Product Reviews

Have you ever gotten back from a ride and looked at a map to see where you’d been? And how many times have you been to a sweet ride spot but couldn’t remember where it was when you got home? Ever wondered what kind of speed you were carrying across the dunes or through a tight section of trail? At ATV&SXS Illustrated, we’re guilty of all three. At least… we USED to be!

Regardless of whether you ride a Kawasaki, Honda, Polaris, or Kymco, every ATV and Side x Side owner has to haul their machine at times, and loading in the back of a pickup is not an option with the larger machines, even with full-sized trucks. Unless you ride, hunt, and never leave the property behind your house, you’re going to need a trailer.

If you’ve got either a dirt toy or a band with an Axle in it, sooner or later you’re going to have problems. Just ask Slash and the other guys from Guns-N-Roses. Recently, when we came limping back to the shop with our Can-Am Commander, we had a dysfunctional axle of our own. Luckily for us, our axle problems were much easier to solve than those of Slash and the boys, and the only therapy needed was a little help from the guys at Gorilla Axle.

Summer means time for fun, but it also leads to one of the most despised jobs for all home and property owners: cutting grass. Just as with so many other tasks, luckily our year round four-wheeled buddies can help out and there are several mower options to cut your job down to size.

Unless you’re running a country club where reel mowers are the choice for a perfect cut, there are two main types of mowers you can pull behind your ATV. We’ll explain the benefits and uses of both.

We’ve seen all types of bolt on attachments, but we’ve never seen anything quite like the Kubota RTV RAC system developed by Seizmik. It won’t make you faster, your engine more powerful, or your machine more capable of climbing the dunes or slogging through muddy fields, but it absolutely excels at turning a hard-working UTV, like the Kubota RTV, into a four-wheeled work platform. It’s your truck, your shop, your toolbox, and your work buddy all in one tough, mobile package.

There is very little that can stop the heavy duty, hard working UTVs of today and almost without exception, they are all terrain, all weather vehicles. The trouble is, we’re not. While we love the first frosts of fall, chilly mornings for deer hunting, and even the first snows that slowly parachute to the ground like a miniature airborne invasion, before long we’re tired of fighting the war. What starts as a pastoral, wintery marvel straight out of a Rockwell painting quickly becomes the party that went too long, with all the unbounded jubilance of a New Year’s Day hangover.

EMP only recently entered the Snow plow building business, but they’re off to a great start! They begin by using tough, American made steel and build the entire plow and hardware at their Cleveland, Ohio plant. At ¼” thick, the mounting structure and frame they use is almost twice as thick as many other plows.

Regardless of the season, our testing never stops. In rainy, cold, or just plain nasty conditions, that can mean a less than comfortable ride. One vehicle that sees almost daily use is our Polaris Ranger. Whether on a trail ride or wood hauling duty, like anybody else, we look for extra comfort where we can find it. When the snow began to fly last winter, it was time for a little more protection.

There is no piece of gear more important than your helmet. Regardless of whatever tires, wheels, winches, or any other accessory you bolt onto your ATV or UTV, one unfortunate whack on the head can make it all go away. We simply cannot overstate the value of a quality helmet, even for UTV riding, and here is what you need to look for.

For those of us that live in a northern climate, the first snowfall is often a wondrous event. School children leap from their desks to gather at the windows, amazed at the fluffy, giant flakes that drift to the ground, slowly turning everything pristine, pillow soft, and white. Invariably, a few radio stations can’t resist playing “White Christmas” for a sentimental caller or two, and for one quiet afternoon, it’s Americana, as captured by a Norman Rockwell painting.