Project Machines

-- 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…

-- 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…

-- 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…

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…

-- KAWASAKI'S BIG BOY V-TWIN 4x4 -- In Dirt Wheels you always see modified sport quads. You may get the idea that only 400, 450 and Raptor riders are the only people who want to improve their machines. Well, that's not the case. There are actually more 4x4 quads out there and those riders are proud to trick out their quads too. Here's an example of that. Andy Breznay is a Dirt Wheels reader in New York and he did a few things to his 2009 Kawasaki Brute Force to make it get through the woods a little quicker and to look good…

-- 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…

-- RANCHO RACING'S RADICAL RZR -- By the staff of Dirt Wheel UTV racer Adrian Orellana didn’t drift into the sport by buying a recreational car and gradually adding to it. He bought a brand-new Polaris RZR XP 1000 and immediately tore the entire car apart and delivered the frame to Fabwerx. Fabwerx had no qualms about cutting nearly the entire stock frame away. Basically, Fabwerx started with the two main-frame rails and constructed a new racer from that starting point. Orellana’s race team is Rancho Racing. Rancho…

-- Dirt Wheels Reader's Rides -- Hi Dirt Wheels, Best summer greeting from Norway.  I am a very satisfied Dirt Wheels subscriber who always looks forward to the next issue. Here is a photo from yesterday's 100 miles summer-trip on old bad Norwegian country roads. The trip was nonetheless a real pleasure, since my modified Can Am Maverick X DS 1000 Turbo easily did upgrade to highway quality. It has 8.5 and 10.5 inch 3-piece 14" wheels, half an inch forward moved 14" Mountney steering wheel, driver's seat lowered and…

-- Remember the Mickey Thompson Grand Prix Series? -- It was quite a sight as you sat there watching from a comfortable seat. A pack of quads and riders lined up on the starting line, revving the engines of their finely tuned machines. Then, they'd all take off in a roar racing to the first turn. A little bumping and shoving might send a rider or two over the berm, but the rest would go sailing over jumps, flying across the whoops, roosting around the turns and fighting to be first to the finish line. This was the exciting…

-- Boss McKannick gives his advice -- MAKE MY MACHINE LOOK GOOD: Dear Boss, I have a Polaris RZR S 1000 that’s a couple of years old and it doesn’t look as good as it used to. I’m thinking about sprucing up its appearance with a graphics kit of some kind. I’ve been hearing a lot about wraps. Is this something I could install myself, or does a professional business have to do it? What would you suggest for a guy like me with average mechanical skills? Eric Harrington Glendale, CA Well, Eric, some…

-- A look at what Dirt Wheels readers ride --  By D. West Time tends to go in circles, and history will eventually repeat itself. That seems to be happening now in the sport quad world. It’s similar to the early 1990s when the manufacturers stopped development of their high-performance quads and quit selling them, except for Yamaha. The aftermarket business began to boom as ATV enthusiasts turned to them to keep their older machines running strong and even improving them.…