Side by side UTV's

[teejk]

Decided it's time...getting to the age where climbing onto the back of an ATV to get to a deer blind is painful. Plus I live close to where we can get onto a state trail system that will take us for hundreds of miles if we decided to do that. So looking at side by sides. I have local dealers on Polaris, Cub Cadet and Artic Cat. Would love the Honda but the dealers are 50 miles away and they seem to be premium priced. It seems that everybody and their dogs are getting into the market now (Kubota etc.) with brands I have never heard of so the "paralysis by analysis" is making my head spin. Any thoughts on stuff that works and won't break the bank?

 

[ProjectKing]

Decided it's time...getting to the age where climbing onto the back of an ATV to get to a deer blind is painful. Plus I live close to where we can get onto a state trail system that will take us for hundreds of miles if we decided to do that. So looking at side by sides. I have local dealers on Polaris, Cub Cadet and Artic Cat. Would love the Honda but the dealers are 50 miles away and they seem to be premium priced. It seems that everybody and their dogs are getting into the market now (Kubota etc.) with brands I have never heard of so the "paralysis by analysis" is making my head spin. Any thoughts on stuff that works and won't break the bank?

Buying an UTV is like buying an automobile. You need to decide what to do with it. Do you want a pick-up, a hatchback, an econo box or a sports car?

First thing to ask is how much money you want to spend? Next... what are it's uses going to be? Fun only? Fun and work? Work? How many people you need to haul? Do you need to tow a trailer? How wide are the trails you running on?

I strongly recommending getting a UTV with an unlocking rear diff. This makes operation much more enjoyable especially on grass and on pavement.

Out of the 3 brands you list I would not look at Cub Cadet. Also I would not rule out Honda. The Honda 1000 Pioneer is a fantastic machine... you can get a basic model for around $13,000 I think. That's not a bad price considering the features and its a HONDA!

Kubota's machines are more work oriented. Maybe not the best for exploring those hundreds of miles of trails. They are slow and very powerful... great for around farms.

There's not one machine that does everything great. Currently the Honda Pioneer 1000 is probably the closets in my opinion.

Another good option is Kawasaki Mules. They have a variety of them to fit your needs. And I believe they are extremely reliable.

I recommend sticking to main companies like.... Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Polaris, Kubota, Can-Am. The Japanese machines are generally more reliable. Polaris has a lot of love/hate followers.

 

[fidowanttobe]

Poor man's side by side on this site.

 

[sdef]

Pretty hard to get one for less than $$$$. I think they are terribly overpriced relative to what a decent automobile costs. But I bought one- 2016 Polaris Ranger XP900EPS. Runs great but has a LOT of plastic. I preferred the build quality (steel) and warranty of the Kawasak Mule Pro-FX EPS LE but went with the Polaris for the power and speed for the fun factor in the Ranger. And now the 2017 Polaris Ranger is 1000 CC and 80 HP. Wish I would have waited 6 months

I optioned mine to my minimum standards of 4500# winch, steel roof and glass front and back windows and high powered LED lights on the roof. The winch has been really handy stretching new horse fence and getting the wife's helpless truck unstuck.

 

[teejk]

Buying an UTV is like buying an automobile. You need to decide what to do with it. Do you want a pick-up, a hatchback, an econo box or a sports car?

First thing to ask is how much money you want to spend? Next... what are it's uses going to be? Fun only? Fun and work? Work? How many people you need to haul? Do you need to tow a trailer? How wide are the trails you running on?

I strongly recommending getting a UTV with an unlocking rear diff. This makes operation much more enjoyable especially on grass and on pavement.

Out of the 3 brands you list I would not look at Cub Cadet. Also I would not rule out Honda. The Honda 1000 Pioneer is a fantastic machine... you can get a basic model for around $13,000 I think. That's not a bad price considering the features and its a HONDA!

Kubota's machines are more work oriented. Maybe not the best for exploring those hundreds of miles of trails. They are slow and very powerful... great for around farms.

There's not one machine that does everything great. Currently the Honda Pioneer 1000 is probably the closets in my opinion.

Another good option is Kawasaki Mules. They have a variety of them to fit your needs. And I believe they are extremely reliable.

I recommend sticking to main companies like.... Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Polaris, Kubota, Can-Am. The Japanese machines are generally more reliable. Polaris has a lot of love/hate followers.

Has only been 2-3 years since the trails here have been widened to accept side by sides but the trail system is the primary economic driver for restaurants and hotels in an area that can't support anything other than timber (a glacier thing...sand and gravel). Decisions decisions...

 

[teejk]

Pretty hard to get one for less than $$$$. I think they are terribly overpriced relative to what a decent automobile costs. But I bought one- 2016 Polaris Ranger XP900EPS. Runs great but has a LOT of plastic. I preferred the build quality (steel) and warranty of the Kawasak Mule Pro-FX EPS LE but went with the Polaris for the power and speed for the fun factor in the Ranger. And now the 2017 Polaris Ranger is 1000 CC and 80 HP. Wish I would have waited 6 months

I optioned mine to my minimum standards of 4500# winch, steel roof and glass front and back windows and high powered LED lights on the roof. The winch has been really handy stretching new horse fence and getting the wife's helpless truck unstuck.

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I agree totally on the "over-priced" part! But with the economy finally making it back (meager as it is) people seem to be willing to over pay. I only have 5 acres to play with here so my use would be limited to a high priced wheel barrow and a few trips in and out of deer/turkey blinds and maybe (probably) exploring our vast trail system (they just finished a tunnel system under the highway that connects the north trail to the south trail and my guess is that our system is now 1,000 miles or more).

 

[nybirdman]

I would have you check out Yamaha SXS.You didn't mention that a dealer was anywhere near.I am on my third new one(4,000 miles on the first two) with absolutely no problems other than wear items.
My 2016 is a 700cc,fuel injected with EPS(power steering) and rated at 46 HP.I certainly don't need any more.My machine are work machines first;they have to work when I need them.
Due some reading on the Honda;they have had transmission problems.I used to be a big fan of Honda but they have lagged behind the other Japanese manufacturers .Anything by Kawasaki;Mule or Teryx would be my second choice.We have a Teryx in the family and it has been good.The Pro FX also looks capable and durable.

 

[teejk]

I would have you check out Yamaha SXS.You didn't mention that a dealer was anywhere near.I am on my third new one(4,000 miles on the first two) with absolutely no problems other than wear items.
My 2016 is a 700cc,fuel injected with EPS(power steering) and rated at 46 HP.I certainly don't need any more.My machine are work machines first;they have to work when I need them.
Due some reading on the Honda;they have had transmission problems.I used to be a big fan of Honda but they have lagged behind the other Japanese manufacturers .Anything by Kawasaki;Mule or Teryx would be my second choice.We have a Teryx in the family and it has been good.The Pro FX also looks capable and durable.

Thanks! Yamaha was totally off my radar (I think they need a better marketing department) but I will certainly put them on the list...when boat motors morphed from 2 cycle to 4 cycle, Mercury was behind the curve. Honda jumped in ($$$), then Yamaha showed up and for a while ran the show. Never knew anybody that hated Yamaha.

 

[Wacky]

I have bought the MuleProFXT and could not be happier. Was a Yamaha man till I drove the Kawi. Try one before you decide. The warranty service is phenomenal itself.

 

[RobA]

I got a Polaris Ranger 570 Midsize 6 months ago for use around my property. I like it a lot. So much better than an ATV. My biggest complaint is the noise. Louder than I was expecting. I may look into an aftermarket muffler that will cut the noise level down a bit.