Features

Pieces of history By Joe Kosch My friend Ken has a few ATVs, or at least a few ATV’s worth of parts in and around his garage. Some people have paintings, sculptures or vases to decorate their homes. Ken has pieces of quads he has owned or just finds interesting. They are in and beside the garage, the part of his home he enjoys most. The parts aren’t in any particular order; there’s no organized display, but there’s no shortage of interesting things to look at, and Ken has something to say about every item. I stop by…

Baron and Leaverton win big By the staff of Dirt Wheels Like all sporting events in the U.S., the popular WORCS races of GP-style off-road racing was completely derailed by COVID-19. We doubt that the promoters were grateful for a modest spectator turnout before, but the off-road-typical low density of spectators and the spread-out nature of the pit area allowed more than enough social distancing. Those factors allowed the competition to resume a little over two months after the virus-forced competition shut down.…

First to fast By the staff of Dirt Wheels Chris Leaming is a facilitator. He and his father Rob are partners in Gilbert, Arizona-based XTC Power Products. They moved there to grow their company that specializes in UTV electronic parts, such as street-legal turn-signal kits, and switch and wiring solutions. Rob and Chris have owned and built a large number of machines over the years. Despite not owning many Hondas lately, Leaming describes himself as a “Honda guy.” Among his current machines are a scratch-built,…

Fowler and Wolfe roll on By Kayla Bolton, Photos by Ken Hill Like all racing series in the U.S., the AMA Grand National Cross-Country (GNCC) Series presented by Specialized was shocked to a standstill by the COVID-19 virus. As states in the Southeast started to open up, the GNCC crew came up with plans to resume racing safely. Among the many safety restrictions, GNCC officials monitored details as small as requiring racers bringing their own pen to sign up. Obviously there are more, and the races are not…

Standing for traction By the staff of Dirt Wheels, Photo by Stephen Tripp We have noticed that in looking at many photos of multi-time ATV/MX champion Chad Wienen, he has an interesting style. He stands well forward on his Yamaha YFZ450R and often leans off to the side, as he is in this shot from the Daytona ATV/SX that kicked off the ATV/MX season. We were curious about this style and asked him to explain it for Dirt Wheels readers. “I do a lot of work on my riding technique, searching for the best way to keep the…

Your first car By Joe Kosch Hello, future and current motorists. Allow me to introduce the most important advancement in automotive safety since the invention of brakes. It’s called the UTV, and there’s a very great possibility one could save your life and mine. Of course, I realize most UTVs are recommended for drivers who are 16 years old or older and already licensed. Those limitations don’t reduce the safety value of UTVs a bit. Based on the driving I see on roads right now, I think it’s critical that many drivers…

Making sure you get there and back By Casey Cordeiro Photos by Casey Cordeiro and the manufacturers There are several accessories that are “essential” items to have on your ATV or UTV. Depending on the terrain you ride, those essentials can change somewhat. Our essentials are a spare tire, fire extinguisher, first-aid kit and helmet, and protective safety gear for every rider. Not everyone thinks of a winch as essential, but it is something that every off-road vehicle could benefit from having! Some of you are…

She loves to race By the staff of Dirt Wheels Photos by Miller Truby and the Hibler family Dakota Hibler was born in Orange County, California, but her family soon moved to Arizona. The 12-year-old is the youngest of three kids. She started racing almost seven years ago when she saw the KTM Jr. race at a Supercross event and told her father that she wanted to race. Since she didn’t have a motorcycle, the family had to find a place for her to race her Honda TRX90 quad. Vickie Golden, the first woman to qualify and…

Walker Fowler on rutted turns By the staff of Walker Fowler 1  Exiting the woods in this photo, it appears to be mid-race or late in the race. A single set of deep ruts has developed between the two tight trees, and there’s no option to go anywhere but in the ruts. This is where the saying “momentum is your friend” comes into play. When you can see polished-off spots in the center, it means skid plates are dragging. Choose a gear that won’t bog the engine down but that won’t immediately over-rev the engine. You won’t…

Walker Fowler start preparations By the staff of Walker Fowler You always need to have a good, positive attitude on the start! Whether you are a pro or an amateur, attitude and confidence can take you a long way. I try to keep the jitters at bay thinking about how I’ve done all the preparations necessary to compete at the highest level with no issues. Everyone else should be more nervous than me! A 24-volt starting kit like the one I use from Antigravity Batteries helps EFI machines like my Yamaha YFZ450R start faster…

Customizing gone wrong By Joe Kosch Part of the fun of driving UTVs is modifying and customizing them, but you have to be careful when ordering parts. Let’s say you get the urge to build a monster UTV starting with a Polaris RZR Pro XP, a machine that’s a monster to begin with. You plan to stomp all the heavily modified two- and three-cylinder machines out there by dropping in a big six-cylinder car engine. Yeah, twice as many cylinders as a triple ought to do it! The right six-cylinder engine might do the job, but…

Decades in the making By the staff of Dirt Wheels Glenville, Pennsylvania’s Landon Wolfe has spent the last decade chasing a dream that actually started another decade before that. Wolfe started riding on two wheels at 5 years old in the trees back then. After a knee injury, he made the switch to four wheels in racing while still riding dirt bikes as a form of cross-training. Climbing the four-wheeled racing ladder was quick and consistent for this 25-year-old winning championships in 2010–2012 and placing fifth in…