Looking for adventure is what sets most side-by-side enthusiasts in motion. Some love to test the limits of their vehicles, while others simply want to get out and enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer. With this in mind, the idea of building (or you could even say creating) the Extreme Adventure Machine was born, and the Arctic Cat Prowler XTZ 1000 provided the right platform for the job. It has everything you need to survive really brutal terrain and do it in style. As we pondered the thought of being out in the middle of nowhere with no way to get help, depending only on what we packed, it inspired us to dig for products that would be tough enough to get us out. Along the way, we also wanted to ensure that the driver and passenger felt safe and secure in the ride.
As we began the build, the first order of business was to install tough skid plates so the bottom of our machine didn’t get ripped apart by the rocks that litter the trails around the southeast. Savant Manufacturing’s line of Strong Made products was the choice for this ride. The thick aluminum skids came in five pieces and took only a couple of hours to bolt on. This company is the only one we found to have very nice glide plates on the front, rear and inner fender wells to take glancing blows and slide right over.
With the weight of a small...
With the weight of a small car on the remote trails of Moto-Mountain, installing the Warn RT30 was a no-brainer.
In looking for what would come next, we came across a company known as DragonFire Racing (DFR). This innovative product monster has combined a line of sport accessories that take the average ride from drab to fab! The first of these products was the Fox shocks, which gave our Prowler a new feel on the trail. The Fox shocks are a bolt-on piggyback unit with multiple points of adjustability. The long shock bodies equipped with threaded preload adjusters gave us plenty of room to change the ride quality. The shocks coupled with the valving adjustments meant we were set for success.
We knew all too well what the stress of the powerful engine and tough trails was going to do to our machine, so we opted to install aftermarket axles from The CV Man. The guys in the CV Restoration shop have presented our market with yet another product to ensure there are no broken axles on the trail. These monster axles are made from 4340 chrome-moly steel with heavier and thicker boots to resist puncture on the trail. Tough is an understatement for these beasts!
With the shocks mounted and CV axles installed, we needed some wheels to mount our tires on, so a set of DFR Crippler beadlocks were unboxed. These wheels use a standard beadlock on the outside of the wheel and have an extra thick reinforcement ring on the back of the wheel. They just scream ruggedness. The rubber of choice for this project was a no-brainer as we chose to run the popular ITP BajaCross tires. The BajaCross has been used in many forms of racing, and one notable event for this tire was the Baja 1000 where the winning UTV ran the entire race without a single flat.