Low Down And Dirty

Yamaha’s new torque assist gear kit for the YXZ.

- Deanna Scanlon

Yamaha calls the YXZ1000R the “World’s First Pure Sport Side By Side” and after having driven one around a wet and muddy Brimstone Recreation in Huntsville, Tennessee, we can say that even when soaking wet (both us and the YXZ), it’s an amazingly fun vehicle to drive.

We were there for the debut of GYTR’s latest product, the Torque Assist Gear Kit, a lower gearset for the manual transmission. So not only does the YXZ have a manual trans, but you can also gear the transmission for different environments. If you want to go rock-crawling, then this addition, along with the 30-inch EFX MotoClaw tires Yamaha announced as new, would really make things fun. Maybe you want to put paddles on it and hit the sand, or drive in a tight, technical space, then raising the torque output would certainly help and the additional 40 percent reduction added to First gear provides for some ultimate low-speed crawling.