Years ago, one of my friends got hassled by the DNR for driving on a back road to his hunting spot with his ATV, so he sold it and built this,
He geared it up to get some road speed, (without the chains) put a SMV sign on it, and never got stopped or hassled again.
8 speed Wheel Horses have a "real" cast steel tranny in them, with hi/lo range, and even with it geared up, and only an 8hp Kohler motor for power, it does very good in rough slow going.
Is it as good as an ATV?? Of course not, but my friend (who has since passed away) was VERY handy and already had everything around to build it, it worked out fairly good for him.
DM