It's going to be an extraordinary year for ATV enthusiasts, especially for sport quad riders regardless of whether they're weekend warriors or die-hard racers. In case you've been quarantined or blind to all the latest happenings, we have seven 450cc sport ATVs that have hit the market this year. And seven machines means that 2008 has delivered the largest class of high-performance 450cc quads ever in history. Now that's something to celebrate! I remember the days when choices were bleak as a used Honda 250R, an expensive aftermarket chassis built with a dirt bike motor or a Honda TRX400EX were about the extent of your choices. Production and innovation for factory-built performance ATVs had literally come to a screeching halt throughout the '90s. For sure they weren't the best years of our sport, yet we somehow hung in there and have persevered. And with the flurry of competition heating up, we've seen more sport quad innovation in recent days than this industry has ever previously experienced. How cool is that?
Just like the extraordinary year 2008 has brought for ATV enthusiasts, you just happen to be holding what we consider an extraordinary installment of ATV Rider Magazine. The reason: We've taken all seven of these 450cc sport ATVs previously mentioned and organized the battle of the titans. That's right, we set out to thoroughly test each and every one of these high-performance models in a vast variety of terrains. Ultimately, in delivering real-world results about each machine's positive and negative characteristics, we establish an impartial pecking order we feel confident will help our readers discover the 450 that would most accurately complement their riding ability, style and performance level. And just so you know, we grabbed 14 testers of different disciplines with varying skill levels that range from the weekend recreational rider to dedicated racers in order to compile a database of opinions from which our results were determined.
It's important for us to relay that each and every machine in our test fought a good fight and performed phenomenally well. As testers, this made coming to our final conclusions extremely difficult, but after it was all said and done, we agreed that some machines possessed characteristics that beat out the others. We tested the Yamaha YFZ450, Can-Am DS 450, Kawasaki KFX450R, Honda TRX450R, Polaris Outlaw 450 MXR and KTM's first sport quad attempt, the 450 XC. For our trail portion of the shootout, we headed out to Durhamtown Plantation in Union Point, Georgia, where we tackled tight technical terrain and open high-speed trails. For our motocross portion, we met up at Echeconee MX Park in Macon, Georgia, to put in some hard laps and fight the sandy whoops and high-flying jumps. So before you flip to the last page of the shootout to see which won, and you know you will, don't forget to check out all of the pages that come before the end. I promise that we've packed them full of vital information that you'll need to know.
Also in this issue, we were hoping to quench everyone's (including ours) thirst for mud by heading down to Okeechobee, Florida, where operation Mud Fest was held. If you live for mud and didn't have a chance to attend, then it's a good thing that we did! We were able to capture three full days of intense mud action and competitions so that we could share the excitement with our readers. Mike Newsom and I made the long trek south and were literally swimming in gnarly gook-filled mud holes so that we could capture all of this disorder with our cameras. For us, this mud gathering only temporarily eased our thirst for everything mud, and now we're even more pumped about heading out to the High Lifter Mud Nationals in a few weeks. If it's not too late for you, plan to be there as well or you'll regret it for sure.
Have you ever gotten stuck or broke down deep in the woods on a 1100-pound side-by-side? I have, and if it's happened to you, you know what a huge pain and frustration that is. And with the side-by-side craze barrelling forward with phenomenal growth, it's obvious that there are quite a few people who have just purchased or plan to soon purchase one. So we thought we'd get back to the basics and come up with 35 of the most valuable side-by-side-oriented tips that'll keep you rolling on the trail and not sitting there watching others go by. Our Associate Editor Eli Madero has dug deep, hit up a few mechanics in the know and has recorded a handful of his own side-by-side tips so that you can be better informed. After all, being prepared before you head out could save you from a long, frustrating day.
Wait! Before you flip this page and dive into all of this great ATV action and information, I just wanted to take the time to thank all of our readers for the continued growing support. Without you, none of this would be possible. ATV Rider Magazine is all about the ATV rider by ATV riders. We're reading your letters, debating your comments and delivering upon our promises. We love more than anything reading your feedback, so keep your thoughts headed in our direction. We want to bring you the best possible ATV entertainment and thoroughly tested products so that you can be better informed. So don't forget to tell your friends, and we hope you dig this issue as much as we do.