Caleb Fritchman's ATV Blogs

The Last Ride: CRF250R, YZ250, and RMZ 450 Trail Day

There is nothing quite like hitting the trails when the dirt is perfectly tacky and the weather actually cooperates. Last weekend, a few of us finally got the bikes out for a proper ride.

The lineup for the day:

● Me: Honda CRF250R

● Josh: 2025 Yamaha YZ250 (brand new and sounding crisp)

● Rob: Suzuki RMZ 450 (basically a tractor on two wheels)

Here is a quick recap of how the day went down.

Hitting the Single-Track

We started out on some pretty tight, technical single-track. If you've ever ridden these trails, you know you have to keep your eyes up unless you want a handguard full of oak tree. Josh took. the lead on his YZ250, and that two-stroke was absolutely flying through the corners. The CRF250R was handling beautifully. It's got just enough nimbleness for the tight stuff without feeling twitchy. Rob was holding down the rear on his RMZ 450, mostly just trying not to dig massive trenches every time he cracked the throttle.

Opening It Up on the Logging Roads

After about an hour of dodging branches and navigating roots, the trail finally dumped out onto an old, wide-open logging road. It was completely straight, smooth, and the perfect spot to actually stretch the bikes' legs. Josh and Rob immediately clicked up into higher gears to see what the bikes had on the top end. I decided to take a different approach. I dropped back a bit to get some clear air, clicked the Honda into third, and popped the front wheel up. The bike settled right into the balance point effortlessly. I managed to click it up into fourth and rode out a massive, smooth wheelie all the way down the center of the straightaway. Josh glanced back and just shook his head, and I could hear Rob laughing over his engine behind me. I finally tapped the rear brake and brought the front end down right before the road narrowed back down into the trees.

The Post-Ride Breakdown

We ended up pulling off by the clearing near the river to let the bikes cool down and catch our breath. ● Rob’s take: "I honestly thought you were going to loop it for a second, but that was clean." ● Josh's take: He was just stoked on how his new 2025 YZ was handling, though he admitted the Honda looked like it was glued to the sky on that straightaway.

All in all, it was a solid day on the dirt. No major crashes, the bikes ran perfectly, and the dirt couldn't have been better.

When it comes to choosing your first or next four wheeler, it can be exciting, but you really need to know the size of the machine.

Super ATV explains the best sizes of four wheeler based on features about you. I would reccommend at the highest a 100cc for a 7-10 year old. For 11-20, a 150-250cc would be a perfect four-wheeler to own. 20 and up depends on how confident they are with riding the machine and the weight of the person.

I own a 2020 Honda Recon 250, and it is perfect for me. I am currently looking at other options, but for now, my four wheeler is an absolute powerhouse and perfect for cruising.

There are the brands that are high-end, and there are then the brands where it is on a budget. Whenever you look for a four wheeler, you should really look for which brand it is and if the four wheeler is in good enough condition to ride or better.

When it comes to brands, I believe that Honda is the king of reliability. Honda wants riders to have fun on their machines while also being reliable so that you do not have to worry about a lot of maintenance. Global Honda is where Honda's Philosophy is shown.

I would say that I need the budget brands would be the Tao Tao four wheeler. The four wheeler does run, but it requires a lot of maintenance because it is a cheaper brand.

NP Financing exlains that investing in a better four wheeler is worth it in many different ways, from performance and relieability, to speed and better lights for the night.

When it comes to safety gear, it is key for a safe ride on the four wheeler. You do not need a lot of gear, but you need the essential gear. Whether you are starting out or an experienced rider, there's nothing wrong with knowing what keeps you safe while riding a four wheeler.

Whenever I ride my four wheeler, I will wear riding boots, riding gloves, regular jeans, and a helmet.

RevZilla has great riding apperal. They have everything from helmets to gloves. At a glance, it may seem expensive, but it is worth the investment because you are basically saving your life.

The reason why I wear regular jeans is because whenever the engine gets hot around the four wheeler, a four wheeler has a possibility of burning you from that heat.

If you wanted to be really protected, you could get flameproof pants from Fox Racing. These pants provide protection for you while riding seven cases of something does happen where if your four wheeler does burn up, your legs have a significant chance of surviving the fire.

While riding a four wheeler, you learn many things, whether it's the easy way, or the hard way. I have learned both ways. I personally like learning the hard way because I learn from my mistakes pretty quickly whenever it comes to riding a couple hundred pound machine.

According to nwcg, they explain on how to go safely down a hill. This is important to know becuse whenever I went down a small hill at one point, I slightly tipped it. I wish I knew that before riding, but at least I am ok.

Another great tip I would want to share would be maintain the RPM's. RPM is defined as revolutions per minute. If too high, it could wear the engine and overtime it could blow up the engine. Can-Am suggests that you keep the RPM's at a safe 8,000. If your four wheeler is too loud, it can wear the engine, where if you feel it struggle, it strains the performance of the machine.

Whenever it is time to buy a four wheeler, S&N Motorsports reccomends you should save for a new one because who knows what kind of problems a used four wheeler can have.

In ad's it is common to get invested in the product such as facebook marketplace. People will generate photos of something and make the buyer want that item when really it is just a scam. Sometimes you can find winners and losers. The winners just needed something small and now the bike is ready to rip and. The others however have a higher chance of getting soemthing wrong.

For a four wheeler used like facebook marketplace, you should pay attention to the year of it, if there is any rust, the description of the product (this explains a lot)

when it comes to motor sports, it can be a difficult decision. Do you want a ride an ATV or do you want to ride the dirtbike? According to ATV Course, an ATV can be used for work or just simply riding. A dirt bike is a lot more complex to ride, but according to Lincoln Park Michigan the dirt bikers claim it is worth it. For the four wheelers, you can just enjoy the day without worrying about tiny stone can end your bike.

According to hilliard-law, ATV accidents unfortunately have a significant chance of hurting you more than the dirt bike in one crash. It is also said that Dirt Bikers have the significant chance to crash their bike. Sure, dirt bikes can be very fun, but aby little slip up or small rock could change your life forever.

According to holzhauer pro motorsports, dirt bikes are a lot more touchy and less forgiving than a four wheeler. Four wheelers take a lot more impact and you do not have to twist the throttle but you just push it with your thumb. A quad is a lot more heavy compared to the dirt bike.

Think of your perfect day. The Beach? Shopping with friends? Or, sitting back and relaxing, we all have the perfect day, for me, it is a four wheeler ride. I will convince you that riding a four wheeler is worth saving for as the perfect day waits at your fingertips.

According to west shore marine, Purchasing an ATV would be benificial because "they avoid rental hassles, you can meet new friends just by riding, and you can get into ATV racing.

atvmotocross is a real and great sport to do. ATV Motorcross presents locations to you for all of the different races/events.

You have a bad day, but you remember you have a four wheeler. Take a ride. It clears the mind and makes you reset. During this experience, you have the emotions on the throttle, going fast at the start, but as you really calm yourself down just from riding, the speed reduces or gains so you can control the bike, not the bike control you.

According to Cleveland Clinic, Dopamine is " a neurotransmitter made in your brain. It plays a role as a reward center and in many body functions, including memory, movement, motivation, mood, attention and more."

If you like the sound of the ATV, riding it is good dopamine and it helps calm you down. It really helps me in difficult situations. I like to ride and think about the situation. Maddie's Motorsports claims that riding a four wheeler reduces anxiety from the "rythmic motion of riding, the fresh air, and scenic views." This is all true.

Riding a four wheeler is not as expensive as you think. As long as you take care of it, they can last forever.

Anderson Powersports explains on how to safely manage your ATV so that it can last a long time. I've gone my four wheeler in 2020 and I have been doing basic maintenance on it and nothing too big. I still have it today as of May 2, 2026 and I am doing basic maintenance on it.

In the past six years of owning this four wheeler, I've learned that riding a four wheeler is a privilege of well maintenance. It also shows me how to manage my money and whenever I do have to work on it, just how much it sucks to work on it instead of going out and having fun riding. I know that if I would not do basic maintenance, than my four wheeler probably would break down in about 2 to 3 years even though it is a Honda.

Redline Sumter explains how often you should do basic maintenance on your four wheeler. So whether you are a beginner seeking to learn how to do basic maintenance on a four wheeler or an experienced rider just learning about this, four wheelers are fun, but require maintenance.

there are many things. I wish I knew while riding my four wheeler. The first is controlling the RPMs of the four wheeler. According to Webster, the definition of RPM is revolution per minute. This basically means that if you're in too high or too low of a gear, this can have where on the four wheeler engine. I did not know this for honestly a few years until my dad pointed it out and thankfully, I did not rip it nor did I go into too high of a gear and break the engine. Today, I'm still learning how to control the RPMs on a four wheeler.

Another thing I wish I knew while riding my four wheeler is whatever you go down a small hill, you should not break as much because if you do, the four wheeler could go on its side.

Offroad -ED explains the safe way to successfully bring a four wheeler down a small hill without making it roll on its side.

it's Christmas, you run down the stairs open up your gifts and it is time to reveal mom's present. We didn't even see it because dad won't let us, but he told us that there was a bike for mom. We let go of the covers and there we see a four wheeler. Two of them one for me and one for my brother. I don't think you could imagine the excitement on my face whenever I realize that the four wheeler was mine. As soon as I realize that it was mine, I just smiled and sat on the seat happier than ever. That was the first time I ever got a four wheeler.

Getting the first four wheeler weather as a present or getting it from the dealership, you still have the same excitement as I would.

KOC Outdoors claims getting a four wheeler is a great and fun achievement. The first thing you can think of is one can I ride it and how fast does it go. That were my initial thoughts at least.

Breeze Powersports

Oh the places you'll go. A great story by Dr. Seuss, but is so real. Riders will not be able to experience as much as they would want to around the world if they were walking instead of riding a four wheeler. A four wheeler is packed with four wheels and engine and a rider. On legal terrain, you can go anywhere and just explore.

Hatfield McCoy shows that there are many trails, including the Pocahontas Trail, which is one of the longest trails in the world. If you were to walk that, I can imagine it would take around two weeks, but with a four wheeler, you could probably do it in 3 to 5 days. 

With that being said, having a four wheeler would be beneficial to people who like to explore.

It really is. The amount of torque a four wheeler has just from a single push to the throttle is insane. If you think about it, a four wheeler is at least a couple of hundred pounds according to Well Errec.

Many riders, including myself like to go fast and just enjoy the adrenaline pumping experience. 

According to Texas ATV Rentals, they basically say that you can really never tell just how much fun it is to ride a four wheeler unless you tried it out yourself. Is rides with friends, the times you get stuck, the good times the bad times and the fun times, it all ties in to riding a four wheeler. 

According to Reynolds Motorsports, Four-Wheeler rides help with your mental health positively. I will agree with this statement as it has helped me with my mental health. If I have a rough day at work or school or a situation, I will just ride. The freedom of thought, just having fun, and having the adrenaline of anger just letting it all out from a single push of the throttle is unreal. Revolutions Powersports states that whenever riding a four wheeler, you have the good dopamine of riding because it is that good feeling that strikes you to turn on the power button and just ride.

I can relate to this because having a good or great day is even better and you are just smiling the whole time. It's just you, the quad, and a whole new adventure waiting for you everytime. Nothing is old, everything is new.

You switch the light on, you switch the ignition button to the middle and sharing that the four wheeler is ready, then you push the big button to start it up. That was me whenever I was 10 years old very nervous and a whole machine just waiting for the command for me to push the throttle.

You're first time on an ATV should be light and easy. According to Cabin Life, whenever you ride an ATV for the first time, it should be a fun safe and easy time as long as you are supervised. I was supervised by my parents and they walked with me until I got used to it for my first ride. Whenever you ride a four wheeler for the first time, you are nervous yes but after that, you're having the time of your life.