Farm UTV/RTV Purchase

[paulsharvey]

Honda makes nice stuff (I own 3 Honda's myself). It was a while ago when I compared (may have changed) but things I didn't care for on the Pioneer 700 was no rear differential (skidding around turns in grass, gravel, dirt trails, etc.) and only 3 gears with no high/low range.

In my sandy soiled grass, it does tear it up pretty good, and I'm sure the tire wear is drastically increased on asphalt.

 

[kenmac]

I'll be buying a faster UTV next time. This Kawsaki mule just doesn't have the speed to keep up with them.
Other than a speed issue, it's a great machine

 

[ArlyA]

I'll be buying a faster UTV next time. This Kawsaki mule just doesn't have the speed to keep up with them.
Other than a speed issue, it's a great machine

The 1000cc defender we used had a governor which limited its speed to about 45 as I recall. This was a purely a work machine and occasionally when going to job site X, we hit that governors limit. It was still a fine machine, just annoying to have limited your top end.

 

[lc12]

The delineation line today is speed. The Polaris/can-am/Yamaha use belt driven chassis. The Kubota uses HST transmissions.

The Kubota can do more work, but is painfully slow. Any hills you have basically neuter's the machine. The others can go much faster and are more nimble, but may suffer in pure work type activities.

Honestly, the belt driven machines have so much power, they really don't suffer in the work realm anymore. They are not a purpose built machine like the Kubota.

To say the Kubotas are "neutered" on hills is not a true statement.
I own the RTV 1140X and yes, it is NOT a race machine, but it is WORK HORSE!
And yes, it is slow going up hills, but it pulls a trailer uphill with no problems.
Top speed is about 23 mph in 2wd and one person.
But that is fine for us.
Keeps my grandson out of trouble! lol
You have to decide if you want one for fun or work.
You can have both, but may have to give up something to do so.
I have 72 acres of hills, woods, pastures, and creek crossings, and have yet to be disappointed.

 

[ruffdog]

Yep...it is all up to the purchaser and what their expectations and priorities are as there are options to cover all of them.

 

[JRH02]

I didn't go through all the pages but here was my first thought: What's available locally and is it from a full service dealer? When you need a part fast or need to get the rig in for repair do you want to spend half a day on the road?

 

[Milo]

In my sandy soiled grass, it does tear it up pretty good, and I'm sure the tire wear is drastically increased on asphalt.

My Pioneer 520 does the same. I like the little SxS but I can't understand why in the world Honda doesn't put a (locking) dif in the rear?

I'll be buying a faster UTV next time. This Kawsaki mule just doesn't have the speed to keep up with them.
Other than a speed issue, it's a great machine

My neighbor had an old diesel, work Mule for 15 years that worked fine but was noisy, slow, and rough riding. He recently replaced it with a new Mule Pro FX and LOVES it.

 

[deserteagle71]

The 1000cc defender we used had a governor which limited its speed to about 45 as I recall. This was a purely a work machine and occasionally when going to job site X, we hit that governors limit. It was still a fine machine, just annoying to have limited your top end.

I have a 2020 cab model Can-am Defender HD10 (1000cc). There is NO governor on it, and on the Defender forums I frequent no one has mentioned one. They have mentioned that the stock Defender will do about 62 mph. So if yours has a governor it is not OEM.

 

[LouNY]

One point that has not been mentioned much is ride quality,
the old mules and even the new 4010s and such and the kubotas and gators are good hard working utility vehicles,
they also do not have the long travel suspension and comfortable ride of the other side by sides

 

[Milo]

Good point Lou. I didn't realize how rough my old Mule 610 rode until I got a Polaris Ranger, night and day. The Mule Pro MX rides even better. The little Honda P520 rides much better than the old Mule but no where near as smooth as the MX.