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At Torqued magazine, our entire existence has been dedicated to living and writing about our favorite adrenaline filled activities. This has included in the past doing build projects on a variety of vehicles. Some of these have included a classic Willy’s Jeep. We also completed a build of a Jeep JKU that was featured in SEMA. We’ve done smaller builds adding awesome products to UTVs and a Ram Pickup truck in an effort to show how with the addition of some aftermarket accessories you can turn a stock vehicle into an off-road monster.
All these builds and all these years later we looked back and realized something. There was something we had never done with any of our build projects. All of our builds had one thing in common. They were all used vehicles with some mileage on them. Not in our history had we gone out and built a brand new vehicle. Do we have the skills to build a new vehicle into something amazing? Yes, yes we do. It’s just something we’ve never had the opportunity to really get into, until now.
We’ve noticed a few things over the years in our endeavors and trips to expos and shows. The people want to see new products, and they want to see them on the newest vehicles. And we can’t blame them. New shiny things have always entertained the human mind. At SEMA last year it really hit us. The Ford Bronco was everywhere and everyone had new parts and accessories for it. We could see just how much effort these companies had put into having top notch new products for this new rig ready to go for the show.
We came home from the SEMA show still working on our Dodge Ram build. All the while wondering what vehicle we should build next that was obviously new on the market, but also would have a good enough following for companies to make new aftermarket parts for it.
October 8th 2019, was a day the internet was rocked. We noticed and obviously so may others did too. This was the day that Kawasaki announced the KRX UTV. Let me preface by saying we’ve always been Kawasaki fans. My first sport bike, was a ZX-6R Ninja. We already had owned a Teryx4 UTV. Let’s just say Kawasaki and I go way back. The only issue, only a 2 seater was available at the time. I’ve always been big on 4 seat UTVs. I just really enjoy taking friends with me on rides. 2 seats wasn’t enough in my eyes. I remember that day in 2019 saying if they make a 4 seater KRX I’ll get one. I had to wait 4 years for that to happen. In 2023 Kawasaki announced the KRX4.
We’ve been keeping our eyes on it but the timing didn’t work out for us to pick one up at that time. Then came the 2024 Model release and the newly colored KRX4SE. Holy moly, I love citrus colors on my machines and the color on the SE model is my Thang. I couldn’t resist and soon enough we were driving home with this big ole machine on the back of our trailer.
I’ll just say this, we have a review article coming out soon on the machine itself. But for right now, I can safely this is the most well thought out and constructed UTV I’ve ever driven. And it’s built so well too. Everything has a purpose on it and you can see where they’ve seen misses made by other manufacturers and made them a hit. We’ll cover all those details in a future article. But, I can without a doubt say for me, this is the perfect platform for us to do a build on.
When building the KRX4, it was obvious Kawasaki knew customers would put accessories on it. So they built many aspects of the machine with bolt holes and openings that would allow the addition of many and I mean many fun goodies. Spoiler alert, it even has cut outs for heater vents if you so choose to add a heater. They were totally thinking ahead when they built this machine and that’s what I love about it.
So, yes we now have a brand new zero mile UTV in the garage with endless possibilities on how to build it up. Being we live in Utah, mountain trail riding is a must, but also rock crawling at MOAB can not be forgotten. And to top it off Utah has multiple sand dune areas that this machine would love. So what type of build do we go with? Most UTV builds are done with a certain riding type in mind. And the build sticks with that one type of riding style all the way through. At Torqued Magazine, we like to do things a little different. So we are making this a super diverse machine. We like all types of riding, and our build should reflect that. Our goal with this machine is to have it ravage all terrains meaning sand, dirt, boulders, even asphalt.
You heard that right, we’re street legalizing it and making it be a literal all terrain beast. Will that require sand paddles? Yes. Will it require hard compound road tires, Yes again. We really want to show case how with a few small changes or nuts and bolts this bad boy can go anywhere. The sky is the limit.
We’ve already got some fantastic companies lined up to help this build become a reality and we’re using amazing products that anyone can get there hands on to build up their machine. Because, isn’t the point of a build is to show consumers what companies and products and accessories are the best for them and their hard earned money. Consumers look for reviews and opinions when they want to add onto their machine? I say let’s showcase these companies and their efforts, and make something we all can be proud of along the way.
Let the build begin…
I was fortunate enough to ride with “Mr. Torqued” in his new Kawasaki UTV and what a rush it was!!! We explored nearby mountains and the UTV got us to our mountain-top destination with no problem! And the ride was refreshingly smooth! I was very pleasantly surprised. We began our descent at night and visibility was not an issue. Thanks to the running light panels that Mr. Torqued installed on the front, side and rear of the UTV, we were successfully able to descend the dark mountain trails. This includes during the several times that the road/trail became extra sketchy! I’m sure the pilot’s skills also played a major part in our successful descent. Bottomline – what a fantastic experience!!!