Side x Sides?

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Ok I looked at this today so I have to throw it into the mix. CanAm Defender. How are these? I still havent found a Teryx yet to look at in person.

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IMO Polaris, Can Am, and Textron(Arctic Cat) are all about the same as far as ride, power, reliabilty.
The Japanese brand pretty much have worse suspension, less power, more reliabilty.

You just have to pick your poison. I own a Polaris, I also understand I will have to work on it. Same with Can Am and Arctic Cat. For what I want, none of the Japanese brands fit the bill.

We have all brands in our group, and see hundreds of different machines every ride. Big trail system here. We dont see many machines broke down on side of trail, or being towed. It happens, but not nearly as much as some people will have you believe.

Its ALWAYS much worse on the internet than in real life.
 
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Originally Posted by kawie_guy
Originally Posted by NEKGuy
Buy Polaris, Basically bulletproof. Millions sold for good reason..


I think this might be the most false post I've ever read here on Bitog, and that's saying something!

First of all, Polaris is anything but bulletproof. In fact, I've never heard anybody use that word to describe Polaris. Ever. And that includes the die hard Polaris fans I know, and I know plenty. Polaris is infamous for being at or near the bottom of the reliability scale. They have some positives, and they have some feathers in their cap, but reliability and build quality have never been a part of that. I live in the offroad capital of the world, and I average 3500 miles per year on the busiest trails anywhere, and Polaris tows and trail repairs outnumber all other brands combined! Last year, my ohv club had at least one Polaris that had issues on every single monthly ride we did. Some folks in the club have started to suggest a "no Polaris" policy, or at very least, make all the Polaris riders group together at the rear so they can help each other, and not slow down the entire convoy.
There were also two atv rental places along the Strawberry and Paiute trail systems that replaced their Polaris fleets last year due to their overtime expenses with their maintenance depts.
My local Kawie dealer just started selling Polaris, too, three year ago. Before then, I could swing in there and get service same day. But now, they are over three months out because of all the recalls and burnt up RZRs coming in!
I actually know one of the Polaris atv forum moderators, and I have a quote he made awhile back where he said the smartest thing any Polaris owner can do is start looking to trade in your Polaris when it gets 3500 miles on it to avoid the issues that get worse after that mark. I give him kudos because he's being honest even though I know it pains him to say that.
So basically, with how much I ride, a Polaris would last me 12 months before I'd have to get something else.

The reason Polaris sell well is because one of said positives is their plush and comfy ride. That is a huge factor to a big demographic of aging riders! And they sell well because they have more and spend more on a fantastic marketing dept. Their ad budget is probably triple what most other brands spend. Maybe ten times more than some of the Japanese brands spend on 4 wheel marketing. I've probably spent more money on coffee this year than Suzuki or Kawasaki has spent on advertising their atv's. It's a shame. People entering the market for the first time hear an ear full about Can Am and Polaris, and probably don't even see one ad for a Teryx or a Wolverine.
In any event, I'd probably not choose a Mule or a Ranger, but for totally different reasons. Mules are almost entirely for utility purposes, and not really intended for heavy trail riding. Rangers are a little more versatile, but they're made by Polaris, soooooo......
I'd look at a Wolverine, a Viking, a Teryx, a Commander, or a Pioneer for light chores and fun trails.

Originally Posted by kawie_guy
NEKGuy said:
Buy Polaris, Basically bulletproof. Millions sold for good reason..



Yep. Polaris is garbage. There is a reason they are so cheap. They are great at innovation, but their build quality is absolute garbage.
 
I'm a Honda guy, but honestly I haven't been super impressed with the Honda SxS's, and I think Hondas build quality has suffered in recent years, or perhaps is more an issue of them trying to add frills to their machines which inevitably result in more issues (KISS anyone?)

I rode with a Pioneer 1000 last weekend. Nice power. The 6 speed DCT has no belts, but the thing shifts non-stop, which is annoying. Thing that really flagged me on the Pioneer is the fact that it wouldn't go into gear with a deplteted battery. Guy had to do a LOT of winching, and ran his battery down. Thing would still crank, but would die as soon as he put it in gear until he let it idle long enough to charge the battery back up.

The 700 has the tried and proven engine out of the Rincon, but also has the 3 speed tranny which leaves a little to be desired. That said, no belts, so were I to buy one today I'd go for the 700 (out of the Honda line anyway).

I don't like belts, but were I looking at new SxS's I'd probably look at Yamaha or Can Am. Can Am was trash a few years ago but they seem to be improving. I honestly don't know anything about the newer Kawasaki stuff. Their old stuff was great (90's) but not sure about their newer stuff. No one around here has Kawasakis any more so haven't worked on any of them.

Normally Honda and Yamaha are king of reliability. Hondas typically don't have much power (which helps with reliability) and Yamaha has good build quality but they still have belts. Can Am kills in power, starting to hold up better, but all that power still kills parts, and they aren't cheap to buy or to run. Arctic Cat is absolute garbage now. Polaris is right there with AC, but rides smooth and is cheap so everyone buys them.
 
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Originally Posted by Jeepwm69
I'm a Honda guy, but honestly I haven't been super impressed with the Honda SxS's, and I think Hondas build quality has suffered in recent years, or perhaps is more an issue of them trying to add frills to their machines which inevitably result in more issues (KISS anyone?)

I rode with a Pioneer 1000 last weekend. Nice power. The 6 speed DCT has no belts, but the thing shifts non-stop, which is annoying. Thing that really flagged me on the Pioneer is the fact that it wouldn't go into gear with a deplteted battery. Guy had to do a LOT of winching, and ran his battery down. Thing would still crank, but would die as soon as he put it in gear until he let it idle long enough to charge the battery back up.

The 700 has the tried and proven engine out of the Rincon, but also has the 3 speed tranny which leaves a little to be desired. That said, no belts, so were I to buy one today I'd go for the 700 (out of the Honda line anyway).

I don't like belts, but were I looking at new SxS's I'd probably look at Yamaha or Can Am. Can Am was trash a few years ago but they seem to be improving. I honestly don't know anything about the newer Kawasaki stuff. Their old stuff was great (90's) but not sure about their newer stuff. No one around here has Kawasakis any more so haven't worked on any of them.

Normally Honda and Yamaha are king of reliability. Hondas typically don't have much power (which helps with reliability) and Yamaha has good build quality but they still have belts. Can Am kills in power, starting to hold up better, but all that power still kills parts, and they aren't cheap to buy or to run. Arctic Cat is absolute garbage now. Polaris is right there with AC, but rides smooth and is cheap so everyone buys them.



Sounds like that 1000 Pioneer you rode with needed to run the engine while winching! Actually, that goes for any machine nowadays. If the battery gets down too far, bye bye FI, and power steering, and you're walking before long.

Surprised you prefer the 700 to the 1000. I thought the 1000 was a huge improvement over that gutless Rincon engine. It was actually only a weak 675cc, and the torque converter robbed half it's power.
The 700 Pioneer was also less equipped with goodies too.

I think all the Japanese brands are class leaders in reliability, however, Honda and Yamaha have taken a bit of a black eye lately. The new 708cc Grizzly was dropped after only a couple years because it was not as good of an engine as the 686 was, and they had a few other issues. I rode a new Foreman the other day, and was shocked to see some of the cooling system parts were made in China! I never thought I'd live to see the day a top shelf Japanese company use Chinese parts when their sole claim to fame is reliability!

Kawies are pretty fine tuned at this point. Not a lot of new stuff except for a closed loop fuel system and other small refinements. The new 800 Teryx has a 3 year warranty standard.
My personal Kawie atv has even surpassed my Yamahas in miles per dollar spent fixing things. I just turned over 17,000 miles on it, and I've spent less than $350 fixing seals and bearings etc. Not bad!
 
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Originally Posted by kawie_guy



Sounds like that 1000 Pioneer you rode with needed to run the engine while winching! Actually, that goes for any machine nowadays. If the battery gets down too far, bye bye FI, and power steering, and you're walking before long.

Surprised you prefer the 700 to the 1000. I thought the 1000 was a huge improvement over that gutless Rincon engine. It was actually only a weak 675cc, and the torque converter robbed half it's power.
The 700 Pioneer was also less equipped with goodies too.

I think all the Japanese brands are class leaders in reliability, however, Honda and Yamaha have taken a bit of a black eye lately. The new 708cc Grizzly was dropped after only a couple years because it was not as good of an engine as the 686 was, and they had a few other issues. I rode a new Foreman the other day, and was shocked to see some of the cooling system parts were made in China! I never thought I'd live to see the day a top shelf Japanese company use Chinese parts when their sole claim to fame is reliability!

Kawies are pretty fine tuned at this point. Not a lot of new stuff except for a closed loop fuel system and other small refinements. The new 800 Teryx has a 3 year warranty standard.
My personal Kawie atv has even surpassed my Yamahas in miles per dollar spent fixing things. I just turned over 17,000 miles on it, and I've spent less than $350 fixing seals and bearings etc. Not bad!


The DCT in the 1000 just kinda sucks in auto mode. It constantly shifts up and down trying to find a gear, and with 6 speeds that's a LOT of shifting. And he had the engine running while he was winching, but we had to do a LOT of winching. I just don't have much use for a mud rig that won't stay running without a good battery on it.

I have a lot of ATV's, and I prefer the older, simpler bikes. I have 3 of the 05-11 Foremans, which were the last of the carb'd , air cooled Hondas. Wife has a DCT Rancher because she wanted an automatic, and so far it's been reliable (I bought it as a basketcase, and rebuilt it, doing an 18% GR and 500 top end on it). Currently finishing up a 350 Rancher for one kid and a 300 for the other kid. I have a couple more 07 500's, a couple more 300's, and several 350 Fourtrax/ 350D Foremans to build when I get to them. I've also recently traded into an 08 Rubicon, and while I've always been leery of those non-serviceable Hondamatics, I absolutely love the seamless power transfer and lack of shifting they offer. The 01-04 models were plagued with crappy oil pumps that killed the Hondamatics but the 05-up seem to be pretty reliable.

Honda isn't what it used to be. I see in their ATV's and their vehicles. They're still head and shoulders above most, but the gap has lessened.
 
My fiance's son has a Razr 900 and it's had some issues but he is super hard on it. It's fast but I still wouldn't want it.

My fiance has a 2005 Rancher 4x4 with the automatic transmission that has been bulletproof. Her son wrecked it once, dropped it out of the back of his truck on the highway once and it's had minimal maintenance and it keeps on going.

I have a 2014 Rancher DCT 4x4 that has been problem free so far but it's not got a lot of miles or hours on it.
 
Those 400AT Ranchers have a nasty reputation, at least as far as Hondas go. If you keep stock tires on it and don't do a lot of hard riding in auto mode they hold up, but most people beat on them and put big tires on them and the Hondamatic with that engine doesn't have the oomph to pull them, ends up smoking the clutches.

My neighbor and my uncle both have them. They hold up fine if you don't abuse them.
 
Originally Posted by Jeepwm69
Those 400AT Ranchers have a nasty reputation, at least as far as Hondas go. If you keep stock tires on it and don't do a lot of hard riding in auto mode they hold up, but most people beat on them and put big tires on them and the Hondamatic with that engine doesn't have the oomph to pull them, ends up smoking the clutches.

My neighbor and my uncle both have them. They hold up fine if you don't abuse them.


I don't know, her's has been great and it's ridden in auto mode all of the time. It does still have stock size tires on it but her son has rode the crap out of it. He is hard on it. I'm sure it will die some day but she has had it since 2009 and it still goes.
 
We own quite a few polaris machines and they have been pretty reliable. Never had any issues with belts on any of them. If you operate them in the right gear for what your doing the belts last.

My only issue has been wheel bearings but we ride in a lot of mud and water.
 
Go Japanese or Canadian (Can-Am) if you can! Polaris are okay if you're easy on them, but start running them hard and having too much fun (which is what you're supposed to do with a SxS, nobody buys those things to baby them! Lol) they will have little issues regularly and they're usually expensive issues. Not saying the others don't have problems, but they're less likely to happen as often as a Polaris based on what I've dealt with. And they're all expensive to fix when they break regardless of whose logos are on it.

Used to work at a small engine repair place around the time those things started exploding in popularity. I've worked on them all, and saw more Polaris machines than any other in my time there. Same goes with traditional ATV's and sleds.
 
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