First Ever ATV Rider 24-Hour Torture Test!

This February marked the first-ever ATV Rider 24-Hour Torture Test. This was an aggressive stride in our testing here at ATVR, especially since last year's ill-fated 12-Hour test turned into the 10½-hour... But Editor Bryan "No Hander" Nylander's experience with Dirt Rider's annual 24-hour event, and the quality of today's ATVs and equipment led us to believe that it was due time for a 24-hour quad test. After all, as Dirt Rider Editor Jimmy Lewis matter-of-factly stated, "Why not? They have lights, don't they?"

The inaugural event took place in Southern California's Hungry Valley SVRA, and was an open-class test of off-road quads. The criteria: build the best off-road ATV and make it last 24 hours. The rest was up to the imagination of leading aftermarket companies. They were all sound tested, and equipped with spark arrestors, but other than that, it was open season.

Submissions were reviewed and accepted by our staff, and the resulting test came down to four ATVs. Entries were:

Duncan Racing TRX450R
Thumper Racing LT-Z470
Alba Action Sports Raptor 700R
IMS Roll Design TRX450R

There was more than just a bike test going on at the ATV Rider 24-Hour. It was also a debut for other new products, the most namely of which was ITP's new Trac Star 6-ply radial tires. A non-stop full day of abuse ought to give us a good idea of their performance and durability. Watch the pages of ATV Rider for an upcoming review.

With four ATVs and 24-hours to fill, we did the math and realized we'd need a lot of riders. Even with the healthy turnout of industry, staff and testers, we needed bodies. And who better to fill the slots than the pros themselves, right? Guest testers included desert champion Kyle Chislock, GNCC racers William Yokely and Andy Lagzdins, WORCS Champion Doug Eichner, former MX champion Gary Jones, and Enduro Champion Dick Burleson.

The weather cooperated much more for the ATVR 24-Hour than so for its sister magazine, Dirt Rider, also held in Hungry Valley the week prior. The inaugural Torture Test was kicked off on a warm sunny day, and continued through a beautiful clear night (though quite a bit colder!). The course traversed 21-miles of Hungry Valley's hilly, twisty terrain and included technical hillclimbs, wide open sand washes, and plenty of tight trail with everything from blue-groove to loose rocks.

The four machines were put to the test as each team worked around the clock to keep them running from 10am Tuesday to 10am Wednesday. So who finished? Who ran the distance, which ATV will be named the best off-roader? Watch the pages of ATV Rider magazine for the nuts and bolts of our longest-ever test, including details on each machine, what broke, what didn't, and who came out on top.