Four days of riding. Four different trails. Four different side-by-sides. Four days of variable (with a capital V) weather. One big event.
That describes our week in Moab at this year’s Discount Tires Rally on the Rocks. To say we experienced a little bit of everything wouldn’t really describe our ROTR experience this year.
Rather, we experienced a lot of different things. And we absolutely enjoyed every last bit of it—even the full on snowstorm we trudged through on our second day of riding.
We got to see many of our industry friends (and made new ones) and mingle with them throughout the week, enjoyed a great dinner thanks to the folks at Discount Tire and Camp Chef and rode a couple of new trails we hadn’t yet experienced. And, of course, we saw just about anything you can imagine for a side-by-side being offered by the dozens of aftermarket companies spread out across the Old Spanish Trail Arena property.
Of course, it was all work for us the entire week as we were on the clock. So, to fulfill our part of the deal, here’s a look back at each day’s ride and the side-by-side we used to traverse the trails.
Day 1 – Steel Bender In A Wildcat Sport SE
The Textron Off Road (formerly Arctic Cat) Wildcat Sport is kind of the middle brother in the Wildcat family, sitting between the 50-inch wide Wildcat Trail and the big brother Wildcat X.
Our Wildcat Sport SE was shod with King Off-Road Racing Shocks and the Steel Bender trail was the ideal place to see how these shocks would perform. How about spectacularly? The Wildcat Sport is spec’d with JRi ECX shocks on the base model and Elka Stage 5 shocks on the Limited version and those are not shocks to sneeze at. They work. But the King shocks kick it up a notch and made pounding through the whoops and crawling over rocks that much more fun in the Sport. You could be more aggressive (read: ride a little faster) over the obstacles because the King shocks reigned supreme.
The weather was perfect as we set out on the Tuesday of the ROTR with Dean Bulloch as our guide and Steel Bender ahead of us. Steel Bender starts out somewhat serenely as you cross a creek a couple of times and go along a windy, sandy trail for a ways. Then boom, its rocks and ledges and slickrock and obstacles. It goes from mellow to awesome pretty quick.
The King shocks really do help the Wildcat Sport shine a little brighter. The Sport is a solid side-by-side and has good power and a pretty darn good ride. The Kings are single-speed adjustable aluminum gas shocks and help the Wildcat Sport offer up 12. 2 inches of travel in the front and 12.6 inches in the rear. Textron Off Road/Cat still use a double A-arm front and rear suspension and most everything else is the same on the Sport for 2017 as 2016. But the King shocks are a huge offering.
The Sport continues to offer all the features that make it a solid vehicle, including Electronic Power Steering (EPS), infinitely adjustable tilt steering, two-inch receiver hitch, Warn 3,000-lb. synthetic rope winch, full aluminum doors, a spunky 60-horsepower, four-stroke, 700cc inline twin engine and Team Rapid Response Clutch, to name just some of the highlights.
The Wildcat Sport took on all that Steel Bender had to offer. We did not bypass any of the obstacles, including The Wall, showing what a good guide (Bulloch) and a good vehicle can do. But at the end of the day, it may have been the King shocks that stole the limelight. It was fun to push the Wildcat Sport just a little harder, knowing the shocks would take the abuse and not whimper when pounding over the rocks and through the whoops.
The trail did offer a touch more challenge this time through as the water in Mill Creek was higher than we’ve ever seen it and the last time you cross through it, it easily reached the floorboards. That was a fun crossing. And, due to the huge snowpack still in the La Sal Mountains, the snowmelt was still happening in mid-May. And that created a waterfall coming off the rocks down into Kens Lake. We’ve never seen a waterfall there, at least that big.
We were a little bummed as our first day of riding in Moab approached because we weren’t going to be able to participate in the trail rehabilitation project, sponsored in part by Tread Lightly! and Discount Tires. But we still couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ride with Textron Off Road/Arctic Cat.
Day 2 – Porcupine Rim In A Kawasaki Teryx
This might have been the biggest surprise on our entire ROTR experience since we started attending years ago. We rode most of the day in a full on snowstorm. Maybe now is a good time to point out that it was the middle of May. We were certainly glad Kawasaki LE comes stock with a roof. That single feature was worth its weight in gold that day.
To be fair, rain was forecast for the Wednesday of the ROTR, but the chance was less than 50 percent and it was supposed to be rain. Which was definitely happening down at the lower elevations but the Porcupine Rim trail gains some serious elevation as you make your way up alongside Negro Bill Canyon and then to the rim. We gained nearly 2,500 feet from where we started in Moab up to the highest point on the trail. Guess it’s no surprise why the rain turned to snow.
This was our first time on the Porcupine Rim trail so we were looking forward to what others told us was some amazing scenery. The snow and low clouds didn’t do much for being able to see Castle Valley, which is one of the highlights of riding along the rim. Just means we’ll have to hit the trail again a different day.
Our ride for the day was the two-seat Kawasaki Teryx and we were able to tag along with the crew from Camp Chef. One of the things that made the ride tolerable was that there really wasn’t any wind to speak of so the snow was falling straight down. And since we weren’t moving very fast—partly due to low visibility and partly because of the obstacles on the trail—the roof was able to protect us for the most part. Yes, snow still came into the cab but it wasn’t too bad and we did bring along extra gear, knowing the weather might turn on us.
The Teryx was ideal for the Porcupine Rim Trail (or vise versa, depending on how you look at it). There were only a couple of obstacles that really taxed the Teryx (and proved the worth of a skidplate) but we attribute part of that to so much moisture on the trail, rocks, trees—everywhere—that really made the slickrock slick. We were already in 4WD but when those obstacles came along, we switched the dial on the dash to Diff Lock and powered right over the rock ledges and large rocks.
We like the Teryx for its roomy cockpit and plenty of places to store stuff. As the weather changed we had to adjust, meaning using goggles and more clothes, different gloves and the like and we could easily store most of that stuff somewhere in the cab. And the larger items, like our coat, we put in the dustproof and pretty much watertight storage containers behind the seats and in front of the cargo bed.
There were a couple of times we could have used a little more travel (the Teryx offers 8 inches in the front and 8.3 in the rear) but that could be said of wanting more ground clearance (the Teryx has 11.2 inches) at times too. But you just pick your battles with the rocks and when there were no options to bypass the really gnarly obstacles, we drove carefully and used the skidplate. It was no big deal at all.
We were very impressed in those conditions with the 26-inch Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 tires. We had no issues and that is saying something because there were plenty of sharp rocks and edges, not to mention the snow (the snow did stick to the ground so we dealt with that from midway through our ride all the way back to the lower elevations) which accumulated 2-3 inches during our ride.
Those same rocks and ledges and other obstacles also made us appreciate the EPS. That really helped minimize any feedback or jarring through the steering that non-steering units would experience.
As for power, the 783cc offers good horsepower and plenty of torque, again which really shined on the Porcupine Rim trail. When we made it back to the main road, we appreciated the ponies that helped us get back to town quickly as the snow had turned to rain and we were going faster so were getting pelted with rain. But we made it as quickly and legally (read: staying within the speed limit) as we could.
And can we talk about the full doors. They were very much appreciated during the snow and cold as they kept anything from coming in the cab from the sides, whether it be any sticks or rocks that flipped up or any road spray from the snow and rain.
