Alma

-- 3 great shocks for $999 ---- By the staff of Dirt Wheels -- Most sport quad riders are weekend warriors who love upgrading their machines. One of the smartest purchases you can make is in the suspension department. A lot of riders think that adding power parts will make your quad faster. That can be true; however, if you don’t have the suspension to handle the added power, you won’t go much faster. While racers get the best and most tunable shocks they can find, most of us just want something better than stock…

-- Testing a locking brake for your UTV -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Frankly, we hadn’t thought much about our Polaris RZR not having a parking brake. It has park in the transmission after all. But, after talking to the Scorpion Lok guy, we realized that we might not have to deal with that horrendous clunk when shifting from park while parked on a slope. FEATURES The Scorpion Lok is simple in concept, but it is a precision-made little product. In simplest terms, it is a spring-loaded hook that mounts to the…

-- Keep your machine’s suspension working like new --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels : Keeping the suspension working well on a quad or UTV requires a variety of parts to function as they should. Adjusting the spring preload and fine-tuning the adjusters are the fun part. There are less glamorous duties, like making sure that the suspension arms are operating as they should. Most quad and UTV suspension arms pivot on simple plastic bushings with a sleeve for the bolt to go through. For the most part, these…

-- Testing their new Motactor system -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels If you talk to any rock-crawling or mud-pit-running enthusiast, they will generally have a winch nestled on their machine. These riders love terrain that features the risk of getting stuck. Having the ability to get yourself out of a sticky situation is crucial. For the past 70 years, Warn has provided hub and winch products that help off-roaders get back on the trail. The company just released their new top-tier Axon winch line for ATVs and UTVs.…

-- The UTV Indiana Jones would buy --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels If you take a look at the entire sport utility landscape, most offerings look basically similar—rear- or mid-engine layout with a relatively open cab area. In many cases, you need a pretty savvy expert to differentiate different brands from a distance. That is certainly not true of the new Massimo Warrior 800! As the name telegraphs, Massimo is aware that the Warrior has more than a vague military look to it. Our riding group took to referring to it…

-- Dunes and desert close to Salt Lake City --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels For those of us in California where two of our major dune playgrounds require driving through some of the most desolate desert around, reaching the Little Sahara Recreation Area (LSRA) is a treat. From Salt Lake City, the nearest major population and transportation hub, the trip to Little Sahara is around two hours with a trailer. Along the way you’ll see lakes, rivers, mining towns and rolling prairie. LSRA records more than 20,000…

--Testing this handy towing package -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels If you couldn’t tell by now, we are extremely fond of bringing along tools and items needed to keep us safe and out on the trails longer. Most UTVs have a bed where we can strap down our tools like the UTV Grab Bag Recovery kit. The bag comes with a few useful pieces to assist you in pulling you—or more likely a buddy’s rig—out of a bad situation or to tow a machine back to camp. This handy bag of goods sells for $69 and is a great addition to your…

-- And it can still be hauled inside a van! --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels - This could be the lowest-budget UTV project that we have ever covered in Dirt Wheels. Derek Hunt and his brother Chris spend their days creating incredibly exotic electric bikes for their company, Hi-Power Cycles (www.hi-powercycles.com). Don’t tell anyone, but despite their penchant for things electric, the brothers harbor a fondness for things powered by gasoline. Very few of their high-end electric bikes cost less than what Derek forked…

-- A dream trip to Kauai's lush Princeville Ranch -- By Ken Faught The garden island of Kauai is arguably one of the most beautiful locations on the planet. In fact, over a hundred motion pictures have been filmed on the island, including Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, South Pacific, Soul Surfer and the hit TV show “Gilligan’s Island.” The island gets its beauty from rainfall and regularly trades top honors with Costa Rica as the world’s wettest spot with upwards of 450 inches of rain a year. Yes, that is…

-- Lady Venom: When the passenger seat is no longer enough -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Famed Baja 1000 winner Malcolm Smith has the perfect explanation for how uncomfortable it is to ride in the passenger seat of an off-road machine: “The passenger seat is 20 mph faster than the driver’s seat.” When she first ventured into off-road, Kristin Flanders had very little experience driving in the dirt or in sand dunes. She didn’t grow up with off-roading, so was happy to let her husband Ryan handle the driving. As time…

-- Product test : Keeping a cool head -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels . LS2 makes a wide range of helmets for different uses. This LS2 MX470 Subverter is primarily an off-road motorcycle helmet, but it is a great choice for quads or UTVs as well. The MX470 Subverter full-face motocross helmet uses LS2’s proprietary Kinetic Polymer Alloy (KPA) for the shell. KPA is lightweight, and it has a small amount of flex as part of the energy management system. But, in this case, the biggest feature of the three different shell…

MACHINES 2019 HONDA ATVs First Report PROJECT WILDCAT TRAIL Making the most of 50-inch UTVs TRICKED-OUT DUNE RUNNERS Totally custom quads FIRST LOOK: KAWASAKI MULE PRO-MX Smaller can be better PROJECT LADY VENOM X3 One tricked-out Can-Am MASSIMO WARRIOR 800 TEST Ready for the toughest tasks FEATURES RIDE THE WILDS OF HAWAII A UTV excursion of a lifetime WHERE TO RIDE: LITTLE SAHARA  The dunes are calling PRODUCTS WARN AXON WINCH Better than…