Yamaha

Tips and tricks By the staff of Dirt Wheels Yamaha is designing some of the most reliable and smoothest-riding ATVs lately. There is a 5-year-old Kodiak 700 that works daily on a ranch down the street from our shop that is a perfect example of this. In those years, the machine has primarily been used for spraying, towing and basic transportation. Even if it doesn’t move, the machine does sit idling for most of the work day.  The constant, slight vibration this Kodiak has at idle has rattled the light bulbs loose.…

Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, Side-by-Side (SxS), ATV, and motorcycle bLU cRU racers have captured various titles and championship bonuses for the 2021 season competing on the podium-proven YXZ1000R, YFZ450R, and YZ250FX vehicles in various off-road races across the country, including Championship Off-Road, ATV Motocross (ATV MX), Grand National Cross Country (GNCC), and King of the Elements racing series. On the ATV circuit, Chad Wienen made history in the ATV Motocross series, tying Gary Denton’s record with his eighth…

A look at unique suspensionBy the staff of Dirt Wheels Quite often in the racing world we see builds that start with a quad purchased new off a showroom floor. By the end, all that is left of the original machine are the cases. A large percentage of the stock parts are scrapped and replaced with expensive, high-end aftermarket products. Sometimes these quads can out-price a quality sport UTV or four production sport quads! If people think that is what it takes to enter racing, the notion can seem intimidating to those…

New Wolverine RMAX2 1000 Sport Headlines Yamaha’s Side-by-Side Lineup

Sport, race and big-bore fun By the staff of Dirt Wheels This winter Yamaha finally announced its YFZ450 and Raptor 700 lineups. Both models return with new colorways in base and special-edition versions. Unfortunately, the 2021 YFZ450 cannot be sold in California. As for the Raptor base, 700R and 700R SE, there are California CARB-compliant models and 49 state models being produced. They are all built in Yamaha’s U.S. factory in Newnan, Georgia. 2021 YAMAHA YFZ450R According to Yamaha, the YFZ450R…

 Yamaha states, the Raptor 700’s power, combined with an advanced, lightweight hybrid steel and aluminum frame, controlled-fill aluminum subframe, and cast aluminum swingarm, results in a durable, rigid structure, offering a premier power-to-weight ratio while beating the competition as the lightest ATV in its class. Superior handling enhances the 2021 Yamaha Raptor 700 lineup’s incredible experience, smoothing out trail and braking bumps on account of the 9.1-inch front and 10.1-inch rear suspension travel.  …

By the staff of Dirt Wheels YAMALUBE YAMACLEAN PRO-WASH SPRAY. Many UTV and ATV enthusiasts are as proud of their machines’ appearance as any vehicle owner. The difference is, we ride in the dirt, which means our machines need washing more often, and cleaning them is more challenging. Yamalube’s Yamaclean Pro-Wash spray is designed to clean well with less effort than common detergent, so we were eager to see how it performs.  SAFE FOR ALL SURFACES A strong cleaner is no help if it destroys what you use it on,…

SNO-TRAX CONVERSION *Here is a story from our 1998 files about a company that made conversion kits for snow use. These  SNO-TRAX CONVERSION kits were the bomb. For several years now, the staff of Dirt Wheels has traveled to the snow-cov­ered peaks of Southern Cal­ifornia to try out the latest Sno-Traxx units from Snow Conversion Inc. (SCI) out of Bakersfield, CA. In years past, we tested a variety of four-wheelers outfitted with these unique kits, which turn a quad into a snow machine for the winter, and then can…

**Editors Note- Test from our DEC 97 issue. Pair of Duncan Doughnuts. When it comes to reliable performance, Dun­can Racing is extremely confident of the products that it sells. So confident, in fact, that it offers a 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee with all of its performance products. If you are not happy with the performance, quality, or reliability of any Dun­­can Racing product, send it back and your money will be refunded. We wanted to put Loren Duncan, the owner of Duncan Racing, to the test, so we had…

SPORT 4x4's In this look back at a classic Dirt Wheels Magazine shootout, we check out a crop of SPORT 4x4's. Television’s Tim Allen would fit right in aboard one of the current crop of Sport 4x4's. You can almost hear his 'Home Improvement' character give one of his hearty "Ho-ho-ho’s" in approval of the current reign of large-displacement ATVs in the Monster truck class of four-wheel drives. Bigger is always better, right? Well, the tool twisters here at Dirt Wheels wanted to know if Tim Allen, and…

For the past three years, Southern California racer, Doug Eichner, has trav­eled the AMA Grand National cir­cuits. He has enjoyed the "thrill of victory" with the Duncan Racing team. To do this, Doug was competing in the Open Pro/Am class, aboard a ’96 Banshee. For this article, we will call his quads the HOT-ROD BANSHEE'S. For the past three years, Eichner has flown home from the Loretta Lynn’s Na­tional Finals with the season cham­pionship trophy. Despite as­saults on his championship title ev­ery year, from riders…

250cc Sport ATV Comparison: Honda TRX250X vs. Kayo Jackal 200 vs. Can-Am DS250 By the staff of Dirt Wheels 250cc SPORT ATV COMPARISON There was a time when 250cc sport quads were considered big and powerful. Basically, the lead dogs in the industry. That was many years ago now, though. Currently, 250cc-class sport quads are considered mild and civilized. In reality, the performance is every bit as good as any ATV before the advent of 250cc two-strokes or 450cc performance four-strokes. They are fun on…