XP 550, Foreman Rubicon and Outlander 500 EFI XT.
Held during our last ATV Trials event out in Moab, Utah, the rough and rocky trails were a great place to test the bump-absorbing effects of power steering. All in all, it was pretty amazing how well each machine handled the terrain, although opinions were formed and notes taken. Each machine is ranked, 1-5.
What do you think about the story and the ranking? Was it a fair shake? It'd be great to hear what you all thought on the subject, and what middle-displacement power steering rig you'd choose from yourself.
- Tom
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trkaiser
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06/30/10 07:46am |
Utility/4x4
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RE: Pictures!
Very nice - that camera is amazing!! I've been really happy with how deep the colors are on the photos, but the Chesty mount is the way to go I say. Although, I haven't used the other mounts myself yet. I just like the behind-the-bars perspective.
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trkaiser
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06/07/10 10:36am |
ATV Forum
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RE: What is a Big bore ATV
Generally it's a big bore above 650cc - that's what I've seen done, and that's how we categorize them.
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trkaiser
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03/29/10 02:47pm |
Fight Club
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RE: Attn GoPro Users/YFZ Riders
I've been getting some really great footage with my new GoPro HD. I can't believe something like this can shoot such great video! That's cool that it mounts up to the rear bumper like that. I'll keep that trick in mind.
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trkaiser
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03/15/10 07:42am |
ATV Forum
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RE: Big Bore Review....reviewed
I'm getting Chris his login information to become an ATV Mag Blog poster as we speak, which will be a great addition and good reading for us all.
How much to incorporate the forum within the magazine is not a simple matter. Most similar mags, like the car pubs, don't include forum content in their books. Magazine forums are primarily there for the readers to congregate, talk about stories/related topics, etc..., without direct participation from the magazine staff.
Like them, sometimes we like to initiate discussions, and I enjoy seeing what you all have to say. It's great that we can and do incorporate a forum topic and site visitor photos in every issue of ATV Magazine. It's certainly worth checking out how we could better incorporate them going forward, and I'm open to ideas, but it's not a change we're going to make without consideration.
I'm particularly interested in helping publicize Meet & Greet rides among forum members. In fact, if any of you ever have an upcoming ride, let me know, I'd be happy to post a note on ATVMagOnline.com to help spread the word. I'm sure Chris will have more ride ideas once he gets cracking on the blog, too!
With professional guys like Jon and Chris getting involved in our ATVMagBlog.com (Jon's been doing a great job for a long time now) it's a really cool way to allow the truly passionate a chance to write what's on their mind, tell other online visitors about their rigs and favorite rides and share photos.
I've said all I care to about the topic of bias. There isn't any in our magazine, and that's the way it is. Not an assertion we journalists take lightly...
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trkaiser
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03/12/10 10:20am |
Fight Club
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RE: Big Bore Review....reviewed
The ATV mag business is an honest place that's not ruled by corruption. Let's not let the facts get in the way of a good story, though.
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trkaiser
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03/11/10 02:48pm |
Fight Club
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RE: Big Bore Review....reviewed
Way to call us out guys, as that was an embarrassing typo in our Maximum Bore 4x4 Roundup. We’ve received several letters (including from Yamaha) about mislabeling the Grizzly 700 as a 750 in the header on page 38. Good thing it was listed correctly throughout the rest of the story, so I won’t have to cry myself to sleep tonight. It was an editing mistake, we apologize for it and we’ll be issuing a correction. We just shipped our May/June issue out the door, so it will be in a later issue.
With the Rincon starting in gear... That was, indeed, a factual error. Thanks for catching us on it – and nice YouTube video. Even with a group of eight testers mistakes like this will occasionally happen. Not cool, and we work very hard to be thorough and accurate evaluators. That minor detail wouldn’t change the story in any significant way, but it’s important for us to to be entirely accurate.
As for some of the other stuff: we have been very consistent in our thoughts of the Brute Force and its sporty/aggressive ride. Go back to past issues and see what we’ve said. Sure, it’s ranking has changed slightly over the years as the competition has been updated, and different testers and terrain types can have an impact, but we’ve been very consistent in our thoughts on every machine in that comparison throughout the life of the models.
Several of you mentioned bias related to who advertises with us. Between our site and the mag, you’ll see that every major ATV manufacturer advertises with us – as we’re the largest ATV mag out there. There is no bias of any kind among any of our testers. What fun would there be in a job like this if we weren’t being honest? We have the best, most thorough ATV test team in the market and no other publication goes through the lengths we do at our annual ATV Trials events, as one example.
As for not getting back to you sooner, I’ve been out riding in various locales over the last several weeks (Maine, Wisconsin, California, Montana, Yellowstone), and just got back in the office to get our latest issue out the door. Some fun stuff in there... Travel’s got me a bit behind the curve right now, but I always enjoy seeing what you all are up to on here.
I appreciate our loyal forum posters, and always want to know if mistakes have been made, good story ideas, etc... John Prusak and myself are personally responsible for every word of the magazine, and we were both very angry with ourselves when we saw this. It’s unfortunate, but I still completely stand behind our thorough, unbiased testing.
You’re all certainly entitled to your opinions, so say what you will. If you’d ever like to contact me directly, my e-mail address is tkaiser@affinitygroup.com.
Cchagros – I’ll get back to your PM on the moderator change early next week. I’m heading to an aftermarket shop today to finish up a build project, and will be out taking photos on the (quickly-melting) ice tomorrow.
Thank you for keeping us on our toes – and I am sincerely sorry for the mistakes.
Tom Kaiser
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trkaiser
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03/11/10 08:14am |
Fight Club
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RE: my newyears weekend
He he - nice. That's a nice tale right there Camo. Good work on staying safe, and hope you were forgiven!
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trkaiser
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01/05/10 01:27pm |
Open Forum
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RE: Dream Tests For 2010
Well, Over30, you better stay tuned to upcoming issues then!
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trkaiser
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01/04/10 08:00am |
ATV Forum
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Dream Tests For 2010
Hello everybody, and happy New Year!
We've got some great match ups and comparison tests coming throughout the year, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask you all what head-to-head tests or group comparisons you'd like to see in the coming year.
I'd personally like to see a sport quad comparison test, which is always a lot of fun, but will bite my tongue to hear what you'd like to see in the magazine.
Happy New Year again from us here at ATV Mag!
- Tom
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trkaiser
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12/31/09 08:43am |
ATV Forum
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RE: My raptor collection.
That's awesome! Raptors are so much fun... I've been thinking of doing a build project on one after winter, we'll see. Thanks for sharing.
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trkaiser
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12/22/09 07:38am |
Sport/Performance
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ATV Mag Decade In Review: On ATVMagOnline.com
Hello everybody. Today's the first day in our daily, 10-part series on all-terrain vehicles in 2000 through 2009 on www.atvmagonline.com.
We'll cover the influential and award-winning machines, the major races and other notes from the sport in the first decade of the new millennium. Check it out each day for the next two weeks. It starts today, Monday, Dec. 14 with the year 2000.
Feel free to comment and add your own memories/most important happenings from the last 10 years in the sport.
Tom
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trkaiser
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12/14/09 08:56am |
ATV Forum
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ATV Magazine/ATV Sport: Decade In Review
Hello everybody. Today's the first day in our daily, 10-part series on all-terrain vehicles in 2000 through 2009 on www.atvmagonline.com.
We'll cover the influential and award-winning machines, the major races and other notes from the sport in the first decade of the new millennium. Check it out each day for the next two weeks. It starts today, Monday, Dec. 14 with the year 2000.
Feel free to comment and add your own memories/most important happenings from the last 10 years in the sport.
Tom
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trkaiser
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12/14/09 08:54am |
Sport/Performance
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RE: What's Your Favorite Big Bore?
Chris,
You make some good points, but we are not swayed by advertising dollars. The King Quad was ATV of the Year when it came out, and the fact that it's still hanging with newer quads is a testament to its fun, sporty chassis, good design/features and solid build quality. I still think it was remarkable when it came out, and still has its unique advantages.
For this particular test, we agreed with you and decided to rate the machines individually, instead of a ranking them 1 to 6. There are still front runners and ones that need work, but this class is very competitive. It's like the auto market's midsize sedan class - very good product because it's such an important part of the market. I definitely think there are times when a ranking is the best - but not all the time.
Also, we always do our tests in different locations, and with a few different testers involved, and these factors can affect a machine's outcome from shootout to shootout. But, since the same experienced core group has always been involved in our big shootouts, and the fact that the machines are always changing, you'll see some swaps in ranking - but I think we've been consistent.
I'm rambling, but I like thinking about this stuff, especially on a cold, snowy morning. We've now got six inches of snow on the ground! Any ideas for future comparisons, or match-ups you'd like to see, are always good to hear.
I've been thinking it's time for a sport quad comparo of some type this spring, and we've got a midsize power steering shootout coming in a later issue from ATV Trials. This big bore test we've been mentioning was all non-EPS quads.
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trkaiser
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12/09/09 08:17am |
Utility/4x4
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What's Your Favorite Big Bore?
It's always the most hotly contested comparison test we do at ATV Magazine, and we recently rounded up all of the biggest bore quads on the market for a fresh look at the class.
Coming in our March 2010 issue we'll have a Maximum Bore 4x4 Roundup testing the Arctic Cat Thundercat 1000, Can-Am's Outlander 800R EFI, Honda FourTrax Rincon 675, Kawasaki Brute Force 750, Polaris Sportsman XP 850 EFI, Suzuki King Quad 750 AXi and Yamaha Grizzly 700 FI Auto.
What's your favorite big bore ATV? And, what largest bore ATV is the best all around, or for trail riding, or for work-only? It would be fun to hear what you all have to say before the story hits newsstands.
- Tom
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trkaiser
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12/08/09 08:19am |
Utility/4x4
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RE: New Hampshire Trip, Report and Video
The trip story looks great up on the blog - thanks again for posting that. Ride stories like that are the perfect blog pieces. Keep 'em coming! Makes me think, I really need to get out and ride soon. We're supposed to get over six inches of snow today, which would be a lot of fun.
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trkaiser
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12/08/09 08:08am |
ATV Forum
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RE: New Hampshire Trip, Report and Video
That's a great story and awesome pics! That would be great for the blog, if you feel like throwing it up there. If not, I'd be to share it up there too!
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trkaiser
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12/07/09 08:39am |
ATV Forum
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RE: Trail/XC style sport tires, what are you guys running?
I've had really good luck with Kenda Klaws in cross-country conditions.
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trkaiser
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12/04/09 08:23am |
Sport/Performance
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Hunting Season - Share Your Pics!
Whether you're hunting deer, ducks, pheasants or turkeys, it's that time of the year. It's always great to see others' hunting photos, so if you're out there this fall, we invite you to share your photos with us at jgalvin@affinitygroup.com - they just might make it into the magazine.
Also, go to www.atvmagblog.com and click on Photos for our online cache of editor photo galleries, new machines, great destinations and many reader submitted photo galleries.
Thanks - and happy Thanksgiving!
Tom
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trkaiser
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11/23/09 10:03am |
ATV Forum
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