ATV Tests

 -- ATV TEST: Small quads kids and parents will love -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Until seeing them parked together side by side, you could be forgiven for thinking the 2018 Suzuki QuadSport Z50 and QuadSport Z90 are the same machine but in different colors. Both machines share many features and technical specifications but are physically distinct. For example, they have a sturdy but compact steel frame with single-A-arm front suspension and swingarm rear suspension. The same is true of the drum brakes—two front…

-- Built by Lonestar Racing to win! --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels We’ve seen a large number of ATV enthusiasts rebuilding the beloved Honda TRX250R to its former glory. Retro is in right now, and the TRX250R is over 30 years old, so it’s retro for real. For the last decade most TRX250R projects we’ve seen were play machines, but now many riders have started building them to race against modern machinery. The Bosemer family never stopped living the two-stroke lifestyle. You may recall that we featured Rachel…

-- Big power and big fun are always on tap, By the staff of Dirt Wheels -- Have you ever heard the expression, “Legends never die”? Well, that has been Yamaha’s sport quad mantra for years. Back in the 1990s they didn’t let the Blaster, Banshee or Warrior fall into the depths of despair like Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki did with their sport quads. That was a hard time for sport quads. Even though big sales numbers weren’t there, Yamaha continued building them for the masses. That is still the case. Yamaha is…

-- Common-sense mods from TUSK --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels, photos by Pat Carrigan Our 2018 Polaris RZR XP 4 Turbo Dynamix is the upper end of the price range for the Polaris range. We have around 500 hard miles on the Dynamix at this point, with 200 of those miles being in the sand dunes. So far, the machine has been pretty wonderful. As we live with the Dynamix computerized suspension, the more we appreciate it. When it was new, it was great in the dunes, but with many miles on it now, it is working extremely…

Suzuki just released their 2019 KingQuad 500AXi and 750AXi. We got to test the new 4x4 ATV model in the woods of North Carolina. The quad handles great and looks just as good as it rides!

-- 4x4 ATV TEST: Is it a sport quad? --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels…  Most sport quad manufacturers have taken our pride and joys off of their assembly lines. In fact, only Yamaha currently produces traditional sport quads with manual transmissions and solid rear axles. The days of sliding corners on a variety of brand-new sport 450s are disappearing, and a new breed of sport quad has come to take the spotlight. Polaris calls their Scrambler a “sport performance ATV,” and, honestly, we don’t feel they are wrong.…

-- 1999 HONDA 400EX vs. 1989 250R -- When Honda came out with its TRX250R in 1986, the ATV world became a much better place. It wasn't long before  this two-stroke machine became known as the best high-performance quad ever made. Life was good for quad riders for four years, and then the bad news came. Honda announced that the 1989 model would be the last 250R  it would sell. For the next 10 years we all waited for Honda to introduce a new replacement for the 250R. Everyone was growing impatient and then the news finally…

-- ATV TEST By the staff of Dirt Wheels -- The better we get to know the Polaris Sportsman 570 SP, the more impressed we become with its performance and handling characteristics. This mid-bore single-cylinder ATV has potent power delivery, generous suspension, and light and nimble handling, in addition to being quite useful as a workhorse. There weren’t many changes made to this machine for the 2018 model year, but it is nevertheless one of the most changed quads of 2018. The Sunset Red color scheme is brilliant, and…

-- The Blackwater 100 was dominated by this fast 2-stroke quad -- In 1975 a race was born in the muddy waters of Davis, West Virginia. Dave Coombs, owner of the famed GNCC racing series, was contacted by a small-town preacher in West Virginia regarding the economy of his struggling town. He was interested in hosting a motorcycle race to bring money into the area. Coombs saw the enormous potential, and the Blackwater 100 was born! The Blackwater race was aptly named after nearby Blackwater Falls and Blackwater…

-- We race Justin Wood’s championship-winning Kymco, By the staff of Dirt Wheels -- You may be familiar with a company called Kymco. Kymco produces ATVs, UTVs, motorcycles and scooters in Taiwan, and have been doing business since 1963. Since then, Kymco has been pumping out some of the best-built Taiwanese equipment there is. Kymco also strives to build quality parts for themselves and for other companies, including Kawasaki, BMW and others. Of late, Kymco’s USA plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, has been using…

-- Can it keep up with the rest? By the staff of Dirt Wheels -- The Rincon has been at the pinnacle of Honda’s 4x4 ATV lineup since its introduction as a 2003 model. Through its lifetime there have been minimal changes made to the durable big-bore quad. In 2006 the engine gained a larger cylinder bore that increased displacement from 650 to 675cc and an EFI system. In 2015 the aluminum rear A-arms were swapped out with steel ones, and the front upper aluminum A-arms were also given the boot for steel versions. This…

--Trail test by the staff of Dirt Wheels -- If you take a long look at a Honda TRX250X, you won’t necessarily be wowed by what you see. Sure, the bodywork is attractive and it looks sporty, but it is no purebred race machine. That doesn’t stray us from the truth of the matter, though—the TRX250X is small but mighty and has been a superstar in the ATV world when it comes to purchasing popularity, ease of use and pure fun. The humble $4,749 Honda is the company’s last remaining pure sport quad that still receives…