MOST RUGGED QUAD BIKE --TamilYoungsters.com

YAMAHA RAPTOR 700R Yamaha Raptor 700R quad bikes have won four Dakar Rallies – the longest annual rally in the world over almost 10,000 km of harsh terrain. Quad bikes, or all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), are a cross between a motorbike and a car. They have four wheels like a car, but a single rider, handlebars and no roof or crash bar. They’re designed for rough terrain, and extreme quad-bike rallies run over deserts, mud, hills or ice and snow.
Up to 25 cm wheel-travel deals with bumps and hollows.


WHEN 2006–12
HOW HEAVY 191 KG
ENGINE 686-CC FOUR-STROKE
Steel and aluminium chassis Steel and aluminium chassis for a super-strong structure.
686-cc four-stroke engine is optimised for torque – turning force – to make the Raptor stable and easy to manoeuvre.

BIG BEAST OF A BIKE The biggest quad bike in the world is the Can Am Outlander 1000. With a 976-cc engine that can produce 60.3 kW and suspension that allows a lot of movement, it can power through the most terrible conditions. The airbox is high on the chassis to avoid sucking in too much water, mud and sand, and it fi lters the air before sending it to the engine. Engine braking helps slow the bike going downhill so it doesn’t hurtle out of control.

If hammering through mud isn’t good enough, quad bikes can also be used for jumping. The longest ramp jump on a quad bike was 53.92 m, a record set in Australia in 2008 by American Jon Guetter.

Torque is a measure of rotational force. The torque determines
the force with which the wheels of a vehicle can be turned, while
the energy the engine can generate (in kW) is a measure of its
power. A challenge for vehicles that run over diffi cult terrain is to
turn the wheels with enough force to go up steep slopes and over
uneven ground. A quad bike needs high torque at low rpm (revolutions
per minute – how fast the engine turns) as it’s not aiming to go fast but
to stick to the ground.