Project Machines

-- Refresh your older quad with a big-bore kit -- With many ATV manufacturers not producing sport ATVs any longer, many riders are having to hold onto older quads and rebuild them to as-new condition. Luckily, there are many ways to use aftermarket parts to rebuild your older sport ATV into something that is better than what you could pick up on the dealer-room floor. The project can even be at a cheaper cost if you don’t go crazy with your build. We recently had the chance to resurrect a 2004 TRX450R that had a blown…

-- Building a pro level WORCS race quad -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels, Photos by Pat Carrigan Logan Huff has dominated his Pro-Am ATV class competition in the World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) for the last two years. He landed his second Pro-Am championship in 2018 and made his Pro class debut at the first round of WORCS in Primm, Nevada. Huff decided to make his first WORCS Pro showing on a fresh Yamaha YFZ450R build. We got to catch up with him and cover this build the day before he shifted his YFZ into…

-- BFD Off-Road cages the beast -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels BFD Off-Road lays claim to being the number-one manufacturer of high-performance sand cars and UTV accessories in Southern California. What we know for sure is that it makes some radical-looking sand cars, and that sand car style is carried over to its UTV parts. The signature BFD Off-Road part is the Can-Am X3 bolt-on cage and matching contoured composite roof. The cage offers race-car strength and safety, and it is a very nice piece, but the roomy…

-- 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.…

-- 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…

-- A cool mini rally car/ATV kit -- How would you like to convert your Yamaha Raptor 700 into a UTV? Well, use these photos as a guide and you can build it yourself. This was actually a kit that you could buy, but as far as we know it's no longer available. It was the brainchild of Rhys Millen. He, along with his brother and dad, are part of the famous Millen racing family. They have been winning at rally racing, drifting, Pikes Peak, off-road and road-racing for years. They've also been known as innovative car…

-- Upgrading this popular sport quad -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels It is no secret that we are huge fans of the Honda TRX450R. To be fair, we love all quads, but Honda built an easily modifiable sport quad that stayed competitive for almost a decade with a minimum number of changes. The 450R still tops podiums and earns championships even today. It makes sense that long-time Dirt Wheels reader and quad enthusiast Daniel Gonzalez would choose the TRX for his steed. He picked up a 2007 Special Edition model a few…

-- Four-star warrior from a workhorse --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels The General is the commanding officer in the army of sport utility UTVs that Polaris builds. The machine has been a sales success for good reason. It offers RZR-like performance and suspension in a trail-friendly package that is ready and able to work. If you want to play/hunt/camp but need to convince the family or the tax man that you are buying a tool, the General is ideal. No matter the type of UTV that you are considering, it is typical for an…

-- BVC Trikes has the right kits for your Yamaha -- Back in the 1980s Yamaha had a 250cc, 2-stroke 3-wheeler known as the Tri-Z 250. Today, BVC Trikes provides you with a way to build a modern Tri-Z 250. Their kits pictured here are for 2005 or newer YZ250 dirt bikes. BVC Trikes also has kits to turn YZ450Fs into Tri-Zs. The ones here are the newer version 450s with the backwards head design. They have the BVC machined triple clamps, custom swing arm to correct chain alignment and their custom under seat fuel tank to…

-- The amazing 550-horsepower Packard Performance YXZ -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels No matter what generation you are from, the older generation is always complaining that the next generation is being contrary. Some youth follow in their father’s footsteps, while others want to do exactly the opposite of what the family expects of them. Famed turbocharger and supercharger hop-up specialists Packard Performance did both at the same time. The Packard brothers Jace and Jedd (we sense a pattern here) are the muscle…

-- 130 Horsepower, fastest quad we've ever ridden -- Is it possible to turbocharge a 2-stroke? Yes indeed, as long as the turbo is mounted after the cones to the expansion chamber exhaust. Therefore they can still allow the exhaust waves to bounce back and forth to keep fresh intake from flowing out the exhaust port. Not only was this Banshee turbocharged, it also had a fuel-injection system installed. Is this something new for 2-strokes? No, it was 19 years ago when we tested this machine. Below you can read this "Blast…