Machines

-- And it can still be hauled inside a van! --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels - This could be the lowest-budget UTV project that we have ever covered in Dirt Wheels. Derek Hunt and his brother Chris spend their days creating incredibly exotic electric bikes for their company, Hi-Power Cycles (www.hi-powercycles.com). Don’t tell anyone, but despite their penchant for things electric, the brothers harbor a fondness for things powered by gasoline. Very few of their high-end electric bikes cost less than what Derek forked…

-- Lady Venom: When the passenger seat is no longer enough -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Famed Baja 1000 winner Malcolm Smith has the perfect explanation for how uncomfortable it is to ride in the passenger seat of an off-road machine: “The passenger seat is 20 mph faster than the driver’s seat.” When she first ventured into off-road, Kristin Flanders had very little experience driving in the dirt or in sand dunes. She didn’t grow up with off-roading, so was happy to let her husband Ryan handle the driving. As time…

-- Could you win the pro motocross class in this? Only if you were racing against other Mules -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Kawasaki releases yet another all-new UTV! Is it a sport machine, capable of flying high and racing over 70 mph? Nope. Will it make your life more fun and work around the property much easier? You bet it will! The Mule Pro-MX is a preshrunk version of Kawasaki’s relatively new Pro-FXR. The FXR is a shrunk-down version of the Mule Pro-FX. Do you see the theme? Sometimes, smaller is better.…

Darin McGuffin just wanted something different than what everyone else had, and after changing a few things on his General 4 he now absolutely loves it.

-- What is the best high-performance quad? Well, if you're talking about what you can buy new in 2018 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…

Key Features Three-cylinder 998cc DOHC naturally aspirated 4-stroke engine with EFI delivers 130-hp performance, ultra-quick response and maximum durability. • The wishbone-style, trailing arm rear suspension delivers race-proven performance throughout its 18 inches of travel, with an 80 percent reduction in track width change compared to other designs. • Double A-arm front suspension features unequal length A-arms for optimal wheel camber through the full 18-inch range of travel, resulting in maximum handling and…

-- 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…

-- 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…

-- Prices and info on Honda's 2019 quads -- Honda is back for 2019 with two types of ATVs: sport and recreation/utility. As with most brands, there are many more rec/utility models than there are sport. Honda has its perennial favorites—the four-speed, auto-clutch TRX90X and the SportClutch five-speed manual TRX250X—back. The venerable 90 engine traces its roots back to the late 1960s, but it remains competitive, thanks to legendary reliability and simplicity. The engine design also keeps the base price down to $3049. The…

-- Front & rear kits for more ground clearance -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels    High Lifter is well-known in the industry for doing what the name implies—lifting ATVs and UTVs through suspension and steering products that they create. However, they know that not everyone wants to jack up their ride to tackle mud holes. Many want to keep their machines low but gain more ground clearance. We have a 2018 Scrambler 850 that we are upgrading, and we picked up sets of High Lifter’s Max Clearance front and rear control…

-- Serious speed in the desert --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels We consider ourselves to be desert dwellers, but we enjoy it because the terrain is fast-paced, ever-changing, harsh and full of new difficulties to triumph over. Chris Leaming, the owner of XTC Power Products, was once a SoCal native, but he ventured to Arizona where their desert is vast. Chris’ company specializes in UTV electronic parts, such as street-legal turn-signal kits, and solutions to wiring up components to switches. When you own a company in…

-- New 2-seater gets the 850 twin engine too -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Yamaha called a while back with news of a secret introduction of a radically new product. Everything was high security and cloak and dagger. There was no desire on our part to pry the secret from them via waterboarding and truth serum. We immediately said, “Oh, an intro for the two-seat version of the Yamaha Wolverine X4 platform.” Give us a little credit. How long were Wolverine two-seater fans going to put up with a 700cc single when the…