What’s the most likely SxS candidate for a turbocharger tonic within the next 12 months?

There’s no doubt the buyer-focus is clearly aimed at boosted big-inch SxSs. Polaris and Can-Am are selling turbo- charged RZRs and Mavericks by the boatload and there’s little doubt the most rabid consumers are hungering for more power.

We’re guessing it’ll be a tie between Yamaha, with its YXZ and Arctic Cat’s Wildcat to get a turbo. We’ve been saying this for a while now and we can’t wait to see if Yamaha offers a turbocharged version of its 1000cc triple to the sxs market and if we might see a boosted version of this engine for Cat’s pure-sport Wildcat.

The two companys’ engine-chassis supply agreement, carried forward from their snowmobile divisions, is just too tempting to pass up and the 998cc DOHC Yamaha triple is already being used in the YXZ.

With the same 998 triple already powering a turbocharger in Yamaha’s new Sidewinder snowmobile, converting a YXZ into a turbo edition would be like taking a trip through the parts bin.

There’s no question new ATV sales have been taking a hit the last couple of years while SxS sales have been steadily escalating.

If you’ve been out on the trails, though, it’s hard to deny there are far more ATVs in use than SxS vehicles.

This tells us clearly that ATV activity is still extremely popular and ATV riders are still super active. What we’re seeing are plenty of older ATVs (in the range of 3 to 7 years old) with upgraded tires, shocks and other aftermarket equipment.

It may be of interest to note that even though side-x-sides are selling like ice water in a blast furnace, it’s estimated the market is somewhere around 300,000 units a year.

That’s a far cry from what the ATV market was for well over a decade. In its hayday – and it wasn’t that long ago – there were in the neighborhood of a million ATVs being sold worldwide per year. Those 4-wheelers are still out there and they’re being used – a lot.

Another thing we’ve observed is that not necessarily everyone who buys a SxS is an ATV user. Many are, but many aren’t, and some hardcores who own ATVs will confess “you can take my ATV from my cold, dead hands” before they’d invest in a SxS.

We think there’s going to be a positive shift in the market as the economy keeps getting healthier and sales will start to surge upward over the next couple of years. Riding an ATV is just too much fun to see things continue the way they’ve been going.

When Yamaha unveiled the first all-sport performance SxS with manual transmission less than a year ago, it catapulted the Newnan, Georgia based company right into the performance-focused SxS segment epicenter.

A company built on quality, performance and innovation, one of Yamaha’s lesser-appreciated traits is its patience and timing. Many Yama-fanatics were beginning to wonder if they’d ever see something of this magnitude hit the marketplace in the years leading up to the YXZ1000R announcement.

However, with Yamaha’s out-and-out dominance of the Sport ATV segment, we knew it was just a matter time before the SxS market was thrown for a loop. Whether or not you felt this was a long time coming, Yamaha hit a bull’s eye with the YXZ1000R and there was no way they were going to deliver it until they had it just right.

Sport Shifting 101

Manually shifting gears with a clutch gives the driver all the control and for more experienced and expert riders, it’s hard to argue there’s a better choice than this. However, Yamaha knows not all riders are at an advanced level of operation yet still crave the need to control what gear they are in for optimal performance.

Yamaha’s Sport Shift paddle shifting eliminates the need for a foot clutch and provides a uniquely different driving experience.

Operation is simple. Flick the right paddle to shift higher and do the same with the left to down shift. The over-sized digital dash indicates what gear you’re in at all times.

To simplify operation even further, Yamaha has added a feature which automatically puts the YXZ1000R SS in first gear when you come to a stop, eliminating the need to find the necessary starting point.

This system is perfect for times when stopping on an up-hill where stalling the engine during take-off is common. One of our favorite features is Yamaha’s Launch System, which allows the driver to do aggressive accelerations on take-off, like you would need out of the starting gate in a race. Simply squeeze both paddles simultaneously, rev the engine past 5000 rpm and let go. It rips!!