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Levi
Merriman becoming familiar with Teryx
750 4x4 before we put it to the test |
As we started out our testing the guys at Kawasaki
took us on a guided tour of the park and covered
all the different terrains at a wide open speed.
Under my helmet I was smiling ear to ear. Immediately
climbing from the park entrance to the peak of
the dunes the Teryx handle well with ample power
to make it without any issues. Although the Kawasaki
reps started all the riders out with the stock
tire pressure of 13 psi rear and 10 psi front
the Teryx worked its way through the dunes well.
With the experience I’ve gained from the
all the years at Glamis, I quickly dropped my
tire pressure to 6 psi giving the Teryx even more
bite and quickness through the sand than before.
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| Once
we lowered the tire pressure, the Teryx
750 4x4 was a sand carving machine as
it had plenty of power to blast it way
through the sand, and with its 58"
width, it was extremely stable and never
felt tippy under normal riding conditions
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With all the Teryx’s shredding the sand,
deep grooves and tracks began to form leading
to our next testing obstacle; Stability. Here
is where the Teryx really shined. With a lot
of roll accidents and stability issues that
are inherent in machines of this nature, Kawasaki
really took the extra effort to ensure safety
at speed with this RUV. With the extra 4.3 inches
of track width over Yamaha’s Rhino while
maintaining a narrow boxed frame base I was
able to the hit deep off-camber grooves into
tight twisting corners at full throttle and
the Teryx never gave an indication of instability.
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| The
Teryx 750 4x4 was right at home in the
rocks with its impressive 11.3" of
ground clearance |
Leaving the sand dunes for the hard desert
trails I was quick to notice the smooth throttle
response given by the twin Keihin CVKR-34 downdraft
carburetors with their smooth intakes and large
washable oval air filter. On the hard packed
trails the Teryx had a significant amount of
acceleration off the low end and maintained
a steady speed up to 46 mph on one run. Sliding
the Teryx around corners was effortless and
steady with its widened stance as we headed
to the rock crawling section of the course.
While we were informed that the Teryx had an
“on the move” 4wd button, it did
not always want to engage instantly. Only when
the Teryx was going less than 16mph, the rear
tires were not slipping or spinning, and you
let off the gas, then the Teryx would engage
4wd every time with out issue. In 4wd with out
the differential locked the Teryx would go practically
anywhere thanks to the help of its specifically
designed 26” Maxxis tires (4 ply rear,
2 ply front).
