I have seen a few discussions about survival or bugout vehicles here, and they all seem to have many people with dirtbikes. What makes this vehicle so great for getting out of town? Besides the high speed for an offroad vehicle they seem fairly terrible for the job. Can someone clue me in on why this is such a popular bugout vehicle? Or is it just a good excuse to buy a new toy?

As much as I love Jeeps, and yes, jeeps WILL go places a dirtbike can't, the same goes for a dirtbike in certain situations.

It can be up and gone in a blink of an eye, and navigate might tighter spots well. It's also alot more audible and you could only carry a little gas tank and whatever you throw on your back.

Another point, you could go alot farther on a gallon on a dirt bike then you could in a straight 6 jeep.

Otherwords, it doesn't hurt to have a dirt bike. Of course, doesn't hurt to have a jeep that can carry it too.

Originally posted by AnarchysAngel
I have seen a few discussions about survival or bugout vehicles here, and they all seem to have many people with dirtbikes. What makes this vehicle so great for getting out of town? Besides the high speed for an offroad vehicle they seem fairly terrible for the job. Can someone clue me in on why this is such a popular bugout vehicle? Or is it just a good excuse to buy a new toy?

A " dirtbike" is versatile,it can go places other vehicles can not.
Plus,they use less gas so they can carry you further.

Other alternatives are running,a bicycle, or a car.

Pick and chose for your specific apocalyptic scenario.

Because they can go places that a Harley or a Prius can't

Peace

A few things wrong with even dirtbikes:

gas/oil..2 strokes need premix and water topped up regularly and are obnoxiously loud,so easy to detect,they also gobble gas and without a oversize tank they usually can't go 2.5 hours without gassing/oiling up.

Injury..you are much more likely to get injured on a motorbike than anyother vehicle,if you are in a panic it's almost garanteed,instantly at a disadvantage if your leg or arm is broken.

Detection..our eyes are very tuned to motion,the faster you can travel is not nessesarily the best ,your more likely to get spotted ripping through town or up the mountain leaving tracks and a big dust trail and possibly radio'd in.

Imo lose the idea of bugging out during an emergency,unless it's imment your life is at stake,you may find yourself in a worse situation than you had thought

For practical bugging out the best, most stealthy, fuel efficient vehicle available is also the cheapest...



But as I posted before a bike would be very useful, and a good idea would be to have one hidden in a very trustworthy place outside of your town.

I'm confused as to why a quad is not the prefferd small vehicle. They give up some top speed when compared to a dirt bike, and they cost more, but an ATV can haul enough fuel to maybe cross the united states without any outside fuel source. Just the tow/carrying specs for my small 300cc are as follows: 65 lbs front rack, 180 lbs rear rack, 800 lbs towing. That's a lot of fuel that can be packed on or towed, and quads are almost as good on fuel as dirt bikes. They are very quiet compared to a dirtbike, and they can go places neither a Jeep nor a dirtbike can go.

They also offer much more stability offroad. A dirtbike rider revs up, gets a running start, and holds on for dear life when crossing a deep river. The quad rider just puts it in low gear and crawls through it with almost zero danger to life and limb. I just don't get the dirtbike mentality?

Please do not buy anything with the words Kawasaki, diesel, multi-fuel, or anything colored olive drab if your intention is to get away. Soldiers beat on vehicles and kawasaki bikes are not considered really great to begin with. Nice mileage claim but it's going to be getting zero miles to the gallon when it breaks.

If you want to use an ex-government vehicle of any type it's going to need a complete rebuild from front to back. I have never seen an ex-gov vehicle that wasn't trashed and worn out.

If you are completely off the path, the dirtbike is so ill-suited it's dangerous.

When you are out scouting, say, searching for a river crossing, any stone from cobble-size on up can knock you on your tuckus. you have to go so slow to scan for upcoming hazards that you risk falling over. You cannot float a dirt bike either, in my experience.

I don't use ATV's either, when hunting.

Every hunter I know who uses an ATV to get out to the hunting site complains about the lack of deer. They don't even think about it from the deer's point of view (or hearing!).

Dirt bikes are macho. But
-you cannot carry more than a backpack
-they tip over very, very easily
-most of them don't have much clearance; so you cannot drive over logs or boulders

Most importantly:

-they advertise your presence to people far beyond your field of vision, giving them time to prepare a greeting.


Personally, I hate surprise parties.

there's 2 thing's wrong with dirt bike's...
#1 i fall off them and hurt myself.
#2 i fall off them and hurt myself.