DuneFest 2012 at Winchester Bay, OR
By Jon Crowley, UTVGuide.net This was my third year attending DuneFest and it went off better than ever. More vendors and it was well organized. Plus the weather was incredible for four out of five days! DuneFest is held in theWinchester Bay Dunes which are part of theOregon Dunes National Recreation Area. DuneFest is organized by the Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce and the Sand Camping/Staging facilities which are on National Forest Lands is authorized by a special use permit from the Siuslaw National Forest. The entire dunes at Winchester Bay are set aside for DuneFest from Wednesday to Sunday. To get into the dunes and the DuneFest event, you need an arm band. I stayed at the Winchester Bay Inn and staged my trailer by the Muzzys booth in Sand Camping Area “C”. This worked well for me because I locked my UTVs up in the enclosed trailer at night and drove my truck over the the motel. The Winchester Bay Inn is right near Salmon Harbor. It is convenient, reasonably priced and clean. I brought up out Arctic Cat Wildcat and also picked up a brand new John Deere Gator RSX850i at the dealer in Roseburg on the way in. It was nice to have two UTVs with me since I was there for five days. It is a long way to travel, and it would be a bummer to have an issue with one of the units early in the trip. Thankfully, that worry was unwarranted as both demo units performed without a hitch. I ended up trading back and forth between vehicles several times a day and that made each trip into the dunes different. The Wildcat is a pure sport machine and the RSX850i is sport-utility. What this means is the Wildcat is built with long-travel suspension, higher horsepower and not much cargo area. The RSX850i has standard travel, a 2-inch receiver and a dump bed capable of doing work. The Wildcat is bread for moving through the chopped up dunes, but can’t haul a load of firewood to save its’ life. So don’t try and put these two vehicles in a head to head comparison because they weren’t built to compete with each other. We picked up a new RSX850i on the way to DuneFest and put it to the test in Winchester Bay. The Sport model features sport seats, alloy wheels with Maxxis tires, PreRunner bumper, cargo box rails, sport steering wheel and FOX 2.0 Performance Series shocks. This was the first trip with our new demo unit and it performed flawlessly! For a stock sport-utility UTV, the RSX850i is a solid performer and a great move for John Deere’s first venture into the less utilitarian world. This isn’t a pure-sport UTV, it isn’t fair to compare it straight up against models in that class, but it does very well when compared to the Commander, Rhino, Teryx and Prowler. The power from the Piaggio v-twin felt good. Not as powerful as a Commander 1000, but definitely more grunt than a Teryx. I believe there is a lot of potential left untapped with intake (single 36mm throttle body has got to be restrictive) and exhaust work. The suspension is unique, and for a 56.5″ wide, non-long travel UTV I was real impressed. Our Arctic Cat Wildcat was big fun at DuneFest. Paddle tires from Fullerton Sand Sports, new dual exhaust installed at DuneFest by Muzzys, Pro Armor doors and graphics and Rigid Industries SR LED light added some personality and punch to this sport UTV! The Wildcat really shined in the Winchester Bay Dunes. I rode most of the time with two people in the car, and as the week progressed the dunes got more chopped up. We could bomb through terrain that other UTVs would not be able to handle at half the speed. The only issue I say in the suspension is trying to set the car up for two people with optimal g-out and whoops control. If you add more compression to handle the g-outs in the rear, it tends to buck more in the whoops. This is really only an issue when riding hard in the dunes with two people, but that is what I like to do. I would also like to see how a set ofFox Racing Shox Position Sensitive Shocks perform in the rear. Maybe FOX will even offer a 2.5″ setup in the near future! Muzzys Big Bore Arctic Cat Wildcat I got a chance to take the Muzzys Wildcat for a ride. It features dual exhaust, Stage II big bore power, Muzzys wet-clutch delete, Factory UTV skids, Fullerton Sand Sports sand tires and much more. Love the extra power and the wet-clutch delete! Moore Brothers in the Dunes We caught up with the Moore Brothers (Caleb and Colton) on the Poker Run on Saturday morning. They were riding in a Polaris RZR XP and were having big fun ripping up the dunes! In the Dunes Drag Racing
Last Man Standing UTV Race Sand Vendor Area Arctic Cat and Yamaha had their factory demo semis at DuneFest. Portland Polaris was giving demo rides as well. Muzzys was out in the sand area as well. Selling performance products and installing exhaust systems. Moore Brothers ATV Freestyle Caleb and Colton Moore put on several ATV Freestyle events at DuneFest 2012. These guys have mad skills and the crowd loved the action. DuneFest 2012 coverage brought to you by:
Ovation Award winner of “The Best Sporting Event in Oregon”. This five-day event is filled with exciting fun activities including adult and kid activities, Moto Cross Racing, Sand Drags, Poker Run, Treasure Hunt, Show N Shine, Drive-In Movie Night, Charity Auction, Freestyle Shows, evening entertainment featuring Rock The Dunes Friday and Saturday nights. Vendor Row offers ATVs, clothing, crafts, ATV accessories, and food booths. DuneFest offers A Kids Safe ATV Riding Area, Exciting Activities for all skill and age ranges, Non Ethanol Gasoline, premium fuel 92 octane, available in Salmon Harbor at the fuel dock, and a free shuttle bus service from Winchester Bay. With the help of hundreds of volunteers, DuneFest is the premiere ATV sand event in the country. DuneFest is a family-friendly atmosphere and boasts the slogan: “THE MOST FUN A FAMILY CAN HAVE IN THE SAND” Facilities under Special Use Permit with the Siuslaw National Forest & Douglas County Parks. DuneFest 2012 Schedule of Events: TUESDAY, July 31 WEDNESDAY, August 1st THURSDAY, August 2nd THURSDAY DRAGS Oregon Offroad Racing Association Sand Drag Racing FRIDAY, August 3rd 8:30 pm- DuneStar Racing night ride. Join us for an all-ages, family-friendly group night ride through the Oregon Dunes, We will stage under the Lower Umpqua light house Friday Aug 3rd at 8:30 pm, event to begin at 9:00 pm (Decibel check, and registration required) ROCK THE DUNES Music & Dancing FRIDAY DRAGS Oregon Offroad Racing Association Sand Drag Racing DRAG STRIP SATURDAY, August 4th ROCK THE DUNES Music & Dancing SATURDAY DRAGS 9:00 am – 10:30 am Thumper Wars Please Note: All Times are approximate: It is the racers responsibility to be at the track at the right time. SUNDAY, August 5th Free Air Station located at the Pre-Registration Booth location Provided by United Rentals and Mast Bros. Towing Keep The Oregon Dunes Clean by leaving your area pristine Please leave garbage at the dumpsters Drive Safely! Links:
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