Yamaha

-- Testing an electro-assist vehicle -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Dirt Wheels doesn’t shy away from a challenge. Over the years we have placed some interesting machines in our magazine that may or may not be classified as ATVs or UTVs, but the title of the magazine is Dirt Wheels. Interpreted loosely, that means anything to have fun in the dirt. We like to push the envelope with new ways to enjoy off-road riding, and Yamaha came to us with a machine unlike any other that’s been in these pages. We felt it was worth…

-- Duncan Racing builds an awesome Banshee -- Photos by Pat Carrigan (Yeah, my photos are dark and out of focus, but Pat can fix them.) The iconic Yamaha Banshee has found a place in the hearts of thousands with its two-stroke, twin-cylinder, fire-breathing engine. They scream and sing over dunes, rip through the desert and are even seen looping around racetracks and negotiating tight trails. After an amazingly long run, Yamaha eventually ceased production of the Banshee in 2006 for the U.S. market. That means there…

-- Born on the bayou -- Travis Heltz has been reading Dirt Wheels and riding quads down in southern Louisiana for many years. His first quad was a 1993 Yamaha Blaster and then he moved up to a 1996 Yamaha Banshee. From there he graduated to a newer 1999 Banshee and then a 2011 Raptor 700R SE. So, for this year Travis bought a new 2019 Raptor 700R and then he decided to do something he always wanted to. His previous quads had all remained mostly stock, but for his new Raptor he went to work tricking it out with …

-- A letter from a Dirt Wheels reader -- Hi Dirt Wheels,     I'm Robby from Germany and I would like to present my modified Banshee. I bought it in 2013,  my first Banshee, after I sold my old 2006 Raptor 700. The Banshee was in a stock condition, but was not well maintained. At first I rebuilt the chassis and the plastic (they were painted very bad). At the next step I revised the wiring harness. In the end i could fill a 10 liter bucket with electrical garbage. The other improvements I did from time to time.  This is…

-- Built to beat Baja -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels We are fortunate enough to find ourselves around some of the most epic ATV builds in the business, and this Baja Yamaha YFZ450R is one for our record books. Pro-Am WORCS racer Ricardo Gonzalez wanted to switch gears and race the wilds of Baja Mexico with his team. They needed a machine built to handle a ton of abuse and last for hundreds of miles in the many different conditions that the course throws at the team. His long-time mechanic Kevin Avina was put to the…

-- Testing Yamaha's  180 horsepower kit -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels, Photos by Adam Campbell The exhilaration of speed is an addiction off-road addicts just can’t seem to shake. Yamaha is one manufacturer that fuels our passion for going fast with their pure-sport lineup of machines. They also have a dedicated team of engineers that keep the fire burning with go-fast parts under the title GYTR (Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing). We recently spent time in the vast Imperial Sand Dunes riding area known as Glamis in…

-- Drifting from the dirt onto the pavement --     Jeremy Othelet is a Dirt Wheels reader who lives in Margut, France. In his country ATVs can be made street legal with the proper equipment. As you can see here Jeremy has turn signals, mirrors and a license plate on his quad.     His Yamaha Raptor 700 is a good quad to make street legal, because it has enough power to cruise along at speeds above 70 mph. To improve the power Jeremy added a performance exhaust and intake system, fuel controller and hotter cam shaft.…

-- Best 2-stroke for the money -- Ben Shaffer in Ohio has a fondness for 2-strokes and he decided he should take an old 2-stroke quad and build it back up to be even better than when it was new. He found this 1996 Yamaha Blaster 200 in a friend of a friend's barn. Blasters were known for being the best bang for the buck. They didn't cost much, the air-cooled 2-stroke motors were simple and easy to work on and they were pretty peppy for 200ccs. Ben's Blaster looked to be in sad shape when he first picked it up, so he…

-- Raptors, Grizzlies, YFZs & Kodiaks -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels The 2020 models have finally started to roll in! Yamaha hit us with their new models. They include some great new color schemes and a few additional upgrades. We are always excited to see what changes and improvements have been made to new lineups, or in some cases give a solid fist pump when seeing our favorites stay in the lineups. Fortunately for everyone, Yamaha continues to support sport quads, offer great 4x4 quads and keep the kids happy…

Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, introduces all-new XT-R models for select Proven Off-Road 2020 ATV and Side-by-Side (SxS) vehicles. Boasting superior capability, comfort, and confidence in a variety of terrain, the new XT-R editions are equipped with stout new radial tires, a WARN winch, advanced suspension, new painted Titanium Bronze / Tactical Black color scheme, and more.

-- For a wide number of the most popular and best-selling ATVs and UTVs, the heart of the power delivery system is the CVT belt. There are a few extreme ATV riders who are hard on the CVT belts, but time and mileage are the most common reasons to change an ATV’s CVT belt. UTVs are heavier, so they are harder on CVT belts, whether they are high-horsepower sport models or not. No matter what your CVT-motivated machine is, it will need a new belt sooner or later. We based our belt guide on the Polaris RZR XP 1000 model. It is a…

-- 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…