Getting ready for King of the Hammers 2010 UTV Race

I am in the final stretch on a UTV build for the 2010 King of the Hammers UTV Race that will be held in Johnson Valley on February 11, 2010.

Pit Bull Tires has stepped up to the challenge and is proud to be the Title Sponsor of the UTV King of the Hammers race and is offering up a first place purse for this stand alone race of $5,000.

Last year, five vehicles competed in the desert and in some of the most extreme rock crawling environments. This year, the course will be a little longer, a little harder, and will utilize some of the King of the Hammers rule book which includes no spectator help, only competitor help.





Here are some specifications on our 2008 Kawasaki Teryx:

• 2009 Engine and Harness - Kawasaki
  
• Frame & Roll Cage - Roggy Enterprises
  
• Exhaust - Muzzys Performance
  
• 840cc Big Bore - Muzzys Performance
  
• Long Travel Shocks - Fox Racing Shox
  
• Power Steering - Unisteer
  
• Steering Rack - Unisteer
• Long Travel Kit - Funco
  
• Aluminum - MFS
  
• UHMW Skid Plate - Factory UTV
  
• Fuel Management - MSD Ignition
  
• Clutch Kit - Dalton Industries
  
• Clutch Cover - Dalton Industries
  
• Two Seat Radio & Intercom - Rugged Race Products
  
• Radiator - Griffin
  
• Fuel Cell - Summit Racing
  
• Seats - Beard
  
• Harnesses/Restraints - Simpson Racing
  
• Rear View Panoramic Mirrors - Axia Alloys
  
• Window Nets - Simpson Racing
  
• Fire Suit - Simpson Racing
  
• 500W Stator Kit - Side x Side Customs
  
• LED Lights - Rigid Industries
  
• Battery Isolator - Black Rhino Performance
  
• Kwik Jak - Baja Designs
  
• Winch - Warn
• Winch Fairlead - Custom Splice

More Details about the race:

• Pit Bull Tires UTV King of the Hammers $5,000 Purse Largest in History of UTV Racing
• 2009 King Of the Hammers UTV Race
• www.KingOfTheHammers.com
• Teryx Build
  

On the cover of Side x Side Action Magazine

I made it on the cover of another Side x Side Action Magazine this month. That is a blue Polaris RANGER EV (electric vehicle) that I am driving at the Polaris R&D facility in Wyoming, Minnesota during their 2010 press intro.

I traveled to the Polaris event with Mike Lasher of Side x Side Action Magazine, and that is how I ended up on the cover.

The RANGER EV is a pretty unique vehicle. It is definitely not like your run-of-the-mill golf cart, but it does run on batteries. Polaris introduced the value-priced, Midsize RANGER 400 and the company’s first electric vehicle, RANGER EV. Both of these units share the same, smaller, two-seat chassis, that fits in the back of a pickup truck, with many of the hardest working, smoothest riding features of their full-sized counterparts: On-Demand True All-Wheel Drive with VersaTrac, Independent Rear Suspension, heavy duty front end protection, high ground clearance and the longest suspension travel in their class.

More info on the 2010 Polaris RANGER lineup.

Headed to Henderson for Vegas to Reno Race

I am headed to Henderson, NV today to cover the Vegas to Reno off-road race.

"Live" Coverage of Vegas to Reno The Long Way will be available starting Wednesday at Contingency, Thursday-Saturday through the pits and nightly updates, and wrapping it all up in Reno at the Awards Ceremony on Sunday.

"Live" is in quotes since we are going to be in the boonies most of the day and cell service and wireless internet are pretty sketchy.

We'll be in Henderson on Wednesday AM taking pictures of all the UTVs during contingency. Then each night we will be uploading photos from the days event. Live updates on Twitter as cell service allows.

A few different ways to get "current" reports and see photos:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/utvguide -quick status and a few pictures

UTV Weekly.com: http://utvweekly.com/index.php/2009/08/live-coverage-of-bitd-vegas-to-reno-utv-race - nightly photo galleries and race day overview

UTV Guide: http://www.utvguide.net/trip_report_vegas_to_reno_2009.htm

Should be interesting. 3 days of racing. 996 miles.

Schedule:
Wednesday - Contingency
Thursday - Beatty to Tonopah
Friday - Tonopah to Hawthorne
Saturday - Hawthorne to Dayton
Sunday - Awards Ceremony

Muzzys Performance Products On Board to Build Race Teryx Engine

I made a trip over to Infineon Raceway today and met up with Rob Muzzy of Muzzys Performance Products. Rob and his crew at Muzzys are going to take our 2009 Kawasaki Teryx EFI V-Twin engine that we are going to use in our Race Teryx Project and do a couple of performance modifications for us. Stay tuned as we decide how big to go!

Rob Muzzy is the USA's most successful motorcycle racing team manager. For 25 years he has run successful Kawasaki bikes in an assortment of circuit racing, road racing and motocross, winning 19 major titles in total. In the last few year's, Rob has got on board with the UTV Market, and Muzzys now builds exhaust and performance products for Kawasaki Teryx, Polaris RZR and Yamaha Rhino.

Muzzys Performance Products is based in Bend, OR and can be reached at: 541-385-0706 or on the internet at: www.muzzys.com.

Race Teryx is getting a major overhaul!

Our Kawasaki Teryx that we use for racing has gone under the knife for some major surgery. Bob at Roggy Enterprises has taken it down to the minimum in order to build it up right.

Plan is to set it up for King of the Hammers, a little short course racing with VORRA and maybe some desert too.

Follow along with the build at:

http://www.utvguide.net/teryx_race.htm

Here is what the Teryx looked like for the 2009 King of the Hammers UTV race:

http://www.utvguide.net/teryx_koh_project.htm

Are Sport UTVs destined to go the way of the Honda ATC?

By Jon Crowley, www.utvguide.net

I was just interviewed by a free lance reporter who is writing an article on the Yamaha Rhino and I got to thinking about sport UTVs. Are Yamaha Rhinos, as well as other sport UTVs headed in the direction of the infamous Honda ATC three-wheeler from back in the 1980’s?
If you remember way back when in 1982 (it really isn’t that long ago), Honda introduced the ATC 200 Big Red. The ATC was a great machine, but as popularity exploded, so did the accident rate.
The increase in accident levels lead to an investigation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In 1986, CPSC statistics suggested that most accidents were due to improper rider behavior that ignored manufacturer warnings. No inherent flaw was found in the three-wheel design.
Honda’s owner’s manual and product warning labels stressed the importance of preper operation to its customers. Through a national industry safety campaign, there was a 33 percent decline in recorded CPSC injury statistics between 1984 and 1988.
Nevertheless, in 1988, ATV manufacturers entered into a 10 year agreement with the CPSC. Under the agreement ATV manufacturers made a $100 million commitment to expand safety programs. Additionally, even though three-wheel ATC sales were dropping off, manufacturers agreed to stop distributing ATCs in the U.S.
If history is bound to repeat itself, the sport UTV is headed in a similar direction as the ATC three-wheeler. The Yamaha Rhino is currently the biggest target, and Yamaha has worked out an agreement with the CPSC to “repair” existing Rhinos. Yamaha is facing an onslaught of lawsuits from users that for the most part have tipped their vehicles over and have been injured or killed.
From what I have seen in reviewing many of the accidents that I see reported in the newspapers, a lot can be blamed on users not following manufacturer guidelines for proper use. For example, here are the two most recent accidents that happened in May 2009:

• 13 Year Old Dies in Rhino Rollover (http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?S=10447312)
• Father Dies, 5 Children Injured in Rhino Rollover (http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?S=10447312)
  

The accidents are tragic, that is for sure. But if you look past the inflammatory reporting you will find that in both instances, many guidelines were completely ignored that would have either prevented the accident or surely lessened the severity.

In the case of the 13 year old boy, he was not wearing a seat belt, he is under 16 years old, the Rhino was new (lack of experience), he was not wearing a helmet and there was no adult supervision.

With the father that died in the roll over, the Rhino was carrying one driver and 5 children as passengers in a two person vehicle. No one had seat belts on, and the father was carrying his one year old son on his lap.

If I am reading the tea-leaves correctly, I can see that improper use of sport UTVs will soon affect all of us. Will the CPSC step in and limit how powerful side x side vehicles can be? Will helmets become mandatory equipment just like they are in California for ATVs? Will manufacturers be forced to add even more safety equipment? Do you get the point?
All of these lawsuits and the bureaucrats at the CPSC are going to force manufacturers to limit how much fun we can have in our beloved UTVs. That is the sad truth.

Here are a few guidelines to remember to help keep you safe in a side x side vehicle:

• Always wear your seat belt
• Always wear a helmet
• Don’t drink and drive
• Keep arms and legs in the vehicle at all times
• Abrupt maneuvers or aggressive driving can cause rollovers – even on flat, open areas
• Learn the limits of your vehicle and your driving ability
• Children under 16 should never drive a side x side vehicle

Beyond following the guideline provided by vehicle manufacturers, use some common sense and take responsibility for your actions. Just because you have an accident doesn’t mean there is a problem with the vehicle and you should be owed a lot of money.

A quick Memorial Day ride

Went on a last minute ride up near Iron Mountain (Pollock Pines, CA area) on Memorial Day. I just had time to set up a flag on the RANGER HD before heading out on the trails. We also had a Polaris RZR S and a Kawasaki Teryx on the trail.

2009 Polaris RZR HD - Long Term Review