Wow.. Just the look of the still image on the player looks really bad. Be glad its clean water, I rolled mine in a really sandy/muddy "lake" and had a lot of silt on my motor.

 

helmet snorkles ??
maybe try ruing down river with the current and work your way back to shore
kudods for havin the balsl tho !!

 

I would have looked for a bridge.

 

So this video just happened tonight (of this posting) and I obviously was not experienced enough and went into a river with way too much current for me.

I wanted to ask, at what point would YOU have clued in that you had just made a bad decision and what would you have done?

At the point I first look at my brother I knew the river was too strong. I tried to get out but my tires kept slipping from the slimey rocks and the power of the river. When I said "This isnt good" That was when I had no more ideas and just sat on the quad.

I dont have enough river experience but just wanted to ask what you would have done and when and why.






Since you asked:
As you sat on the bank lookin' and thinkin', "I gotta try this!" you should have hooked a tow rope to your brother's machine and made a slower entry. At the point where you thought, "Oh $#!^!" You should have had your brother start pullin' you back out.
Or, if you go in without a tag line already attached, when you get to the "Oh $#!^!" moment, stop. Have your brother wade out with a line, or toss it to you.
Slippery rocks and deep, fast moving water are never a good combination! The air in the tires cause the machine to float. The speed causes the tires to bounce up off the rocks and then the heavy weight of the rider / engine is lifted above the tipping point, which then causes it to roll. Balancing against that roll is necessary to keep it from going over, but that only comes from a "feel" that you develop over time.
You did right, by turning upstream, but then you became an "interested passenger", no longer the "rider" in control. Water is a lot more powerful than people expect and should never be taken lightly. Glad you weren't hurt as it rolled! You could very easily have been trapped under that 800# machine and the outcome could have been tragic.
Be careful, but don't let this keep you from the riding you love! Get out there and go play! Just practice a few crossings before jumping into the "big water"!

 

Why is it good to turn upstream?

It lifts your front end up badly when fighting the current. I prefer starting upstream and floating down. That way if you loose the bottom for a bit you can ride it out. Fighting the current is a loosing battle.

Next time I would start upstream, pick your landing spot before you go out. A Tag line is not a bad idea at all. line should be downstream as well. pulling against the current is tough.

Finidng new spots is always an adventure for the first one out.

Hope she dried out well!

 

You only need to turn upstream when you find you're about to be in trouble because the river is deeper or faster than expected. As you are entering a river at a crossing, the current is hitting the quad broadside. This is where the pressure is the greatest against the quad, pushing it sideways. Generally, a crossing point has deeper water downstream of the crossing. As long as you still have the traction, turn it upstream to hold what you have instead of being swept downstream into deeper water. Facing into the current lessens the pushing effect on the quad and gives you a chance to regain control. Using the current to cross by going downstream is a good tactic, as long as it's not pushing you into deeper water, where you'll start floating and you'll lose all control.

 

My experience is very limited for stream crossings so this is very helpful.

Usually teh water isnt so deep or strong but I think if I ever have to cross another one that is like this I will definitely use the winch/lines to hook onto me incase of a pull. Doing the upstream then downstream is good too, but at the time the strong current wasnt noticed as we came to this spot from a upstream location so we just glided in, then on the return I went in first and then we really saw how strong it was.

When my brother had to cross we did go a ways up stream then just went down and it was easy to get to the other side.

I think the best I could have done was hold the winch in my hand in freespool mode and then if it did turn bad, I could have thrown it to my brother and he could have secured me in.

Very helpful ideas and comments though guys!

 

Just a couple tips:

I usually have waders on and wade out into the crossing first and pick a line across. Often times you can find a ridge of rock or shallower areas in a zig zag pattern to cross a little safer.

When you get into the deeper moving water and begin loosing traction, it is partly due to the fact that the air in the tires and CVT housing are attempting to float you. First thing to do is try and get the front end up out of the water (water wheelie). This will reduce the bouyancy and put more weight on the rear tires for traction as well as help keep your snorkels out of the water. Pics on You Tube. It also helps to get your lower body up out of the water as well to reduce buoyancy by kneeling or standing on the seat/rear racks. Still need to keep your machine balanced which can be difficult with so much happening at once. The CVT cover will tend to want to make the machine tip to the right in the water.

If you have a tag line attached, jump off quickly on the left side if possible and let the machine float with you stabilizing it in an upright position and get over to shallower areas.

 

AAHHH so thats what the skid plates look like ha ha ha ha.... that had to suck man.... hats off to your buddy that didnt waste no time gettin out there to you!!!! Hope you got it back runnin bud....

 

Ummmm ... lets see ... REALLY fast moving river .... I think the smart thing would be ... go ride someplace else !! :th_smiliethumbsup: ... and WHY ?? ... Well, $12K + machine .... did I mention the river was flowing REALLY fast ?? ... :0headscratch:

Never-The-less .... Man ... THAT had to suck at that "OH SH*T !!" moment :smilieomg: ....


And ... since you DID try to cross the REALLY fast moving river ... AWESOME video :yahoo: .... THANKS fer shar'in !!! :aniwheeler6:

 

had similar experience,,few years ago,,,tried crossing a swollen river,,,but a bridge had washed away,,,i went from 2 ft of water,,into 8 ft,,,in a split second,,,wearing waders,,,the waders filled with water,,,and was dragged down stream,,,i managed to grab some exposed roots on the bank,,,and climb out,,machine went down stream,,and was stuck submerged under a tree,,,for almost 2 days,,,my advice is never wear waders,,,riding in fast moving deep water,,,or any deep water,,,you can drown,,,plus checking depth with a long stick,,,first,,,then after this experience,,like mine,,,,learn,,and don't forget,,,

 

Waders can kill in fast moving water, shallow or deep. If you're wearing them you should have at least a tight fitting belt on around your chest that covers the waders.

 

Ya quad came out fine. Ran it all the next day and did a easy 8+ hours of hard riding and no signs that it ever came near water. However the plastics... yea you can see that it got banged up good but that will be fixed this next week with color + buffing + misc work and then you wont be able to tell.

You can also see the footrest skid plate that was off lol! I had taken that off to replace some bolts and didnt have it on for this weekend so you can totally see the missing plate! It is true, if your ever looking at your skid plates then something isnt good!

 

i gave up on scratches many moons ago
tire shine make me feel better when i dont want to see scratches

 

Good call getting to the ignition before she went under !!

 

To answer your question- I have no idea. Damn that water looked cold.

Nice vid!

 

Awesome video. I definitely learned from it. Nice move with the key! I for one would have had a lot more choice words on the camera than you did!

 

Yikes, thats could have been much worse then it was. I bet it will be a while before you try that again..lol Glad your okay though.

Live and learn from the experience.

 

When I venture through unchartered waters I always pick a spot down stream to exit. I go in up stream of that and head diagnal tword it, cause you never know how swift its gonna be. I once went through a creek that was 25 feet wide and 2 feet deep.... I treid crossing straight and ended up exiting down stream about 75 feet from the point of entry. My quad was literally floating as I tried to get the tires to sink and get traction. Next time Id stop and look before entering something like that.

 

Lets look at the positive here, quad is clean :th_smiliethumbsup:

 

So this video just happened tonight (of this posting) and I obviously was not experienced enough and went into a river with way too much current for me.

Well I happen to have played in a few rivers, That one was flowing really good too. You know when your in water and if you go the right speed the front end comes up from all the water hitting your underside. Water wheelies... Ride upstream of a river is just like that as the water is coming at you at what ever speed.

If I was going to cross that Id find were I wanted to end up on the other side. Then Id go up stream and try to line up so I would be going accross pointing downstream. Watch out for areas of water that are flowing less and more still. those are usually the deepest spots.

If you were just going out a bit into the water then wanted to come back to the same shore same rules apply, head with the flow of the water rather than against it.

In your video the point in which you decided to turn back towards shore I would have put all my weight onto the left running board, both feet and leaned right out. This would be to help keep that side of the bike from being flipped by the current and keep traction to those wheels.

Start small in creeks and play around, get use to riding in the flowing currents and water, and invest in some half decent polarized glasses or goggles. they allow you to see a lot deeper into the water.

Just my two cents here I guess.

 

I've done several deep river x-ings in the Outty....first day I put my snorks on I went across the North Saskatchewan at night...headlights were shining on fish under the water. River was a bunch deeper than your, but a hair slower. I just went across at about a 45 angle WITH the current. About a 1/4 mile across....took me about 1/4 mile downstream. Got to the other side to realize my whole group stayed on the other shore and were enjoying a bevy and laughing! Sooo...I rode upstream about a 1/2 mile or so and came back over to them.

 

Wow man, glad to hear the Outty is alright. I stopped wearin waders when I ride because frankly...I stopped caring about getting wet or muddy. Lol I have a atv+deepwater phobia so no thanks to questionable bodies of water.

 

Gotta ride with the current towards where you want to exit.
The faster the current,the further upstream I go to enter so I am being pushed by the water from behind more than the side.