Decided I need (want) a UTV

[Gary Fowler]

I'm with you.
I've put 3 thousand miles on my belt drive ATV in the last 2 years. I've never had any belt issues.
Most of the ATV and side by sides I ride with are belt drive. They are not having any belt issues.

My BIL has a belt drive gator with almost 1000 hours on it and no problem with belt breaking. It will slip though if it gets mud on it and it positively will not pull as much as my RTV900 due to belt slippage and only having F & R gears rather than 3 speed transmission like the RTV.

 

[lilranch2001]

I knew there would get to be some Bota chest thumping........

 

[DK35vince]

My BIL has a belt drive gator with almost 1000 hours on it and no problem with belt breaking. It will slip though if it gets mud on it and it positively will not pull as much as my RTV900 due to belt slippage and only having F & R gears rather than 3 speed transmission like the RTV.

Most belt drive ATV and side by sides have covers and air intakes so water and mud can't get on the belt.
If you are in deep enough to get water/mud on the belt you are in deep enough to get water/mud in the engine also.
Not sure why his belt is slipping. My snowmobile puts out over 130 HP through a drive belt. No slipping.

 

[nc redneck]

Belt drive may be very problem free. They use them a lot on snowmobiles were cold weather keep them tight and motor noise may cover it up. The Kioti has a belt drive and I looked at it hard.
At the end of the day for southern mud and swamps I like a enclosed Transmission on Kubota and Honda.
The new Honda 500 has a 5 speed inclosed transmission with paddle shifters mounted on steering wheel . Similar to today's higher end cars and trucks. Honda has the advantage of building current new technology because they build across many platforms and are able to spread the costs. I would expect Polaris to follow in 5 or so years.
Honda , Polaris, Kioti and John Deere don't even run in the Kubota Standard for UTVs work machines.

 

[DK35vince]

At the end of the day for southern mud and swamps I like a enclosed Transmission on Kubota and Honda.

Go to youtube and watch the many hundreds of ATV and side by side mudding videos.
Nearly all are belt drive machines.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Go to youtube and watch the many hundreds of videos of ATV and side by side mudding videos.
Nearly all are belt drive machines.

yep, the yamaha's belt is nearly bulletproof, very dependable and also has downhill braking.

 

[DIXIEDOG]

Belt drive may be very problem free. They use them a lot on snowmobiles were cold weather keep them tight and motor noise may cover it up. The Kioti has a belt drive and I looked at it hard.
At the end of the day for southern mud and swamps I like a enclosed Transmission on Kubota and Honda.
The new Honda 500 has a 5 speed inclosed transmission with paddle shifters mounted on steering wheel . Similar to today's higher end cars and trucks. Honda has the advantage of building current new technology because they build across many platforms and are able to spread the costs. I would expect Polaris to follow in 5 or so years.
Honda , Polaris, Kioti and John Deere don't even run in the Kubota Standard for UTVs work machines.

I think we both have a better chance of hitting the lottery than Polaris looking to Honda for the direction to go with the UTV market.....why would a company selling millions more utvs copy a competitor who has yet to really put any dent in the market?

As for nobody running with the Kubota for a work machine I think you are sadly mistaken....look on most any worksite and you'll either see Polaris Rangers or JD Gators.....the Gators are only more recently hitting the work crews regularly now that they make a more powerful utv with better suspension. I can count the number of Kubotas I've seen on a work crew around here on one hand and if somebody is looking for the best work UTV they'd buy a Bobcat not a Kubota. Not only does the Bobcat have a higher payload, towing capacity and true 4wd (like a Ranger or Gator vs 3wd of the Kubota) ....it's also faster.


The Kubota does have it's market and it's a decent UTV but the "Kubotas the only UTV that can work" club is laughable. It would be interesting to know how many people came from another brand UTV in the same size class and went to Kubota versus how many people bought the Kubota as a first UTV.

 

[PapaPerk]

I think we both have a better chance of hitting the lottery than Polaris looking to Honda for the direction to go with the UTV market.....why would a company selling millions more utvs copy a competitor who has yet to really put any dent in the market?

As for nobody running with the Kubota for a work machine I think you are sadly mistaken....look on most any worksite and you'll either see Polaris Rangers or JD Gators.....the Gators are only more recently hitting the work crews regularly now that they make a more powerful utv with better suspension. I can count the number of Kubotas I've seen on a work crew around here on one hand and if somebody is looking for the best work UTV they'd buy a Bobcat not a Kubota. Not only does the Bobcat have a higher payload, towing capacity and true 4wd (like a Ranger or Gator vs 3wd of the Kubota) ....it's also faster.

The Kubota does have it's market and it's a decent UTV but the "Kubotas the only UTV that can work" club is laughable. It would be interesting to know how many people came from another brand UTV in the same size class and went to Kubota versus how many people bought the Kubota as a first UTV.

Work machines around here are mostly Kubota RTV. By a large percentage!

 

[DIXIEDOG]

Work machines around here are mostly Kubota RTV. By a large percentage!

Up here it's all Polaris Rangers and Gators.....paper companies, surveyors, power company and gas line all use them and abuse them...that said they are going over some really rough terrain and suspension/4wd is pretty important....they freight them up with people and tools.....point to the work site and go.

 

[RoyJackson]

Up here it's all Polaris Rangers and Gators.....paper companies, surveyors, power company and gas line all use them and abuse them...that said they are going over some really rough terrain and suspension/4wd is pretty important....they freight them up with people and tools.....point to the work site and go.

About the same here...probably more Polaris then Gators, I think...

Although I'm sure Kubota makes a fine UTV, I've seen very few of them around this area.