Under the Renegade’s sporty bodywork resides the awesome 62 horsepower V-twin 800 with EFI pirated from the Outlander 800 HO. It’s bolted to a near identical SST spar frame claiming myriad weight reductions. Can you believe this beast is 42 pounds lighter than the 800 Outlander?

Clearly, a large chunk of the weight loss comes from the cut, shaved and totally redesigned bodywork sheathing this stealthy fighter. Oh yeah, chopping out the front and rear racks saves pounds, too.

Up front, the redesigned “RS” front end uses many of the 800 Outlander’s components with a few extra tweaks to deliver sportier handling and an increase in wheel travel to 9 inches. Gas shocks and a slightly tweaked lower A-frame mounting angle are the biggest changes on the chassis itself. After riding it, we felt the front end of the Renegade was far superior to the Outlander.

The rear end also receives “RS” tweaking, translating into 10 inches of wheel travel by using BRP’s HPG (High Pressure Gas) shocks to produce a sportier feel and improved ride over sustained whoops at higher speeds.

Power gets to the ground using the familiar Visco-Lok drive train via all-new rolled outer and inner reinforced billet aluminum rims. These wheels are incredibly strong, very light and, most importantly, seriously cool looking. The new rims are wrapped in ITP Holeshot ATR radials and deliver all-round performance in both mud and wide open trail surfaces.

Standard features include a cool new Renegade-specific LCD gauge pack, DESS security key and a quad pack of 60-watt projector beams up front. The Renegade utilizes the solid components of the Outlander, its insane horsepower and a good hit of Pure Sport adrenaline to create an off-road monster that’s ready for whatever you want to throw down.

Press Release –

Traci Cecco won her seventh race of the year and wrapped up the 2006 GNCC ATV women’s championship on Saturday, June 24 in McHenry, Maryland.

With four races left in the series, the YFZ450 rider has accumulated 176 points and an unassailable lead over Angel Atwell, also on a YFZ450. Including Cecco and Atwell’s machines, Yamahas accounted for six of the top 10 finishers in the women’s event.

The morning race was held at The Wisp, a ski resort noted for its steep, rocky terrain. “It was a good day,” Cecco said afterwards. “I pulled the holeshot, won the women’s race, took the overall win and the championship. This is the second race in a row that has gone so well. I attribute it to my bike always coming to the track well prepared. I do my training, but GNCC is also mental and you have to have your head on right.”

In the Pro race on Saturday afternoon, YFZ450-mounted Bill Ballance battled with series rival Chris Borich throughout the four-lap event, with the pair rarely more than two seconds apart over two hours.

Ballance completed the first lap in third place behind Chris Jenks and Borich, then moved up to second on lap two. Ballance took the lead for good on the fourth and final lap, opening up a four-second gap over Borich at the flag.

Press Release –

Yamaha YZ250-mounted Barry Hawk earned his second GNCC victory of the year on June 25 in McHenry, Maryland.

Hawk topped series leader Juha Salminen and Justin Williamson – also aboard a Yamaha – to take a convincing win in some of the worst racing conditions imaginable. He still commands second place in the standings with four races left to go in the 2006 GNCC season.
 
The steep, rocky terrain was made tougher by rain that started Saturday night at The Wisp ski resort where the event was held, and which continued right through Sunday’s six-lap, 60-mile race.

Hawk got off the line in sixth place with fellow YZ250 rider Charlie Mullins in the lead. He worked his way up to fourth after the first lap, when all the leaders pitted for new goggles, then passed Salminen on lap two, only to lose the lead when he stopped for another set of goggles.

In fact, Hawk stopped every lap for new goggles – but his clear vision finally paid off as he took the lead for good on lap four. Hawk throttled his YZ250 to a minute’s lead by the finish.
 
“That was probably the hardest race I’ve done in a long time,” said Hawk after the event. He celebrated in good humor by making a “snow angel” in the mud. Well done Barry!