How To

-- Winston "Boss" McKannick is the shop foreman here at Dirt Wheels and one of his main jobs is to help out readers who may have a problem with their quad or UTV. He is the Mister-Know-It-All when it comes to mechanical problems and how to fix them. Today's question comes from a reader in South Dakota: Dear Boss, I purchased a leftover 2016 Polaris Ranger High Lifter 900. I love it, except for its ability to “eat” headlight fuses. About three times a month the 10-amp headlight fuse blows. I do not ride in…

-- Get unstuck with ease -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels This article isn’t for the seasoned veteran of winching and getting unstuck. It’s aimed at the rider or driver who is getting into our sport and wanting to know safe and effective ways to use your winch. Getting stuck isn’t a part of anyone’s plan, but it happens, and there are great tools that you should keep on your rig when you go out into mud, on rocks or along gnarly trails. Warn offers a light-duty winch kit that comes with a 1/2-inch steel-4500 shackle,…

-- Testing a smart wiring solution for your RZR --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels One of our editors has been building a project Polaris RZR XP Turbo that will be featured in Dirt Wheels soon. Installing everything has required many hours. We’ve had to collect parts and persuade things to fit correctly. Modifications have been made, while blood, sweat and tears have been shed, but none of those problems were from XTC Power Products. Wiring can be relentlessly tedious if you are not an aficionado or have the…

-- Testing an easy way to lift your UTV up to change a tire -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels We are lucky enough to get to test some of the best new products in this industry as well as some that are not so promising. Fortunately for Tuff Trail Gear, we absolutely love the JackDaddy. The company created a very lightweight UTV jack that is simple to use, fast and can be easily mounted to your Polaris or Can-Am sport machine. We have tried carrying heavy jacks, automotive-style jacks and more on our UTVs, and we never…

-- Installing a better skid plate & testing it out --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels Polaris has not left the underside of its UTVs unprotected. Each has a factory plastic skid plate installed, but the plastic isn’t heavy or thick. It balances weight with maximum protection, but some people drive terrain that is a bit challenging. Ricochet Off-Road has been providing protection for off-road machinery for over 35 years. The reason? Ricochet is located right at the base of the Rocky Mountains, and there is ample…

-- 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 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…

-- 10 critical, but cheap, between-drive prep tips --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels with Ryan Rose -- Utah’s Ryan Rose is a tech at Kombustion Motorsports’ UTV performance shop, but he is also a major UTV fan. He builds his machines keeping a careful eye on the money spent, but he drives them hard. We had the opportunity to drive his Polaris XP 1000 when it had 5000 miles on it, and it still felt brand new. When we commented on that, he said he had a checklist for the machine that he followed after every…

-- UTV racing dos & don'ts -- By Ron Lawson UTV racing is a melting pot of immigrants. The whole sport consists of drivers who came from Somewhere Else. Some are ATV riders, some are buggy drivers and some come from the motorcycle world. A sport that’s scarcely a decade old is unlikely to have its own natives. Even those who have been in it since the start have seen such a tidal wave of change that it’s essentially a new sport today. The interesting part is that there’s no guaranteed path to success. Each…

-- Make sure your ride is ready, By the staff of Dirt Wheels -- Have you noticed that your ATV or UTV isn’t tracking straight like it used to? Or it might be that the handlebar or steering wheel isn’t in the correct position? Either way, these things can become a nuisance if the front end is off even slightly. So, how can these things be fixed without taking it to a repair shop? Fixing each of these problems is much easier than you think, and hopefully you’ll save some time, money and aggravation with these tips.…

-- Better protection with CageWrx -- We say it time and time again—protection is the most important factor when it comes to off-roading any machine. Wearing the right helmet, eye protection, switching out the stock UTV seat belts with harness systems—all of these are great ideas to keep you riding longer. If you ask one of our editors which UTV accessory you would purchase after the helmet and harnesses, they would tell you to get a stronger roll cage. Rolling a UTV is a serious matter, and the harder you drive one, the…

-- HOW TO GUIDE -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels As great as aftermarket parts are to modify and personalize your machine, some can be a real pain to install. Other parts are relatively easy to install, but more are easy the second time around! You learn a lot the first time, and subsequent installs are both quicker and easier. We installed a new Polaris Pro HD 3500-pound-rated winch that was a plug-and-play fit for a Sportsman 4x4 quad and installed it on a 2018 Sportsman 570. This winch boasts rapid…