Features

Each vehicle, be it a car or a motorcycle, has its own unique identifier — the VIN code that allows you to find out just everything about the means of transport. This number is assigned to the vehicle by the manufacturer and serves as its ID. Every driver must know how to determine the VIN of the car, what information can be obtained from it, and how to check the motorcycle by the VIN. Why Is the VIN Code So Important? In the early 1980s, motorcycle manufacturers were puzzled by the need to…

Doing the Can-Am crush By the staff of Dirt Wheels Polaris has pretty much claimed ownership of the UTV race that is part of the two-week rock-and dust-fest that is King of the Hammers. This originally tiny event held among friends has grown into an international happening, like the child of Burning Man and the Baja 1000. Despite the fact that the UTV class is the largest of the event, it still feels like something of an awkward stepchild. UTVs are more than accepted, but it is obvious that the organization reserves…

The fastest racing in the west By the staff of Dirt Wheels The sun-kissed, rugged mountains of Parker, Arizona, rang with the roar of high-performance race engines as quads and dirt bikes left the starting line in pairs of two every 30 seconds to duel through the desert. The more-than-80-mile course of the 2020 Best in the Desert (BITD) season opener sent racers battling each other with intense speed in the wide-open desert, with snake-like trails weaving in and out of granular sand washes and through jagged,…

Attack of the affordable UTVs! By Joe Kosch Just like lots of Dirt Wheels readers, I have to avoid tripping on my tongue when I see a machine like Can-Am’s Maverick X3 X rc Turbo RR or the Polaris RZR Pro XP Ultimate. That can be embarrassing when lots of people are around, like when Polaris had the Pro XP on hand at the latest Camp RZR gathering at Glamis. I’m usually so entranced by the technology and looks of high-end UTVs, I don’t even think about the prices on these rigs until I have to research the facts for an…

The perfect power equation By the staff of Dirt Wheels Power is something humankind craves, but off-road riders lust for it entirely. We want engines that push more ponies and rocket our wheeled steeds onward with an epic forcefulness you won’t feel elsewhere. There are a variety of methods that will let your machine gain more power, but some come at a cost. We filled this article with all the info you need to figure out what will work for your horsepower needs with some help from Duncan Racing International.…

Dirt Wheels Greatest Hits are machines that our fans liked the most according to their interactions.  So we put together the top 15 most popular posts from the last year to bring you all the best content in one package! We don't always get a lot of information about the epic machines our readers send in for us to share, so we will do our best to tell you about these greatest hits. REAL FANS 15. Baja Honda This Honda 400EX was built by our buddy JB Wall as a desert and dune quad on a budget. We don't see many builds…

Lockdown has affected us all in some way or another. We have additional time spent in our homes, rather than going to the latest dirt racing event. There are signs of change, but we may have to wait a while before seeing significant events again. What, therefore, can dirt fans do to keep themselves busy during this unprecedented time? Read a Book or Two A great way to spend some time is to read some books. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy novel; you could go through those sports magazines that you’ve meant to read…

Computer shocks for all By the staff of Dirt Wheels Computerized suspension arrived in the UTV world with the Polaris Dynamix. And while it may sound lazy, after you have suspension that you can instantly adjust from inside the car, you are spoiled. There are many times when you will gain performance and comfort by adjusting your UTV suspension, but most people don’t bother when it means stopping the car, climbing out and manually adjusting the shock adjusters. Then, of course, you need to stop and put them back to…

Best in the West By Colin Duffy Dennis West has rarely been seen sliding, wheelieing or jumping a quad or UTV in Dirt Wheels photos. Though he has been largely unsung in the pages of Dirt Wheels, “D. West” (as we called him) has shaped every issue of the magazine that our readers have ever opened. Starting with the very first issue, the pages covered in silky-smooth ink, showing you the best machines in the business, were editorially or artistically guided by D. West. This issue is the first you will read where he…

So many good ones to choose from By D. West This March issue of Dirt Wheels is the one that has our official “2020 UTV Buyer’s Guide.” You should keep it stashed away in a safe place, because it’ll be handy to refer to throughout the year. Any questions you may have about a particular UTV can be answered by flipping to the specs and info on that machine. We include around 100 vehicles, so anything you’d be interested in is covered. Buyer's Guide A-K   Buyer's Guide K-Y What is the biggest difference between the…

Communicate with your passengers By the staff of Dirt Wheels Rugged Radios is the biggest name in off-road communications applications. When you see serious UTV off-roaders, it is more than common to see an intercom system and/or a radio kit from Rugged. Until you have experienced clear conversation with your passenger(s) without shouting, you don’t know what you are missing. In addition to talking between passengers, you may listen to music with the RRP660 system. All in-car communication is hands-free. You simply…

Old school meets new By the staff of Dirt Wheels Speed and style. Going fast and looking good doing it is the goal of many of our readers and certainly our test riders and editors. UTV drivers spend lots of money upgrading their machines to go faster and then spend more on wraps, graphics, colored wheels and custom powdercoated parts to make them look fast. So, why not invest in just the right helmet? Simpson Racing is well-versed in speed and style. It offers vast lines of protective equipment for racing and…