I wasn’t too excited about heading out to Glamis for the 2009 Dune Tour with out my own toy; this would be the first time I had been to Glamis with nothing to unload out of my toy hauler. That lack of excitement was soon met with pure thrill as Jon Crowley of UTV Guide told me he and Polaris had me covered and that I would be able to drive a Polaris RZR S equipped with a set of Fox’s new 2.0 Piggyback RC2s shocks.
Now those who know me know that I am a Rhino guy through and through and it wasn’t un-common for me in the past to put down the RZR for its smaller stature and “big guy” un-acceptance. I mean come on; no 250lb guy is going to be comfortable in a RZR right? WRONG! Now maybe 2 – 250lb guys would look a little awkward in the RZR but reality is the RZR S has the power to move all that weight plus more!
Our first ride of the weekend in the Polaris RZR S took us from our camp at Glamis Flats to Oldsmobile Hill to the big bowls near Osborn Overlook and then back to camp. Within the first 30 seconds I knew I was in for a good time behind the wheel of this machine powered by an 800cc High Output Twin EFI Engine. The Polaris RZR S felt quick and responsive and not to sell out my Rhino brethren but it was much quicker than the Rhino. Duning in the Polaris RZR S was a blast. The Rhino is a plush stable ride through the whoops when equipped with long travel suspension but is very sluggish when climbing steep faced dunes where as the RZR S felt nimble in the whoops and had zero issues with climbing almost every dune we touched especially with the On Demand AWD turned on. Where the Rhinos struggled in the dunes the RZR S seemed to excel and feel as if it had more room to go!
Day two in the RZR S was so much better than day one. Our good friends at SSV Works hooked us up and installed some of their new billet side view mirrors giving me the ability to see those left in my dust! I now had my new Simpson helmet on and felt familiar with the RZR S, its handling characteristics, and its seemingly endless power. I got to lead the ride so the pressure was on to be fast and smooth. We ripped into the baby dunes and here is where I had the most fun. The RZR S allows for sharp agile turns and its standard long travel suspension gives you the freedom to cross over transitions without fear of instability. On our way from the baby dunes to the big dunes I led the group through a fast wash trail that had 1-2 foot faced whoops and they were easily soaked up by the standard long travel RZR S suspension and RC2 Fox Shocks.
The slide adjustable seats are low in the Polaris RZR S which I liked a lot. It gives you that low center of gravity and gives you the ability to really push it into the turns. Not one time did I feel like I was going to turn over, largely in part to the Rear Anti Sway Bar which really eliminates any unnecessary body roll. Another thing I noticed about duning the RZR S was that hitting “g-outs” was much smoother. Not once did I send a wave of sand over my face due to stuffing the front end of the ride into the base of the dune.
At one point we stopped at a really cool looking dune transition. Jon got out to snap some pictures of me hitting it and here is where we really put the shocks and suspension to the test. The transition turned out to be more like an off camber jump shooting the RZR S a bit side ways into the air and landing on the front left tire. Once air born I braced myself for a stiff impact but to my amazement the RZR S suspension and the Fox Shocks soaked it right up. The beefy Big Horn tires rubbed slightly on the fender but not once did I feel jarred by the impact. For my style of riding, the valving adjustments on the Fox RC2 shocks were dialed perfectly. But if I decided to play in a different terrain, the RC2s have 24 different settings for low and high speed compression and rebound so I could adjust them accordingly.
Heading back to camp was a ton of fun but it was bitter sweet knowing I was going to have to turn the keys over. Being a Rhino guy I never thought I could become a RZR guy, but after having this opportunity I could easily see myself buying a RZR S and taking it strait to the dunes. If going to the dunes is your primary riding style then you definitely need to consider the Polaris RZR S as your choice for purchasing a sport SXS.
I want to say thank you to Jon Crowley of UTVGuide.Net for putting this together for me. I also want to thank Polaris and Fox for allowing me to drive and test these awesome products!
LIKES
• Power
• Suspension
• Handling
• Breaking
• Adjustable Steering Wheel which makes for easy in and out
• Digital RPM Tachometer built into speedometer
• Gas Gauge
• Visibility
• Stock MAXXIS Big Horns
• Fox Shocks
• Cup Holders
DISLIKES
• Shifter Location
• Stock Seat Belts
• Lack of storage / glove box
• Lack of side cage protection
Links:
Polaris RZR-S Ranger : 2009 : 800 : RZR S : Features
UTVGuide.net Fox RC2 Review Polaris RZR S Shocks - UTV Guide
UTVGuide.net Long Term RZR S Review Polaris RZR S Long Term Review - UTV Guide
Fox Racing Shox FOX RACING SHOX
SSV Works Mirrors SSV WORKS - MT-MIRRORS-BLACK
UTVUnderground.com UTVUnderground.Com - The #1 Resource for SXS Enthusiasts
The Dune Tour The Dune Tour
Simpson Race Products Simpson Racing, Simpson Performance Products, Simpson Racing Products, Team Simpson - Team Simpson
Black Rhino Performance Black Rhino Performance - Black Rhino Performance
