side by side utility vehicles --SXS

DirtySCREW

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Just want Y'all's opinion on side by side utility vehicles. What do you own and why? What would you buy if you could do it over? I've ridden in a Polaris Ranger and a buddy of mine has a John Deere Gator.
I like the Honda but it's the most expensive. If I ever get some land, I want to know what to buy.
Kawasaki Mule? JD Gator? Honda Pioneer? Yamaha Wolverine? Kobota? Cub cadet? Polaris Ranger?

DS
 
I would say depends on your plans for it. We have had good luck with gators on the farm for work and fence dutys with the cows, THey have been solid but not as fun for just taking riding or a power house. The original one and also the hpx series. Run from a mule I was not impressed and a royal pain to work on when we had one it was constantly causing problems and a transmission linkage adjustment nightmare. Neighbor has a Kubota 500 and had good luck with it and seems pretty solid for work again not a speed demon though. Hard to go wrong with a Honda and I would rank it a more fun riding side by side, coworker has the pioneer 700 and really likes it the smaller one is based off the foreman four-wheeler which has been there work horse for years. Not enough experience with the others to comment on them.
 
M274 with 4 wheel steer, A4 or 5.
1500# load capacity and air lift ready out of the box.
You'll need to add the second seat.
 
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The Kubota can be had with hydraulic remotes, and a mess of very handy stuff for working around the property.

If I wanted one for fun, I'd get the 1000CC Honda. The smaller Honda is based off the Rincon 4 wheeler. It feels under powered to me, but I only drove it for 5 mins.
The Honda bed/seat conversion setup is very well thought out.
Rear seats fold down to make a cargo bed.
 
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I have a 13 Polaris Ranger 800. I use it for hunting and property work on our family hill farm in SE Ohio, hunt lease in Hyde county and our club leases in Bladen county. The Oh property is very hilly, with a couple of steep ones...drop the ranger in 4 low and it goes everywhere. Have never had any mechanical issues, and access for routine maintenance is easy. Have also ridden it on most of the H&M trails in WV, been deep at Busco and Outback...just an all around great machine.

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Last year had lots of experience running a fleet of Can Am Defenders (3/6 seaters), Commanders and Max Pros (14 total). Later company had to get winterized kits for the cabs with light bars, heaters and tracks (down to -50 degrees and lots of snow). Good machines but when you have people running them 24/7 for weeks without maintenance they experience problems (all preventable). I wouldn't mind having a 3 seater Defender for my own personal use/hunting. I just don't have any land however. Beach seat with 3 seat belts in regular cab.

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Used just about every major brand out on the FOBs in Iraq/Astan. Look at the features you'll like. Most of those small things add up over time just like what you like in a pickup truck. Biggest thing I've found about SxS is do your maintenance.

ie
Winch
rear/front receiver hitch
dump box
4x4
light bar
windscreen/cab
rifle rack
lock storage bin
small tool/maintenance kit

CD
 
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I would say depends on your plans for it.

Like he said, It all starts with what you expect out of it. Been riding ATVs and SxS for years and at some level they ALL do the job but there are differences.
If you arent hauling rip-rap or tree trunks around, you might also want to take a look at Honda Pioneer, Kawasaki Teryx or Polaris General in addition to the ones you mentioned. The Wolverines I just dont have much info about. Friend had a newer Teryx, pretty stout.

For certain, go and insist on actually test riding anything you are seriously considering buying- thats when you discover that your knee hits the gear lever and you cant reach the 4WD control with your seat belt on and stuff like that.

These companies make a ton of money on the "accessories" that they should have included in the base models, so check what comes standard and what you have to add later on your own dime. And definitely if possible get Power Steering.

And what CD says about maintenance is absolutely spot-on. I have owned Hondas and if they built a machine that meets my current needs today I'd own one. I have a Polaris Rzr and spend a lot more $ and time maintaining it than I would like.
 
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I think it all boils down to your most intended use. I bought the Brute Force in 2015 and had such good service from it,I had no problem going with Kawasaki again, especially since the Mule PRO FXT fit my main intended use. It's basically an over sized golf cart used to roam the country side and visit friends houses that live miles away. We mostly ride around on back roads and dirt roads like old people out for a Sunday drive. So, I can haul 6 people if need be, or flip the rear seat forward and double the size of the bed. I can hook up a 5x7 trailer, go down into the woods and fill the bed and trailer with firewood and come to the house with no problem. So I consider this machine a workhorse that can move people and/or material. Is it a speed demon? No, but the Brute Force will satisfy my needs to potentially hurt myself.

The PRO FXT has an inline 3 cylinder engine from Cherry automotive, a Chinese car manufacturer. This is the same engine John Deere uses in the 825 Gator and it is pretty well proven reliable. I have 67 hrs and 1108 miles on the mule and no problems at all. Top speed on the road is 48 mph, via a rev limiter. I need to add a roof and would like some form of a Sirius capable stereo. I'm also planning a front bumper with a 2" receiver. Then I'm planning on mounting my clay thrower to hitch carrier that can be used on the front of the Mule. I also have hauled it down to the local sporting clay place and used it in lieu of renting a cart, which aren't always available. If you are gonna ride on the road or at higher sustained speed, a windshield is a must. I settled for a half windshield, which is perfect for summertime. It diverts enough air to have a conversation but gives enough wind to keep cool.

I'm not gonna knock any other machines because it would be heresay, but the versatility of the PRO FXT and past positive experience with Kawasaki helped me make my decision. Here's a pic of the rear seat forward and added gun rack.

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I think it all boils down to your most intended use. I bought the Brute Force in 2015 and had such good service from it,I had no problem going with Kawasaki again, especially since the Mule PRO FXT fit my main intended use. It's basically an over sized golf cart used to roam the country side and visit friends houses that live miles away. We mostly ride around on back roads and dirt roads like old people out for a Sunday drive. So, I can haul 6 people if need be, or flip the rear seat forward and double the size of the bed. I can hook up a 5x7 trailer, go down into the woods and fill the bed and trailer with firewood and come to the house with no problem. So I consider this machine a workhorse that can move people and/or material. Is it a speed demon? No, but the Brute Force will satisfy my needs to potentially hurt myself.

The PRO FXT has an inline 3 cylinder engine from Cherry automotive, a Chinese car manufacturer. This is the same engine John Deere uses in the 825 Gator and it is pretty well proven reliable. I have 67 hrs and 1108 miles on the mule and no problems at all. Top speed on the road is 48 mph, via a rev limiter. I need to add a roof and would like some form of a Sirius capable stereo. I'm also planning a front bumper with a 2" receiver. Then I'm planning on mounting my clay thrower to hitch carrier that can be used on the front of the Mule. I also have hauled it down to the local sporting clay place and used it in lieu of renting a cart, which aren't always available. If you are gonna ride on the road or at higher sustained speed, a windshield is a must. I settled for a half windshield, which is perfect for summertime. It diverts enough air to have a conversation but gives enough wind to keep cool.

I'm not gonna knock any other machines because it would be heresay, but the versatility of the PRO FXT and past positive experience with Kawasaki helped me make my decision. Here's a pic of the rear seat forward and added gun rack.

View attachment 35843

Kawie is by far my preference for off-road machines as well. I have 4 in my “fleet”.

For their SXS line, I would personally rather have a Teryx with the v-twin, as I’m more familiar with the engines. The v-twins put out incredible power also with minor mods and some clutch work.
 
Kawie is by far my preference for off-road machines as well. I have 4 in my “fleet”.

For their SXS line, I would personally rather have a Teryx with the v-twin, as I’m more familiar with the engines. The v-twins put out incredible power also with minor mods and some clutch work.

I struggled between the Teryx and Mule, and probably would have went with the Teryx if I didn't already have the Brute Force. Man, I love that low end torque from their V twins. The only thing I've ran across that will out run the Brute is a $15,000 Can Am. If I put another $6,500 into the Brute to get to $15K, I'd need a wheelie bar (almost do now).

 
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I love my can am maverick. I have had no issues with it and we ride pretty hard during the summer, mostly think deep mud.
If you’re going to just be doing around the house/farm chores then something with a real bed would be best. I know the commanders are nice and the defenders are as well.
If I had to do it again I would still buy the maverick.
I’m partial to horsepower though.
 
If you buy some land that has a lot of trees, you may consider what I did. It's a Can Am 1000R Max XT. A little longer for better stability than the standard one seater. I don't have a good picture at the moment. But it's pulling a nice poly trailer that has a capacity of 1500 lbs. The trailer is built like a tank and is bigger than it looks in the picture. Easy to maneuver between and around trees and is narrower than a S x S.

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My Dad bought an 09 Rhino in 2010, and we put around 300hrs on it. It was great for the time, but an expensive toy. And that's what I think of them, expensive for what they are especially compared to a older Jeep or especially compared to one of the Japanese Kei trucks. And with both of those, you get a heater, and windshield with wipers. And a tag.
 
I have a Kawasaki Mule ProFX That we’ve had for a couple years, and it has definitely earned its keep. Invaluable tool on the job and around the house.


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I have been thinking about the same question the last few weeks. We ended up coming to the conclusion that we didn’t need to buy a side by side for use primarily around the house. A atv and the tractor will cover everything we need to do, ended up buying a left over can an 650xmr to have fun with.
 
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