Hello!

Spent our weekend with three other couples exploring the woods near the Black Hills. They had 4-wheelers and they let us use their side-by-side. After we were all done, my wife and I decided we need to add one of these beasts to our toys. I will Google them and talk to all my friends who have them, but I also wanted to solicit input from the brain trust here.

What should I look for? What should I avoid? Seeking input from those with first-hand ownership please.

Thank you!

Jim

Am I the only one that read the thread title and immediately thought, "skip the side-by-side and go with an over/under?"

Oh boy...

Tough topic, as it really has to do with how you want to use the unit, whether or not you are going to trailer it to ride trails, and how fast you want to go.

We have a Kawasaki diesel Mule 4010 4x4 working machine for our horse ranch. Tires are of modest size, sped is governed to 25 mph, little 3 cyl. diesel sits under the rear seat and sips fuel. I get tons of torque, and can carry or tow up to 1600 pounds, but I'm not doing it fast. Ours carries 4 people with the rear seat up, or has a bigger pick-up style bed with the rear seat folded. It will go through some serious stuff, but because of tire size and stock suspension, it doesn't have the highest ground clearance, and because it has 4 seat room, the longer wheelbase makes high centering a possibility and tight turns are harder. Ours also has bench seats with simple seat belts, and no doors. For us, it is perfect. Farm work, hunting, hauling etc., but it's not a sporty trail machine.

Polaris RZR, Yahamah YXZ, Kawasaki Teryx, etc. are all completely different sport machines.

quote:

Originally posted by DrDan:
Am I the only one that read the thread title and immediately thought, "skip the side-by-side and go with an over/under?"

That's exactly what I thought....

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Originally posted by DrDan:
Am I the only one that read the thread title and immediately thought, "skip the side-by-side and go with an over/under?"

That's exactly what I thought....

Me too. I was thinking Ruger Red Label.

Jim

Lot's of different options out there as pointed out above. I went with a Honda Pioneer 700 about 2 months ago because of my preference for their shaft drive power train.

Just like with autos this time of year, good deals can be found on whatever brand/model you choose if you keep an eye out for 2019's on the lot as the 2020 models arrive.

Michael

My wife and I have a Polaris RZR S1000. It is just slightly wider than the 900, but not as wide as an XP. We absolutely love trail riding with it.

You may want to look into the regulations where you will be riding. Some states designate maximum machine width for certain trails. In MN, a RZR is considered a Class II ATV which means you can't use it in some places where quads are allowed.

Unless you are planning on doing some crazy riding, I wouldn't get too hung up on HP. Ours has 100HP and it is more than enough for us. There are models out there with almost twice that.

We added the Ride Command display which gives you GPS, digital engine instrument display and front and rear cameras. The cameras are handy when getting it lined up on the trailer or into a tight spot. Also installed a winch (just in case), rear storage box, sport roof, half windshield, and 4pt harnesses.

Fire away if you have any additional model specific questions.

Not a ton of experience here, but I imagine your intended use will factor in.

My mom has a Yamaha Rhino 700 that's quite quick, but pretty firmly sprung, so it's a rough ride in the desert outside their house in NV.
My brother upgraded it when he was still living at home in high school. So, it had bucket seats & 4-point harnesses, and might have had a mild piggyback tuner on it.
They also have a JD Gator, slow, & all about utility.

Did an excursion in Scottsdale a few years ago in 4-seater Kawasaki Teryx, ton of fun on the decent desert trails they had us on. Didn't seem as quick as the Rhino, but more comfortable on rougher terrain.
They also had decent belts to keep you from coming out of it.

My dad has a Kawasaki Mule, if you're after utility. Slow, but comfortable & good for around the house.

Something like the Razor is getting into the high-performance side, but I've no experience there.

Looking at some of the price points I decided to just buy an older Jeep and have a radio, air conditioning, and a license plate.

No, not shotguns or ATVs ... FOOD!

Cheeseburger with fries and a soda pop. The "side-by-side sides".

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
Looking at some of the price points I decided to just buy an older Jeep and have a radio, air conditioning, and a license plate.

I LOVE old jeeps. If I was looking for an off road vehicle to get around the farm... that's what it would be. 1980-1986 CJ7

So this thread isn't about refrigerators???

quote:

Originally posted by DrDan:
Am I the only one that read the thread title and immediately thought, "skip the side-by-side and go with an over/under?"

Nope, me too.

What you will want will depend on what you want to use it for.

Out west everyone is setting them up for sand or desert off road driving. Most are buying the longer 4 seat cars and putting long travel suspension kits and larger tires or paddles if in the sand. RZR's and Can Am's rule the roost out here.

If you're driving at slower speeds, tighter and more technical you might want a two seat or a smaller 4 seat one. Kawi is about to introduce a new Teryx.

What kind of seating position are you looking for? The more utility style machines will sit you upright more but won't be as secure or comfortable at high speeds.

I tend to favor Japanese brands as I feel they have better reliability. But they haven't been as popular in sales the past few years and Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki have been slow to update and evolve their products compared to Polaris and Can Am.

I have several hundred hours driving JD Gators both the two and three seat versions over the last 20 years or so.

The models being produced today are much improved over the models from back then as you would expect.

I've done some work on the earlier models and they were not too tough to fix if memory serves.

That said, they are expensive to buy. If I had to own one instead of just using one, I might be looking at a used Wrangler instead.

We have a Polaris 900 ESP RZR and have been up in the Black Hills all summer the trail system run off the fire roads are so much fun. The RZR has a lower seating position then the Polaris Ranger or General. If you have kids you might think about a four seater. Top speed for my rzr is 65-70 mph. Personally I would steer clear of the CFmoto which is a China built SxS. Honda has a SXS that has a 6 spd transmission with paddle shifting. Is quieter then my RZR but has an more upright seating like the Ranger. Their new SxS is the Talon which looks promising.

11 posts and less than half are in response to your question. Nice. Anyhow I have a Polaris Ranger 900 XP with electronic power steering. I think the power steering is a must. So much depends on what you want to do with it. Maybe if you could tell us a little bit of how you are planning to use it we could give more specific advice. I use mine to plow my driveway and for ice fishing. So I equipped it with a hard side cab, heater and stereo. It has a winch which is required for plows unless you spend big $$ and go hydraulic but winches come in handy for more than you might think.

I also used mine to disc plow some of the property out at the lake and then drag raked with it as well. They are very versatile and can be used for much more than trail riding if you have the applications for it.

What is your budget? If it is under $10K you won't get one with a cab and maybe not a windshield or even a plastic top. Probably a 500cc or maybe a 570cc.

Closer to $20k you can get one with all the bells and whistles. They are expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
11 posts and less than half are in response to your question. Nice.

All due respect, that's what happens with a vague thread title. I don't know how many times Para has to preach that. When I first read the title, my first thought (honestly) was side-by-side refrigerators. Just sayin'...

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quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
11 posts and less than half are in response to your question. Nice.

All due respect, that's what happens with a vague thread title. I don't know how many times Para has to preach that. When I first read the title, my first thought (honestly) was side-by-side refrigerators. Just sayin'...

[/drift]

My first thought was the ATV variety, but we were just talking about them yesterday here at my house. Given it's in the lounge & not rifles, a shotgun didn't register to me.