Dirt Wheels - AUGUST 2015

YAMAHA DRONE

Drones big and small are getting a lot of attention these days. The military uses the big ones to keep an eye on enemies overseas, while the smaller ones can be seen buzzing around neighborhoods and racetracks sometimes holding GoPros. However, Yamaha has been in the unmanned aircraft game for 20 years. Their R-Max has been used in agricultural situations with great success in Australia and is now approved for use in the U.S. It’s powered by a twin-cylinder two-stroke engine and can reach speeds up to 45 mph. Also, recently here in the U.S., Northrop Grumman has been modifying Yamaha UAVs for military tests and search-and-rescue work. Let’s hope Yamaha introduces a civilian version some day. Or better yet, we would like to see that engine in a new Raptor 250 ATV.

GOING TO THE PROM IN STYLE

Here is Seth Coltrane in Kansas posing with his best friend. He also allowed his prom date to get in the picture too.

HONDA NEWS

It’s no secret that Honda has been pretty stale in the sport ATV world this decade. Even worse, they are nonexistent in the sport UTV segment.

However, Honda’s motorcycle division
has been working overtime develop-
ing modern machines with brand
new engines that may find their home
in a high-performance UTV sometime
soon. Later this year Big Red will be
bringing back the African Twin, which
was a rally-style dual sport formerly
sold in other parts of the world—first
as a 650, then pumped up to a 700.
Now the U.S. market will get to enjoy
a 1000cc V-twin bike for on- and
off-road excursions. Furthermore, a
couple years back, Honda came out
with a sleek, inline twin 700cc mill.
Both engines would fit nicely in a
machine that could go head to head
with Polaris RZRs, Arctic Cats and
Can-Ams. We can’t wait.