Renegade One! Building A 916cc Can-Am Looker

Getting the nod from our staff to build a quad worthy of featuring in ATV Rider Magazine is not exactly an easy task (more like daunting), as we are always in search for the best of the best and are not exactly easy to impress. For starters, this person must possess a vision that captures our attention, and that's difficult as we've pretty much seen it all, or at least we think we have. Secondly, whomever we entrust with this responsibility must have the creative ability for custom design as we want more than anything to deliver a level of wow factor that would stop anyone who can appreciate a work of custom-built art in their tracks, even if it's a segment of the sport that generally doesn't interest them. Lastly, we've got to feel good about their ability to follow through, and that one alone eliminates the majority of candidates. Unfortunately, the end result is often quite the disappointment, but every once in a while all of the stars align and something inspirational is born. You know the type! On one hand, you're just itching to throw a leg over and rip as it looks so trick, but on the other hand, it's so unique that you'd hate to scratch and tarnish it by doing so. It's the kind that's so impressive that it could easily go home with the winning trophy from even a National-level Show 'N Shine.

Somehow both you and I (that's right, you too) were fortunate enough to meet such a person, who could capture our attention long enough to impress our staff with a vision, bring that vision to fruition, follow through on even the most minute details and take home the honors of winning a Show 'N Shine at a renowned National event. A couple of years ago I met Matt Pate, best known for creating and managing Team I-45 Racing, which is well stocked with names such as Seth Russell and Kale Sanders. The team left such a memorable impression with me due to their professionalism, coordinated factory team appearance, readiness at races and the ability to win in the pit, that Matt seemed the perfect candidate for taking on the task of building a mud machine worthy of being on our cover. After a few days wrestling with ideas in the think tank, Matt proposed a vision that has taken off in larger ways than we ever imagined originally. His vision was to build "Renegade One," and no, not an official off-road transport for President Obama. Instead of me explaining Renegade One from head to toe, I felt it best that Matt write about the ins and outs of this incredible build in his own words. Here's what he had to say.