Machines

-- Bolting on just about every accessory part available -- Russell Porter has the enthusiasm of a happy-go-lucky child in a man’s body. Buggy Whip, his successful family company, needed a rolling UTV showcase to help promote its products. Russ jumped like a kid in a candy store at the prospect of turning a Can-Am Maverick X3 X rs into a wicked display car. Buggy Whip has a great reputation, so many leading companies were ready to participate in the build. Russ was able to pick and choose, but he did a lot of choosing,…

-- How to improve your Raptor & give it a new look -- Yamaha’s Raptor 700 is the best-selling sport quad of its age, and for good reason. The four-wheeled powerhouse has a big-bore motor with a lot of torque, it handles well on all types of terrain and is comfortable to ride. This project Raptor started life as a fun racer in the hands of Russell Blake. It is a 2014 Special Edition model that was grey and black, but after a spill on the track and a lot of broken parts, the Yamaha is back and exceeding its former…

-- What you need if your UTV has bigger tires -- Recently, we have come across a number of UTVs that were fitted with oversized tires, and in most of those cases we found that performance suffered. We are all for the cool look and added ground clearance that big tires supply, but not if we lose performance and driveability. The solution is to have the CVT clutching modified to work with the larger tires. The photos and text here will show how we installed GBoost clutch kits in 2017 Polaris UTVs; one was a Turbo and the…

-- A man's dream comes alive -- Here is the classic Honda two-stroke three-wheeler that the fast guys used to ride back in the day. This one belongs to Mike Peterson and we'll let him describe it in his own words... Hi Dirt Wheels, I’ve always enjoyed reading your magazine! I’ve been riding on the Oregon coast for over 40 years. Started riding on a 1970 Honda ATC 90. Then a 110, 200 & finally bought a new '86 ATC 250R. Later bought an '85 ATC 250R. I was a long holdout of the quads. I liked the three-wheelers…

-- 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…

EVOLUTION POWERSPORTS PRESS RELEASE: -- The leader in the powersports industry for tuning, exhausts, intakes and turbo upgrades is proud to introduce an industry first V-MAP multi-map tuning for the Maverick X3.  V-MAP technology allows customers to switch between pump gas and race gas tunes using the OEM Eco Mode and Sport Mode switch. When Eco Mode is selected, the engine produces approximately the same power as our Stage 1 (190 Hp) 2018 tune whereas Sport mode is 213 Hp on 95+ Octane fuel.  This allows the…

-- Honda vs. Yamaha vs. Polaris vs. Kawasaki vs. Can-Am vs. Suzuki vs. Kymco -- We understand what it's like when you want a 4x4 quad so bad, but you don't have a lot of money to spend on one. The good news is that you don't have to get the biggest monster 4x4s to have fun riding off-road. The smaller models will do just fine and they can cost nearly half of what the big boys go for. And, you save even more money if buy used instead of new. There are really good deals on 400 class 4x4s that are around 7 years old. Which…

-- LONE STAR RACING'S DREAM BUILD -- You may recall we featured Lonestar Racing owner Dan Fisher’s Can-Am Maverick X ds in a previous issue of Dirt Wheels’. Fisher built his X3 to compete in the Pro Turbo class for the Best in the Desert series. His car featured some very trick parts, including LSR’s MTS long-travel suspension kit and a stronger cage. There are many other trick parts from LSR installed on Fisher’s Can-Am, and the man behind most of the R&D, lead fabricator, race department manager and…

-- The EF2000iSv2 now costs $899 -- Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, announces a new reduced price of $899 MSRP for their EF2000iSv2 portable generator. The value-packed inverter offers powerful and reliable performance in a quiet, lightweight package with advanced programming to power a wide range of appliances for less than $1,000. Designed and engineered to bring reliable power to the outdoors at an affordable price, the EF2000iSv2 delivers up to 2000 watts to easily handle appliances such as hair dryers,…

-- MORE POWER, SUSPENSION & VISUAL FLASH -- Blake is a Dirt Wheels reader who grew up near the Oregon Dunes. He still vividly remembers the first time he saw a chromed/polished/powder coated Yamaha Banshee there. He knew he had to have one of those custom 2-stroke screamers. Before reaching that goal however, his tastes began to change and he found himself preferring a 4-stroke instead. After Blake got hold of a 2005 Yamaha YFZ450 he set out to turn it into a show bike. However, he never intended for it to be…

-- WILL THIS UTV BE AVAILABLE IN THE USA? -- Troxus is an ATV and UTV manufacturer based in China. They have previously focussed their attention on the Asian and European market only, but that may soon change. It looks as though they're planning on offering their machines to American riders as well. One could come to that conclusion based on the fact that they opened up an office in Torrance, California known as TROXUS USA. Therefore, it may be a good idea to start checking out the one UTV they have in their lineup.…

THE HISTORY OF YAMAHA'S BIG SPORT QUAD -- The 1990s maintained a stagnant state of limbo for ATV manufacturers of sport quads. Of the potential manufacturers, Yamaha was the strongest player with the famed Banshee 350 and Blaster 200 two-strokes and the Warrior 350 four-stroke. Yamaha had a strong hold on the market, but it also knew that those beloved two-strokes would slowly be forced from the line-up by increasingly strict emissions standards. The fight to stay ahead of the competition lit a fire beneath…