I've spent about 30 minutes on the new Prowler Pro models from Textron Off Road. While not enough time for a full-blown report, it was enough time to determine it's absolutely the smoothest, quietest side-by-side I've had the pleasure to ride.
PERFECTLY smooth acceleration (no more whiplash) and deceleration!
So quiet that you can have normal (no shouting) conversation with the passenger while cruising off-road at 30 mph, both of you wearing full-face helmets.
No rattles, no vibrations.
Click to read the release from Textron Off Road.
The just-released 2019 Prowler Pro and Prowler Pro XT side-by-sides are loaded with sweet technology. Not rip up the whoops like a pro technology, rather, it's tech that delivers whisper-quietness and smooooooooth over everything.
Make the jump and read the bullets on this new over achiever.
When I was a kid, my friends and I would ride our BMX bikes every day in the summer. Usually, that meant we'd ride to one or a few of the areas with jumps within 3 miles of our homes. It felt free and wild and fun. This was when (and why) I fell in love with riding bikes.
At some point in my late-teens, these bicycle rides evolved. A mountain bike with gears replaced the small single-speed BMX bikes, and the rides became more about exploration rather than jumping (and hanging out with friends) sessions. I still ride bikes and they're still focused on exploration and adventure and distance, rather than sessioning.
Back then I was also a snowmobile kid. My brother, cousins and friends would rip around on the sleds, usually on short loops through the woods, jumping off snow banks left by plowed roads across lakes, having gladiator-style cattail fights, and so forth. It felt free and wild and fun. This was when (and why) I fell in love with snowmobiling.
Sound familiar?
My conclusion: Kids just wanna have fun. Click to see what I mean.
I'm thankful for what happens when I can spend a few extra nights working in the shop.
I'm thankful for excellent cornering precision that's only possible with Shaper bars.
I'm thankful nobody asked me if the fish are biting.
And I'm thankful it's Friday, May 18, 2018.
For more than 20 years Tucker Hibbert has given snocross fans a stunning array of accomplishments and entertainment, many of which were defining moments of the sport.
Here are some of those milestones.
Tucker Hibbert's first snocross race was in 1995.
He got serious about it as a Semi-Pro in 1998 and then turned Pro for the 2001 season.
In those 21 years since turning Semi-Pro, Hibbert won more races and broke more records than anyone else in the history of terrain racing.
Click to see the incredible statistics, along with the many crew members and sponsors who made it possible.
Sooner or later, this day was going to come.
Tucker Hibbert is now retired as a professional snocross racer.
Click to read his announcement.
Then scroll below this post to see a post on his career highlights plus another post of his career in photos.
I'm thankful for all-season fun and versatility.
I'm thankful for kits.
I'm thankful for the inherent stability and next-level handling that a 3 wheels provide.
And I'm thankful it's snowmobiling-fun-in-the-summer-beginning today: Friday, May 11, 2018.
Fans of Arctic Cat who want to see the hometown and experience the down-home fun of a county fair should mark July 18-22 on their 2018 calendar.
"Arctic Cat Village" is a new attraction at this year's Pennington County (Minnesota) Fair, held at the county seat of Thief River Falls, Minn.
In addition to all the regular goodness of a county fair, you'll be able to see Tom Ische's collection of amazing Arctic Cat machines and memorabilia; there will be plant tours of Arctic Cat/Textron Off Road; Team Arctic race teams displaying their trailers and sleds; a chance to win a Prowler EV side-by-side; and more.
I'm thankful we only have to sit like this for the photo, and that we don't actually have to ride this beast.
I'm thankful for the lawsuit that'll happen when the first buyer, while cruising down a road on this new toy, accidently puts his foot on one of the tracks.
I'm thankful for motorcycles, snowmobiles and whatever happens when people mix the two.
And I'm thankful it's Friday, May 4, 2018.
It was just a matter of time before the new Wildcat XX took its first win. Not surprisingly for anyone who's ridden one, that win happened sooner rather than later.
Last week, Team Wildcat racer Ray Bulloch bested the RZRs and Mavericks to stand on top of the SxS Pro Stock podium and claim the overall at WORCS Racing’s Round 5 in Hurricane, Utah.
It was the FIRST first for the all-new Wildcat XX, but undoubtedly not the last.
Click to read a brief description.
We're just weeks away from the Classic Sled Round Up in St. Germain, Wisconsin.
Held on Sunday, May 27, and hosted by the Snowmobile Hall of Fame, the ever growing swap meet and judged show has become one of the must attend events of the year and marks the start of another season.
Click for some more details.
When Speedwerx took delivery of their new 2018 Wildcat XX for the purpose of uncovering extra horsepower, they wanted to first do a little baseline test with the stock machine against a stock 2017 RZR 1000. So they lined 'em up and dropped the hammers.
Bam!
Now with a month or so of development time on their Stage 2 Exterminator Kit, the crew wanted to see what 12 additional horsepower is like compared to a stock Wildcat XX.
Click to make the jump and see for yourself.
I'm thankful for the pursuit of speed and beauty queens.
I'm thankful for plowed ice and roll bars.
I'm especially thankful for ear plugs.
And I'm thankful it's Friday, April 27, 2018.
I've been thinking a lot about my less-than-what-I'd-hoped-for winter of snowmobiling. For a bunch of reasons, I didn't get to ride as much as I normally do (and nowhere near as much as I'd hoped).
The last pile of snow melted in my yard today. I'm looking at a spring, summer and fall filled with all kinds of cool stuff. I should be thrilled.
But I'm feeling the tug of disappointment that winter's over. No more snowmobiling for 7 months or so.
The good news is that those 7 months will pass fast (which is also the bad news).
A couple snowmobile projects will keep the fire flickering in the meantime. And there are a whole bunch of people and places I'm going to visit before I start wearing the jackets that I just put away last weekend.
One snowmobile season ends and, in a way, another is just beginning.
You (yes, YOU) can win Baja this year. As in an all-expenses-paid trip to Baja; rides aboard the new Wildcat XX along portions of the Baja 1000 race course; great viewing of the famed race; and some story time with off-road race legend Robby Gordon.
And more!
Click for the details, then go win Baja.
That time I misjudged my speed as I hit the ditch approach on the ol' Jag. #Advil #LarryWho?
A few weeks ago some friends and I spent the day near Isle, Minn., with Les Pinz, a snowmobile historian, racer, statesman and all-around great guy.
In addition to throwing down some of our last snowmobile tracks of the season, we spent a BIG part of the day absorbing his incredible collection of vintage snowmobiles, memorabilia and related items.
It's a mind-boggling collection.
Come and see for yourself.
Spring flowers are just around the corner, so act fast:
Today is the LAST DAY to to Spring Guarantee your new 2019 Arctic Cat snowmobile and get the best deals of the season.
What's the best way to show off a Bell Helicopter?
Chase it through the desert with a Wildcat XX in hot pursuit.
Each is a pinnacle of performance. Both are badass machines.