In early December 2010 is when I signed the confidentiality agreement surrounding the event introduction of a new Polaris UTV. Fast forward to January 24th and here we were being flown to Arizona to meet up with factory Polaris Industries staff to get a first hand inside look at the new Polaris Ranger RZR XP900 which was released to the public on January 1st, 2011. This was our opportunity to get hands on with the new RZR and also get to pick the brains of those who developed this new industry leading machine.
My trip began on Monday the 24th where I would board a plane in San Diego, CA and head to Phoenix, AZ where I would soon meet up with friends Jon Crowley of UTVGuide.net, Wally Wallace of Dirtsports Magazine/SXSOutfitterz, Troy and Don Merrifield of UTV Off-Road Magazine, and a host of other industry media professionals. Its pretty cool to go to these events because all of us media goons have become friends through all of these intros. It gives us an opportunity to network and also discuss the latest and greatest from around the industry.
Once my flight landed in Arizona I was met at the baggage claim terminal by my driver holding a sign that said POLARIS/DiGiovanni. It was pretty cool to see that. I got loaded up into our Polaris arranged Escalade and was driven to the Embassy Suites Resorts where Polaris had completely taken over the place! Polaris semi's were dominating the parking lot and Polaris UTV's were scattered all around the property. Banners and signs hung everywhere and people wearing Polaris shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and other get ups were roaming around like they owned the place. It was pretty cool to see how Polaris had taken this place over.
I signed in at the front desk where I was handed my name badge, explained the schedule of events, and given a sweet pair of Polaris edition Oakley sunglasses. I then checked into my room and met my buddies Jon & Wally at the bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. The hosted dinner was awesome consisting of steak and potatoes and endless drinks. Jon and I presented the Polaris staff with the 2010 UTV Of The Year award we had made for us on behalf of the Underground! They were super thrilled to have received the award. After dinner we retired to bed to get ready for our next days riding adventure out at the Boulders, an Arizona state OHV park.
My alarm rang at 6am sharp on Tuesday. After a quick shower I headed off to breakfast to meet up with the rest of the gang. We boarded our chartered bus and set off to the OHV park. Arriving at the park was quite the ceremony. Polaris does everything first class from top to bottom. We were greeted as we exited the bus by 30 purring XP900's, neatly aligned and set up as the ultimate UTV red carpet! The rumble of 30 XP's was pretty cool, and I was very impressed at the layout Polaris had assembled. Huge Polaris banners and flags lined the access road in, semi's were lined up with the large Polaris trailer wraps, a massive tent was positioned for us to gather under, and in addition to all the XP900 unit's there were probably another 20 Polaris UTV's also in attendance for us to ride on.
After a brief introduction the Polaris engineering staff took turns explaining the special features and development of the Polaris RZR XP900. They took us step by step through the shock set ups, the seat positioning, the lighting, the suspension, the accessories, the engine, etc etc etc. Once we wrapped up the vehicle specifications and development information we got to go riding. We started by each driving the current RZR lineup and getting familiar with the trail system.
Polaris split us up by groups, I was in the red group with my buddy Troy Merrifield of UTV Off-Road Magazine. Our first ride was in the standard 50" RZR, which I must say I have never really spent much time in but was really impressed with the nimbleness and power it posses. The little sucker is quick and handles pretty damn good although I forgot it didn't posses long travel when I charged hard into a large whoop section which almost took me out the hard way!! After pulling back into the main staging area for Polaris we stepped out of the 50" and into the RZR-S. It was a nice change considering these trails were full of big bumps. But it wasn't until we got out of the RZR-S and into the RZR4 that I really opened it up and had some fun. I have plenty of seat time in the 4 so I had a blast ripping that thing around and once again was impressed with the amazing handling and suspension is has.
Once we wrapped up with our pre game warm up we grabbed a drink and a snack and saddled up for our first run in the new Polaris XP 900! Jon Crowley strapped in as my codog and we set off on a 10 mile loop around the Boulders OHV park. The trails themselves were cool, we got to travel up some hills and run in some tight canyon washes. Lots of rocks and thick gravel sand coat the trails. The dust was a problem as it is anytime you run in a pack, but one thing was for sure, the XP900 was a BEAST! Immediately you felt the power it possessed. The XP accelerated unlike any UTV I have ever driven and that includes street bike powered cars. The XP had bark throughout the entire RPM range. No other UTV on the market today even comes close to the acceleration and handling you get right out of the box with the Polaris RZR XP900. The suspension soaks up the bumps and you really feel the 14" of wheel travel working. Like any true performance vehicle the faster you go the better it handled and performed.
Once we completed our 10 mile tour of the boulders we settled in for some lunch which Polaris had catered by Phil's BBQ! During lunch we game planned for our photo op spots and lined up our pro photographer for the afternoon. Jon and I once again set out with a Polaris employee and our Photog Tim. Jon and I also worked with Tim early in 2010 at the 2011 Model Year Polaris Intro in Montana. We went out and found some high speed areas, some turns, and even discovered a nice little jump. Since I had been feeling sick since Sunday I really wasn't in the "balls to the wall" driving mood so I let Jon do most of the driving duties. Polaris doesn't like the idea of us driving overly crazy anyway on these trips, sort of why they send a Polaris guy with us to keep us under control. But Polaris does have a few of their factory test drivers at the event so if we want to see someone go hard we could and we decided to let a couple of these guys do some dirty work for us. Between the 2 test drivers they had almost 50,000 miles of drive time on the new XP 900 so they know the machine well and it showed. They launched this thing and drove it close to its limits on these tight trails putting on a show for our cameras.
Once the photo shoots wrapped up we packed up and boarded the bus back for the hotel. We would end the evening with an awesome dinner off site where we got the chance to talk about the days experience. We happened to also sit next to the lead engineer who helped develop the very first RZR back in 2005. He has been a part of all the RZR developments and told us they have projects booked through 2016!!! He also said UTVUnderground.com was his favorite site to frequent which made me feel pretty good! Once dinner wrapped up it was time to get back to the hotel and pack up for an early AM departure home. Polaris once again has hit a home run with their new RZR XP. I like most am already anticipating whats next but only those deep within Polaris know what that will be but you can bet one thing, UTVUnderground.com will be the first forum based site to know!!!!
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Interesting Facts Learned From Polaris
Polaris DOES NOT own Weber, they own Swiss Auto which made some engines for Weber.
The new XP motor IS NOT a Weber engine
The new XP Motor IS NOT a bored out 850cc
Polaris DID NOT release the XP to combat the Can-Am, the XP had already been tested with thousands of miles when the Commander was introduced.
Polaris has development projects lined up through 2016!
The tire change from the Big Horn had to do with the directional pattern the ITP offers which allows the XP to track better at high speeds.
The XP was developed to be a pure performance UTV. If you want to dump wood then buy a Ranger!
For all the XP 900 specs and info click here: http://www.utvunderground.com/f37/new-2011-ranger-rzr-xp-900-a-5137.html
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