November 3rd, 2020.
Lexham Insurance hosts several topical blogs on its website covering the subjects of motorcycles, scooters, safety and quads. In a blog published earlier this year, Roger Ironmonger, takes a look at road legal quads and offers his opinion on the best currently available.
“Quad bikes are some of the most uncommon vehicles seen on UK roads and in fact, most people think of them as purely off-road machines. In truth however, so long as the quad or ATV meets all safety standards and has been approved for road use, they can be ridden on public roads too and are becoming more popular every year!
So how do you go about getting a Quad on the road legally? Well, pretty much any quad or ATV can be converted to meet these road safety standards, but I would recommend checking with the dealership or owner you are buying from to make sure it's ready to go immediately. This could save you a lot of time and effort, instead of having to make the necessary mods yourself and then applying for approval.
Whichever way you go about it, once you have your ATV road ready you will then need to register it and make sure it has front and rear number plates, as well as an MOT, tax and insurance (you can get a great insurance quote right here!). The final requirement to let you ride your quad on the road is a full car drivers licence. Despite having a saddle and handlebars a motorcycle licence won't do the job, a full car drivers licence (or a category B1 licence if it was issued before January 1997) is the only licence that counts here.
Obviously, none of those things are required if you just want to use your quad bike off-road or for agriculture without venturing onto public roads, but it can be useful to be able to use those roads if the need ever comes up.
Finally, unlike motorcycles, it is not required that you wear a crash helmet. However, I would strongly recommend you do so as I can tell you from experience on a motorcycle - accidents can happen and a crash helmet could save your life! If you're after more information on quads and the requirements to ride make sure you check out our guide on all you need to know!
Well now that you know some of the requirements of road legal quads, let’s look at some of the very best options currently on sale!
Yamaha
Yamaha has been one of the most respected names in the motorcycle industry for many years and is having a similar impact in the quad and ATV world. Yamaha's Raptor series is one of the biggest selling and most popular quads of all time although here in the UK, the Raptor moniker has been dropped in favour of a three letter system more in line with their motorcycles.
That isn't the only thing they have in common either, the latest models are all benefitting from Yamaha's years of motorcycle engineering with advanced features you would normally find on cutting edge bikes. Adjustable suspension, high torque performance, fuel injection systems and even a slipper clutch are available on some of these modern Quads.
Yamaha YFM700R / YFM700R SE
Yamaha's ultimate sport model the YFM700R is an impressive bit of kit. For starters the fuel-injected 686cc engine offers a high performance ride and the latest version has been tweaked for even more torque with increased fuel economy and lower emissions. The YFM700 has fully adjustable suspension and benefits from a reverse gear - a feature not always present on a quad bike that could come in handy for road use! An upgraded SE edition of this ATV is also available and aims to be the last word in high performance quad bikes and both versions look phenomenal.”To read more on this
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