ATV Fair & Swap Meet

Destinations, Midwest — By ATV Mag on October 29, 2008 at 12:00 pm

The forecast called for rain. Again.
The well-meaning ATV Association of Minnesota (ATVAM) has a knack for attracting gnarly weather for its annual ATV Fair & Swap Meet in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.
Typically, early May is when those in the Upper Midwest are getting out and enjoying the first nice weekends of spring. The mosquitoes aren’t in full hatch, the grass, trees and flowers are coming alive and high temperatures are in the comfortable upper 60s. It’s supposed to be pleasant.
That’s usually the case, unless the snake-bitten members of ATVAM are holding their annual fair, this year the second stop on the ATV Magazine Four Wheelin’ Adventure Series.
In its inaugural year of 2006, the weather was unseasonably cold and very windy. Year two found the ATV Fair swamped all weekend by an unceasing rain. Neither are very conducive for holding a large, outdoor event.
And this year? The forecast called for another swampy weekend. The highly paid weather guessers on local radio and television were predicting all-day rainfall and were in the “batten down the hatches and start building your ark” message delivery business.
As it turns out, the clouds stayed south and the rain held off, but the cool temperatures and mere threat of bad weather kept many people at home. Those who did attend, however, got a chance to mingle through the best ATV displays and event in this part of the country, as the weather didn’t scare off the big factory trucks, the competitors in the ATV pull or the folks showing their aftermarket gear.
Thanks to changes in ATVAM policy, the swap meet grew this year. And the QuadMasters course was more challenging than ever, for those who tugged their own ride to the St. Cloud-area fairgrounds.
The message to those scared to leave their neighborhood due to the weather forecast? You missed a cool event. But don’t worry, it’ll be back next year.
See It, Then Try It
For most attendees, one of the big highlights of the ATV Fair and Swap is getting the chance to check out seven brands of ATVs in one location – and then getting a chance to ride them.
Big factory displays were set up by Polaris, Yamaha, Suzuki, Arctic Cat and Can-Am, and Honda and Kawasaki were represented by dealer displays. KYMCO was also a sponsor.
If you were in the market for a Sportsman or Grizzly, KingQuad, Outlander, Foreman or TRV, they were all there for folks to look at, photograph and sit on, just like going to a mega-dealership. There were even sport quads and various brands of UTVs.
The difference with the ATV Fair, however, is that many of those same models were in the demo ride area. Sign a couple of releases, strap on a helmet and go – that was the call of the day.
Participants were allowed to try out anything that was available, and there was a lot to choose from. We witnessed UTV rides, 2-up ATV tests and folks riding sport quads who had no business riding sport quads (as in, 350 pounds and unable to shift gears without killing the machine!).
“The demo rides were definitely the best part this year,” explained Dustin Young, convention committee chairman for ATVAM. “We had more than 400 people do test rides this year.”
“It’s a chance to try everything – we don’t get that chance, unlike you magazine guys!” one event participant teased when he saw our staff shirts as he was getting off a Grizzly. He then refused to give his name when we opened up the notebook. We’ll quote him anyway!
Children could also get into the mix. Every year, this carnival for ATV lovers has demo rides on 50cc kid’s quads – much better than the teacup ride when other fairs come to town. The kid’s area proved to be popular again this year, as youngsters made lap after lap on little Arctic Cats.
Getting Competitive
For those who wanted to bring their own wheelers, there were more challenges in the host Benton County Fairgrounds’ grandstand.
There, on the other side of the bleachers, was a big, soupy mud pit, a slippery log crawl and a half-dozen other obstacles that were a part of the QuadMasters event. The course challenged the toughest of utility quads, and sent a handful of drivers home with smiles on their face and mud in their eyes, ears, mouth, nose and any other available gap, fold or orifice.
More popular, from a participant standpoint, was the ATV Pull. Hosted by the Goodhue-Bellechester Rail Riders, it featured four-wheelers pulling a weighted drag sled. Seems simple enough – until you see what the guys are doing to their machines to get them to maintain traction.
In the unlimited weight category, competitors would rumble up to the starting line with stacks of hundred pound plates on the front and rear racks – and then have a half-dozen sandbags piled on top of them! We followed Jason Swanson to the scales and saw his 800 Outlander, normally a 700 pound machine, weigh in at 2,380 pounds.
Let’s just say there’s wasn’t a lot of suspension travel left.
Swanson explained that the enemy of a professional puller is having the front end lose traction or bounce. More weight equals more hookup with the ground. Swanson was actually disappointed by his weigh-in – he was one-upped by another Outlander owner who piled enough weight on his machine to top 2,600 pounds on the scale. And, guess what? That heavier machine won the class.
Swapping, Sightseeing and More
About 25 swap meet participants displayed their unique collections of stuff – proving that one man’s garbage truly is another man’s treasure – while multiple aftermarket displayers showed off everything from trailers to tie downs, UTV performance products to sport quad handguards, lifts to ramps, local trail maps to T-shirts with tacky sayings. Attendees could join a club, watch RC truck demonstrations or even subscribe to a REALLY good ATV magazine if they chose (hint, hint).
Food vendors providing the best of artery-clogging-but-oh-so-tastey treats, and about every hour a bunch of Shriners tossed off their fezzes and donned helmets for display of high-risk behaviors aboard quads on blacktop while being escorted by an organ-playing bus.
Young says ATVAM volunteers are already planning next year’s event and are considering all of their options – from a different weekend to change their weather luck to a different location closer to the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
“It’s an exposure event,” Young explained. “It exposes not just ATVAM but ATVing as a sport to the public. If people are even thinking of [buying] an ATV, this is an event where they can come and try all sorts of them. I know our members enjoy the opportunity.”