I like the side by side seats but am unsure of which ones have the most power and are best. Any thoughts or experiences?

Yamaha Rhino for me...here's my '07 660

http://img213.imageshack.us/im...816/julyrhino002.jpg

Big fan of Polaris but you really can't go wrong with any of the major brands. I have the crew and with 100 hrs so far no problems at all.

The HP on the work rigs is basically the same and is gov't mandated (basically hi payload can't have hi HP or it's subject to emissions and safety regs). Now the Razors and such are a different kettle of fish since they're not designed for work or hauling and can be had with quite a bit more HP.

The new '10 Polaris Crews, HDs and XPs are now available with an 800 twin instead of the 700 which has much more potential for modding.

On my crew, I've added a lift, bigger tires/wheels, clutch kit, filter kit and a slew of other upgrades and it runs pretty well. Certainly not a hotrod but that's not what it's designed for. IIRC top speed is around 45 mph which is twice as fast as the Kawa' crew BTW.

Did a lot of research before I bought mine so if I can help let me know.

Regards,
Scott

quote:

Originally posted by Cliff Lyle:
I like the side by side seats but am unsure of which ones have the most power and are best. Any thoughts or experiences?

It depends. You need to give us a little more info on your terrain and type hunting or use.

Mostly running around on an Oklahoma ranch. Not flat but not mountainous. Good handling would be a plus as trails and timber can be somewhat problematic to long turning radius vehicles. Creek crossings, muddy fields from time to time, hauling loads of less than 500 lbs.

Not a well defined mission on my part, that's why I wanted others' experiences and thoughts.

quote:

Originally posted by Cliff Lyle:
Mostly running around on an Oklahoma ranch. Not flat but not mountainous. Good handling would be a plus as trails and timber can be somewhat problematic to long turning radius vehicles. Creek crossings, muddy fields from time to time, hauling loads of less than 500 lbs.

Not a well defined mission on my part, that's why I wanted others' experiences and thoughts.

I have a Rhino which I use primarily for hunting. My hunting area is very wet and muddy Ms. delta. It handles the water and mud very well and is agile in the woods. My son-in-law has a Polaris. I have the edge in the mud but he beats me on quietness, comfort, and payload.

Cliff, from what you describe above, I think any of the UTV's will work for you. I would go to the web sites of the mfg. and they will give you all the info. on a particular machine. Then visit the dealer and test drive. All have decent warranty, but all requre maintenence. Things like whether you need a bench seat to haul three people at times, comfort, payload and pulling ratings, ground clearance, and cost would be the basis of my decision.

I have ridden in Polaris, Kubota, and Honda side by sides. My Rhino is the least comfortable and makes the most noise but I would not trade it for the others in the terrain I hunt in.

That's good feedback. Thanks to all for your input.

same post but it's good info for you cliff

I have an 09 bad boy XT, and love it... but keep
in mind... I don't go mudding or creek blasting.
I run around on mostly dirt roads, and hard
packed trails. I've owned 3 polaris rangers,
and loved them for being workhorses...

But I went with the BBB, because after scouting
around with a buddy on one... I was amazed how
many deer and hogs we rolled up on... yes they
were looking at us, but in the ranger they would
have already bolted. It fits in the bed of
my 8 ft truck bed, I can use it at any sporting
clays course (wife loves that fact), I do have
a little honda generator I can carry if I ever
thought I would exhaust the 30 mile range, or
use at the deer camp to recharge...

It's great for two guys and a bunch of gear, or
3 - 4 guys with just guns or bows.. Just
remember, what it's primarily designed for, to
get you around, not haul 6 guys and 500 lbs
of corn... for that, get a ranger..

I have a kaw mule 2005 610. It mainly handles 2 people, possibley three if you put them in the bed, but that would be a bit uncomfortably for them.

I bought it to go coyote hunting in the sand hills of Nebraska, and it does fine going up and down those hills, even though it only has 25hp and max's out at 25mph on flat ground.

It has a small width and you can go though some pretty tight squeezes in the timber, and it fits in the bed of my pickup as well.

This link has some good info on all of the UTV's that folks are using and the problems that they are running into.
Quite a few folks from Texas and Oklahoma. I would think that they could give you some good feed back.

http://utilityoffroad.com/forum/default.asp

I had the same question and after extensive research and asking a ton of questions I have decided to go with a Suzuki Samurai. A friend of mine that outfits in AZ has told me about his for 2 years. They can go more places that UTV's due to the greater ground clearance, the aftermarket parts that are being manufactured are numerous and if the weather is bad you can put the top on and turn on the heater.

They are VERY comparable in size to the Polaris Ranger, both are 60" wide and the wheelbase is about 20" longer on the Samurai. The Samurai only weighs 800lbs more. Right now, clean Samurais can be found for $500-$3500 and thats much cheaper than a UTV

http://www.japaneseminitrucksonline.com/

Not endorsing this dealership. However, I have use every model of UTV on the market and these little trucks are half the price of any of them and twice as good. The are fully enclosed, have heaters, wipers, lights and you can get them with A/C, dump beds, etc. Lift them a bit and put aggressive tread tires and they will go anywhere you want, haul a half a ton,cruise at 50mph if you want and are the same weight and size of the larger UTVs.

Perry

Thanks guys. There are some options I had not considered. The Suzuki is certainly one and the minitrucks are pretty cool as well.

With the sami and mini truck you better not be very tall. Had both and had to drive with door open on sami to shift gears even with seat moved back. With the mini you better be less than 6' tall. Will agree they are both better in bad weather. Have a mule diesel now and as I get older speed is not as important.

As you, tractorred, I am no longer so concerned with speed. I would like to hear more of your diesel mule, though.

I don't think you can beat the ride on the Polaris, they are very comfortable.I know the owner of a commercial hunting opertion here in Louisiana that use them everyday and he has tried them all, told me that the Polaris was the best they tried. I have a Polaris Sportsman ATV that is 10 yrs old and indestructible.

We also have a mini truck dealer near Crowley, LA and they are getting pretty popular. See cajunminitrucks.com

PM to you Cliff

I've always used 4 wheelers but I'm VERY (as in made some phone calls today) seriously thinking of buying an electric UTV for pigs, etc. As far as I can tell there are 3 major manufacturers (ruling out Chinese cheapies), Bad Boy (Miss), Stealth (La), and Polaris has just recently come out with the Ranger mid-sized EV. I'm leaning towards the Ranger EV since it is a bit cheaper (roughly $10,700 in camo paint) and because of the factory support. Anyone with experience in any of them, please comment.

Program in 2009 were you could buy a electric UTV and the price up to about $6800.00 would come off your 09 taxes dollar for dollar. Don't think it is offered in 2010.

Figures, the story of my life, a day late and a dollar short.......most of those programs I've seen (and I don't know any of the details of the one you've mentioned so this is just a general observation) have an income cap wherein the deductions are no longer allowed which has taken me out of the "approved money spender" category. Oh, well......

tractorred:

Thanks for the tip, I just looked it up and there are incentives available but there are lots of qualifiers......just for general interest here is a page which outlines some tax savings which might help someone in here on some home improvement expenses they might be considering or an electric vehicle......Consumer energy tax incentives