After attending the 2011 Kawasaki dealer show in Las Vegas, I expected to fly home. Instead, Kawasaki Team Green handed us the keys to five Kawasaki Teryx UTVs for an overnight run of more than 200 miles through the Mojave Desert to Cougar Buttes in Johnson Valley, California.
Custom Kawasaki Teryx UTVs Straight From the Show
Two of the machines were newly customized 2011 Kawasaki Teryx 750 FI models displayed at the dealer show. One had been outfitted by DragonFire Racing and the other by Funco Motorsports.
Both Teryx builds featured long-travel suspension, suspension seats, harnesses, roll cages, auxiliary lighting and aftermarket wheels and tires. We essentially took the machines directly from the Las Vegas Convention Center display floor, loaded them onto a trailer and transported them to the starting point.
The original Kawasaki Teryx was an important early recreation-focused side-by-side, and builds like these showed how quickly the aftermarket was expanding its capabilities. The platform also played a major role in our early racing and project-vehicle coverage, including the Monster Energy Kawasaki Teryx built for the 2010 King of the Hammers UTV race.
Starting the Overnight Mojave Desert Ride
The ride was organized and led by Wally from Side x Side Outfitterz. Wally knew the Mojave Desert extremely well and put together a route that would carry us from the outskirts of Las Vegas to Cougar Buttes in the Johnson Valley OHV area.
After dinner at Famous Dave’s BBQ, we discovered a grounding problem on one of the chase trailers. Once that was diagnosed and repaired, we finally hit the trail shortly after 8 p.m.
This was my first all-nighter since college, and I was glad to have Joey D. from UTVUnderground riding with me and sharing the driving duties.
More Than 200 Miles in the Dark
Driving through the Mojave Desert at night was surreal. The darkness made it feel like we were traveling through a tunnel, with the terrain appearing only when it entered the beams of the Teryx headlights.
Our group included five Kawasaki Teryx UTVs, including the Funco Motorsports and DragonFire Racing builds from the dealer show. We covered more than 200 miles in complete darkness. Despite the distance and the demanding desert terrain, the only mechanical issue during the trip was one blown tire.
The combination of long-travel suspension, supportive seats, harnesses and added lighting made the customized Teryx machines particularly well suited to the overnight crossing. More importantly, all five vehicles completed the run and reached Johnson Valley.
Finishing at Cougar Buttes
As daylight returned, we approached Cougar Buttes in the Johnson Valley OHV area. The rocky terrain there has played an important role in UTV recreation and competition, including the early King of the Hammers Kawasaki Teryx race build and many subsequent UTV races.
Completing an all-night, 200-plus-mile trip in five early-generation Kawasaki Teryx machines was an impressive demonstration of what the platform could do. It also remains one of the most memorable point-to-point UTV adventures we have experienced.
Las Vegas to Johnson Valley Route Coordinates
I recorded the following breadcrumb trail using the check-in feature on a SPOT Satellite Messenger. Times are shown in Pacific Daylight Time.
- 8:10:41 p.m. — 36.01136, -115.31592
- 9:23:31 p.m. — 35.93059, -115.42647
- 9:36:21 p.m. — 35.813, -115.41908
- 10:32:46 p.m. — 35.62032, -115.39639
- 10:55:12 p.m. — 35.65924, -115.47298
- 11:22:32 p.m. — 35.67902, -115.60095
- 12:03:57 a.m. — 35.59696, -115.606
- 1:19:39 a.m. — 35.55569, -115.71246
- 2:43:13 a.m. — 35.27734, -116.28421
- 4:16:12 a.m. — 35.09849, -116.26439
- 5:11:17 a.m. — 35.04517, -116.22272
- 5:19:36 a.m. — 35.00753, -116.19583
- 6:06:21 a.m. — 34.7272, -116.16319
- 6:54:29 a.m. — 34.75848, -116.40378
- 7:36:26 a.m. — 34.56593, -116.67545
- 8:06:48 a.m. — 34.50187, -116.85718
Historical note: This trip took place after Kawasaki introduced its 2011 UTV lineup in Las Vegas. The machines, equipment and route described here reflect the original ride.
