Octane's 2012 RZR-XP Build

[bmzero]

I finally picked up the 2012 XP yesterday. About 30 minutes after picking it the teardown began.

Blue Torch Fab (Blue Torch Fab - World Class Rock Crawlers :: Blue Torch Fab) will be supplying most of the hard parts (cage, bumpers, arms, rods, etc.).

The goal is to have all of the following done before leaving for California on Jan 2: a-arms, radius rods, cage, doors, seating, dash structure (no skin), bumpers, radiator relocation, fuel fill. Seeing that we'll be doing this work over the Christmas holidays, it's going to be VERY tight to get it done. The guys at Blue Torch have been absolutely amazing. I expect great things to come from our relationship this year. Their in-house machining and fabrication capabilities are second to none, period. I'm going to grab some photos from around the shop this morning so you guys can get a glimpse of what's going on there.

I would also like to mention our other supporting sponsors for 2012: Octane Media (www.octanemedia.com), Polaris, ATVScene.com, DragonFire Racing, Dirty Dawg Performance, PRP Seats, and K4 Switches.

Here are some photos of the progress so far:

Here's a shot of the heat shield on the new XP. Polaris definitely listened to the feedback.

I'll be tearing into this machine further today. Hopefully we'll start bending tube for the cage later in the afternoon.

 

[Crowdog]

Tight schedule for sure! Best of luck with the build Brit.

 

[BigKev76]

Good luck Bro. I got faith in you guys!

 

[bmzero]

Tight schedule for sure! Best of luck with the build Brit.

Thanks, guys.

In reality, I'm still going to have a lot of work to do once I get to California. I'm going to skin the dash, build the spare tire rack, do the wiring, mount wheels/tires, tune shocks, graphics, etc. after I get out there. I think I'll have time to get it done and still be able to get some client website work done. Oddly enough, all of my bill collectors still expect me to send them money while I'm gone. Don't they realize this is KOH baby!!!

 

[JimandMelissa]

Looks like you're gonna be busy.

 

[steino411]

Subscribed.

 

[megonzo]

WoW! So much work in so little time. I can hardly wait to see it.

 

[Little Clod Buster]

Like the build but not liking that I get bumped off the rack!!
My ride has been there a while!!
Come on James!!!!!!!

 

[bmzero]

Like the build but not liking that I get bumped off the rack!!
My ride has been there a while!!
Come on James!!!!!!!

Ha, I wish I had it on a rack. It'll probably stay on it's feet during the whole build, except to swap out the arms.

I didn't get a lot of time to work on it today. True story - my dog ran away. I spent most of the morning looking for him. He did eventually come home, so all is good, but I'm grounding him and setting an early curfew for a few weeks.

All of the disassembly is done now and I got the radiator pulled. I also removed all of the unnecessary parts. We're down to the bare necessities now.

 

[AZmike]

Can't wait to see this come together!

 

[bmzero]

Testing our angles.

View attachment 6231

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[BigKev76]

what's the plan with the radiator?

 

[bmzero]

what's the plan with the radiator?

Rear mounted stock radiator. I would like to go with a larger capacity radiator, but diesel to CA and back is spendy. I never heard back from CBR or Griffin.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[rappy60guy]

I have a cbr and have never heard back after numerous emails....oh well ...look at ron davis

 

[bmzero]

I have a cbr and have never heard back after numerous emails....oh well ...look at ron davis

I'm going to try another contact at Griffin. They have a radiator/shroud/fan that I think would be perfect.

 

[bmzero]

Made some progress yesterday.

I also got some work done on my new bumper design. I'm thinking about cutting off the outside tubes and just turning it into a pre-runner style bumper. Being that they're aluminum, they wouldn't take much of an impact anyway.

Here's another shot showing how the bumper attaches to the frame. It uses a piece of 2"x2" 1/4" angle to attach to existing holes in the bulkhead. Being that the radiator is out of the way, this was the best way to attach the bumper.

I think we'll probably have all of the cage tacked together today.

 

[bmzero]

Meanwhile, I have to walk past this thing all day...

Build page - BTF Black Widow :: Blue Torch Fab

That thing really makes me want to mortgage the house and build an Ultra4 car. Thankfully, my wife is here to bring me back down to earth.

 

[bmzero]

Lots of progress today.

Here are the new Blue Torch Fab a-arms and tie rods.

Bottom radiator mount. All but two of my races through the year will be run without a passenger. That's why the radiator is offset to the passenger side.

We should have all of the cage welded and skinned tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll also be able to start on the steering and dash.

 

[rappy60guy]

Looking good

 

[bmzero]

Cage is done. It's now home from Blue Torch. Everyone there was great to work with. Their fabrication ability and tooling capability is second to none. They also have some very unique RZR products coming out soon, and one that I'm sure most RZR owners here will want to have. I'll post some more about that later when it's finished.

The window bar is just there to break up the window net. It isn't designed to be structural.

I'm very happy with how the radiator mount turned out.

That's probably all that will get done before heading to the West Coast on Tuesday. I'll finish the dash out there and start with all of the performance parts.