You have NO idea how those guys can ride (with or without paddles). I will tell you first hand from riding with Merriman and his family, that I haven't seen anyone go on a faster ride out there as a group. I'm sure there are people out there that can, but I doubt there are many.
Where are you from Edgerat? We go out to the Glamis area to ride in CA. Not sure where you ride, but your more than welcome to come along with us as well. :lol
No one said paddles are a gimmick either, they are usefull for drag racing and hill shoots. And the reason you see them on sandrails, trucks, jeeps is because they have a ton of wheelspin! When you have a lot of wheelspin, paddles are a must. On most quads, however, it's not a necessity, because a majority of the riders have stock engines that don't produce a ton of wheelspin.
BTW, how could you possibly argue with that picture? I think it proves the point.