Work UTV ... narrow down some choices please

[Hermio]

I never had a Yamaha before now, so I was leery about buying one 2 years ago so I ask a guy at work who had a Yamaha ATV with 1500+ mi. on it, (Grizzly I think) and he said the same thing your saying. At the time I had a AC 650 with 500 mi. on it and some belt issues, and everytime him and his buddy's would go on these 1-200 mi. mud run rides, he couldn't wait to tell about some Artic Cats breaking down, while his Yamaha belt drive never gave him any problems, he's obviously a Yamaha fan.

When I was looking into UTVs, the Yamaha Viking was high on my list, precisely because of the way the belt drive worked. So I checked into this, and found that the Intimidator also uses a centrifugal clutch; the belt does not slip when at idle. So, I ended up going with the intimidator due to much higher load and towing capacities. It also has a much shorter turning radius, larger tires and greater suspension travel, and a smoother 2 cylinder engine vs. one cylinder.. Also costs a bit less. I am not knocking the Yamaha Viking VI, as it is a fine vehicle, but it is closer to the sport end of the range, with a 50 MPH top speed, whereas the Intimidator is more of a work vehicle, so it met my needs better.

 

[LA Confederate]

We have several of the John Deer Gators at my plant. These are all crew cab and most are diesels and a few gassers. Might be worth looking in to.

 

[Oldpath05]

I've been following this thread for a spell. I just got a JD 550XUV Saturday, demo with no hours a whole lot cheaper than a new one. While the bed is smaller than i initially wanted, i'll get by with it. I've ran it all over the farm, went up the few inclines i have w/o having to use 4X & i love the overall smaller size, easier getting around my fence rows than the tractor in the wooded areas.
My friend at the dealer gave me several owners to call & ask about their experiences with the same unit, other than little nick picking, all were pleased.
Hopefully, over time, i will be able to tell whether i'm pleased with it. While i looked at other brands, my JD dealer has always went out of the way to get my money:2cents: service mens a lot to me.

Ronnie

I dont remember seeing this model when I stop at the JD dealer 2 years ago, the one I saw were wider than my Rhino. Looked up spec. on the JD 550 XUV and it's about the same width as a Rhino, so that would fit in my in between my basement doors at 60 inches, good luck with it.

 

[DK35vince]

I never had a Yamaha before now, so I was leery about buying one 2 years ago so I ask a guy at work who had a Yamaha ATV with 1500+ mi. on it, (Grizzly I think) and he said the same thing your saying.

I don't have a wet clutch (like the Grizzly) on my Kawasaki Brute force and I have no drive belt problems.
There is several thousand miles on my current belt. I tightened it up once (removed a shim in the secondary clutch), but its good to go for many more miles.

 

[Oldpath05]

When I was looking into UTVs, the Yamaha Viking was high on my list, precisely because of the way the belt drive worked. So I checked into this, and found that the Intimidator also uses a centrifugal clutch; the belt does not slip when at idle. So, I ended up going with the intimidator due to much higher load and towing capacities. It also has a much shorter turning radius, larger tires and greater suspension travel, and a smoother 2 cylinder engine vs. one cylinder.. Also costs a bit less. I am not knocking the Yamaha Viking VI, as it is a fine vehicle, but it is closer to the sport end of the range, with a 50 MPH top speed, whereas the Intimidator is more of a work vehicle, so it met my needs better.

I think you made a good choice for the Intimidator instead of the Viking, your right 50 mph is more for playing not working, which begs the Question, why cant UTV builders make a 3 or 4 speed fwd. 2 rev., I'd like a slower fwd. gear for working.
Since Yamaha don't make Rhino's anymore and went with a wider bigger Viking I doubt if I'd buy a Yamaha now. I'd probably look for something with a top speed of 25 mph. and a solid rear axle, not really sold on independent suspension for working, one reason is 4 more axle boots to protect, so that would narrow my choices down a little.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I just got an Electric Gator. I thought this might be what I wanted, but I never thought it would be as perfect as it is. So perfect for all those stop and go chores. I am keeping the Diesel Mule for the time being, but in truth, it has been much neglected since getting the gator. When in the middle of a job, I would never think about starting a Diesel to go the couple hundred feet between house and shop, but with the gator, it's not an issue. Don't get me wrong, I do enough walking and get enough excercise.

Plus, it will haul an impressive load and pull a good sized trailer. It's short on speed (that is an understatement) but has torque too spare!

 

[MF283]

I wanted one of the TX Gators on account of the bigger bed, couldn't beat the price on the Demo 550, it will mainly haul saws, fencing tools, pull a trailer when needed & the tractor will be used for it's intended purpose of pulling instead of riding around.
I think the manual says it has a top speed of 28, guess that's fast enough to sling some mud out of the tires if needed
The wife & i rode the fences through the woods the other night & spooked 2 different herds of deer in separate fields, neat experience. I will say it needs some alternative lighting, the stock light's aren't good at a longer range.
As stated earlier, i've enjoyed the thread & hope it keeps going.

Ronnie

 

[ultrarunner]

So is the new Honda with the Dual Cone too new to rate as far as transmission reliability issues?

I'll be keeping my Samurai for a long as possible... it's my brother looking for a utv for the ranch and only wants to buy once...

One of my neighbors has the smallest Gator single cylinder... he absolutely loves it and it gets a lot of use over the years... the one thing that unnerves me is two wheel braking... there is a spot on his property where he basically slides down the hill and steers... going up is better because of weight transfer... but going down is a wild ride.

 

[Copperhead]

Went thru all of this and 2 things:

Since looking for a working UTV, I am surprised that Bobcat hasn't been brought up. Don't have one, but they are in the same league as the Kubota RTV X series working UTV's. Was checking out Bobcat UTV's recently and considering.

I rarely ever hear of anyone using the Snowsport snow plow. Very good little sleeper of a plow. No need for all the cost like many plow setups. Total cost of a very good plow is $1000 or less and just a standard receiver for hitch in the front.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4h__99SzMA&spfreload=10

Reviews from others:

ATV Plow Reviews | Customer Reviews of SnowSport All Terrain Plow

 

[MF283]

One of my neighbors has the smallest Gator single cylinder... he absolutely loves it and it gets a lot of use over the years... the one thing that unnerves me is two wheel braking... there is a spot on his property where he basically slides down the hill and steers... going up is better because of weight transfer... but going down is a wild ride.

That's another thing i like about this 550, it has 4 wheel disc & the bigger wheels/tires which gives it more clearance. Speed is not a concern for me being i bought it as a work vehicle, i'll put it on our dead end road to blow it out occasionally or even to cool off some during warmer weather.
My son came in the other day after a hard rain & wanted to know if i went mudding, i let him know that wasn't it's intended purpose & i better not see sign of that, he got the message.

Ronnie