Semi-new RTV owner

[Tkblacktail]

Score

 

[Dargo]

Yes, I usually use M too. 10-15 mph is plenty fast for me off road. I let off and get the "umph". Starting out, sometimes there is no alternative to L. Running, M is fine. That's not really a problem for me, just the shifting, and its not too bad. Dealer says he can fix though. He wants to wait for 50 hrs run time. Its under warranty so I'll let him give it a shot.

You might be pleasantly surprised after you get some hours and use on it. I was probably one of the very first people on here to buy a Kubota RTV900 and I know I was the first to post about the shifting problem. At first Kubota ticked me off and tried to blame it on me or tell me that it was "normal" to have to shut the engine off to change gear ranges if you stopped on a hill. After thousands of additional complaints, Kubota finally started to make changes.

Anyway, rather than wearing out or getting sloppy loose, my RTV900 picked up considerable engine power and the shifting issues all but went away after I worked the dickens out of mine by hauling several hundred 2000 pound plus loads and dumping them when I was filling in dirt next to my 1/4 mile concrete driveway. I posted a pic on here of my young son waiving from the RTV with a load of wet clay soil stacked in the bed higher than the roll cage.

My thought was that I would take a beating on selling the RTV900 so soon after they came out and the shifting issue becoming widely known. So, I figured I'd just work it into the ground and get some of my money's worth out of it. Imagine my surprise when it dumped every single load (way, way over it's rated limit), broke nothing, and became rather peppy (compared to how it was) and began to shift easily every time! So, rather than unload a "junk" machine from Kubota, I traded it on an RTV1100 because I wanted the cab comforts.

The only issue with the RTV1100 was, even with a larger engine, the additional weight made it seem sluggish compared to the RTV900 I had just traded. After a year's use it too ran a bit better, but not enough. Shifting was never a problem, but I absolutely despised it's sudden stop. So, after it was out of warranty, I added an aftermarket 'coast valve' (best single change I ever made) and added a turbo to fix the power issue. It's now been over a year since I added the turbo and coast valve and everything works just fine and nothing has broken. I'm not really impressed with the high air intake quality and it's rattling noise, but I can clearly see where it saves the air cleaner from a lot of dirt.

Now I just hop in mine and put it in "H" unless I'm going to be towing something or doing some relatively serious off-roading. The turbo didn't give me any additional speed, but I can now spin both rear tires taking off on concrete in "L". It's a far cry from what it once was! Good luck with yours. I'd bet you will get many years of trouble free service out of it.

 

[DMA1]

Well that's good to know. It only occasionally is difficult to shift, and even then when I "blip" the throttle while pressing the brake pedal, it will slip into gear. The service guy at the dealership says it will loosen up on its own with use, that's why he wants to wait before making any adjustments. I used it today for something I'll bet no one else has. We had some high winds come through our area yesterday and blow a trampoline on to the top of our carport, punching a hole in it with one of its legs and wedging itself into it. I couldn't budge it, so I tied a rope to the top side of the trampoline and the other end to the front of the RTV and backed it off the carport. I should have taken some pics, but I was working on it by myself and the pucker factor was a little bit elevated.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Congratulations!!! I think you will enjoy it. I to had shifting problems the first month I had mine. I've now ran almost a tank of fuel thru it in the past couple of months. Either I've figured out how to shift it or it has loosened up. I don't really have any problems shifting it any more. I just "blip" the throttle and press with slight pressure on the lever till it "slips" in and that's what it now does.
It looks GOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup:

 

[DMA1]

Pics for texasjohn. He wanted to know about the high mount air kit and I couldn't figure out how to send them in a PM. Hope this helps, John.

 

[texasjohn]

excellent photos...thanks!!!! Exactly what I was interested in seeing.
The secret to making this work is the uniquely shaped interface between the air filter canister and the vertical pipe...tricky to maneuver around ROPS, fender, etc. and keep the air flow unrestricted. As I suspected, the air filter canister is rotated 180 degrees and supporting bolt down is also moved.

I've added lights on the canopy, winch at front. I'm very impressed with the build quality. I'll either find a way to manufacture a high air intake or suck it up and buy the one from Kubota. Am taking it turkey hunting this weekend, its first real job!