Regardless of how much dust is on your dash, how many tools are rattling away in the door pockets, or important papers sprouting from the center console of your truck, when riding in nasty weather, it doesn’t take long to appreciate the comfort of a windshield and roof. Side x Sides can be down-right miserable in cold or wet weather. Unlike an ATV where body movement helps to keep you warm, with a Side x Side, you simply sit there and suffer through the misery as best you can.
Kawasaki's Trail Taming, Overachieving Brute Force 300
Written By:
John Arens
It’s easy to overlook smaller displacement machines in favor of much larger, more powerful models. The old saying, “Good things come in small packages,” certainly applies to ATVs as well, and one of the best examples is Kawasaki’s Brute Force 300. It not only looks great, but after our last ride on the 300, we knew it was something special. We needed to get one on our turf for some extended weekend trail time.
Polaris likes to get a jump on the competition each year with an early release of a new model. Usually that means a high performance machine meant to set the pace for the rest of the season. This year though, they opted to bring out not just one new model but two, and they couldn’t be more different. Get ready for the all-new Sportsman ACE and the Scrambler XP 1000.
There is a bit of a renaissance going on with ATV development lately and rather than all R&D being concentrated at the top of the food chain, this work is squarely in the middle. We call it a “back to basics” movement and a few progressive manufacturers have been concentrating their development on mid-sized machines that are versatile, capable, and offer great features in a very value conscious package.
Almost every rider loves to explore new trails and get up close and personal with Mother Nature. Sometimes though, it’s just about the rush. The thrill of making it to the top of a huge hill, flying over a jump, or conquering a watery mud pit where others have failed always delivers a shot of adrenaline to the spine. We’ve all been there, and once tasted, you’ll never get over the addiction. As we said, sometimes it’s about the rush. Recently we found a new riding area capable of delivering those thrills but also much more. Its name, appropriately: RUSH OFF-ROAD.
We’re often asked about great places to ride. There are thousands of miles of trails, forest, dunes, and desert to explore. With summer here, it's time to gather up your family and gear, load up the trailer, and set out for a little off-road vacation. We've picked out a few of our favorite places, and by no means is our list complete, but regardless of where you live, there is a riding area near you. Go make a memory!
A sure sign of summer is the kickoff of annual festivals celebrating everything from fowl, at the Wayne, Nebraska chicken show “Cluck Dynasty,” to cow chips at the “Tournament of Chips” parade and cow chip throwing festival in Wisconsin. Difficult as it may be, I’m pretty sure we’ll miss those two bastions of high-jinx and hilarity, but there are plenty of ride festivals to help us soldier on. Ride festivals are a chance to spend time with friends, to make new friends, and to experience great trails across the country. Here’s our list of some of the best. See you there!
There is nothing like the joy of bringing home a new ATV or Side x Side and those first riding adventures together. The trails are always smoother, the riding is always better, and the sky is even a deeper blue on those first outings with your new, made in heaven (or Minnesota, Ohio, Nebraska or Georgia) relationship. Make no mistake, it is a relationship too, and like all relationships, it’s the ability to make it through the tough times that really is the measure of lasting value.
A Place So Secret Most Employees Have Never Seen It
Written By:
John Arens
The sun had not yet burned through the morning fog as the giant manufacturing plant slowly and silently appeared. Between the bean and corn fields of central Ohio, in a place one would expect to find farm auctions and county fairs is one of the world’s premier makers of everything from cars to aircraft. Honda’s R&D Americas had invited a lucky few for an unprecedented look inside their most secret facility and we were on the short list. There was no way we were going to miss it!
Getting right to the point -this is a really fun machine! As much as we love the open desert, we have been anxious to try Arctic Cat’s long promised, 50 inch wide trail machine because, like everyone else living east of the Mississippi, tight woods and narrow, twisty trails are the domain in which we live and ride. Finally Arctic Cat was answering the call for a value conscious, dedicated trail machine designed for our neighborhood and we couldn’t wait to try it out.