Meanwhile, Josh and Anna Hagan certainly covered the distance when they completed the world’s longest journey on quad bike between 2007 and 2008: the couple travelled 16,865 miles from Mombasa, Kenya to Elche, Spain.

Not involving travelling, but requiring a steady nerve and sense of balance, is the stunt pulled off in 2008 by the self-proclaimed “head balancer” John Evans. He balanced a quad bike on his head, and had a photograph taken to prove it.

These efforts, whilst certainly providing plenty of diversion, should not detract from the importance of always handling quad bikes with great care, and observing well-documented safety guidelines, such as wearing a helmet and protective gloves.
Retailers of new and secondhand quad bikes in Lancashire and throughout the UK are always happy to advise on appropriate safety measures, especially if you are buying your first quad bike.

Quad bikes, sometimes known as ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles), have since the 1980s had an increasingly prominent role as versatile vehicles in agriculture where resilient, stable manoeuvrability is an essential.

Quad bikes are highly suited to the rough, varied terrain often found on farms, and assist in tasks such as stock management, as well as generally helping farmers get around on their land. They are built for the outdoors, and are more economical and convenient than Land Rovers or tractors.

In Australia, for instance, it’s quite common even for children to get around on dairy farms on ATVs. However, it’s important to remember that qualified instruction in handling a quad bike is a prerequisite for everyone, not just children.

You won’t only see ‘working’ quad bikes on farms. They have uses on beaches, as means of transport for lifeguards, for baggage transporters in airports, and in the grounds of golf clubs. Their ubiquity has encouraged a healthy market in second hand quad bikes, especially in Lancashire, so high quality vehicles such as Honda quads are easily affordable.

Honda ATVs were the first to come to public attention, especially after making an appearance in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. The early Honda ATCs (all terrain cycles) were three-wheelers with large balloon tyres and designed for recreational use. By the 1980s, with the addition of racks and suspension, the ATVs were maturing into utility vehicles and their use in agriculture and rugged outdoor recreation (such as hunting) was becoming more widespread. At the same time the sport models were continually under development, with the addition of features like manual transmission, larger engines and full suspension improving performance and the racing experience.

It was also in the 1980s that the development of four wheel ATVs took off, with top of the range racing models benefiting from liquid cooling systems and long-travel suspension. The most powerful quad bikes of the time sported a 500cc engine and could reach speeds of up to 80mph. The parallel development of utility all-terrain vehicles saw the introduction of four wheel drive systems.

By the end of the 1980s improvements in safety led to the end of three wheeled ATV production. Today the all-terrain vehicle industry consists of the production of four wheeled machines in the form of racing and utility models. The racing models are smaller, lighter vehicles with two-wheel drive and fast acceleration. Utility models are larger and able to carry small loads on racks or in an attached trailer. Six-wheeled versions are also popular, due to their increased load capacity.