"Just at the point where any...
"Just at the point where any other machine would've sent the 'hey, let off the gas idiot, you're gonna kill us both' signal to my brain, the Riot sent 'pin it sissy, we can make it!' "
Day One
Being that we were going to have the rare opportunity to spend multiple days on the Redlines, we decided to forego any photo sessions-or anything else that resembles actual work-on day one and just ride (or drive) for riding's sake. Johnny, Thad and I agreed it would be best to take some time to get acquainted with the machines before really pushing any boundaries. Luckily, the getting acquainted process only took about 39 seconds (a full minute if you count adjusting the five-point harnesses which come stock). I can truthfully say that within minutes of driving the Riot I was in love. Mind you, I've raced and built some pretty nice side-by-sides in the last few years, but to be 100 percent honest, nothing else I've driven comes close to the Riot. In wide (jeep-type) trails, it's amazing. The entire day was spent flying through the trails and over the MX track obstacles.
If the Riot has one major flaw, it was revealed at the motocross track. The Redlines suffer from a condition that we occasionally encounter while testing; unfortunately, there's no real remedy for it. I first diagnosed the flaw while approaching a double jump in the Riot, just at the point where any other machine would've sent the "hey, let off the gas idiot, you're gonna kill us both" signal to my brain, the Riot sent "pin it sissy, we can make it!" To its credit, we made it, and then it happened again on the approaches to a tabletop, then a step-up, followed by a step-down, whoop section and camel hump. Before long it was happening on increasingly bigger doubles and tabletops. While this condition may not seem like a problem, it's terrifying. The Redlines both suffer from what I refer to as a chronic case of "JB" (Judgment Blocker), and the more I drove, the worse it got. Judging from Johnny's and Thad's displays of judgment loss, it's safe to say the whole product line is cursed with this affliction. Day one ended with three spent idiots wondering what we had done, and what else we would try to clear the next day.
Day Two (Work)
Day two started early, and being that you probably want to hear a little bit about the actual machines, I'll spare you the details of our actual work day, which included more testing and a photo shoot. I can pretty much recap the day in just five words: Endless Fun, Jump, Turn, Repeat.