UTV Tests

-- UTV TEST: A new standard has been set --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels Finally, Polaris stepped up with an epic all-new RZR! Revisions of current models were great, but we kept waiting for something fresh. We knew Polaris had to have a game-changer up its sleeve, but didn’t know when it would be released. We give Polaris a lot of credit for shaping the performance UTV industry over the past decade. It is insane how far technology has progressed in that time. The two-seat RZR 800 was the domino that cascaded our…

-- Testing a 60" wide, 100 hp 4-seater -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Our first thought when we experienced the first 50-inch Maverick Trail was, we hope they make this same machine in a wider stance. Like Can-Am was reading our minds, the 60-inch Maverick Sport line followed and was soon joined by the 64-inch Maverick Sport RC. Since we enjoyed everything about the Sport models, combined with the fact that we are never satisfied, we wondered if Can-Am would make a Maverick Sport Max with four seats. And here it is,…

Braving the trails of Moab in the all new Kawasaki KRX 1000, putting it to the test on some of the most sought after trails in the US.

-- Testing Honda's Jackson Racing Turbo kit -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Elsewhere in this issue is Honda’s surprising announcement of year 2020 products, including two Talon four-seater models, and updated Pioneer 1000 and 4x4 quads that are significantly changed. Two additional announcements from Big Red concerned a 2020 racing effort in the Pro UTV Turbo class for Best in the Desert and SCORE off-road races. Honda has a long history of racing efforts that promote new sport products, so the fact that the company…

-- Kombustion Motorsports project UTV -- Kombustion Motorsports builds have graced the pages of Dirt Wheels in the past, and their impressive machines are just too nice to not feature here and there. Travis Gardner took on a 2017 Polaris RZR XP Turbo four-seater and changed its appearance, form and function to create a stylish yet off-road-worthy showpiece that is a mix of overland and dune styles. Sand is generally the favored terrain for this RZR, but we found it lurking around the desert, rocks and random dunes of…

COMFORT AND PERFORMANCE We have been anxiously waiting our turn behind the wheel of the recently announced Teryx KRX 1000. Kawasaki Produced a remarkable desert test course for the drive. Thankfully, it wasn’t a fluffy, kiddy track, but one with fast smooth sections where we almost tick the governed top speed of 68 mph indicated. A variety of stunning steep and rocky climbs and descents were added to the real terrain. There were a number of tight, twisty areas, and some were in canyons that forced the KRX into narrow…

-- Testing something a little different -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Lines can easily be blurred when deciding what machines should be considered UTVs. We can take that acronym in two ways—ultimate terrain vehicle or utility terrain vehicle. We can easily categorize the high-horsepower, long-travel offerings from Can-Am, Polaris, Yamaha and Honda in the former. Yet, many more machines seem to fit in the latter category. One vehicle we struggle to categorize is what we call the “Trail Tank,” or its real name, the…

-- How does it compare to the Talon R? -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels We have been happily submerged in the new world of Honda Talons. We had an initial quick test ride, an extensive introduction trail adventure in Utah near Zion National Park, and now we have introduced all of our local test loops to the trail-specific Talon 1000X. Many trail UTVs have a track width between 50 and 60 inches, but Honda chose to go 64 inches wide. The 87.6-inch wheelbase falls right between the compact-for-a-sport-UTV Polaris RZR with…

-- Improving Can-Am's 4-seater UTV --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels Some people have a customized UTV because they feel stuck with it. That isn’t the case with Andy Anaya and his well-setup Can-Am Maverick Max X rs. Andy is the sales manager at Chaparral Motorsports, so he has access to great deals on any brand imaginable, and he has driven every machine made. In spite of literally being the kid in the UTV candy store, he spends family time in this customized and personalized 2014 Can-Am that he bought new. Anaya is a…

More storage, more cargo, more beef, it's all in the specs of the impressive new 2020 Can-Am Defender Pro. An overlander's dream!

-- Raiding the fast parts shelves with an employee discount -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Let’s say that you work at an aftermarket company that makes excellent and very cool products. Imagine that the company is Assault Industries. Further suppose that you just bought a Polaris RZR Turbo S. Tom Cavish faced this exact scenario, and he needed to make decisions about his RZR Turbo S build. The Turbo S is no bargain-basement ride. It comes with 15-inch wheels, ITP Coyote 32-inch tires, four-point harnesses and an…

-- 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…