My Kawasaki Teryx4

[blazerbrad]

After thinking about for awhile and a couple of my friends getting into SxS's I decided to go over to the dark side.

I wanted at least 4 seats so the kids could come along (and I get more free passes from the wife to go play if I take the kids) so started doing some research. Just hated how long most 4 seat models so enter the Kawasaki Teryx4. 800 V-Twin, power steering, 26" tires, locking front diff, and adjustable shocks are all standard. The 2 and 4 seat versions are on the same wheelbase so it's not longer than my crewcab pickup.

The 2016 models were coming out so there were factory rebates on '15s and dealers were offering good prices.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/teryx_at_dealer.jpg

Doing some cruising around my dad's place to get some break-in miles completed. That's his Ranger 570 midsize...while I'm not a Polaris fan that thing is pretty peppy and rides nice.

http://i862.photobucket.com/albums/ab184/grayblazer/IMG_1336.jpg (http://s862.photobucket.com/user/grayblazer/media/IMG_1336.jpg.html)

Not much in the way of challenging wheeling around there but we did get to check out the beaver dam.

http://i862.photobucket.com/albums/ab184/grayblazer/IMG_1435.jpg (http://s862.photobucket.com/user/grayblazer/media/IMG_1435.jpg.html)

[blazerbrad]

Took it down to my buddy's place outside Zanesville for the first real trailride.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/teryx_w_roy.jpg

This is only a couple miles from his house. He lives on a gravel road so home base is his driveway and you can be climbing serious hills literally in his backyard. He has a '14 Yamaha Viking with 28" Swamplites and a winch. I'm jealous because he can go out and run serious trails after work for a couple of hours anytime.

The Viking and Teryx would be considered in the same class, though the Teryx 800 V-Twin has substantially more power than the 700 single in the Yamaha. I was going up hills on the first try that either took him multiple full throttle assaults or he couldn't climb at all, even with the larger and more aggressive tires.

[donaldcon]

I've been wanting to go ride around t
With roy.

[blazerbrad]

Haven't done very good updating my build thread so will try to catch up with the progress over the last year.

Number on priority was a winch. I didn't want it mounted low where you have to dig through the mud to get to it, and refused to pay the money for a winch bumper. Built a custom bracket into the stock bumper with four extra mounting points to the frame.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/winch_bumper_2.jpg

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/winch_bumper_3.jpg

Installed a Superwinch Terra45. Buddy has one with a very rough life and has never let him down, and found a good deal on one. Just barely clears the grill and still lets the hood open up.

[blazerbrad]

A few 40+mph runs down the road during cooler days told me I need a windshield. Did some research and decided on a SuperATV full flip version. The top can be run full closed, cracked open a few inches, or flips all the way open. I can remove the top portion in a couple minutes also for tight trails. So far I have been pleased with this setup and the gas struts hold it open with no flopping. You can open and close it from the drivers seat without stopping.

*picture from the website as I can't recover this one from photobucket*

https://d1qlem0usjr5s.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/image/757x632/e9c3970ab036de70892d86c6d221abfe/k/a/kawasaki-teryx-750-800-scratch-resistant-flip-windshield-03.jpg

[blazerbrad]

Few more smaller things.

Tusk soft rear window....pretty cheap ($60ish) compared to most things and impressed with the quality. If you run a front window you really need something on the back or it sucks dust into the cab. Just straps around the roll cage with Velcro. Typically fold it down for trailering but forgot during one trip and it survived a 2 hour trip at 70 mph.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/rear_window.jpg


Bought a poly truck box at TSC and bolted it in the bed. It's offset to the side so it leaves a perfect spot for a cooler. You can also see the taillight guards....need a real rear bumper but had already cracked the plastic hence the guards.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/blaze_toolbox.jpg

And a Harbor Freight shackle mount for the rear....hate it when somebody gets stuck and there are no tow points........

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/blazer_rear_tow_point.jpg

[blazerbrad]

Next was a 2" lift kit. Pretty simple kit that consists of brackets that raise the lower shock brackets up. Would of made these myself but didn't have any time before a trip, and they are pretty cheap.

http://i862.photobucket.com/albums/ab184/grayblazer/IMG_3180.jpg (http://s862.photobucket.com/user/grayblazer/media/IMG_3180.jpg.html)

Lift kits on these actually make a big difference in overall ground clearance since it raises the entire bottom off the ground, unlike a truck or Jeep in which it doesn't give any clearance under the axles. This made a noticeable difference on technical trails.
After the Rush trip I adjusted the shocks down to decrease the preload. Ended up with about 1" of lift. It does give it a softer ride but did notice more issues with bottoming out after lowering it back down.

Also installed 2" wheel spacers all the way around which is very common. This helps stability and keeps the body away from trees and roots some.

[blazerbrad]

Most recent was a tire upgrade. Found a set of SuperATV Intimidator 28x10-14 tires on 14x7 STI beadlocks for less than half the cost of new and within a hour from me.

Compared to the factory 26x9-12 fronts at same air pressure and no weight on them.

9677

You can feel them at low speeds on the concrete but should grip pretty good. Gained about 2" of ground clearance with the new tires at the same psi, mainly because the original tires had quite a big of squish under the weight of the machine.

9676

You can also see the home-made fender guards I made front and rear.

9675

[yellowjacket]

Looking good. Did u lose much pep and performance with the bigger tires?

[blazerbrad]

Looking good. Did u lose much pep and performance with the bigger tires?

Really not much of a chance to get a good feel for it yet. Along the back edge of our yard I did a couple full throttle launches and it didn't feel drastically different than before. Hooked pretty good on dry grass but going back and looking at it you can see the tires were spinning for about as far as they did with the stock tires (I know, real scientific test....).

[blazerbrad]

Saw Kevin had updated his RZR build so thought I better update mine also.......not nearly as exciting though. Not sure what happened to my previous pictures.

Went to a new park called Tecumseh Trails over Memorial Day weekend. This is out around the Hocking Hills and Wayne National Forest area. It was an okay 1,000 acre park for SxS and ATV's. Pretty sloppy.

Teryx doing what it does the best and that is towtruck. On our first trail we ran across this Artic Cat Wildcat Sport. The trails were real sloppy and these guys were hotrodding around and tagged a tree. Major carnage. Pulled him out because between the mud and hills he couldn't make it.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/broke_artic_cat.jpg

[blazerbrad]

Hmmm, looks like pictures are not showing up in my posts. The one I tried above is right from this site.

[donaldcon]

You and roy going to bring them out to the old painted rock and ride july 8th?

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[JeffK5]

You and roy going to bring them out to the old painted rock and ride july 8th?

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I always heard that place was pretty cool..but it closed before I ever got a chance to go.

[donaldcon]

Well it was cool for back in the day bit compared to other places weve all gone over the years it is strange riding it now ans thinking how "badass" we all thought we were then.

Its pretty well unnaintaimed now so some trails are blocked by downed trees and such but its still fun on sxs

Im taking the offroad mower which and the sxs. As intold roy you two are welcome to come

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[blazerbrad]

You and roy going to bring them out to the old painted rock and ride july 8th?

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Won't be there as I've got a trip planned for Windrock later that month with a group of Teryx's.

I think I was there with Roy many, many years ago.

[blazerbrad]

Installed the Sgroi Innovations Diff lock speed limit bypass kit last night.
http://sgroiinnovations.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=62&product_id=66
Kawasaki felt it was necessary to put a 15 mph speed limiter on when you lock the front diff. On greasy climbs that require momentum and wheel speed it just doesn't cut it as it will start bouncing off the limiter as soon as you put your foot into it. This kit allows you to switch to a mode that bypasses the speed limiter.

[blazerbrad]

Couple more additions. After doing some night riding at Rush I needed some more lights. Going straight wasn't a problem but couldn't see out to the sides, like when making a sharp turn. Vendor had a deal on some nice A-pillar mounts and small LED cubes. These are angled slightly out to light up the sides.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_3184.jpg

Than a little later mounted up the same type of lights facing the back. Again angled out towards the side.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_3694_002.jpg

No pictures right now but the Teryx is pre-wired with a harness that gives power when in reverse. I added 4 of the little Eagle eye lights on the back as reverse lights.

Also mounted up a 6 position fuse block set up to only be powered when the key is on along with 4 place rocker switch panel.

[blazerbrad]

Did a little snow-wheelin' on Christmas day while up at my dad's place. It is mostly flat farm ground and usually just good for some cruising around. They didn't get a lot of snow but the wind made some deep drifts. Got the Teryx stuck a couple times. Last time my brother-in-law was driving and tried blast through a 3' deep drift.....going downhill at a creek crossing. Literally could not see the front 28" tall tire. No trees around so hooked the winch to a Ranger midsize and it just dragged the Ranger around. Finally hooked up the snatch strap and gave it a few good tugs.

Here is the aftermath, which left a huge mess in my garage.


http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_4556.jpg

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_4558.jpg

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_4560.jpg

[blazerbrad]

A little bit of fabrication for the ol' Teryx, but not nearly as intense to all of the ground up buggy builds going on.

Been wanting a rear bumper for quite while. These come with nothing at all on the back so even bumping into a tree causes damage. Kevin bent me up some 1.75" 0.090 DOM.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_5962.jpg

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_5963.jpg

Also made some tree kickers. Same material as the bumper. Most people only have these turned up on the back, but I did the same to the front. Seemed to hit the body a lot right behind the front tires so went ahead and did this. Not 100% done in the pictures as I am cutting the ends of the tube at an angle and welding on end caps.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_5964.jpg

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_5966.jpg

[blazerbrad]

A few more updates on the ol' Teryx. The biggest complaint I had with the machine was the ride quality, which was caused by a combination of stiff shocks and limited wheel travel. Finally bit the bullet and bought a set of aftermarket shocks. The new shocks are longer than stock allowing 25% more wheel travel and allow me to remove the lift kit I had installed. They also offer much plusher travel with progressive rate front springs, dual rate rears, and softer shock valving.
http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/bandit_2.0.jpg
Haven't been able to do a good shake down ride yet because everything around my house is a swamp and don't want to tear the yard or field up, but from a short ride around it has gone from feeling every small bump to being very smooth.

[blazerbrad]

Next step up was tires. I had been casually looking at tires and wanting a size bigger eventually when these popped up for sale for a good price. These are 30x10-14 Pro Armor Crawler XG's (same tires that Kevin has). They were 90% tread and picked them up for just over half of the retail price.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/30_crawlers.jpg

Didn't really hate my current tires which were 28x10-14 SuperATV Intimidators (which I had also bought used) as they worked really good in loose or muddy conditions, but weren't real great on the rocks or hard pack. They are also very heavy. While I'm going to a taller tire hopefully some, or all, of the power loss is offset by the decreased weight as the Crawlers are 6 lbs. per tire lighter.

Here are the tires next to each other both mounted with 15 psi. The Crawlers measured 2 1/4" taller.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/tires_1.jpg

Clearance wise I need to do some work to get them to fit. The previous 28's would rub slightly on the passenger side at full lock and flexed out. The new 30's rub at full lock sitting in the shop. Some more preload adjustment of the shocks and dropping the pressure down to the 10 psi range should help for now, but am planning on offset high clearance a-arms next.

[Smiddy24]

Nice! Now you can go up all the hard stuff that Kevin tries!

Are you going to the Badlands trip?

If not, I can't wait to see how it performs out at Rush!

[93 Krawler]

Yep, you have to go to the badlands and try them out. [emoji106] plus i wont be the only one on a sxs. [emoji848]

Sent from my S7 using Tapatalk

[blazerbrad]

Don't think I will be able to get away on that weekend for the Badlands. Also not sure I would have the Teryx completely ready either. Got the 30's mounted up last night and they rub pretty bad as it currently sits. I was planning on adding a little preload to the shocks to raise it up and need to drop the tires back down the normal 10 psi range (the tires do balloon some at higher pressures) which will help, but was planning on getting offset high clearance a-arms.

[Smiddy24]

Eh it won't hurt anything if it rubs lol. Come out have a good time!

[blazerbrad]

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_6210.jpg

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_6211.jpg

Made some more preload adjustments on the shocks to raise the height some more. Really happy with how it is turning out so far, but really need a good shake down run....have a little bit of room to run it around the house but don't want to tear up the yard or the sod field behind me with it being so wet.

[Smiddy24]

Looks good! Good run would be the Badlands :winking:

Great job Brad!

[93 Krawler]

What he said ^^^^^^^

Sent from my S7 using Tapatalk

[blazerbrad]

It actually has some flex now! It also feels more stable when turning at high speeds now, which I didn't expect with the ride being softer and having more flex.

http://www.cincyoffroad.com/gallery/files/6/1/img_6264.jpg

Trust me, I would love to go this weekend but just can't get away.