Rally does fairly well in grass

[Beginner]

I didn't take it up to high speeds, but I was playing in my yard today and the Ryker did pretty good going through my field. I live in the boondocks and have a little bit of land, so I thought why not try it out. A couple of hundred yards straight out, some twists and turns, figure eights, up a slight incline and down a small decline.
First of all, it is not even remotely a smooth ride. If you have ridden a quad or side by side it is night and day difference, you feel every single bump in the ground. I guess if you want to spend the next several hours peeing you could open it up and jar the snot out of your kidneys. Second, I didn't even think about goosing it when making turns, because I would imagine it would just rut things up and the rear end would spin around. I would imagine with those slick wheels (compared to quads, side by sides, and my zero turn or tractor) a steep grassy incline would likely be out of the equation. I also think a steep grassy decline would create problems stopping. Kind of want to put it in rally mode and take it out into the stripping/logging roads to see how it works

All in all, it did better than I thought. I really thought it would just spin out at anything over 10mph.

I can't help but wonder about snow....I know they say it isn't supposed to, but ... hold my beer for a minute

 

[sKiZo]

Snow? Figure it started out as a snowmobile, so strap some skis on it and see wot happens? <G>

I used to ride my fat tire eBike on the winter trails regularly. Knobby road tires running around 10 pounds of air gave it a good sticky footprint.

PS - not all that far fetched on an idea. I remember seeing a conversion kit for a 650 yamaha that even had dual rear tracks ... Single ski up front mounted between the forks and used the front suspension.

 

[Beginner]

You get it. I look at those ice cycles and think it is basically spikes in tires for traction with clearance. There is no doubt if I had the funds to play around with it, I could make a rykemobile. I could honestly do a few tire changes and get the ryke to dirt climb, but to climb serious hills I think I would need more weight and a longer rear end. I see this piece of equipment much more open ended than riding it just on the highway.

Right now I am doing dumb stuff with it, like making my own grill covers from expanded metal. I'm not paying some dude 60 bucks for a scrap of metal and a little paint and then zip tying it on. I couldn't find expanded aluminum, didn't want to use expanded steel because everything I found was rusted up (sure I could clean it up by why bother), I did find some expanded galvanized stuff. I'm not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but I do tinker.

 

[ARtraveler]

Can be fun to experiment with different modes in seasons.

I lived in Alaska until 2019. Bought my first Spyder in 08 (GS/SM5). Yes, had to play around in snow...since we had that for over six months a year.

My experience, was straight up, it would not go in snow. The two front wheels acted as plows and obstructed the rear wheel from getting any power. Got lots of rear wheel spin, and nothing else.

My dealer experimented with studded tires. Allowed in Alaska. Same issue, and he found that he could get going, but a real issue with stopping on icy roads. Still no luck with snow driving.

We both put them away for the long winter seasons.

I now am close to over 50 miles of dirt roads. Some are pretty crazy to drive on. I currently have two F3L's, and would not take either on the non-paved type roads. We ended up buying a Kawi Mule for those excursions. Now that's a lot of fun. :yes:

 

[Bfromla]

Would be very concerned with possible rooster tail an ant hill:lecturef_smilie::gaah::banghead:

 

[Beginner]

that is interesting. So, with studded tires he could go, just not stop in the ice. So, if I understand you, hard pack is ok with studded tires, just not in new accumulations. We are allowed to have studded tires for certain months then they have to be removed. In PA it snows here in the mountains, we sometimes get large accumulations but normally 1-3 inches normal falls. It doesn't snow everyday. So, other than the road salt and cinders they put down, it is possible.

I hear you about the appropriate equipment on those dirt roads. Everyone around me owns a side by side, heck they ride them on the highways/roadways all the time (no plates and it is illegal). They fly down the road. So many people drive them to the bars it isn't even funny. Around 0200 you see a line of them going down the road when the bar closes.

 

[ARtraveler]

that is interesting. So, with studded tires he could go, just not stop in the ice. So, if I understand you, hard pack is ok with studded tires, just not in new accumulations. We are allowed to have studded tires for certain months then they have to be removed. In PA it snows here in the mountains, we sometimes get large accumulations but normally 1-3 inches normal falls. It doesn't snow everyday. So, other than the road salt and cinders they put down, it is possible.

I hear you about the appropriate equipment on those dirt roads. Everyone around me owns a side by side, heck they ride them on the highways/roadways all the time (no plates and it is illegal). They fly down the road. So many people drive them to the bars it isn't even funny. Around 0200 you see a line of them going down the road when the bar closes.

Same thing as me going in two or more inches. Studs or no, snow plow time. Dealer tried highway commutes from his home about 15 miles one way on the famous Glen Highway. Usually no build up snow, but very much subject to black ice. Throw in two lanes each way of "invincible" four wheelers on the ice and you have a party that no one wants to go to. We even had a name for them every time it snowed. "Ditch divers."