****JavaScript based drop down DHTML menu generated by NavStudio. (OpenCube
Inc. - http://www.opencube.com)****
Sport UTVs:
Annual UTV Industry Ride - Glamis
February 24 - 26, 2012
What happens when you mix fast cars, new and old
friends, some of the industries best aftermarket companies, and the
dunes of Glamis? A great time in the dunes!
It all started after a comment I made to Dave Kuskie of
Fullerton Sand Sports while up in Oregon for the
2011 DuneFest about us
needing to set up a UTV ride weekend for industry folks in Glamis.
Several months later, Dave called and said to put February 24 - 26, 2012
on my calendar. Right on! Someone did pay attention to my
babbling...
I told several shops about it and so did Dave, but
hadn't intended it to be anything more than an informal gathering.
I was pretty focused on the
King of the Hammers
UTV Race and did not do much of any planning until the race was
over. That is when I saw Fred from Pro Armor. I knew that Pro
Armor was already planning to attend, but asked Fred if Pro Armor would
want to join in with myself and Fullerton Sand Sports to help make this
first gathering even bigger. Absolutely was his answer and things
fell into place nicely in the week and a half after KOH.
Dave lined up the property at Glamis Beach Store so we
could all have a place to park without worrying about saving a large
area, and we even setup a catered taco dinner for Saturday. Now we
were talking.
I arrived early Thursday and got the area scoped out and
got my RZR XP
unloaded and ready. I had actually just raced it at King of the Hammers
and was thinking about how versatile UTVs have become when I could race
in the rocks one weekend then shred the dunes the next. Fun times to be
involved in this industry!
A few people rolled in on Thursday night and Friday
morning. I hooked up with Dave from Fullerton Sand Sports, Troy
from UTV Off-Road Magazine, Mark from Queen Racing and Rick and Dave
from Placerville Polaris for some great riding on Friday morning.
After a quick stop at Osborne Overlook, we headed off to
a photo opportunity where Mark Queen showed up the power of his
turbocharged Polaris RZR XP. Mark effortlessly stood his XP up in
the air with all the power. Very cool impressive for a vehicle he
put together just three days before.
From there we headed to another spot with some more
photo opportunities.
All of the guys above have turbo RZR XPs and it was fun
to watch the boost come on!
Friday afternoon and evening, the different shops kept
rolling into camp and I have set 9AM on Saturday as our group ride with
a few stops for photo shoots. We bombed out to Oldsmobile Hill then
found a spot to the east to take some photos.
RJ Anderson bombing through the whoops at Olds
It was fun to watch the stream of UTV come up to us from Oldsmobile
Hill.
After taking a ton of photos, we headed back over to
Olds and chilled for a bit. Then a bunch of us went on a
fast-paced ride to Osborne Overlook. It was really great to see a
big line of UTVs snaking through the dunes, and even better when we
arrived at Osborne Overlook with the whole group intact! The sun was
getting up in the sky and the dunes were a little washed out, so it was
time to head back to camp for lunch.
People were free to go out on their own after eating.
I turned my attention to my newly delivered
Kawasaki Teryx4. SDR Motorsports
had been installing long travel, seats, harnesses, LED light and
building a cage and roof for it and they arrived with it on the trailer
early Saturday morning. I swapped to my paddle tires, then had Chris
from Benchmark Performance reflash the ECU to get rid of the
speed-limiter. I then added a little pre-load to the shocks and it
was time to try it out.
The suspension was set a little soft, so I added a few
clicks to the Fox Racing Shox RC2s and that helped quite a bit.
The PRP seats and harnesses were very comfortable and the SDR cage
looked great. We even took it out for a night ride to Olds and tried out
the Rigid Industries LED light bar.
The next morning, we headed back out with a small group
for some more riding, photos and videos. I tool my Teryx4 and Seth
Farger from DWT Racing drove my RZR XP. We found a few decent spots went
to work.
After a bunch of shots, I jumped in my Teryx4 so we
could get a few pictures. Then the four of us went on another
quick-paced ride through the dunes. I was pretty surprised at how
well I did in my Teryx4 following a XP, XP4 and a turbo XP. Other than
one steep hill that did not have much of a run, I mobbed through the
dunes without slowing down the pace of the guys up front. The HCR Racing
long travel, Summers Brothers axles and Fox shocks worked great.
They need a little more fine tuning, but I was very happy with the setup
for the first trip out. The quality of the parts and the installation by
SDR Motorsports made this a very pleasurable experience.
Once back at camp, it was time to pack up and head for
home. The weekend was a whirlwind of fast rides and great photo
ops! Good to mix it up with other industry people and see their
cool new products in action. Big thanks to Fullerton Sand Sports and Pro
Armor for helping to make this concept a reality.
