Originally published August 7, 2012. This historical trip report has been refreshed while preserving our firsthand impressions and original photography from DuneFest 2012.
By Jon Crowley
DuneFest returned to the Winchester Bay dunes on August 1–5, 2012, bringing five days of riding, racing, freestyle shows and vendor displays to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. This was my third year attending, and the event was better organized and had more vendors than I had seen during the previous two years.
The weather was excellent for four of the five days. I stayed near Salmon Harbor and staged my enclosed trailer beside the Muzzys booth in Sand Camping Area C. That gave me a secure place to keep the UTVs overnight while remaining close to the event and its primary riding areas.
I brought our Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000 and picked up a new John Deere Gator RSX850i from a dealer in Roseburg on the way to Winchester Bay. Having two very different machines made the five-day trip especially interesting. Both ran without a problem, and switching between them several times each day highlighted how differently manufacturers approached recreational UTV performance in 2012.
John Deere Gator RSX850i at DuneFest
The Gator RSX850i represented John Deere’s move beyond its traditional work-focused vehicles. Our Sport model included sport seats, alloy wheels with Maxxis tires, a prerunner bumper, cargo-box rails, a sport steering wheel and FOX 2.0 Performance Series shocks.
We picked up the machine on the way to DuneFest, making Winchester Bay its first major test. The RSX850i performed flawlessly throughout the event.
Its Piaggio-built V-twin delivered good power for a sport-utility UTV. It was not as powerful as the contemporary Can-Am Commander 1000, but it produced noticeably more grunt than a Kawasaki Teryx. The suspension also worked surprisingly well for a 56.5-inch-wide machine without long-travel suspension.
The RSX850i should not be judged directly against a pure-sport UTV. It combined recreational handling with a dump bed and 2-inch receiver, placing it closer to machines such as the Commander, Rhino, Teryx and Prowler. Read our complete John Deere Gator RSX850i review for more driving impressions.
Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000 in the Dunes
The original Arctic Cat Wildcat was a pure-sport machine with long-travel suspension, considerably more performance and very little cargo capacity. It could not match the utility of the RSX850i, but its suspension made it far better suited to charging across Winchester Bay’s increasingly chopped-up sand.
Our Wildcat was equipped with paddle tires from Fullerton Sand Sports, Pro Armor doors and graphics, a Rigid Industries SR-Series LED light and a Muzzys dual-exhaust system installed during DuneFest.
I usually rode with a passenger. As traffic increased and the dunes became rougher, the Wildcat could maintain speeds that would have overwhelmed most conventional UTV suspension systems of the period.
The challenge was balancing rear compression damping for two occupants. More compression helped resist bottoming in large G-outs, but it also made the rear more inclined to kick in the whoops. That was mainly noticeable when driving aggressively, but DuneFest offered exactly the conditions that exposed the compromise.
For additional ownership impressions, see our Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000 long-term review and our broader Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000 history.
Muzzys Big-Bore Arctic Cat Wildcat
I also had an opportunity to drive the Muzzys Wildcat. The extensively modified machine featured Stage II big-bore power, dual exhaust, a Muzzys wet-clutch delete, Factory UTV skid plates and Fullerton Sand Sports paddle tires. The additional power and more direct response from the wet-clutch-delete system were immediately noticeable in the sand.
Riding With the Moore Brothers
We caught up with Caleb and Colton Moore during Saturday morning’s poker run. They were driving a Polaris RZR XP and putting its performance to good use throughout the Winchester Bay dunes.
UTVs and ATVs in the Dunes
DuneFest offered a snapshot of the fast-growing performance UTV market in 2012. Polaris RZR XP and RZR XP 4 models were especially prominent, joined by customized machines from Fullerton Sand Sports, Pro Line Wraps, RPM and Axia Alloys. ATVs, sand rails and other recreational vehicles continued to make up a major part of the event.
DuneFest Sand Drags
Sand drag racing remained one of DuneFest’s biggest attractions. The wildest UTV at the strip was a K&T Performance turbocharged Polaris RZR XP claimed to produce 350 horsepower—an extraordinary number during the early RZR XP era.
Last Man Standing UTV Race
The Last Man Standing race sent UTVs around DuneFest’s rough motocross-style course. The short, technical format delivered close racing while showing how quickly sport side-by-sides had become a major part of the event.
Factory Displays and Vendors
Arctic Cat and Yamaha brought factory demo semis to the event, while Portland Polaris offered demo rides. Muzzys maintained a display in the sand camping area where the company sold performance products and installed exhaust systems during the event.
Moore Brothers ATV Freestyle
Caleb and Colton Moore performed several ATV freestyle shows during DuneFest 2012. Their aerial tricks were among the week’s most popular spectator attractions and drew large crowds around the main event area.
A Snapshot of the Sport UTV Boom
DuneFest 2012 arrived during a pivotal period for the side-by-side industry. The Polaris RZR XP 900 had helped accelerate the pure-sport category, the original Wildcat introduced substantially more suspension travel, and the new Gator RSX850i showed that even a traditionally utility-focused manufacturer saw demand for faster recreational machines.
Winchester Bay provided the right environment to experience those differences. The Wildcat excelled when the dunes became rough, while the RSX850i delivered a useful combination of recreational performance and practical cargo capability. Both completed five demanding days without an issue.
For more period coverage, visit our UTV trip reports, along with our reports from DuneFest 2011 and DuneFest 2010.
