Snug Up Those Belts And Hang On!

If you threw a stick of TNT into a garbage can, slammed the lid on, sat down and held on tight, the upward accelerative force applied to your body from the explosion would be almost, but not quite as strong, as the forward force experienced when tramping the new Prowler XTZ 1000’s accelerator to the floor. By the way, never sit on a live stick of TNT without wearing a helmet.

What we’re talking about here is the two time All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine Best-in-Class Award winning Arctic Cat Prowler platform injected with the largest, most powerful mill ever seen in a SxS vehicle.

Take note, the Arctic Cat Thundercat’s 950cc V-twin lurks next to your right knee. The original Prowler platform powered by both 550 and 650 H1 carbureted “hemi” engines has been near and dear to our hearts.

In many ways, the Prowler is similar in layout to the legendary Yamaha Rhino. Its engine is located between the front seats, providing a slightly sportier look and feel than a Ranger XP. However, it’s important to understand its overall size is somewhat larger than a Rhino.

The frontal area of the Prowler is more Ranger-sized and the dump box is “Big Gulp” caliber, offering the highest sides in the biz. The Prowler’s double lined, molded plastic dump box is top-of-the-class for its precision finish and slick operation. The sides are high enough to contain messy loads and the tailgate is a tight fitting, consistent functioning piece with a one hand, truck style release.

Interior accoutrements are pleasing and mirror the classy level of trim in all Prowler models. The floor is an easy-to-clean and relatively flat plastic piece while the dash contains nice storage bins, a glove box and a multi-function gauge cluster identical to Arctic Cat’s Sport Utility ATVs.

Switch-gear for lighting and 4×4 activation is center mounted on the dash and falls readily to hand from either side. The steering wheel is a contentious item for most of our testers as it doesn’t tilt or telescope out of the way, interfering with entry and exit.

If you’ve got a two-cheeseburger gut, you’ll find the wheel downright intrusive. Seating is comfortable and both seats remove easily to provide access to the engine after removing the one-piece molded cover. We’ll make it clear from the outset, you can’t haul three in a Prowler, period.

The Prowler has a stout and functional roll cage with a high mounted brake light. Combination shoulder and lap belts are a great inclusion and must be used to ensure both occupants stay put in this high performance vehicle. Actually, we felt uncomfortable at any speed in the XTZ without belts on.

The XTZ 1000 adds some pretty sweet stuff to the Prowler platform. Ryde FX take-apart aluminum body gas shocks hang on all four corners. The XTZ gets nifty box rails, rock crusher bars on the running boards and a functional front brush guard.

A fiery orange mist paint job and faux hood scoop are nice touches and grab attention everywhere you go. The V-twin reactor buried in the frame emits a deep and ominous melody capable of sending mothers and small children searching for cover. Lastly, the XTZ sports four sweet looking cast aluminum wheels shorn with gnarly rubber.

Obviously, Arctic Cat is targeting the performance buyer with the XTZ 1000 and even though their path is identical to both Kawasaki’s Teryx “S” and Yamaha’s Rhino SE, all three of these hot-rodded sport-more-than-utility vehicles have one issue keeping them from ultimate head-on comparos to the RZR “S”.

If you park the XTZ next to the RZR “S” you can easily identify the RZR’s advantage. The Prowler’s engine placement is probably as much as 6-inches higher than the RZR’s. This single issue makes a tangible difference in the handling traits of the two vehicles. Simply put, the RZR can corner faster and flatter than any utility based sport SxS.

Now that we have that out of the way, we can talk about the XTZ’s handling. Clearly, all Prowlers display even, linear turn-in and hold a steady line in the woods or on fire roads at speed. The suspension package Arctic Cat massaged for the XTZ continues the tradition of generous wheel travel and, as a result of a standard rear anti-sway bar, nice side-to-side balance in both powerslides and on off-camber tight trails.

This vehicle is stupid fast. As if its 75-mph top speed alone wasn’t formidable enough, getting there is cannon-like. This creates the deliberate need for pilots to not be just judicious but really careful with their right foot.

So abrupt is the power delivery from this 75hp V-twin, EFI, 950cc monster, we actually had to practice throttle application to achieve less than jerky response at both engagement and mid-throttle. Frankly, we were never able to sort out the engagement drill with the XTZ. This one area of operation, specifically throttle calibration is, in our opinion, not acceptable for the average consumer.

It simply is easier to just slam the throttle down and not bother feathering it. It’s that abrupt. We think Arctic Cat should revisit the throttle linkage and develop something less touchy in an effort to produce more linear action. Having said that, no one who drove the XTZ came away anything but impressed – very impressed – with the way the vehicle pulls.

If you’re a rancher, hunter, fisherman or weekend family ATVer looking for a UTV to compliment your fleet, we would caution you to ask yourself if you need this much bare-chested aggression and unadulterated power. The garden variety SE Prowler 650 is a superb UTV that performs at or near the top of this segment and might be a better choice.

The XTZ is an outperforming, targeted-for-competition vehicle capable of intimidating all but the very experienced. Don’t get us wrong, we love this thing. However, we don’t use it for hauling sandwiches to trail-side picnics.

Arctic Cat has a corporate edict it holds mostly true to in every business it participates in: “Always occupy the highest performance segment of the sport you build product for”. For readers unfamiliar with Arctic Cat snowmobiles, last year the company introduced, in response to a competitive snowmobile producing about 150hp, a turbocharged, intercooled 175hp model to effectively slam the door shut on the “who is fastest question”.

If you lean to owning the biggest, baddest and fastest, there’s simply no other place for you to go but straight to your Arctic Cat store and sign up for the most radically powerful SxS available… the Prowler XTZ 1000.

Also see…

– TEST RIDE: Arctic Cat Prowler XTZ

A YFZ Variation That Works way Better Than We Anticipated!

At first glance you may be squinting hard to see what’s different about the YFZ-450X and, while aesthetically the X and R packages are nearly identical, there are a few major changes differentiating these two very different Sport rockets.

While there’s no doubt the R is designed for the track, the X is a purpose-built cross country or enduro racer giving Yamaha riders the ultimate platform to base their choice on.

The most noticeably different parts on the YFZ-450X are up front. While it looks similar to the R, in reality, its stance is 2.7 inches narrower.

In the grand scheme of things this doesn’t seem like a lot, however, firsthand ride experience will leave you with a different opinion.

On tight woods courses the narrower stance allows carving tight twisties with increased confidence at higher speeds. While the reduced width was intended to allow racers more freedom when riding narrower trails, one of the side effects is a reduction in bump steer.

Because the wheels are closer to the chassis and the tie rods are shorter, the overall leverage that a rock or log would have over the tire to rip the bars out of your hands is greatly reduced.

When woods riding, this means you feel less abuse and are able to ride at your highest potential. In simpler terms, it means you can win more races.

Yamaha’s engineering team didn’t stop with just a narrower stance. Fast trail riding and GNCC racing requires much quicker and sharper turning than an MX ATV allows.

Yamaha wisely chose to reduce the caster angle from 5-degrees to 4. On paper it sounds minimal but on the trail this subtle tweak allows the X to turn in a more linear arc while decreasing the overall turning radius. The result is tight left-to-right directional inputs with reduced steering effort and less motion of the handlebars.

It’s interesting to note in comparison to the original YFZ450 the new X has a 23.4mm longer A-arm (tie-rods are shorter) with similar wheel travel but still manages a width of 46.1 inches. Huh? This is all thanks to the A-arm mounts being located closer together at the center of the ATV’s frame.

Due to the width change, suspension travel did get a minor reduction from 9.8 inches on the R to 9.4 on the X. While less travel is never thought to be a benefit, the X package suspension calibration seems to offer a more usable spectrum of travel than even the R does.

This, coupled with reduced bump steer, makes for an incredibly precise handling ATV. The X’s engine is the same as the 2009 YFZ 450R but does feature newer EFI calibration and therefore responds better throughout the power band. This calibration was so well received that it found it’s way onto the 2010 450R, too.

Now that there’s both a track and trail version of the YFZ450, it does seem odd Yamaha didn’t opt to factory equip the R with race rubber and the X with a trail pleasing tread.

Yamaha believes consumers can trick out their rides after the fact and not everyone wants the track or trail rubber found on other Pure Sport ATVs. While we think a better tire would bode well for Yamaha, we really don’t think it’s a big enough problem to turn buyers off.

While differences between an “X” and an “R” appear minimal, almost indiscernible to the human eye, riding characteristics of the two YFZs are polar opposites.

At All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine we’ve been telling Pure Sport riders to buy what they need and not what looks the coolest. Fact is, Yamaha just made this critical decision easier.

The X is fully capable of track riding but its heart is in the back forty, right where the majority of 450 riders find themselves most of the time.

Also check out:

– TEST RIDE: 2009 YFZ 450 R SE

A Solid List of Improvements Broadens Renegade’s Appeal

Can-Am isn’t interested in playing things safe and it’s the reason the 2010 Renegade X gets a big boost of visual sizzle and an even bigger boost in technology.

The Renegade’s new acronym, Xxc, stands for “X package Cross Country”, a fitting name for a crossover design that meshes 4-wheel drive with huge sport appeal.

The biggest news is the inclusion of Can-Am’s all new Dynamic Power Steering (DPS). This is the same power steering system found on 2010 Outlander XT and XTP models. DPS is a totally new design and offers riders the dual choices of high and low output, adjustable-on-the-fly modes.

The dual mode system means you can decrease the power steering input on high-speed trails by selecting DPS-MIN and, on the flip side, increase power input when you’re plying the handlebars in tight trail situations or riding over gnarly mud or rock sections by selecting DPS-MAX. In the latter mode, small handlebar movements go a long ways.

While the system truly is a high-low design, its also dynamic in function, meaning that in both minimum and maximum settings the output of the power steering unit is decreased the faster you go to help reduce wobbles or uneasiness at higher speeds. This is very similar to the way an automotive power steering unit works and is completely seamless in function on the Renegade.

After putting miles on the Xxc we began to notice that power steering goes a long way toward settling down the front end when impacting large obstacles like rocks or stumps that would normally tear the bars out of your hands. Since steering effort is reduced so much, longer rides seem shorter and, at the end of the day, you feel like you could do it all over again.

While power steering is an added expense when you roll an ATV out of your local dealership, it truly is beneficial because it improves your riding experience measurably. Our only complaint with this particular power steering system is that on both MIN and MAX settings there’s a bit too much assistance.

We’d actually like the steering effort to be more similar to non-power steering at high speeds. Currently it feels a little more twitchy than some competitors’ power steering set-ups at these speeds.

This Renegade is still powered by the same fire breathing 800R EFI V-twin pumping out 71-horsepower. New to the driveline is Can-Am’s Visco-Lok QE front differential that is now able to lock the front diff in less wheel rotations for a more positive engagement and quicker 4WD results when you need them.

In the suspension department the Xxc uses the same high quality KYB piggyback and remote reservoir shocks as last season. These dampers are multi-way adjustable with enough variations to please the most seasoned ATV guru.

A new addition to the front suspension is a front sway bar that helps to reduce body roll when the Renny is being pitched into a hard cornering situation. While we didn’t feel the need for a sway-bar on previous models, the addition really keeps the front end tracking where you want it to go while planting the front wheels steadfastly on terra firma.

The graphics for 2010 are aggressive and stylish but the yellow bead-lock wheels are more than just show. These rugged hoops actually lock the bead of the tire to the rim and are a must for cross-country racers. They not only keep the tire from spinning on the wheel but also protect the bead and lip of the rim from harsh rock abuse.

The Xxc is “all boxes checked” and ready to go where the most demanding cross-country rider would dare to take it. Just remember, if you want power steering on your Renegade this year, it’s Xxc or nothing!