How appropriate - what other machine fits the bill better to ride in the New Year on than the White Lightening. And I wish I could tell you that I didn't know what that slang stood for but I'd be lying if I did. Anyhow, thank goodness those days are behind me, but on second thought as I write this article maybe a little White Lightening in its liquid form might have helped us stay a little warmer on this frigid night.
I called my friends at Off Road Motorsports in early December and told them I needed a machine to ride and test for a New Years ride with the Central Mountains ATV Association and my only request was that it be equipped with a windshield.
Offroad Motorsports is a used equipment dealer located in Myerstown, Pa that has one of the best selections of used ATV's and side by sides that I've ever seen and thats saying something working around the industry for over 30 years now.
Click Here to check out their current inventory
I called Jordan a few days before Christmas and he said, yeah I'll have something for you. To my delight as I rolled into the shop on the Friday before our ride he had the above 2017 Polaris General EPS with only a 100 miles on waiting for me. The machine was loaded with a roof, windshield and winch along with some trick tires for tracking in the snow. What more could a guy ask for to go riding in this current cyclone bomb that has attacked much of our country.
Polaris created the General as a crossover machine to satisfy both the guy who needed a work machine for around the property but also loved to go out and play on the weekends. I can honestly tell you that I've tried to do both chores with machines designed for one or the other purposes and it just does not work. If you've ever been there, you'll know what I mean.
This weekends ride was designed for pure fun and with temps below 5 degrees all weekend we certainly weren't looking to haul any hale bales around. Maybe some firewood lol but we were on the move. So I can only relay what I know about the machine in that regard.
Polaris equipped this baby with a powerful 999cc Four Stroke Twin Cylinder engine with Electronic Fuel Injection. Never once did she sputter trying to start up in these sub zero temps and our White Lightening never ran out of power, even when climbing 2000 foot snow covered peaks in the middle of the night.
The General comes standard with an 1100 pound payload capacity and a two inch receiver hitch with a tow rating of 1500 pounds. With the added EPS Electronic Power Steering I can only imagine that it could get the job done in any work environment that you throw at it.
But as I said earlier, our mission was pure fun. We rode close to 30 miles during the daylight hours just to get a feel for our machine before meeting up with the gang for our night ride. After dinner at Debs Cross Fork Inn we departed as a group and headed north towards Lyman Run State Park.
Our first challenge was crossing a wooden bridge that was marked at 62 inches wide. The General just made it threw without having to detour around. After that we traversed lots of township dirt roads that were snow covered with 2-3 inches of snow. At several points we jumped off the roads onto narrower mountain trails that were covered with up to 5 inches of snow in some parts.
I was most impressed that evening in one section of trail that we headed up the mountain on. It was very rutted up and had a small stream of water trickling down it at parts. As all 20 machines started up the mountain we were third in line. This hill never seemed to stop going and at possibly two points I thought, man are we gonna make it to the top.
I just smiled behind my balaclava as I knew we were still in 2 wheel drive mode and high range. The General had plenty left and I believe we could have climbed another 2000 feet if need be.
I could go on and on about the 12 plus inches of suspension travel, the 4 wheel disc brakes and Polaris Engine Braking System, the availability of turf, 2 or 4 wheel drive modes, the fact that we traveled well over a 100 miles on less than a full tank of gas, blah, blah, blah, but I won't. I'll list the full specs below and let it up to you to dig thru. You can also Click Here to get the full run down from Polaris.
My suggestion is though that give either Jordon or Ben a call to see if the above machine is still available from Offroad Motorsports (717) 866-5606. I gotta apologize however because it has a few more miles on now. We took her home with I think 249 miles on it. This unit never skipped a beat and would make a great addition to anyone's garage. Hey, maybe if its gone they'll have something else you like too.
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POLARIS GENERAL™ 1000 EPS
Engine & Drivetrain
- Cooling
- Liquid
- Cylinders Displacement
- 999cc
- Drive System Type
- On-Demand True AWD/2WD/VersaTrac Turf Mode
- Engine Braking System (EBS)
- Standard
- Engine Type
- 4-Stroke Twin Cylinder
- Fuel System/Battery
- Electronic Fuel Injection
- Transmission/Final Drive
- Automatic PVT P/R/N/L/H; Shaft
Dimensions
- Bed Box Dimensions (L x W x H)
- 27.5 x 43.1 x 11.6 in (69.8 x 109 x 29.5 cm)
- Estimated Dry Weight
- 1,430 lb (648 kg)
- Front/Rear Rack or Box Capacity
- N/A lb / 600 lb (N/A kg / 272 kg)
- Fuel Capacity
- 9.5 gal (35.9 L)
- Ground Clearance
- 12 in (30.5 cm)
- Overall Vehicle Size (L x W x H)
- 116.4 x 62.5 x 73.8 in (295.6 x 158.7 x 187 cm)
- Payload Capacity
- 1,100 lb (499 kg)
- Person Capacity
- 2
- Wheelbase
- 81 in (206 cm)
Brakes
- Front/Rear Brakes
- 4-Wheel Hydraulic Disc with Dual-Bore Front Calipers
- Parking Brake
- Park In-Transmission
Specifications
- Adjustable Driver Seat
- Standard
- Cargo System
- Lock & Ride®
- Front Suspension
- Dual A-Arm 12.25 in (31.1 cm) Travel
- Hitch Towing Rating
- 1,500 lb (680.4 kg)
- Hitch Type
- Standard 2 in (5 cm) Receiver
- Instrumentation
- Digital Gauge, Speedometer, Odometer, Tachometer, Tripmeter, Clock, Hour Meter, Gear Indicator, Fuel Gauge, Hi-Temp, Coolant Temperature, Volt Meter, Service Indicator, Seat Belt Reminder, User selectable Blue/Red backlighting, Gear Indicator, DC Outlet
- Lighting
- 55W low/ 60W high, LED Tail
- Rear Suspension
- Dual A-Arm, IRS 13.2 in (33.5 cm) Travel
- Tilt Steering
- Standard
- Unbraked Trailer Towing Capacity
- N/A
Tires / Wheels
- Electronic Power Steering
- Standard
- Front Tires
- 27 x 9-12 NHS; CST Clincher
- Rear Tires
- 27 x 11-12 NHS; CST Clincher
- Wheels
- Stamped Steel
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