A side effect of this move is Penland Brothers Racing will be expanding its product line to include Bombardier ATVs. You can expect such items as engine hop-up components, billet gas caps and a host of performance accessories to appear in the near future. You can also check out Penland's web site www.mikepenland.net for more information.
It's Finally HereNow you can enhance your coffee table or office with a high-quality photo annual of 2004 National ATV racing. The Year in Dirt Volume One covers the world's best pro and amateur ATV racers from the track to the pits as captured through the lenses of the best photographers in the industry. This excellent limited-edition book can be purchased at www.atvbook.com for $25 plus shipping.
Bel-Ray Uses Bolivia's Grand Caravan to Test New Oils Story and photos by David WilmotHave you ever wondered what is inside the bottle of your favorite oil? Before it makes it to the shelf of your dealer or parts store, the vital liquid has undergone rigorous testing. Some oils never make it past the development stage. Part of this evaluation process involves real-world application, putting the material into an ATV and subjecting the machine and oil to conditions that exceed those induced by even the worst of owners.
I was fortunate enough to be part of a real-world test on new oil being developed for ATVs by Bel-Ray. The proving ground for this prototype oil was one of the most grueling ATV/motorcycle events on the planet, the Grand Caravan in Bolivia, South America.
Bel-Ray engineer Curt Beloy arrived a day before the caravan started to equip three Kawasaki Brute Force 650 4x4 test machines with electronic data loggers. The information recorded would later be downloaded into a computer for analysis. Three formulations of oil were tried, one in each quad.
Beloy explained the reason for the test, "Our existing motor oils, such as Thumper and EXP, are outstanding for use in ATVs, but we decided to build a new oil from the ground up exclusively for ATV riders. The Grand Caravan is the ideal proving ground for the development of this oil, and the data I have collected will ensure we deliver the best product possible. This truly was a torture test for the ATV and oil, and an amazing experience."
Beloy monitored the test oil behavior throughout the journey, and he continuously entered the test details, from terrain to oil condition, in his data log. One source of information was the oil samples from the machines taken at various intervals and stored in labeled jars. Concurrently, the Caravan mechanics kept the air filters cleaned and oiled daily with Bel-Ray filter oil.
We pounded the Kawis in typical Caravan fashion over 800 miles in eight days. It was an ideal situation for abuse; the start was in the Andes mountain town of La Paz at 12,000 feet elevation where the temp hovered just above freezing. We proceeded to drop down in elevation all the way to the Amazon Basin in an area called the Beni. There we subjected the machines, and ourselves, to grueling heat, humidity and dust. Our final leg featured long stretches of dirt roads where we were able to open up the machines, and we had our throttles pegged for hours at a time.
The final destination was Trinidad, where the riders were led into the city in grand style with a police escort. Most important, the completed test yielded invaluable real-world usage data to the Bel- Ray engineers.