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The Ultimate 4x4
By Bob Fleege
rdfleege@atvscene.com
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When John first asked me to be the Rec Rider Editor I knew right away that one of the first topics I wanted to write about was how a sport utility rider, like most of us, can have just as much fun modifying our machines as our fellow ATV racers. A person can take most any sport utility machine, especially with the introduction of the latest high performance sport utilities like the Prairie 650, Grizzly 660, Sportsman 700, etc. and make a few simple changes and experience immediate improvements in how the machine rides and handles. For example, a simple thing as changing tires can change the entire personality of the machine. Obviously, the modifications you chose to make will depend primarily on two factors: 1) the type of terrain you ride and 2) your personal riding style.
During the winter our riding in Iowa changes dramatically as the riding conditions freezes and becomes covered with ice and snow. We also spend many hours riding the frozen river and creeks in the area. So when I made decisions on what I wanted to accomplish as I built our ultimate 4x4 project quad I first took all of these riding conditions into consideration.
When you look at the type of riding we do it becomes clear that the best all around machine for me would be one based on a GNCC cross country 4-wd utility machine, similar to what Mike Penland & Scott Kilby race. So naturally the first person I turned to was world renowned, Mike Penland of Team Kawasaki / Penland Brothers Racing (PBR). I quickly learned that Mike is a wealth of information and he was more than happy to take the time to answer questions that I'm sure he thought were pretty lame. To make a long story short, Mike and I became good friends and his team even stayed at my house during the Inaugural 12-Hours of ATV America. This might also be a good time to share with you that I am no mechanic and the last thing you will get in any of my articles is a bunch of technical jargon.
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| Penland's Bros Racing hooked our Prarie up with plenty of tricked out parts, including this billet aluminum gas cap. |
In addition to talking to Mike, I attended the 2002 Dealers Expo and talked to as many manufacturer reps and fellow attendees as I could. Of course the reps tended to be a little bias towards their product line, which one would expect, but you can still gain some very valuable information from them.
One of the first things I would encourage you to do, whether you keep your quad completely stock or you modify it to your heart's content, is order a repair manual from your local dealer. You can also look on the Internet to download one. I prefer purchasing the manual printed by the manufacture over the third party manuals, but which every one you decide to get it will make your life much easier.
We originally started out with a 2002 Kawasaki Prairie 650 but about half way through the project it was destroyed in a house fire. In a matter of just a few days, with the help of Al Rodenborn of Racing Unlimited in Fort Dodge, IA, I had a new 2002 Kawasaki Prairie 650, but we were back starting from the ground up with a bone stock machine.
Tires, Wheels & Suspension
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| Progressive Suspension's front spring kit helps the Prarie's ride impressively. |
The very first thing I did was purchase a complete set of Maxxis All-Trak Tires and mounted them on a set of OMF Douglas .190 Aluminum Bead Lock Rims. On the inside side of the rim OMF has wielded an internal support ring. Now, with the bead locks on the outside of the rim and the reinforcement rings on the inside, - my rims are virtually indestructible! The Maxxis tires provided unbelievable traction, no matter what the conditions. This tire and wheel combo is expensive, but well worth the investment if you can afford them.
I took the tires and rims to Roger's Tire in Fort Dodge, IA. They specializes
in semi-truck and tractor tires. I asked them to put plenty of the same tire
sealant in my ATV tires as they use on the big truck and tractor tires. I chose
this product over the brands you can purchase at your local ATV dealer because
it actually has chunks of rubber in its formula. Most of the guys who work at
Roger's Tires ride ATVs and they swear by it and use it in their own quads.
The stuff does a much better job of sealing holes and is more effective on side-wall
and larger punctures.
One of the first recommendations Mike Penland made to me, besides installing
a complete set of Maxxis All-Trak Tires, was to install a set of Progressive
Suspension's Front Spring Kit with Adjustable Pre-Load. This particular installation
made one of the most notable changes in the handling of the 650 than anything
we did. It stiffened up the front end and completely eliminated all signs of
"front end dive". These three simple modifications alone drastically
improved the handling of the 650. To bring us to a smooth, safe stop we installed
EBC Brake pads. Finally, we added a pair of Outerwear Shock Covers to the front
and the rear shocks to keep them clean and allow them to last longer. If these
simple modifications improved the handling the way they did -- imagine what
custom built shocks would do! Come on aftermarket shock builders wake up and
expand your market!
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| This hitch has gotten many of people out of trouble, that's for sure. You can also see the OMF reinforcement rings around the insides of the Douglas rims in this picture. |
Jim Dahl of J&J Cycle in Humboldt, IA did most of the mechanical work on the project along with assistance from our local Kawasaki dealer, Racing Unlimited in Fort Dodge, IA. Like most of you, Jim works on wheelers just out of pure love for the sport. He has a full-time job and spent many evenings well past midnight working on the 650. I appreciate all of the time, effort and hard work Jim put into this project, but it's his lovely wife Missy who deserves the most credit for her patients and understanding, or maybe she liked having him out in the garage and out of your hair for a while? Anyway, thanks Missy too!
One of the most noticeable things Jim did was hand polish the rear axle & housing, rims and many other parts. Not only did this take a lot of time and effort, but it gave the 650 a look that made it stand out and yelled "PERFECTION"! We also added a hitch loop which I purchased from Cabala's. The hitch loop has proven to be one of the handiest additions I've added. It simply makes life easier when you need to pull out a friend from a deep mud hole or snow drift. No more hooking your tow rope on areas that were not designed for pulling someone out. The ball on the hitch is one of the exchangeable styles so I can easily switch between sizes.
Pipe
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| Here is a stripped down side view of the 650 with the Maxxis All-Trak Tires, OMF/Douglas bead locks and HMF pipe installed. |
I have a love, hate relationship with today's aftermarket pipes. I love the increased performance a proper pipe can provide and the HMF Pipe certainly has met that requirement. However, and this goes for every aftermarket pipe manufacture, I am extremely concerned about noise pollution. I believe we, the industry and riders alike, need to begin controlling this issue before the Federal, State and Local governments step in and do it for us. I know Mike Penland is working hard with Big Gun to develop a high performance pipe that is no louder then a stock pipe and I applaud Penland and Big Gun's efforts. I know this won't happen overnight but it is great to see at least one company that understands what is best for our sport. This is a very important issue that we all need to pay attention to before it comes back to haunt us. One simple, easy maintenance item we can all do is to have our existing pipes re-packed on a regular basis to help keep the noise to a minimum.
I chose the HMF pipe because it was one of the quietest aftermarket pipes we could find and at the time it was the one Penland recommended. When I purchased the pipe I also purchased the spark arrestor and silencer, two items that should be included with every pipe you purchase. The HMF pipe has performed exactly as the manufacturer said it would, however, the more I rode the louder it became so I just recently had it re-packed and it sounds much better. The packing doesn't last as long as you would think.
Floorboards
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| Floor boards & angled foot pegs, a must in my opinion. |
If you think about it the floor board, or in some cases the foot pegs, are the only thing between you and the ground. If one of these breaks you are almost guaranteed a broken ankle or worse. So I ordered a set of foot peg extensions from Penland Brothers Racing. A riding buddy of mine, Chris Mernka, wielded them on to the existing foot pegs. I knew that Chris' wield job would be perfect and hold up to the punishment ATVing provides. I immediately discovered the benefits of angled foot peg extensions can offer. They, not only provide better support, but they come in handy when you have to rock your quad in mud or snow. I'm so sold on the safety angle extensions provide that I've put them all three of my quads.
I also moved the adjustable foot pegs back to the furthest set of holes because in most riding situations you want your weight more towards the rear so the front end can more easily negotiate trail obstacles. Those times you need your weight up front you can easily transfer your weight by leaning your body forward. Once the foot pegs were bolted back onto the floor board, Jim took them to a buddy of his and had them powder coated. Powder coating is an expensive alternative to painting but it is extremely durable and for some items like floor boards and bumpers it's an excellent alternative.
Motor
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| The PBR sticker on the side case of the engine indicates that deep inside the engine is a Penland Brother Racing Cam. Penland Bros Racing has all the Prarie mods you could ever need. |
A friend of mine, Matt "The Tasmania Devil" Cooper, who incidentally has a Kawasaki Prairie 650 almost identical to mine, received one of the first cams from Mike Penland and something tells me they were in cohorts together. Matt and I were out riding one Sunday afternoon and we conveniently ended up in this open area where quads have been known to run side by side a time or two. Matt didn't have to say anything, he just sat on the imaginary starting line and I pulled up next to him. On the first run I popped a wheelie and had to let off the throttle so I assumed that was why he walked away from me. On the run back I got a much better start and Matt just simply blew me away. The first thing I asked him when I got to the finish lined was if Penland had sent him some cams. He swore up and down that Penland hadn't sent him a thing so we drag raced one more time. Cooper didn't stop at the finish line this time and continued on the trail. I bet you can guess who was following who. About a half hour later when we had stopped for water he started laughing about the drag race and finally admitted that he had installed Penland's cams. I called him a few choice names and off we went. Monday morning I called Penland for mine. The bottom line about the Penland Brother Racing cams is that they work very well!
In addition to the PBR cam we installed a PBR clutch kit. We didn't get the initial improvement performance that we had hoped for so we called Mike. He told us to fill in the hole in the clutch weight that is not being used with solder or lead. I couldn't believe the difference this simple procedure made. As Scott Kilby told me, "no one is a good with a Kawasaki 650 clutch then Mike Penland."
We milled off 1mm from the rear axle side of the fly wheel key. According to my mechanic Jim, "the rear side of the key is the side with the groove in the crank for the key at the top as you are looking at it from the side of the machine." OK, did you get that? Jim also added that this is not something that he would recommend attempting unless you know exactly what you are doing. Well that leaves me out!
Air box
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| More air equals more power. These holes in the air box cover do the trick. |
Obviously, once the cams are installed you have to play with the jetting. This is very simple. We went to the Internet and found out our altitude based on sea level and then we jetted the carbs based on the recommendations that came with the K&N jetting kit. He tested jets on both sides of the recommendations but ended up using the exact jets that K&N recommended. Our next goal was to increase the air flow as K&N recommends. Once again we called Mike Penland to get his feedback. He faxed us a diagram of how he drilled holes in his air box cover. We did this as well as added 1" UNI filter plugs on all but the three front holes. We removed not only the filter but also the plastic crossbars across the top of the plugs. Then Jim took a grinder tool and ground down the plastic on the left side of the air box cover so that water would drain from it. These plugs act as mini pre-filters, plus the lip on the plugs help keep any water from rolling down the cover and into the filter box.
Inside the air box I used what I personally believe is one of the best filter systems ever. It's the No-Toil Oil Filter System, a biodegradable system that is not only easy to use but does one of the best jobs of any filter I have ever had. Most important is that all of No-Toil's products are biodegradable and environmentally safe! No-Toil is simply one of the neatest products I have come across and I strongly recommend that you give their products a try.
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| The Diamond G Snorkel gives the Prarie mass amounts of fresh air. |
We still wanted to get more air to the air box without increasing the chances of water getting into the air box. For this we turned to Don Grimes of Diamond G Racing. Don manufactures an aftermarket snorkel that is designed to get the most possible air to the Prarie's air box. This modification was one of the easiest I have ever installed and it did exactly what Don promised, brought more "clean and cool" air to the air box. The key words here are clean and cool, because when we were relying on the eight 1" holes for our additional air we were getting hot air created by the engine. Granted air is air but clean cool air is much more effective. What is really neat about Don's snorkel is the way it is designed. It's made out of metal instead of plastic and has a built in drain tube at it's lowest point so water will drain out instead of being sucked into the air box. A snorkel may seem like a pretty easy part to design, but it is clear that Diamond G Racing put a lot of thought and effort into this part. I know Don is working on some other goodies for the 650 which we will talk about a little later.
Front End & Bumpers
As I'm sure most of you have already discovered the bumpers that most ATV manufactures
install on their quads these days just don't provide much protection. You just
"tap" a tree or another 4-wheeler and they're bent. For those of you
who have had the devious privilege of riding with me you know that bouncing
off of trees and boulders is one of my favorite past times. Some riders show
off by doing wheelies or making it through an entire ride without having any
problems, but not me, I have mastered the art of bouncing off trees, rocks and
other wheelers. After all, isn't that why they are there?
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| The ferocious teeth add the perfect touch to our monster 4x4. |
I have bent or replaced more bumpers then I care to count, so my goal was to design a bumper that would handle my riding style. After giving it some thought I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do so I went down to the local machine shop and they chopped and wielded my original bumper until they came up with a rough design that somewhat resembled the drawing I left with them. I'm sure my drawing skills had nothing to do with it, but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but close enough that I could give them a test run.
We were about 4-1/2 hours into our usual five hour Sunday ride when it accrued to me that I had gone the entire day without bouncing off anything. I was just about to contribute this amazing feat to the new bumpers when "smack", I nailed a tree with my left front bumper and I smacked it good. I knew this was the test I was looking for and when I got off the wheeler to assess the damage. I was amazed that the only visible damage was small areas where there was once paint.
Knowing we were on the right track, I took the 650 out to Jim and I proceeded to tell him what I wanted him to do. Well, about four hours later Jim finally decided it was ready to go, of course he hardly used any of my ideas on the bumper, but when he finally finished Jim had once again out done himself.
What exactly did we do? Well, first it's important that you understand we were not out to design a new bumper, we just wanted to create one that could take some typical riding abuse without bending, after all a bumper is designed to protect other parts. We started by removing the front and rear racks and put a support bracket under the plastic to replace the stiffness the racks provided. Next, Jim took the original bumper and replaced the two front support tubes with steel ones. He did the same to the rear bumper, however, he added two extra tubes because, like most riders, I use the rear bumper as a place to place my feet when negotiating deep mud or snow. Jim then cut off the corners of the bumpers, about halfway between the support tube and the end of the bumper and replaced them with steel. He also moved the top brackets, which the local machine shop wielded on, from the top side of the plastic to the underside of the plastic to give the machine a cleaner look. Jim, also added a piece of steel tubing across the bottom of the grill he installed. The purpose of this steel tubing was to help protect the radiator and the front end.
Soon after we put the new powder coated bumpers on the 650 we noticed a problem with our rack-less quad. When we originally removed the front and rear rack it looked real cool and clean; however, what we feared all along eventually happened, both front shock mounts cracked at the top mount. We knew immediately that we needed to find a way to reinforce the shock mounts. Jim's idea was simple and to the point. He took the original rack and crafted it into a small rack that is basically no bigger than the original rack's mounting bolts. He wielded in a few extra reinforcement bars, round the corners, had the rack powder coated and the problem was solved.
We then mounted a metal screen to help protect the radiator from tree branches, mud and other obstacles. The final touch to the front bumper is the teeth that are painted on the front screen, a trademark feature of "project ultimate 4x4". It seems everyone knew my quad, not for the modifications that were done to it but for the teeth.
If you look at the picture on the right you can see that we went that extra mile and had several parts on the 650 powdered coated. The added steel bar makes the front end as solid as can be. By adding a cleaves to the hole in the plate we can easily hookup a tow rope, just in case we ever need to be pulled out. On one ride I hit a tree head on and that steel bar prevented the entire front end from being totaled.
Handlebars & Digital Display
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| The PBR display mount is rugged and durable. With a little work we got it to work with out TAG bars. | Acerbis hand guards not only save your hands from getting pinned between the bars and a tree, they also look cool as ever. |
Before we put on the plastic we had a few more modifications to do. Once again we called on Mike at PBR to find an alternative way to mount the digital display. I could tell by looking at pictures of Penland's racing 650 that he had some kind of bracket that he made for mounting his display. It ends up that Mike was just getting ready to release a billet bracket for mounting Kawasaki's digital display. Obviously, I ordered the bracket immediately along with a billet gas cap, a billet oil cap and a billet oil dip stick. You have to admit that billet looks awesome on any quad.
I then went to my local Kawasaki dealer, Racing Unlimited in Fort Dodge, IA and ordered a set of TAG 2 ATV bars with the 1007 bend which is the same bend Mike uses on his racing quad. Racing Unlimited also recommended that we order the TAG 2 mounting bracket just in case we needed it. In addition to the TAG 2's, I ordered a set of Acerbis hand guards, a set of Acerbis ATV extensions and a pair of Pro-Grip 792 Gel MX Grips. Knowing it was time to service our project quad I also purchased all the necessary Kawasaki lubricants. I'm a big believer in using OEM products when it comes to servicing any product and I am also a big proponent to supporting your local dealer and buying everything you need at one time.
All the items fit like a glove except for the Acerbis ATV extensions. Since the TAG 2 bars are "fat bars" we discovered that the screws were not long enough to provide a solid mount. We solved this problem by drilling and tapping the screw hole so the mounting screws. They could now go all the way through the mounting bracket. We added longer screws and we were set.
Skid Plates
Our riding here in Iowa involves a lot of quarries that were mined back
in the late 1800's and the early 1900's. For the past 40 plus years these quarries
have attracted riders of all ages. I've seen quads less then two months old
look like somebody took a sledge hammer to their underside. Therefore, in my
opinion, one of the best after market investments you can make is a good quality
set of skid plates. In my case I elected to go with a complete set of Kawasaki
OEM skid plates. In fact, I had Racing Unlimited install the skid plates before
the quad even left their dealership. It just doesn't make sense to take a brand
new quad out and allow rocks and other objects to tear up the underside of your
brand new quad.
We made two modifications to the skid plates. First we drilled a hole so that
the front differential can be drained without having to remove the skid plate.
Secondly, we ground off about ¼" off the outside top of the A-arm
plate. We have had instances when the 650 is going into a corner extremely hard
and the inside wheel's strut mount hooks the top of the skid plat preventing
the rider from straightening out the wheels. Obviously, this results in an ugly
roll, (John Pellan experienced this and got sample some Iowa dirt because of
this problem). Since we ground down the skid plates it has never happened again.
Team Green Plastic
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| Green Team Green plastic completes our Ultimate 4x4 project Prarie. Since it came from the factory plastic mold it fits perfect. |
I received a phone call from Mike Penland. He was getting ready to order Team Green plastic to put on the Penland Brothers Racing Team Green machines. The catch was that he had to order a certain quantity before the manufacture would even make them. Since I've never liked being like everyone else I jumped on the opportunity and ordered a set.
Since the plastic was made using the original factory molds they fit like a
glove. We removed the black fender trim and cut back the plastic using the natural
curve of the fender as our guide. With some patience and sand paper it looks
like they came from the factory that way. With the 12-Hours of ATV America coming
up the following weekend we decided to put decals on the plastic of all those
who made this project possible. So I took the quad down to Geoff Engels at Double
M Signs in Fort Dodge and let him work his magic.
More goodies for project ultimate 4x4
As typical, a project is never done. There is always something to improve
or add. With that said here's an update as to what's in order for our ultimate
4x4 project quad:
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I just recently decided that I wanted to do a comparison between the new radial tires like the ITP Holeshot ATR and bias ply tires like the Maxxis All-Trak's I had been running on for the past year. So I ordered a new set of ITP radials and mounted them on the OMF Douglas Bead Lock Rims. We're using a tire sealant from Bob Cat's line of construction equipment. I haven't run this new combination long enough to form an opinion but so far I am impressed with the qualities a radial tire provides. |
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Mike Penland has sent me one of Big Gun's newer pipes with the all important quit core. I really like Mike's concept from the time he set out designing his "signature" muffler. He wanted to build a muffler that would give you the same or better performance of the other after market mufflers but would be no louder then a stock muffler. This would be a tuff order to fill but if anyone can do it, you would be wise to put your money on good 'ole Mike. |
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I ordered mud covers for my 12" OMF/Douglass bead locked rims from OMF Performance Products. My hope is that they will work the same in the winter as they do in the summer and keep the snow from building up in my rims; therefore, helping eliminate what sometimes feels like 100 lbs of additional weight. |
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I have also ordered a set of Eagle Eye 950 HID Lights from J.C. Whitney. When mounting the lights we will use a concept similar to what Penland Brothers Racing used for the 12-Hours of ATV America. The lights will be mounted on the support rack we built to support the front shocks. |
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A friend of mine, Matt "The Tasmanian Devil" Cooper purchased the set of lights that Mike Penland used in the 12-Hours of ATV America. They truly do light up the world! Mike ran one light with a H.I.D. bulb and the other light with a Xenon style "blue" bulb. According to Ricky Stator, their light was a spot light and the other worked like a flood light. As for our project quad, we will remove the 12V plug and replace it with an on/off switch. Next, we will change the light bulbs and install Xenon Crystal bulbs. These bulbs have a blue look to them, which gives off a much softer light. These are said to offer much better light for night riding. And if you ever ride in fog, rain or snow, they say the Xenon Crystal bulb are a must! I have similar bulbs in all my vehicles and will be installing them in my other two quads as well. Once the lights are mounted we plan on protecting the lights by manufacturing a solid piece of metal that will go around the sides and the top of each light. |
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Diamond G Racing has been working extremely hard on an after market CDI Box for the Kawasaki Prairie 650. Don Grimes at Diamond G said they were very close to finishing it the last time I spoke with him. We will let you know as soon as it hits the market and you can bet I'll have one on my 650 as soon as I can wrestle one out of Don's hands. |
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Once I have a month or so under my belt with these new goodies, I'll fill you in on what I think of them. |
If you purchased yourself a new Kawasaki Prairie 650 and want to hop it up for minimal dollars here's the low down. Keeping cost in mind, we've decided that the three most significant modifications are the following; the Maxxis tires, upgrading to the Progressive Suspension kit and Penland's new Big Gun exhaust system.
Well, that's all for now - our project continues though and I'm sure it won't stop until I sell the 650. Then the process will more than likely start all over again.
Special Thanks to:
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Racing Unlimited |
Penland Brother Racing |
Double M Signs |
Access Audio & Accessories |
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A special thank you to Mr. Jim Dahl Fort Dodge, IA Scott Myers, Matt Cooper, Chris Mernka and Leo Reigelderger |
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