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Troy, Missouri | I currently have a Honda Foreman 500 four wheeler. I like the drive shaft that Honda uses on all of their units, four wheelers and side by sides, but I think they are really the only one that uses that. I believe all other manufacturers use belts now? My wife doesn't really like to drive my four wheeler as she is just not comfortable with them, and in the future, we would like a side by side as it seems more safe (roll cage, 5 point harness, seats) for 2 people to ride in on trails. The group we ride with, we like to ride trails. Them and myself aren't ones to see if I and my ride can climb the steepest hill. I enjoy riding trails though, even some of the more difficult ones (we encountered some down in Tennessee at the Ride Royal Blue park).
My dilemma is that I don't know which one to go with. My wife likes the sporty ones like the Polaris RZR, while I like something that I can still use for utility. I actually thought the John Deere RSX 860i looked really nice, and just saw that Polaris has the General 1000. I know nothing about either, other than both still have a bed and hitch to haul/ pull things with, yet sporty looking and have get up and go. I just don't know about the belt drive though. I never had a single issue with my 1996 Polaris Xplorer 300, but I have heard that and even seen that Polaris's don't seem to hold up. Now, some people I ride with are VERY rough on stuff....so perhaps I just have a bad image of them now.
Does anyone have either of these machines and ride them on trails and through say water? Just want to know how they perform riding and working as well. Thanks for the info! |
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NC Iowa | Really hard to go wrong with a honda. I didn't want a belt drive. |
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| Get a Polaris Ranger. A full size model, 3 across seating. These are the best riding, most proven
of all of the ATV's and UTV's. |
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North Arkansas | I've got a friend who has a Kawasaki, Polaris and a Kubota. According to him the Kubota is by far the most trouble free but it uses as much gas as his F150. Over all he likes the Kawasaki the best and the Polaris the least. Your mileage may vary. |
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Starbuck Manitoba Canada | Don't have a side by side but was in some deep water with my Sportsman 850 Polaris and my belt started to slip. Did not think I was going to make it out.
I have not checked yet but may have to change my belt. |
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Northwest Iowa | We have a Polaris ranger and Kawasaki mule. Mule wins hands down. |
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North End I-15 | My Kubota is more like a hydrostatic tractor , slow. but tough . Top speed down hill with tail wind 24 MPH. Loaded with 60 gallon sprayer with 30 foot booms 17 MPH. Its a tractor .
My Honda Rubicon shaft drive has been bullet proof . The honda matic or what ever its called has been trouble free. I was going to buy a Honda side by side with the automatic but went for the Kubota 1100 RTV instead. It's a tractor with side by side seating . Great for the farm work I use it for. I like the 3 cyl. diesel .
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northwest tennessee | If I were going with a belt drive I would buy a Yamaha. They have the best. |
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S.C. Wisconsin | I might be prejudice but at this time the ride on a XP1000 has no equal. If you ride one of these it's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Where we do lot of trail riding in Arizona I would bet that close to 90% of the machines are Polaris's . Honda's have fell off the face of the earth in that area for UTV's. The belt argument is just an old Honda sales pitch as the belts are perfected these days and are very simple to maintain. I know of some Honda owners who's transmissions went out and the cost of repair was out of sight. But I will admit the Polaris XP1000 isn't very practical for a utility vehicle . But I would recommend driving one. |
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NW TN, Dyersburg | Dairyman, were the problematic Hondas the current models or those of a few years ago? |
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Lewisville, Ar | I've had pretty bad luck with the Honda Big Red of several years ago but traded to the Honda Pioneer 700 and have 7500 farm miles on it and can't seem to kill it. Next one will be a pioneer 1000. |
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S.C. Wisconsin | Rubicans from some years back. Also I know some who have the electric shift Honda's in Arizona and they have been very problematic. I don't take pride in bashing Honda's as they are decent, but dogs on trails. It seems the old 350 Ranchers were about bullet proof as you can get. |
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NC Iowa | I think the Pioneer 1000 and Can Am defender HD10 would fit the bill pretty good. I chose the Defender, very happy with it so far. 50 MPH comfortably down the road (will go 65). Load 60 gallon sprayer no problem. Ride is very comfortable and can take some big bumps and stay very smooth.
I'm just not a Polaris fan, never have been. I think they are OK if you are gonna play with them, when you put them to work they seem to have plenty of issues. |
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Adrian Mo | We have a Honda it goes every day no complaints so far its a 700 have a cake feeder in the back feed calves /bulls every day with it. |
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Beresford, SD | Idk. Just bought my first 4-wheeler...atv......side by side ever last week. Polaris 900 HO. Ranger. 245 miles on it already.....think family approves. It will holds 12 5 gallon buckets of corn! |
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Martinton,il | If I were to buy again and could afford what I wanted, I would buy either the new Honda or the Can-Am Defender. They look like they have everything that I am looking for and made to be handy. I have a Polaris and I like it but have had a few issues. Also it was a lot less money than the other ones I mentioned. I traded in a Kawasaki Teryx for this Ranger and it worked out well but was so hot in the summer. |
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Saronville NE | I'm not a polaris fan, they don't hold up.
We went trail riding in black hills last summer, we rented a sxs a 4 seated. I asked the owner which held up the best, cause they had Yamaha, Kawasaki teryx and polaris razors. He said hands down the polaris took the most money to keep going, said people want them due to advertising and name but said other 2 brands were darn near indestructible. On rental units getting 10k miles on in less then 2 yrs, I'd quess he would know. Last one I'd buy would be Polaris. |
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southern Missouri | Might want to consider a Club Car XRT 1550 with the Kubota diesel. The two we use on the farm have done well over two years and really sip the fuel. One has a hydraulic hitch on the front for a bucket or blade. The bed is manual dump, but we don't use the dump much anyway. Both have fully enclosed Curtis cabs which are nice in the wind and rain. My wife likes to drive them because they are simple to operate and have automatic four wheel drive engagement. I bought one used with less than 900 hours from United Rentals for about 4400 dollars. |
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NS Canada | Canadians tend to view the US manufacturers as subpar/cheaper built, Polaris and artic cat. And the japanese ahead of the rest, even our own bombardier/can am.
The last number of yrs has been a bit of a shake up and the gap has narrowed as can am and polaris have really upped their game with the bigger, sportier units... But I still think the quality isnt there against the japs. |
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| If I read your question right, and I'm pretty sure I did, your primary use is on the trails, not hauling bales and five gallon pails of feed. I went through this same dilemna last year, as I already had a 900 ranger, but wanted to start taking the little Mrs. along on trail rides in Wisconsin. I thought she'd have more fun on her own machine the tagging along on a ploddy, plucky Ranger. So I settled on his and hers Polaris Aces. Mine a 900, hers a 570. The 900 in what's is basically a Sportsman chassis is a rip snorter. And for this year, they upped the ante on the 900 Ace by widening the wheel base significantly and installing the massive Walker Evans shocks. They also opened up that terrific 900 engine and let her breath to the tune of around 90 hp. It's basically now a single seat version of the 900 RZR. And would be an absolute terror on the trails. It will be what I upgrade to next. If I do need to haul anything bulky, I simply slide one of those reciever mounted racks in place. It's a lot easier to throw a big buck on that than trying to get him in the Ranger by myself. And I'll also add, Wisconsin had up until recently banned anything over 50" from the trails. Well guess what, they must have folded to the pressure of all the Ranger owners, and the removed the width restriction. Now it really sucks when you meet the big SUVs on the trails. They are big fat pigs, and take up two thirds of the trail when you meet them. |
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S.C. Wisconsin | Last summer we went up to northern Wisconsin to ride the Flambeau trail that was one of the formally 50" trails opened up to 65 " . The trail stayed the same but they thinned the trees and brush away from the sides so if 2 big machines met they had plenty of room to pull over. Trail riding in Wisconsin has overtaken snowmobiling and is growing at a fast pace. The states and counties are on board as the sport brings dollars to these communities. I was told it stated growing big time when the side by sides came out and generally the crowd is a little older now. Being the communities are interested in increasing their revenues they are accommodating the larger machines that become so popular. One reason we bought the wide bigger machine is because we ride in rocky rough trails in Arizona and the quads and narrower machines will beat you to death. It isn't the power but the travel in the suspensions that make the difference. The quads have a very difficult time keeping up on the rocky rough trails. Not saying bad things about different machines but just stating why we chose the bigger wider machine for our requirements. |
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west central MN | I think there is a big difference in what you are going to use it for. For trails I agree completely with dairyman78. We ride a lot of trails in AZ in the winter also and I would say that at least 80% of the machines in our area are razors. We have had chances to ride the Wildcats and Can Am and pretty much everyone we ride with likes the ride and comfort of the razors better. We have also had people rent rangers and they don't like the seats and they are short on power for the roads and the hills. If you are concerned about safety and will have a 5 point harness a bench seat is not going to work very good and after 3 or 4 hours of riding it will not be near as comfortable. The CanAms are good machines and there are more of those showing up down there but we really have not like the way you sit and see out of them. They also seem to ride a little rougher but still have a very good ride. The new Yamahas look really nice but you have to shift them and I have been told on the racing circuit the frames have not held up very good. We have not had a chance to ride a Yamaha. I think we have seen 2 JD's in AZ in the last 3 years and there are a lot of farmers that go down there for the winter and ride. If someone has one it does not take them long to before they trade if for a razor. For farming the razors would not be good as there is not a lot of storage space. |
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| Polaris are being built more to target the citidiot, deer hunter or "pilgrim" as I call them. They ain't built to work anymore. Polaris has lost their way in the farm and true UTILITY vehicle. Now they're pretty much designed to put lift kits, over sized rubber, or see how fast they can go. I have a 06 500 polaris and I use it like a pickup, use it hard and it has held up. I wouldn't dare do to a newer one what I put my old one through. |
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NW iowa south of the CIty :) | We got a Honda Pioneer 1000 this spring.
It and the Can Am have the same amount of leg room.
Sat in the Polaris but it was hard to get feet in and tight on the knees.
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Texas Panhandle | Yeah most proven to need belts, u-joints, cv joints, and misc repair. ;) I would say a Mule is more reliable, and now you can get it with better suspension if you want that. |
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Troy, Missouri | We don't go riding in Arizona though. I mean, maybe someday. When I think of Arizona, and correct me if I'm wrong, I think of rocks and sand riding. In Missouri, it's hills, mud and dirt, rocks, creeks and streams that we mainly ride on/ through. I've heard that the RZR's do much better in the sand dunes. I don't know if it's because of the open spaces or what. Now, for how I drive, a Polaris may work out. Like I said, I don't see if I can climb the steepest hill and then roll it back down...I like to take care of my stuff, but still have fun.
One thing that I do like about the Honda's with the manual transmission (my Foreman has a 5 speed foot shift, the new Pioneer 1000's have 6 speed automatics, but also have paddle shifters and a manual mode I believe) is that you aren't riding your brakes all the time going down hills; just put it in a lower gear and coast and let the engine hold you back. My Polaris Xplorer 300 I had, I was always riding the brakes down steep hills and couldn't steer.
Another thing I had heard about the John Deeres, actually I read this online on their website in the description, is that it has a CVT transmission with the final drive being "shaft drive to spool final drive." Not sure what that means exactly? I also read that it is made to ford water. I take that to mean go through water that may be somewhat deep, say up to the exhaust, which would be cover the transmission and everything. So, if that is the case, you should be able to do that without slipping the belt? Not sure. I have yet to see anyone post saying they have a JD RSX. |
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Portland, ND | I have a 2013 900 ranger. It clicked over 10,000 miles last week, and has been very good.
I have replaced one belt, the drive clutch, and 2 u joints. Just put the third set of tires on it this spring.
A little maintenance goes a long way...
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What Side by Side UTV to get?
