HOW-TO: MIKE PENLAND’S MAVERICK MAGIC

Mike Penland is an 11-time GNCC 4×4 quad-racing champion, and he has also won seven SCORE Baja races and 150 nationals—from the infamous Blackwater 100 to the Daytona short-track to 6-/12-hour endurance races. A long-time factory pilot for Can-Am, Penland made the switch from ATVs to UTVs, now racing a Maverick 1000R X ds in Super Stock XC. Having raced Mavericks for several years now, Mike knows how to make Mavericks survive the abrasive mud of the Grand National Cross-Country Series and Brimstone’s King of the Mountain. Short and stocky, Penland also modifies his Maverick for his size and driving style. Here are some of the tricks he used to finish fourth in the 2016 SSXC UTV class.

GNCCs can be muddy at any moment, so Mike tapes an old goggle lens onto his helmet to extend its roost-deflection capabilities. He also runs Roll-Offs on his goggles.
GNCCs can be muddy at any moment, so Mike tapes an old goggle lens onto his helmet to extend its roost-deflection capabilities. He also runs Roll-Offs on his goggles.

 

GNCC UTV races are only an hour long, so this is more of a Baja or endurance-race tip where you might have to change wheels at a pit. Wheels take either a flat or tapered lug nut, and many tapered lug nuts have a crown. Instead, run an open-ended tapered nut, which can be flopped to provide a flat surface.
GNCC UTV races are only an hour long, so this is more of a Baja or endurance-race tip where you might have to change wheels at a pit. Wheels take either a flat or tapered lug nut, and many tapered lug nuts have a crown. Instead, run an open-ended tapered nut, which can be flopped to provide a flat surface.

 

Maverick 1000s have one threaded hole for forcing the CVT sheathes apart to change a belt. Mike taps the other two holes to cut down on time; run a bolt 55mm into any of the holes to spread. Also, Mike recommends using anti-seize on the CVT cover bolts and refraining from over-tightening them, or they may seize and spin the square bronze inserts in the inner cover.
Maverick 1000s have one threaded hole for forcing the CVT sheathes apart to change a belt. Mike taps the other two holes to cut down on time; run a bolt 55mm into any of the holes to spread. Also, Mike recommends using anti-seize on the CVT cover bolts and refraining from over-tightening them, or they may seize and spin the square bronze inserts in the inner cover.

 

A long-time Maxxis-sponsored racer, Penland notes that Mavericks have balanced wheels from the factory and that Maxxis manufactures its tires to be balanced when the circle on the tire lines up with the valve stem as shown.
A long-time Maxxis-sponsored racer, Penland notes that Mavericks have balanced wheels from the factory and that Maxxis manufactures its tires to be balanced when the circle on the tire lines up with the valve stem as shown.

 

When racing Baja, Mike writes down what size wrench each bolt takes on his suspension arms to cut down on confusion and time spent in the pits. He also heated and expanded his Outlander ATV gas tanks for Baja, getting up to a 1/2-gallon more capacity.
When racing Baja, Mike writes down what size wrench each bolt takes on his suspension arms to cut down on confusion and time spent in the pits. He also heated and expanded his Outlander ATV gas tanks for Baja, getting up to a 1/2-gallon more capacity.
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