This year was a long winter, with many days spent out on the snow generating editorial for the snowmobile site, so it felt really good to switch gears and get back off-road and on the sand. And what a great way it was to kick off the season with a trip to Little Sahara sand dunes in Idaho with the guys from ZBroz racing with their 2008 RZR mod.
Little Sahara is a great place for side-by-sides, as it has a wide range of terrain and the dunes are a little smaller than our usual riding spot in Saint Anthony. We found the smaller dunes are actually more fun because the RZR doesn’t have the power to climb up some of the larger bowls like you can on a quad or motorcycle. There is also an endless supply of sand trails at Little Sahara that wind through trees and sage brush.
The suspension has been completely redone with a long travel system comprised of +4” ARS-FX a-arms that increase the travel from the stock 8” up to 12”. For the longer a-arms to work the axles and tie-rods also need to be extended this was accomplished with a replacement longer tie-rod and 4340 hardened axle shafts front and rear.
The brake lines on the rear were re-routed but the front required new lines. Shocks were upgraded to EXIT 50mm dual rate remote reservoir units. These shocks offer a broad range of adjustment so the driver can dial in the suspension for different types of terrain. Compression dampening is easily adjusted with a knob on the reservoir and spring characteristics can also be changed with preload and different size crossovers. The crossovers are floating collars that sit inside the springs and control when each spring is used in the travel it does this by bottoming out the crossover forcing the remaining travel to be absorbed with the different rate spring. It’s a simple and effective method of giving the user a greater scope for tuning.
The new rollcage on this RZR is complete with light bar and spare tire mount. The new cage extends over the bed of the RZR and has a built in rear bumper.
Five Hella 500 lights provide plenty of light for night driving.
Watch the Video!
(Right) If you want to go fast in a Side X Side, upgrading the seats and safety belts is mandatory. These Beard suspension seats offer much better support and are more comfortable on rough terrain. Crow 4 point harnesses keep the driver and passenger secured firmly in the seat.
The RZR now handles the terrain much better than before with the upgraded suspension. The roll cage and seating modifications make it safer for driving at the speeds that the better suspension make possible, so what the RZR really needs now is more power. Hopefully this summer either a supercharger or turbo system will be installed. We will keep you posted.
Idaho based ATV-UTV writer Stephen Clark is fortunate to have excellent sand dunes in the surrounding area. During the summer months Stephen spends a lot of time on the dunes shooting and riding ATV's and UTV's. Stephen's technical writing style gives readers a in-depth look into the subject at hand.
Articles by Stephen Clark
post a comment
Untitled Document
Sponsored Links
Off-Road Videos - Check out over ten years of extreme 4x4 action, product testing and the Off Road Nation at play. Baja racing to rock crawling, ATVs in the sand to motorcycles in the dirt, it's all here. Rate them, share them and upload your own.
ATV Reviews - Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Polaris, Kawasaki, Can-Am. First rides to long-term tests, check out the latest in ATVs, UTVs and Side-by-Side vehicles of every make and model. Read expert opinions and follow custom project vehicles.
Axxxtion Sports..... Axxxtion Sports is heating things up with their 2010 Winter Heat snowmobile calendar! Simply Sexy!
Suspension
(Right) If you want to go fast in a Side X Side, upgrading the seats and safety belts is mandatory. These Beard suspension seats offer much better support and are more comfortable on rough terrain. Crow 4 point harnesses keep the driver and passenger secured firmly in the seat.
