Reader’s Photos

-- 20 years worth of readers' rides -- When it comes to quad riders, which group is the most passionate, enthusiastic and hard core of all? Well, we'd have to say the owners of two-stroke quads. Honda TRX250R riders are certainly fanatics and the same can be said for Suzuki Quadzilla owners as well. However, those two machines were only in production for around four years. On the other hand, you could buy new Yamaha Banshees from 1987 to 2006 here in the USA, and beyond that in Canada and other countries. Based on 20 years…

-- What is the best high-performance quad? Well, if you're talking about what you can buy new today then that would have to be Yamaha's YFZ450R. However, if you were going to include all quads made in the last 10 years, then you'd have to consider the KTM 505 SX. Stephane LeBlanc is a Dirt Wheels reader who owns a 2010 KTM 505 SX and he seems quite pleased with it's performance. The photo of it here shows that he keeps clean, well maintained and in good shape. It's a shame that KTM no longer makes this machine. If they…

-- Wild machines of Dirt Wheels readers -- We're all used to seeing high-lifted 4x4 quads out in the deepest mud holes. For some reason though, we rarely see 3-wheelers modified the same way. Greg Armbruster in Ohio set out to change that with his unique mud machine here. He saw no reason why his old Honda Big Red couldn't become a swamp monster too. The first order of business was to make sure his 250cc 4-stroke 3-wheeler got plenty of traction while giving it more ground clearance. He accomplished that with these…

-- The fastest 3-wheeler -- What was the fastest 3-wheeler? That distinction has to be the Tiger 500. So, you say you never heard of the Tiger 3-wheeler brand? Well, that's understandable. It wasn't a very large company, but you could buy machines from them between the years of 1983 and 1986. The company was founded by Peter Wood, so the story goes, and the Tiger factory was in Minnesota. The company made their own frames and plastic, and they installed 2-stroke engines from Rotax. The Tiger 500 had the big air-cooled…

-- Is this the largest vintage Honda 3-wheeler collection? -- Preston Frasier is a man who loves Honda 3-wheelers. He began collecting them some time ago and each year his ATC fleet has grown larger. One of his annual traditions is to roll his entire ATC collection out into the yard and take some pictures of them. Preston has sent us some of those photos in the past and here is the latest bunch taken recently. This year's collection is the largest of all. Preston says there are 61 ATCs in the photos along with 4 TRX…

-- Special report from a Dirt Wheels reader -- Hi Dirt Wheels, I've been riding and reading your magazine for 35 years. Here is my 1985 Yamaha YTM200ERN 3-wheeler with about 350 hours.  This was Yamaha’s version of Honda's Big Red, with electric start, shaft drive and reverse. I am holding the October 1984 Dirt Wheels that features the test of my YTM200.  I also have a 2017 Yamaha Wolverine that is always ready when my wife wants to ride along.  Love the reliability of my Yamahas. Marty Beyner Kent, Ohio We'd…

-- Dirt Wheels reader builds a National level ATV MX race machine -- Hi Dirt Wheels, my name is Mack McDermott from Rhode Island. This is my 2009 Kawasaki KFX450R. Bought it a little over a year ago in bone stock form and after riding a track a few times I decided to get full blown into racing and build my KFX450 to as close to a national level build as I could. I Teamed up with Tranghese Motorsports out of Springfield, Massachusetts to help me build it and race in the NEATVMX series. Photos by Mike Fig Photography…

--  Do-it-yourself 3-wheeler -- It seems like 3-wheelers have been gaining in popularity the past few years. So much so that all of the manufacturers have a bunch of new 3-wheelers in their showrooms now. Okay, we're making a joke. In case you didn't know, 1986 was the last model year for new 3-wheelers. However, that doesn't stop enthusiasts from getting a new 3-wheeler. Well, at least the configuration is new. You see, the hottest 3-wheelers today are converted from dirt bikes. That is what Greg Armbruster in Ohio…

-- How to get a brand new Honda TRX250R -- Dirt Wheels reader Frank Raneiro is in the process of building an awesome 250R. We're going to let him tell you how he's doing it and what all is involved. Check it out... > Hey there Dirt Wheels. Just wanted to share with you The MX build I’m doing. It’s a completely brand new TRX250R Build. All parts are new or new old stock. Nothing on this bike is used. Took me 4 years to acquire all the new parts. Here’s a few Pics of the Current State. Will be finished within the…

-- Hey wait, that's a 4-cylinder engine! -- Upon further review that's not a single cylinder engine. It's got 4 exhaust pipes and 4 intake tracks, so there's no way it can be a YFZ450 engine. Maybe we should read what James Masephol said about his quad in his Email to us. Well, it did indeed start out as a 2005 Yamaha YFZ450. However he took the engine out and installed the engine from a Yamaha R1 street bike. Those 1000cc 4-cylinder engines make about 180 horsepower stock, and James figures his gets more like 200 with the…

-- SUZUKI'S 500cc MONSTER 2-STROKE QUAD -- Suzuki gets credit for coming out with the first quads as we know them today. First they introduced some little 4-stroke versions and then in 1985 they unleashed a high-performance 2-stroke machine known as the Quadracer 250. Suzuki gave us a couple of years to get used to that great machine and then in 1987 they totally blew us away with a 500cc version. Its official name was the LT500R Quadracer, but it was such a beast that everyone began calling it Quadzilla. You had to be a…

-- Taking a look at some interesting dirt wheelers -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels As the world’s largest ATV/UTV magazine, we have many readers outside the USA. Take for example Stephen Fletcher, who lives in Ireland. He was proud to send us this photo of his three quads here. The one on the left was built by Mark Leager using a Husaberg 650 engine. The middle one is a Laeger YFZ450, and on the far right is a W-Tec using a CRF250R engine. It has the unusual, forward-facing, separate swingarm-style suspension.…