Grab a preview of Kawasaki’s 2012 Brute Force 750 4x4i EPS from the intro earlier this year.
Visit kawasaki.com for more information.
So you’ve been out on the trails and are beginning to notice that jeans and a T-shirt aren’t exactly the coolest look to go along with your ten thousand dollar ATV.
If there’s one item you could buy that will make you stand out from the crowd and turn heads while you whiz by its, a jersey and FXR Racing’s new Hazard-X series might be just what you need.
FXR’s Hazard-X jersey brings style and comfort together in one fantastic looking, wearable top. Moisture wicking polyester mesh keeps you cooler than cool. Imagine how awesome that breeze is going to feel as you pick up speed down an open stretch of trail.
The lightweight material will also dry faster than a plain-old cotton T-shirt so go ahead and get soaked! Just by continuing to ride, your shirt will dry quicker and stay loose and comfortable without sticking to your skin.
Fade resistant sublimation print graphics ensure your new shirt will remain looking out-of-the-package awesome. After your post-ride hose down, throw your jersey in the wash time after time without worrying about fading the color or graphics. You’re going to look great ride after ride and your wife won’t want to kill you anymore for ruining so many T-shirts.
Visit FXR’s website and check out all the sizing and color choices available for the Hazard-X series. While you’re there, complete the look with a matching pair of Hazard-X gloves.
Visit fxrracing.com
Factory Polaris rider Daryl Rath of Rath Racing finished the day strong with an overall Utility Podium position. Rath has been relentless in his hunt for the podium and has continuously finished within one position the entire season.
Rock Run, Patton, Penn. was a new stop on the GNCC National Cross Country Schedule this year, and the name alone was intimidating to most. Racers are given the opportunity to walk a racetrack Friday afternoon to see what they are up against and this track was going to be a challenge with lots of rock sections and long sweeping open grass fields.
Rath didn’t get the start he was hoping for. Following fellow racers into the first turn he know he had his work cut out for him. He continued to charge through the other racers gaining position after position.
With the leader in sight, he experienced a small issue causing him not only to stop but to make a quick repair. Once repaired, he worked twice as hard to regain the time he lost making his way through his fellow competitors and lapped traffic.
With the white flag waving, the riders had one last lap to finish strong. As Rath came out of a short wooded section, he could see second place rider which he followed closely until he saw the opportunity to make a daring inside pass to take over the second place position in his class, and allowing him to finish third overall out of all Utility riders who had entered the event.
When asked about his accomplishment Rath stated, “My finish today proves that the people standing behind me and working with this team are determined to continue to improve this bike and push me to be the best rider I can be. We spend a lot of time testing and trying new things. Fox Shox has been great dialing in my suspension and adapting to the changes Dave and I made to the front end. Also, the weather is starting to cooperate in Minnesota so I can get out and train more on the bike, and my lap times are showing we are improving each round. I just want to keep the momentum going.”
After this round, Rath currently sits third in overall points with just a few points separating the top three positions.
Factory Polaris Rath Partners – Polaris Industries, Rath Racing, Fox Shox, Maxxis, DWT- Douglas Wheel, Baldwin Motorsports, Fly Racing, WPS, SSI Decals, DASA, Quad Tech, Maxima Oils, Hinson Clutch Components, Scott Goggles, CV4, Precision Stabilizers, Powermadd, Faast Handlebars
BRP has entered into a new relationship with National Bank Financial Group to provide promotional retail financing to its retailers throughout Canada.
This new resource enables Canadian dealers who carry Ski-Doo snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude outboard engines and Can-Am ATV, side-by-side vehicles and roadsters to offer additional competitive retail financing options with expedited approval processes.
National Bank Financial Group is an integrated provider of financial services, combining retail advisory and brokerage services with institutional brokerage, investment banking, corporate finance and securities clearing services for third parties. National Bank Financial Group is present in all regions of Canada and has operations in the U.S. and Europe.
“National Bank Financial Group has been partnering with Canadian businesses for over 150 years to ensure economic growth and development in all regions where it operates,” said Kathleen Zicat, senior vice-president, Sales and service, Retail, National Bank Financial Group. “Consumers are to benefit from this new agreement between two key players in their respective markets.”
“We continue to leverage our relationships with key lending institutions to provide our dealer network the best options for financing when selling our products,” said Yves Leduc, vicepresident and general manager for BRP’s North America division. “Retailers still face many challenges when securing retail financing options for customers. National Bank Financial Group is now a key resource that will ease the selling process for our dealers.”
BRP dealers are well positioned to meet consumer demand and supported with the proper financing resources and buying incentives. From our “Ultimate Playground” demo events to the final purchase, consumers have an enhanced and complete buying experience from BRP.
Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately-held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorised recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines. BRP products are distributed in more than 100 countries.
With the rise in sales of the Polaris RZR, industry insiders are asking if buyers for this unique vehicle (and they are a considerable number) are merely being redirected from buying an ATV or a conventional UTV.
On closer inspection, it would seem the RZR customer is a unique one who has no doubt owned an ATV or UTV in the past, or may even have one or two of them at home in the garage.
What is not in doubt however, is the targeted use of the vehicle. The RZR customer is a person who wants to ride or drive to the limit and is using the vehicle for one express purpose: The thrill of riding it.
What this means is the RZR owner is not interested in using it to haul gear to a hunt camp or to fix fences on the ranch. There is absolutely no dual-purpose utility intention with the Razor owner. It is for sport-recreation only and performance is its key asset.
This is interesting if you’re a manufacturer trying to figure out how to reach a specific market. Can-Am’s highly successful and very high performance Commander still focuses on utility with it’s unique cargo design, but may not be ringing the bell with the kind of person who gravitates to a Razor. Same with Cat’s red-hot Prowler 1000.
It appears that if competitors want to gain ground in this Polaris dominated segment, they will have to design a specific vehicle to compete, no compromises.
The loan of a Polaris EV LSV to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument will enable park staff to test energy self-sufficiency
Recently, at Byron’s John Day Polaris, Jim Hammett, Superintendent of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and Scott Ritner, the National Park Service Ranger at Painted Hills, took delivery of an electric Low Speed Vehicle from Polaris Industries.
The vehicle, a Polaris EV LSV, will be on loan to the park for a year and will enable the park to test whether the Painted Hills Unit of the monument, located near Mitchell, Oregon, can become carbon neutral in its operation and self-sufficient in its energy use.
With the recently completed construction of a new park house that generates far more energy than it uses, park staff hoped to make the Painted Hills Unit carbon-neutral and energy self-sufficient in housing, administration and transportation.
Due to fiscal constraints, the monument did not have sufficient funding this year to both construct the house and purchase a rechargeable electric vehicle. However, through a generous loan from Polaris, they will be able to test their energy calculations in the coming months and see if reality will match engineering calculations.
Creating a renewable energy economy is one of the nation’s top goals, and one which the Interior Department and National Park Service takes seriously. Last year, Jon Jarvis, the NPS Director, challenged each park superintendent, “…to reduce their carbon footprints, to set a very high standard for carbon neutrality, and to be an example of sustainability for the entire world.”
John Day Fossil Beds took this challenge seriously. “I think we have a shot at being one of the very first park units with moderately high visitation to be carbon neutral and energy self-sufficient,” said Superintendent Hammett. “Our engineer that did the initial energy calculations showing it was possible used a Chevy Volt as his basis for calculating transportation energy. Obviously, for the gravel roads at Painted Hills, and for transporting trash and maintenance supplies, a Chevy Volt is not very practical. This is why we are thrilled with this generous loan from Polaris – we will have a very functional electric vehicle, ideally suited for our Painted Hills ranger, and weÂ’ll be able to plug it in at the house and use the surplus solar-based energy it generates to charge it.”
The Polaris EV LSV, includes the necessary features to classify the vehicle as a low speed vehicle per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, such as a horn, turn signals, automotive-quality windshield and rear view mirror.
The unit features a 30-horsepower electric motor, up to a 50-mile range, 25 mph top speed, 1,000-pound payload capacity, 1,250 lbs. of towing and a 500-lb cargo box. The unit can be used in three modes; High for speed, Low for towing and hauling, and Max for maximum range to ensure the best use of power and battery life for any application.
The Polaris EV LSV also has VersaTrac with one-wheel, rear-wheel drive for a tighter turning radius that is easier on terrain.
It’s interesting to observe the marketing strategies different manufacturers have in a recession economy.
One common method is to simply stand pat and lay low with product innovation until the storm has past.
You’re seeing this response from some ATV-builders that once occupied considerable mind space in the marketplace – and are losing it quickly.
Some have stopped promoting their products and brand to the point they are not visible in any enthusiast media or even editorial. Insanely, they avoid the very people they need to be reaching out to in order to bolster sales.
Product enhancements are bare minimum and consist of paint variations and decals. Any changes are minor and limited to one or two models only. Magazines and websites stop reporting on their products because there’s simply nothing new to report.
This snowball effect has a big impact on their market share numbers and sales. ATV owners like new and shiny and will walk past perfectly good equipment to get to the latest and greatest stuff. It’s a fact. Meanwhile, panic continues and execs can’t figure out why sales are dropping.
On the other hand, some OEMs see a recession as an opportunity to gain market. While the competition is sitting dormant waiting for better days, the aggressive ones are pushing harder with promotion and innovative new models.
Buyers are still visiting those dealerships and spending there. It all seems like it should be an obvious strategy for success, but obviously it isn’t.
AJ Lester evaluates Campolast’s 4S track kit on a 2010 Ranger 800 XP with power steering.
In this segment he compares the Ranger’s abilities with the track kit on and then without to show how a Camoplast track kit can improve your capabilities over various terrain.
Like us on Facebook and stay up to speed with all that we do!
Hey, we don’t know much at this time but here are a few rock-solid observations based on the glances we’ve had.
First, the rear suspension: This is a very long travel multiple-link (probably 3-link like the Razor XP), trailing arm suspension using extremely long shocks.
This means there’s a front pivot on the trailing arm and two links mounted on top of one another on what we would refer to as radius rods or locater rods above and below the rear hubs and reaching to a frame substructure above and below the rear differential.
The positioning of the front pivots of the trailing arms is almost identical to the RZR – reaching virtually under the driver and passenger seats.
This positioning allows the use of forward mounted shocks that are about as long as what we’ve seen on some full race off-road vehicles (estimated 30-inches).
This length and positioning allows for what we would guess to be somewhere in the extreme range of 15 to 20-inches of travel at the rear axle, clearly exceeding the Razor XP.
A side effect of this long-arm rear end is an extended wheelbase. The Wildcat’s will be longer than the XP’s, so you can expect more stability at high speed – not a coincidence.
At the front, unequal length A-arms are used and they are long ones. Travel here will be in the 14-inch range, so the Wildcat is going to be wide. We expect power steering.
Power is rumored to be coming from a jacked version of the 1000 V-Twin with stainless dual exhaust, mounted super-low, behind the driver, in a lightweight tube chassis.
We’ve heard this mill is capable of 95-horses without much tweaking. There will be plenty more potential for tuners to wring out more. We can only guess at tranny and diff layout but we’re sure this setup will not be a design like the Prowler’s.
One more thing: This package is built for top speed. You can be sure it is targeted at the super-desert-racer-enthusiast market and Cat wants to make sure it does not disappoint.
Walker Evans Racing was out in full force at Rounds 5 and 6 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) with their RANGER RZR XP 900 and new V8 Pro Lite truck.
R.J. Anderson was trying to be the first to win UTV, Super Lite and Pro Lite classes in a weekend, and was successful in UTV and Super Lite, but ended up with a fourth place finish in Pro Lite on Sunday.
In Saturday’s Pro Unlimited UTV race, Anderson took second despite not being able to practice on Friday. On Sunday, he battled his way to the front of the class for the win for his second first place finish and third podium appearance.
He had won the Super Lite Class on Saturday in his new #37 Walker Evans Racing / SoCal Super Trucks/ Polaris Super Lite truck. Anderson sits in second for the LOORRS UTV series.
DIRT TRAX is an international award winning offroad motorsports program with National broadcast coverage on Sportsman Channel in the United States and in Canada on City TV, Wild TV, REV TV, Cowboy Channel, RFD TV and Sportsman Channel Canada, as well as international coverage on our popular YOUTUBE channel.
For all media, sponsorship, and other queries, please visit our Contact Us page.
© TRAX MEDIA INC 2022
