The Thrill of the Ride

by Colin Gaffney

UTV Canada prides itself on not only being a supplier of top quality brands, but also in having highly knowledgeable staff regarding the products that we carry.  What better way to educate ourselves then to get out riding and test the very products we sell.  First-hand experience is everything, and knowing the abilities and limitations of our products helps us to better service our dealers and their customers.  This year, as a company, we made a decision to get all our staff out riding more throughout the summer, being involved with our dealers and ultimately with other riders, testing our newest product offerings so that we can offer firsthand knowledge and experience when our dealers are seeking product advice.   We are actively looking for riding events and rallies that our dealers are involved in so that we can not only support them, but also get out riding the trails with them and their customers.

This past weekend, we attended our first ride of the season at the 5^th annual Slave Lake Poker Run sponsored in large part by Whitecap Recreation.  We had a fantastic time riding the trails, it was a beautiful day and there was plenty of mud to make for some awesome adventures.  Every time I go riding it is a new experience, and I always learn new things and expand both my knowledge and love of the sport.  I always look forward to more opportunities to go riding.

Reid and I took our RZR S 800 and Teryx 4 800 to the Poker Run and neither machine disappointed.   They have their pros and cons but both machines made it through without any major issues.  We dodged a bullet (or should I say 10 ft long log) when in the middle of a mud bog I ran over a 10 ft log that got lodged in the A-Arm and up against the axle, fortunately we were able to extricate it without any damage.  We cut most of it off in the mud hole and then managed to get unstuck to remove the rest.  Where would the thrill be if we didn’t meet a few obstacles along the way?

The Moto MTC tires on the Teryx are a phenomenal all around tire.  They did great on the trails but definitely held their own in the mud and they clean out really well, they literally chuck hunks of mud.  The MotoClaw tires on the RZR did fairly well for most of the ride but near the end the lugs were so packed with mud that they didn’t fare as well in the thick of it.  They are a fantastic trail tire and still made it through a lot of mud holes but weren’t as capable on the greasy trails as the MTC’s were.  The high clearance forward A-Arms on the Teryx gave us that extra clearance we needed, as well as allowed us to have the slightly larger tires to help us through.

We’d like to give a huge shout-out to Adam at Whitecap Recreation and thank him for helping to put on such a great event and for inviting us out to go riding with them.  Thanks to all of the volunteers that worked so hard on grooming the trails and running the event, it was a great time!!!

We are currently putting together a page on our website to let you know of any Riding Events & Opportunites coming up around the country.  Do you have a riding event coming up this summer?  When is it?  Where is it being held?   Let your UTV Canada sales rep know and we’ll definitely get it up on our Riding Events Page, but better yet, we’d love to try and attend!