Ah, Arizona in the winter. If you’re from a cold northern state (I’m originally from Minnesota) you can appreciate how great it is to be outdoors on a sunny, 70-degree day in February!
This past February, I got the chance to take a Duraclutch-equipped Polaris RZR out onto the trails near Cave Creek Arizona. I’ve ridden these trails before, but only on machines I had rented, none of which came with a Duraclutch. I went with my friends (who own a 4-seat RZR), and we went down the dirt roads of the Rio Verde Foothills, then into the nearby trail system.
Speaking of the dirt “roads” here… some are maintained, and most are not. Meaning they are very rough, often muddy roads, ripped with deep grooves where the water ate away at the road during monsoon season. I noticed right away when crossing those deep trenches that having my Duraclutch keep even power to the wheels was amazing.
At slow speed for the really deep ruts, my only concern was if the RZR was high enough to clear it – and thankfully we never came upon any that were big enough for that to be an issue. On smaller ones at a higher speed, I didn’t even notice the ruts were even there.
We motored on, all the way to the Verde River Recreational site, a popular spot where the Verde river runs wide and deep. I’d been down there on a hot summer day when the river was almost covered with folks in inner tubes. But today, there was a small armada of off-road vehicles and dirt bikes parked near the water’s edge. We met several folks from Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as some native Arizonans.
My friends also brought along their chocolate lab Charlie, who just happens to be one of my favorite fur-covered critters. When Charlie decided he wanted to ride with me, I honestly think he was smiling at me as we pulled away and there was no “jerking” motion, thanks to the Duraclutch. Charlie sat in the front seat and had a really good time.
On the way back we took deep washes between the canyons. The sand is about axle deep for about three miles in that area – and the Duraclutch meant that I pretty much drove over it like it was a lovely interstate highway, even if I could feel the machine drifting over it just a bit.
We also went up a few very steep hills – the video does it no justice, that incline is steep enough to look like a straight-up wall from the bottom! At the base of two of those inclines were solid rocks, big enough that I had to get out and take a look, and make sure I could get over them without bottoming out.
I could not believe how smoothly I got up and over that rock, then the rest of that incline with the Duraclutch! The motor just pulled me up and over with not a single wheel slipping or bobbling forward or back. It’s an incredible feeling to know that RZR 1000 is putting all that power down in a uniform manner and making the most out of each rotation of the crank.
My takeaway is this: I don’t want to ever be without a Duraclutch again. The minute I started my ride, I knew I could never again drive a machine without one!
Note how smooth I go up this incline, which is really much steeper than it looks in the video.
Charlie and her mom.
When your RZR is bigger than your tow vehicle…
Great view of the Superstition Mountains
