Brushy Mountain Motor Sports Park is located in Alexander County, North Carolina. Friendly to ATV riders, motorcycle riders, and UTV riders, this park has been in business for several years. Most of the trails are marked one way which discourages riders from playing chicken head on which is very nice. Motorcyclists looking for tight trails will certainly feel at home here, as many trails are designed just for them.
This park was chosen because of its rave reviews online and because we needed an honest proving ground for the new Linhai-Yamaha 400 4×4 ATV. We quickly unloaded and headed over to the registration station to pay the fee and sign the liability waivers, which I like to call the “It’s not our fault if you get hurt or die” papers. The attendants quickly stopped by to look at our brand new Linhai Big Horn ATV and made sure we had the proper safety gear like helmets, riding boots and gloves.
With the formalities settled, a push of a button later, the engine started with a throaty growl and I piloted the brand new ATV, which had never seen mud before, up the mountain trail. The trail started out with a few jumps and quick turns with a moderate incline, but it was wide enough not to feel very threatening. The trails were still riddled with big mud puddles from the early spring rains, and my riding partners behind me will agree that I made sure they wore as much of it as I could spray on them whenever they got too close to my ATV.
Further up the trails, conditions quickly changed from beginner level to white and orange DANGER signs at every turn. Steep climbs combined with very rocky terrain put my new vehicle to the test, and I quickly engaged four-wheel drive. It seemed to be progressing fairly well until I came around a blind uphill corner where another rider got stuck mid-trail.
You have to understand that this section of the trail wasn’t a place to stop due to the incline, and my Linhai ATV once stopped on the mountainside, stalled, and then quickly rolled down the hill, even with the brakes fully applied. I jumped off just in time before it rolled off the right side and kept going until a tree stopped 20 feet off the trail. After a few hours we got it back on the trail and I cursed myself for being too cheap to add the winch option. I got really excited when it cranked back up with a push of a button and the only damage was the left rear plastic fender was broken and the metal rear support was bent quite badly.
When I got back to the entrance, I broke out the wrench and added part of my brand new ATV to the totem pole. I ordered a new fender and winch for it that night and plan to ride there again very soon.