2009 Kawasaki Teryx 750 FI 4x4 SportHaving become more of a UTVer than ATVer in the last couple of months, I was unimaginably excited to be invited to the intro for Kawasaki's 2009 Teryx 750 FI 4x4 Sport. The prospect of getting out of the freezing rain of Georgia and into the mild desert climates of Arizona was enticing enough, but add to that the idea of spending a day riding in the desert and you could very well call it a dream vacation. Having spent limited time on the '08 Teryx and zero time in the desert, I was curious as to how the Teryx (not to mention myself) would handle the terrain and yearning to log as much seat time as possible during the brief mid-week trip.
Desert Trek
Boulders OHV Park (or Hieroglyphic Mountains, which it is sometimes called) is northwest of Phoenix, Arizona, and was the chosen site for the Teryx Sport media introduction. Not to tear down a wall here, but intros can sometimes get monotonous as the media are dragged from photo op to photo op with little time to get a real feel for the machine. Luckily for us, this was not the case in Arizona. Sure, we went from spot to spot, but we did it at breakneck speeds. The Kawasaki folks were intent on making sure we got to experience everything the Teryx could handle, and repeatedly challenged us to go over obstacles we normally wouldn't dream of attempting. Just to keep it interesting, our guides entertained themselves by trying to lose us, which was amusing, but losing contact with your group meant being lost in the desert and that wasn't exactly appealing.
For the record, esteemed Editor Thad Josey really missed his calling; the dude should race UTVs for a living. Unlike myself, Josey was intent on killing us, or at the very minimum scaring us (by us I'm referring to me) half to death, if you don't believe me check out the helmet cam video he shot that day at www.atvrideronline.com (the screams you'll hear are from yours truly). The Teryx handled the desert terrain so well that the only thing standing between safety and sheer mayhem was the driver's willingness to push the limits; the Teryx itself had no reservations and was up for the challenge. Uphill, downhill, berms, off-cambers, whoops, sand washes, silt beds and anything else the desert had to offer was handled with ease. For climbing purposes, we only once had to use the lever-operated diff-lock, and that was only under the most extreme conditions. As a rule, the Teryx seemed to prefer being driven in 4WD at all times and handled markedly better than in 2WD mode. The motor pulled strong in stock trim; I can't imagine what it would do with minor or even major mods.
Chassis And Suspension
"According to the aftermarket, it's the strongest chassis on the market," said Kawasaki's Vince Lorio of the all-steel, highly rigid Teryx chassis. Constructed of large-diameter, thin-wall steel with a mid-placement engine, the Teryx chassis is designed with increased stability in mind. With it boasting 11.7 inches of ground clearance, we weren't capable of getting the Teryx stuck on anything, and trust me, it wasn't for a lack of trying. The roll cage even meets SAE ROPS (Roll Over Protective Structure) requirements, which we thankfully didn't have to test for ourselves.
The front and rear gas-charged Kayaba shocks come complete with piggyback reservoirs, and offer a stepless preload adjustment as well as adjustable rebound and compression damping. In other words, you can tweak and tune the shocks to match your riding conditions. The torsion bar's diameter has been reduced from previous models in order to provide more comfort and reduce harshness and body roll. Combined, the suspension works amazingly for a stock setup.