Home Blog Page 434

Suzuki QuadRacer R450 Throo the Whoops

0

Sitting atop 20×7 front tires and 18×10 rears, the high-tensile steel frame of the Suzuki QuadRacer R450 uses a race ready steel swingarm that Suzuki claims to be more flexible, thus less prone to breaking.

Bolted to the swing arm is an impressive Kayaba piggyback offering adjustable high/low speed compression and rebound damping and adjustable spring preload.

Up front are two fully adjustable Kayaba piggybacks strapped into a super wide independent double wishbone front end. Putting the suspension to the test on California’s Glen Helen Raceway was all in a day’s work for the R450.

Whether tweaked out carving a hairpin in third gear or launching off the front triple, the geometry and design proved confidence inspiring all day long.

Read more about Suzuki’s QuadRacer R450 in the Buyer’s Guide edition of All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine. Available now!

POLL RESULTS

0

Our ATVMAG.COM exclusive poll asked you who deserved to win “Best New Concept” in All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine’s Best In Class Awards Issue. Out of more than 350 votes the results were as follows:

48.74% – Bombardier 800 Outlander Max (174 votes)
23.25% – Polaris Outlaw 500 (83 votes)
11.76% – Yamaha Wolverine (42 votes)
09.24% – Yamaha 450 Rhino (25 votes)
07.00% – Polaris X-2 (33 votes)

Scroll down the page to cast your vote in our latest poll!

Question:

Which of the newest Big Bore Sport Utility 4×4 ATV’s would you buy this year?

ITP INTRODUCES THE T-9 PRO SERIES TRAC-LOCK

Press Release –

ITP has taken a proven high-performance wheel design and given it a clean, simplified makeover with the all-new T-9 Pro Series Trac-Lock beadlock wheel.

The Trac-Lock is a competition-ready wheel that provides racers and aggressive trail or sand dune riders with exceptional tire retention capabilities while offering all the great features and benefits provided throughout ITP’s T-9 Pro Series wheel line.

These include a rugged .190 wall, a light yet amazingly strong center and a double-roll inner lip for even greater durability. The rugged, precision-formed outer bead retention ring is secured with tough, recessed allen bolts. The 4/110 bolt pattern also utilizes tapered, stainless steel lug nut inserts for a more true and secure fit on OEM wheel hubs that use tapered lug nuts.How good is the new Trac-Lock? Like all T-9 Pro Series wheels, it carries the rigorous QS 9000 quality certification!

The ITP Trac-Lock rolls out with polished or black finishes in 8×8 and 9×8 sizes with 4/110 and 4/115 bolt patterns. Look for more sizes to become available in the near future.

The Trac-Lock is a perfect complement to our proven, National-winning Pro-Lock beadlock model, but is slightly lighter, offers easier tire mounting and is more budget-conscious. No matter how you look at it, the new ITP Trac-Lock is a lot of wheel for the money!

Visit ITPtires.com

Unison Provides Offshore Support You Need

0

We’re receiving an increasing number of emails from readers who have purchased off-shore brand ATV’s and are looking for product and technical support.

Seems there’s a number of chain stores and other retailers who have sold various brands of off-shore ATV’s and are no longer in the business or sold these brands under a private label – no longer in existence.

Unison Motorsports has made significant moves to ensure its quality ATV’s are supported by a well informed, well equipped and stable dealer network.

To this end Unison has been growing the distribution of its ATV line-up by ensuring new dealers understand the product, set-up the product properly for delivery and have adequate service parts in stock as well as prompt access to service parts direct from Unison. This kind of commitment to customer service is encouraging news for ATV buyers.

In Canada Call Crank Motorsports at (604) 552-5822
In USA Call Unison at (626) 455-0578

Another Big Bore Report

0

The distinguished readers of All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine (that’s you) have had lots of questions surrounding the performance of a number of new Big Bore Sport/Utility ATVs since last issue’s Big Bore Shootout.

It’s our intention to update our Big Bore Shootout with a re-match between Bombardier’s Outlander 800 HO, our EFI Shootout winner; the Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI, the new Arctic Cat 700 EFI and Honda’s re-born Rincon 680 EFI. We might even throw in Bombardier’s 650 Outlander HO if we can obtain a PR unit by press time.

Watch for this report in an upcoming issue of All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine.

Bigger Bore Yamaha Grizzly?

0

We’ve been expecting big announcements from Yamaha during calendar year 2006. First, we’re looking for an all-new Grizzly Sport Ute.

It would seem logical Yamaha would drop a detuned version of the 2006 Raptor 700R’s EFI mill into an updated Grizzly platform.

The fit would be a no-brainer and the improvement in drivability and performance would be substantial. However, we’ve got to ask ourselves if Yamaha would be swinging a big enough bat at the competition with this change alone.

Thus far, among the big Japanese OEMs, only Kawasaki has used a twin cylinder engine in its Big Bore models, and it’s been a huge success.

We think it might be possible Yamaha will step up with a bigger-Big Bore and bring a V-twin mill in the 800-850cc range to the market.

Whatever Yamaha has coming in this important segment, don’t look for the current 660 Grizz to go away. The current 660 still holds title as one of the best selling Sport-Ute models anywhere on dirt and competes amazingly well against some pretty new and radically improved models.

Win Free ITP Tires For Your ATV!!!

0

Now when you subscribe to All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine, you could win a complete set of ITP tires for your ATV!

Subscribe or renew your subscription to All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine and get a 3-year subscription (12-issues) for only $21.99. That means you’ll be paying only $1.83 per issue for the sports’ best written, most informative and opinionated mag – and it’ll be delivered right to your door!

Renew now and we’ll enter your name in a draw to win one of two complete sets of ITP tires. Two complete sets will be awarded on June 30, 2006 so your chances are incredibly good!

Click here to subscribe online or call us toll free at 1-800-905-TRAX. Stay connected to the ATV industry this season and be the hero around the water cooler. Subscribe today!!

Polaris Outlaw Takes Top Honours

0

Innovation is the hallmark of the ATV industry and indeed, there’s been so much innovation in the last five years that it’s sometimes difficult to keep abreast of all the new technology.

This year, five new models have put a completely different spin on the industry and each is deserving of special credit for imagination and execution in All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine’s Best In Class Awards issue.

Top of the list is the amazing new brain child of Polaris – the Outlaw. The Outlaw’s first-ever independently rear suspended Pure Sport chassis will create a stir in the marketplace like nothing else.

The ride and handling from this IRS sport ATV is incomparable to any swingarm equipped sport 4-wheeler. After one ride our test crew was so throughly converted there was just no argument about the design’s superiority. The Polaris Outlaw has highmarked every other ATV in its class. Beat that.

ITP ROLLS OUT THE HOLESHOT GNCC

Press Release –

Over the last two decades, no ATV tire has visited winner’s circle more than the ITP Holeshot line. Now, in 2006, there is a Holeshot model available for virtually any type of off-road racing condition. This finely tuned specialization equates to being able to provide the absolute best tire possible for any given machine on any given terrain on any given day.

Now ITP has put an even tighter focus on the exploding woods racing scene with the release of the all-new Holeshot GNCC. As you might guess, the Holeshot GNCC is specifically designed for the type of riding environment found in the hugely popular Grand National Cross Country Championship Series.

Designed and developed for today’s long-travel, high-performance quads, the Holeshot GNCC offers exceptional overall capabilities, with an emphasis on reducing rider fatigue and lowering lap times — from the green flag to the checkered.

Lighter, easier steering is accomplished with the front Holeshot GNCC’s more rounded profile and angled knob pattern, while the rear GNCC’s more open tread and split-knob design provide exceptional straight-line grip, balanced cornering and unbeatable clean-out.

Great handling and traction are complemented by a super-tough carcass that can easily deal with all the tight trees, rocks, roots and ruts found on a typical GNCC race course. Long wear and puncture resistance were key considerations in the creation of the Holeshot GNCC. The more challenging the course, the greater advantage the Holeshot GNCC rider will enjoy.

The new Holeshot GNCC was engineered and tested with considerable input from ITP’s star GNCC Series riders, most notably Team Suzuki’s William Yokley. This woods racing veteran has been using the new GNCC extensively this season, and has already captured several top finishes.

He feels that the Holeshot GNCC is the next big step in tire technology, and anticipates using this new tire on virtually every type of course — in all conditions — in 2006. “Compared to the older tires, the GNCC front’s rounder profile lets it track straighter and ride smoother,” Yokley reports. “It’s a lighter tire, too, so it maneuvers easier and cuts down on feedback through the handlebars.There’s a lot less abuse to your hands, which makes a big difference two hours into a race. The rear GNCC is also lighter and very easy to sling around in the woods. The taller lugs give it so much more traction—it really hooks up, with a lot of grip and less wheelspin under power. But you can slide it around when you need to, with less bounce in rough corners. Overall these tires are very stable at higher speeds, but they also work really good in the slower ruts, rocks and braking bumps. They just don’t jerk you around as much, which really reduces fatigue. They seem to be wearing very well, and I’ve bashed them into a few big rocks and stumps and they’re holding up great.”

The Holeshot GNCC debuts in a 22×7-10 front and 20×10-9 rear size — with a 21×11-9 rear coming soon — all with durable 6-ply ratings. Visit ITPtires.com

Polaris X-2 ATV For All Reasons

0

Always busy, the out-of-the-box thinkers at Polaris also came up with a better way to transport two people on an ATV – the Polaris X-2.

Why not incorporate a 2-passenger seat and a dump box in one tidy package? Wrap this versatile feature in an updated Sportsman chassis with Versa-Trak unlocking rear differential and drop in a 500 single with EFI and you’ve got an ATV for all reasons.

Tell us who you think should’ve won Best New Concept in All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine’s 2006 Best In Class Awards. Scroll down the page and cast your vote!!