Text by Cody Hooper. Photos by Jon Crowley and Buddy Hernandez Photography.
KC HiLiTES brought this Kibbetech-built Polaris RZR XP 1000 to the 2015 Glamis UTV Industry Ride as a rolling showcase for its emerging LED lighting technology. Photographed after dark in the Imperial Sand Dunes, the custom RZR featured modular FLEX light bars, compact Cyclone LEDs and the detailed fabrication for which Kibbetech had become known.
Kibbetech-Built Polaris RZR XP 1000
We met up with KC HiLiTES during the 2015 Glamis UTV Industry Ride. KC arrived with its full-size display semi and this heavily modified Polaris RZR XP 1000, giving us an ideal opportunity to photograph the lighting system under real nighttime conditions.
Kibbetech constructed the vehicle and applied the same attention to fabrication found in the company’s high-end off-road truck builds. The custom cage, bodywork and lighting mounts gave KC a distinctive platform for demonstrating several different types of trail and accent lighting.
KC Cyclone LED Accent Lights
The build highlighted KC’s original Cyclone LED, a compact round light that could serve as a dome light, rock light, engine-bay light or general-purpose utility light. Its small and relatively flat housing made it possible to place the light in areas where a conventional pod would not fit.
At the time of this build, KC rated the five-watt Cyclone at 1,100 raw lumens. The light operated on 6 to 16 volts and could be secured with double-sided adhesive or mounted through its center using a fastener. Different colors and a diffused white version allowed builders to combine functional illumination with accent lighting.
Original KC FLEX Modular LED System
The original FLEX Array was KC’s modular alternative to a conventional one-piece LED light bar. Instead of placing every LED and reflector inside a single housing, KC used individual light cores that could be connected with hardware and short jumper wires.
Each original FLEX core used a finned aluminum housing for heat dissipation and contained a 10-watt Cree LED. Owners could combine the cores to create different bar lengths or stack them into multiple rows. KC offered two-core FLEX Dual lights as well as preassembled arrays in several widths.
The concept allowed a builder to configure the lighting around the vehicle instead of being restricted to a fixed light-bar shape. KC later developed the idea into its current FLEX ERA family, which the company describes as the successor to the original FLEX Array system.
KC HiLiTES RZR XP 1000 Photo Gallery
KC Cyclone LED
The Cyclone’s compact dimensions made it one of the most versatile components on the build. Rather than functioning only as decorative lighting, the small LEDs could illuminate frequently overlooked areas around the vehicle.
KC FLEX Dual LED Lights
The original 20-watt FLEX Dual combined two LED cores with a mounting bracket. Multiple Duals or larger FLEX Arrays could be linked or stacked to create a lighting system suited to the available mounting space.
KC FLEX Array LED Light Bar
KC’s modern FLEX ERA light bars continue the configurable approach introduced by these early FLEX products, adding linkable sections, adjustable curvature and interchangeable optics. Learn more about the current lighting lineup at KC HiLiTES.
A Snapshot of Early UTV LED Development
LED lighting is now common on recreational side-by-sides, but this 2015 build captures a period when manufacturers were experimenting with new ways to package and configure high-output LEDs. KC’s combination of modular forward lighting and small utility lights demonstrated how a complete lighting system could extend well beyond a single bar mounted above the windshield.
The Kibbetech-built KC HiLiTES RZR remains an excellent example of the elaborate custom Polaris builds that attended the annual Glamis Industry Ride. See the complete event report and photo collection in our 2015 Glamis UTV Industry Ride recap.
