Features

High-powered cars out kickin’ sand By Juli Moore/Dirt-N-Dunez Photography and Dirt Wheels staff The 2020 season finale of the General Tire Sand Outlaw Series brought racing back to Glamis at Oldsmobile Hill after a 10-year gap. Previous rounds at Glamis have run on the relative flats alongside famed Gecko Road. With the drags returning to iconic Oldsmobile Hill, it seemed like crowd control and spectating locations were much improved. There was a good turnout, and the Sand Outlaw crew was careful to keep the hill…

By Joe Kosch In the world of UTVs, the fastest, widest machines with the most suspension travel attract the most attention. They don’t just look wild; they are wild, but 64- and 72-inch-wide machines with prices that start around $20,000 and go beyond $30,000 don’t fit everyone’s UTV reality. You may want to look at the other extreme in UTVs, a category you might not have heard of—50-inch-wide machines. Here are just some of the reasons to consider them. These UTVs seat two, just like many larger vehicles, so you…

By Joe Kosch As I eased the General to a stop at a part of the trail that crossed a road, I looked for oncoming cars and spotted something I didn’t expect—a Tesla electric sports car. The speed the car was going and the way it accelerated on the uphill turn on the mountain road got me thinking that I wasn’t the only driver out having fun that day. I know electric UTVs are common already. Can-Am, Polaris and several other brands have them, but other than Nikola’s NZT, they’re not what I’d call performance models. It…

By the staff of Dirt Wheels XC-1 CONTENDER: ADAM McGILL Hailing from Waverly, West Virginia, Adam McGill can be called the “Bridesmaid” on the track or “Class Clown” off the tracks of the GNCC ATV series. In battle, he’s been the biggest threat to champions like Bill Balance, Chris Borich, and Walker Fowler, and has finished second to those guys more than he’d like to admit. McGill started racing pro way back in 2006, and three years later got his first win—actually, four of them in 2008.  McGill has battled…

This morning BRP announced a new Can-Am model THE 2021 CAN-AM COMMANDER 1000 Starting at $18,399-2 seat, $19,199-4 seat 100HP V-Twin Engine A-arm suspension 13-15-inches of travel 27 or 28-Inch tires 90.6" wheelbase More info to come Spec-Commander-XT-P-1000R-TripleBlackOrange See our 2020 UTV Buyers Guide HERE.

By the staff of Dirt Wheels Photos by Miller Truby and the Hibler family DAKOTA HIBLER 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…

By the staff of  Dirt Wheels with GNCC Champ Walker Fowler GNCC RACE TIPS: HOW TO GET GREAT STARTS * GNCC Champion Walker Fowler races a Yamaha YFZ 450 in the Pro ranks on the rugged woods circuits of Grand National Cross Country Racing circuits. He has had some time to perfect his starting techniques for each race. Here is some advice he has for up-and-comers. GNCC RACE TIPS "You always need to have a good, positive attitude at the start! Whether you are a pro or an amateur, attitude and confidence can…

The 2021 King of the Hammers is one of the biggest off-road events in the US. Last year nearly 60 thousand people made their way to the lakebed in Johnson Valley, California. During a pandemic, many were worried that this year would be canceled like almost all 2020 off-road gatherings and races. The KOH team worked endlessly to get permits, COVID-19 testing, and courses planned out. All who entered hammer town could only do so with a negative COVID-19 test and a mask to keep law officials happy and everyone safe. …

By the staff of Dirt Wheels 2020 WORCS ROUND 5 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.…

By the staff of Dirt Wheels Photos by Harlen Foley FORD BROTHERS HONDA 450R GNC MXERS We take a close look at Cody and Bryce Ford's ATV Championship quads. The boys had great success on their potent Honda TRX 450R's. Bryce is a first-year Pro rookie, while Cody has a year on the pro circuits. Both of these racers have made a name for themselves with their Ford Brothers Honda 450R GNC mxers. To call 2020 crazy would be underselling it. Like all forms of sports, the ATV MX National Championship series was vastly…

By Joe Kosch SOUND ADVICE The sounds ATVs make are just some of the things that make me like them so much, and I think most ATVers are moved by what they hear from their machines. The sounds your machine puts out, and the sounds it doesn’t, are a big part of the mixture of things that make riding so enjoyable and so memorable. Even the sounds of ATVs you don’t have anymore can get your attention. Have you ever been at a riding area and caught the sound of the first ATV you ever rode? Even if you don’t see the…

Fantastic traction and Beadlock wheels By the staff of Dirt Wheels QUAD BOSS QBT446 TIRES AND BOSS LOCK WHEELS Recently, we were planning some ATV adventures that would see us riding far from our home base and transportation. We needed a tire and wheel setup that would allow us to relax and not worry about flats derailing the trip. We opted for a Quad Lock Beadlock rim in size 14x7. The stock wheels were 12-inchers. Mounted on the robust wheels would be 8-ply Quad Boss QBT446 26x9R14 front tires ($168.99 each)…