Whether on two or four wheels, riding in the dirt is riding in the dirt. After admiring Motocross and Supercross all my life, I decided to see what all the fuss was about in the ATV and UTV market.  I wanted to compare these machines to our beloved motorcycles, so I checked out an event hosted by Kawasaki at Badlands off Road Park in Attica, Indiana (check out www.badlandsoffroad.com).

The machines of choice were all ATVs, UTVs and recreation utility vehicles (RUVs) which included the Prairie 360 4x4, KFX450R Sport ATV, Brute Force 650 4X4, Brute Force 750 4x4i, and the Teryx 750 FI 4x4 and 750 Sport RUV.

I love to ride dirt bikes, the main reason being the ability to go anywhere at your own pace with the freedom to explore. Whether across the Pennsylvanian Allegheny Mountains or the sand dunes of California, riding off road is always exhilarating, a great work out, and generally strengthens our motorcycle skills on the street. At first I thought that I might lose that feeling of freedom of the off road due to having four wheels instead of two, but I was mistaken. These machines go anywhere you point them, and I mean anywhere.

We spent all day at Badlands ORV Park, a privately owned 800-acre park.  The park has everything from sand dunes to pea gravel, bottomless mud and off-camber wooded trails that lead to extreme rock. At $30 per day for the off road terrain and the ATV Motocross track, it’s great value. Every possible vehicle that can go off road is there: bikes, ATVs, and even homemade buggies. You name it and you’ll find it; every type of vehicle trekking through this park.

My first experience was on the  4x4i sport-utility ATV. A very versatile machine with an independent front and rear suspension, the Brute Force has a powerful 749cc fuel injected, 90- degree V-twin, four-stroke engine with push-button choice of two or four wheel drive. It also features Kawasaki Engine Brake Control system that automatically slows the 4x4 while going down steep hills.

The first thing that surprised me was how quick the 750 Brute Force was off the line. I couldn’t quite get it to wheelie because of the gearbox being automatic but I tried. It was very nimble in the corners even if it did take me a while to get use to having to maneuver four wheels around instead of sliding on two. I took it through deep water, deep sand and very deep mud, and at no time did I feel I was going to get stuck. Using the throttle on your right thumb to power over and through any type of obstacle was all that was needed. After eight hours of riding, I felt that my thumb had endured its own work out.  I also found the thumb throttle a little awkward when maneuvering through steep corners.  I prefer the twist mechanism on a motorcycle over the thumb-throttle button.

The next machine, the KFX450R Sport ATV with a manual gearbox, was a totally different experience. Badlands has its own Motocross track and this race-ready ATV was designed and built to fly around track-type terrain. This is Kawasaki’s flagship Sport ATV, sitting low to the ground with its fully adjustable suspension, five-speed transmission, fuel injection, electric start and impressive four-stroke power plant from the KX 450F motocross engine. Before Badlands, I personally had no experience riding a sport ATV, especially on this type of terrain. But I’m always willing to learn, which I did on this Kawasaki.

I was not prepared the first time I came across a near vertical drop jump.  I ended up stopping quickly on the top just to look down and nearly got rear ended by fellow journalist Mark Mitchell from SPEED TV… my bad, sorry Mark!  When I realized what this machine could do and how soft the landing was when I took jumps at respectable speeds, I really started to get the hang of the circuit and riding on four wheels.

The fixed back axle, unlike the Brute Force with its independent suspension, enables you to slide the KFX and power out of the entire corner which I have to say was much more controllable and fun than the independent setup.

Now it was onto the Teryx RUV with its steering wheel, retractable three-point seat belts and side-by-side bucket seats. This machine is somewhere in between an ATV/UTV and a pickup truck. Its aluminum-bodied, gas charged piggyback-reservoir shocks with spring preload, compression damping and rebound damping makes this larger machine go anywhere you point it with ease.

Towards the end of the day I took the Teryx, which felt like a rally car after riding the other ATVs. I could under-steer, over-steer, slide with full control, and drive through any terrain whatsoever while sitting on my backside not having to stand or balance at all.  It was a peaceful rest in comparison to the other machines at the end of a long day. The cab protection did catch me out a little when I went barreling into a stream at full pelt, not realizing that I was about to get very wet indeed, which Jason Zittel from ATVScene.com can relate too.  He was sitting next to me the first time we did this.

The British Motorcycle Gear that I was wearing, the Adventure Jacket and Trousers, held up perfectly and kept me very dry indeed.  Even when I had to power wash myself at the end of the day from all of the mud we had collected on ourselves, it did not let any water in at all.

I could imagine using the Teryx back on my father farm in the U.K. to haul hay and feed for the cattle in either 2WD or 4WD with switch of a button, in real comfort. The 749cc, 90-degree 80-valve V-twin engine had enough power with smoothness at any rpm to navigate the tightest of corners and the steepest of hills.  It even had a cool exhaust note and landed perfectly after jumping some of the hills.

I have to say that when I left Badlands, I was very tired and even ached a little for the next few days, but enjoyed every minute of the experience. I want to thank Jon Rall and Greg Lasiewski from Kawasaki for their hospitality, I look forward to reporting on more two or four wheel exploits next year.