Quad safety promoted as part of the product
It's hard to believe that quad bikes or ATVs have been around for about 50 years – even longer if you add in the balloon-tyred trikes that first appeared in the Bond movie Moonraker.
Released in June 2019, the new Polaris Ranger Diesel results from two years R&D including customers, dealers, technicians and engineers.
To understand a ‘day in a life of a Polaris’, engineers instrumented vehicles in New Zealand to collect data towards the specification of the new Ranger Diesel and to help them focus on improvements.
The Ranger Diesel is powered by a new 24hp diesel engine with a new, higher intake and filtration system at the vehicle’s front.
The complete driveline is sealed, with new bearings, bushings and a new heavy duty steering rack system. The drive shaft is a 2-piece CV sealed system for longer life, while mudguards are added to exclude dirt, mud and water from sensitive areas of the one-piece chassis.
Ground clearance is increased by 20% to 33cm, allowing the machine to tackle tougher terrain. Towing capacity is rated 1134kg, load bed capacity is 435kg there’s a 13% better turning radius.
As part of the new Ranger, accessory numbers exceed 200 available for this model: 30% are new and 70% are a carryover from previous models. A new electrical buss bar under the hood adds the ease of plug and play for many of those accessories.
The Ranger Diesel retains hallmark features like on-demand all wheel drive, EPS, engine braking and active descent control.
New styling includes a digital gauge positioned directly in front of the driver, the new seat has 2.5cm thicker padding and storage areas in the cab are improved by 17%.
Deep storage bins take your gear, there are two gloveboxes and six cupholders, and a flip up passenger seat give space for dogs, animals and buckets inside the vehicle.
BNZ says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through an innovative new initiative that helps make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking a little easier.
LIC chief executive David Chin says meeting the revised methane reduction targets will rely on practical science, smart technology, and genuine collaboration across the sector.
Lincoln University Dairy Farm will be tweaking some management practices after an animal welfare complaint laid in mid-August, despite the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) investigation into the complaint finding no cause for action.
A large slice of the $3.2 billion proposed capital return for Fonterra farmer shareholders could end up with the banks.
Opening a new $3 million methane research barn in Waikato this month, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay called on the dairy sector to “go as fast as you can and prove the concepts”.
New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.