So why did I buy a Quad?

So why did I buy a Quad?
Well it started here, and it was the wife’s fault. On the 12th September 2001 (you might recall that day), Heather and I flew 10 hours to
Vancouver, Canada. We were the first flight back into Canadian airspace since the Twin Towers were hit and I was not in a good frame
of mind as I’m a nervous flyer anyway. After much discussion we had
decided to go if we could to basically not give in to Terrorism, a kind
of “Up Yours” to the terrorists and show of respect to all who had
lost their lives.
Being a day late we missed spending a couple of days in Vancouver itself but after a brief stay in Victoria, we headed off onto the Sea to
Sky highway and up into the Rockies.

Our next stop was two nights at Tyax Mountain Lodge. This was accessed by a “Well maintained Gravel Logging road” This place was
awesome.                                                                                                                                                Whilst
there, Heather decided she would like to hire quads and drive up into
Bear territory and up the Rockies. Once on the tracks I could not get
enough of it and time went too quickly, I decided there and then I
would have a quad of my own.

Once home I was dismayed to see how much they cost and how little
spare cash I had. Then came dogs, Harrison, House improvements,
etc. Bang went that idea!
18 years later, I hit 55. Not old enough to retire and join the
Thetford Laning Retirement group, but I had a pension pot that
was loosing money so cashed it in. I then went looking for my Quad.

After much research and chats with fellow quad bike owner Aaran,
I decided to go for a brand new CF Moto Cforce 550 LWB. There
is a lot of debate between people regarding Chinese quads and other manufacturers, but it turns out for less than half the money of
a new Polaris, I could get a much higher spec CF Moto.
CF Moto are growing quickly worldwide especially in Canada, in fact
they use Canadian built CV Tech clutch systems in their quads as
well as Bosch injection systems. CF Moto also supply a lot of the
big name brands with their parts anyway. Along with good feedback
from sales and a 2 year UK warranty, in Jan 2020, Aaran and I set
off to pick it up. I even let Aaran have the first go!

Once home and unloaded, it was im-

mediately commandeered by Harri-

son who leapt on to try it out.

I had chosen the Long Wheel Base

version as I wanted it road legal for

two persons. This meant I would be

able to have passengers when Green

Laning. I also opted for steel

wheels rather than the alloys as

these would be tougher if I hit tree

roots a bit to hard.

A quick test run down the Heath Road

byway confirmed how sure footed it

was and even with a bit of mud and

water on the track, I had no issues.

The quad comes with front and rear load racks, rear hand

grips for the passenger, a rear back support as well as raised

footgrips. Above the rear number plate is a good sized stor-

age hatch that holds my recovery straps, shackles and snatch

block. It also has a standard 50mm tow hitch which will pull

my 6×4 trailer and full tow electrics

The Tyres are 25”Stag tyres and offer excellent off road and on road grip.

Since 2016 I believe all UK quads had to be fitted with a

rear diff as on road, corners could be nasty.

It also has selectable 2 and 4 wheel drive as well as front

and rear diff locks for when I sink it to far. This thing has

more features than my Jeep.

The engine is a 500cc Single cylinder four stroke putting out about 39 hp. It is liquid cooled with

electric fans and has an automatic CVT drive system with low range as well. Braking is hydraulic

disc brakes all round and electronic power steering. It

can take 90 kg on each rack and has a towing capacity of

390kg. Underneath, it has plastic armour guarding vital

areas and has a ground clearance of 270mm when on its

stock tyres. It also has on board diag-

nostics and meets Euro 4 emission standards. It is also

restricted to 90kmh

……

at the moment!!

​

On the front the quad has LED daytime running lights as well as LED

headlights and main beam. Indicators are also LED. It also has a 3000kg

winch on the front for the tricky stuff.

So, what did Aaran say about it?

I WANT ONE was his first comment but then he decided it was time to get on with the long

overdue repairs to his own Polaris quad. This had been a job he had been needing a bit of mo-

tivation to get on with, so turning up outside his house one day on mine, spurred him into ac-

tion. Between us we stripped off the cowling, wheels steering and just about everything else

to get the front diff out. Luckily the diff was fine and the fault turned out to be the drive

shafts and a rather worn CV. Parts were ordered including new brakes, brake lines and new

LED indicators and Aaran set to work re building it. At the time of

writing this article it is now back together and ready for an MOT and retaxing. Then………Lockdown!!

Still, got to get the priorities right and hopefully one day

soon we will get chance to meet up with you all on the lanes.

Take care everyone and see you soon.

Mark Lander (Lee Enfield)

https://tyax.com/

was where we tried the quads in 2001