DTV Shredder Review + Video

Lucas Cooney
by Lucas Cooney
Fast Facts

MSRP: $5999

Engine: 208cc single
Track: Twin with 1-inch lugs
Weight: 270 lbs
Towing: 500 lbs
The DTV Shredder is a tracked off-road machine that looks somewhat like a stand-up Jet Ski that you can ride pretty much anywhere except the water.


A little while back I was offered a chance to ride a very unique off-road vehicle called the DTV Shredder. You can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of this machine, as it is fairly new. The team at DTV Motor Corporation are hoping to change that.

Having never seen a machine quite like this before, I was eager to take it out for a spin and made my way to DTV’s testing facility just outside of Toronto, Canada on a snowy winter morning to give it a try.

What is the DTV Shredder?

Since this is unlike any other off-road vehicle I’ve ever had the pleasure of riding, it’s a bit difficult to describe. It’s definitely not a traditional ATV or UTV. In fact, it looks and feels much more like a stand-up Jet Ski outfitted with dual tracks for use on land.

And while there is a handle to hold onto and operate the throttle and brakes, you don’t actually use it to steer. Instead, you control the DTV Shredder’s direction by leaning left or right on the deck you stand on. The deck has some movement left to right that controls the tracks. If you lean to the left, it slows down the left track and speeds up the right track. The opposite happens if you lean to the right.

DTV Shredder Deck

Moving your weight from one side of the deck to the other is how you steer the DTV Shredder.

Specs

Powering the Shredder is a 208cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that produces a claimed 15 lb-ft of torque at 5400 rpm. No horsepower numbers have been published.

Power is sent to the track via a rear-drive mechanism that DTV Motor Corp says keeps the dual tracks planted on the ground better than a front-drive system would. The dual tracks are outfitted with one-inch lugs to help push you through a variety of terrain.

DTV Shredder Profile

While the Shredder does have shocks and internal suspension in the track, we don’t have any suspension travel numbers to share.

Weighing just 270 pounds, the Shredder is light enough for a single person to turn it around if they happen to get stuck. And so long as you have one or two friends with you, you can easily lift it into and out of the bed of a pickup truck without having to deal with a ramp. In fact, we were able to put three DTV Shredder models into the bed of a truck with the tailgate down.

DTV Shredder Truck

We were able to fit three DTV Shredders in the back of a pickup. As long as you have some help, you won’t need a trailer.

Other specs include a fuel capacity of 1.0 gallons and 500-pound towing capacity via a 1 ¼-inch receiver. MSRP is US$5999.

The Shredder is designed and engineered in Canada and built in China.

The Ride

We had a big snow storm on the day of our test ride, so there was plenty of fresh powder to play in. However, just because we were riding in the snow, doesn’t mean this is a winter-only machine. DTV designed the Shredder to be a four-season machine that can handle hard pack trails and mud just as easily as it can snow.

DTV Shredder Action 1

The DTV Shredder is designed to be used all year round on a variety of terrain. (Photo courtesy DTV Motor Corp.)

After receiving some instruction from the DTV team, we hopped aboard the Shredder for a short ride through some trails to get comfortable. Compared to an ATV, the DTV Shredder has steeper learning curve. Using the deck to steer definitely takes some getting used to and I managed to get myself off-course and stuck a few times. Fortunately, the Shredder was light enough for me to grab the front (there is a bumper there to provide hand holds) and turn it around to face the trail again.

After maybe 20 minutes of trail riding, I noticed my arms were basically spent. I was leaning forward with plenty of weight on my arms, which is apparently the wrong thing to do. The DTV test riders told me to stand more upright and just use my hands to control the throttle and brakes, which eased much of the burden my arms were carrying.

DTV Shredder Action 2

The more I rode the Shredder the more comfortable I got, though the DTV test riders were still riding circles around me. When riding on hard-pack snow, the Shredder feels pretty easy to control, Sharp turns at speed, however, remained a challenge for me all day.

When we headed off into the powder, the Shredder was a bit more difficult to control. Momentum, like on a Jet Ski, is very much your friend in deeper snow. The more experienced riders had little trouble navigating their way through anything we faced that day.

Despite the modest 208cc engine, the DTV Shredder fast enough for me. When you are standing up, things just feel faster. At my current skill level the engine was more than quick enough to keep me entertained. More experienced riders may want a little more oomph, though, so don’t be surprised to see a larger engine in the future.

DTV Shredder Action 3

If you happen to get stuck, the DTV Shredder is light enough to easily move it out of a bad spot.

And while we never tried it out, I’d bet that hooking up a sled to the receiver hitch would make for a fun kid hauler in the winter if you’ve got an open field to play around in.

Bottom Line

The DTV Shredder is a unique and fun ATV alternative. It lacks some of the utility of an ATV, but that’s really not the point with this machine. It’s a completely different approach and you have to look at it that way.

If a lightweight, modestly powered, four-season machine sounds interesting to you, visit DTVMotorCorp.com for more information.

DTV Shredder Snow
Lucas Cooney
Lucas Cooney

I have been working exclusively in digital media since 1997. I started out with TSN.ca, spending nearly nine years creating and editing content on Canada's leading sports website. I left to join VerticalScope, Inc., one of the world's largest online publishers, to start a number of powersports publications. While at VerticalScope, I've helped create and oversee content for a wide variety of different publications, including ATV.com, Off-Road.com, ArcheryTalk.com, Tractor.com, RVGuide.com, and many more.

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