PROFILE
1.Never owned a SxS.
2.64 years old
3. Needed for: riding tight steep mountain trails in Western Maryland, hunting, fishing, light utility work around my cabin, touring the mountain on Sunday afternoons with my bride.
4. I'm a big man 6'5" 300 lbs
5. Dealers near me: Polaris, Honda
6. Don't need speed
7. Like power steering but not mandatory
8. Want winch
9. Not into speed....cautious driver
10. Occasional use at beach house on 4x4 beach in OBX
11. Will purchase trailer for transport.
12. May purchase attachments for food plot work.

Your suggestions would go a long way in helping us decide....Thanks!!!!

 

If your trails are 50" maximum the only side by side out there right now is the Polaris RZR 570 and RZR 800. More sport oriented than utility. Both have good power with the 800 having a bit more top end. Slightly cramped seating in order to keep it to the 50" max rule. My son and a friend's son both drove RZR 570's out on the Paiute Trail in Utah and they did pretty well considering we were riding from 6,000' elevation to just over 10,000' elevation. There are lots of add-ons for the RZR.

Polaris also has the Mid-sized Ranger line that includes the Ranger 400 (455 cc engine), 570, and 800. All of these are 58" wide and comfortable for two adults. These are more of a utility vehicle than the RZR and have lots of attachments, and gear available.

Both the RZR and Ranger lines use a CVT transmission like those found on a snowmobile. Some don't like belt transmissions but used properly, they will probably never fail you. The trouble comes when people try to drive at low speeds with the transmission in high range rather than low. This is what causes most belt failures. Even if a belt failed you they can usually be swapped out on the trail in less than a half hour. Go to: RANGER Side by Side Utility Vehicles: UTVs by Polaris and click on mid-sized for more information. I don't think the full sized Ranger would be what you want for tight mountainous trails. It's pretty wide at 60". That 2" difference between the Mid-sized and Full-sized Rangers could equal a major difference out on the trails getting between trees, rocks, and gates.

Honda now has the Pioneer that uses an automatic car type transmission. It has a 700 cc engine that has mild power compared to the Ranger 800. It's a pretty new model so I don't know a ton about it. The Pioneer is 60" wide.

 

Thanks MooseHendon....your expertise is appreciated. I can usually get my Yukon SUV along most of these trails so maybe they're not considered tight. I'm leaning towards the 60" width in a SxS. Good friend let me use his Polaris Ranger during bear season, last month, and I really enjoyed it...plenty of power to get my big butt up the mountain. Wasn't too impressed with the "foot on the break" coming down the mountain and would liked to have had a slowed down creeping low range gear. Also, without power steering, you really had to work the steering wheel to get turned around.

 

I'm pretty sure that all Polaris utvs don't have engine braking. Are you limited to only honda and Polaris based on your location? If that's the case then you should take a look at the new pioneer, although I'm not sure if it comes with power steering yet. May have to wait for next years model

 

Just looked it up, engine braking is a option on Polaris utvs.

 

Although Butt Ugly, the Honda Big red is still an option. Same for the pioneer. Don't discount the power steering. It really comes in handy, especially if the bride ever has to drive it. Can-Am has a nice machine in the Commander X and it comes with a winch. Lots of options available. You might want to look at the new Yamaha Viking. For a big guy, they have lots of room and are marketed as a work/hunt/sportsman machine. They are probably the widest of the bunch.

 

Finally settled on the Pioneer-4...delivered in February. Love it!!!!!!!.....does everything I ask it to...great to plow snow with and love the way it down shifts and creeps down hill. Only thing I dislike is the foot room and no tilt steering wheel. I'm 6'4" and wear a size 14 shoe.....getting my big feet in can be tricky! Power sterring would be a plus too.

 

Well being a fellow Rubicon owner, something in the back of my mind told me you were leaning that direction. That Tranny and the ability to work and take abuse is a huge plus in my book. Congrats on your new tool. Not much I can offer on the shoe size though. Mine are only 12's and I have the same problem with almost everything too. So far, how do you like it? I have my choice from Honda, Yamaha and Can-Am. I have narrowed my choice to the Can-Am and the Yamaha. I am leaning towards the Yamaha because they are cheaper, but because both of them are wider than 60 inches, there are a lot of trails that you can't take them on. BUT, I feel the Viking would be a better machine for working. I don't know, I can't say for sure. One thing I do know is that the Can-Ams are breaking parts at a much higher rate than the Yamahas. And I attribute that to bigger motors and the way people drive them. I won't have that racer gene coming out in me any more so maybe I can mitigate that somewhat. Still I believe the Yamaha is my choice. I am getting a couple of new Quads at the same time too. I really am sold on that EPS. My older model Rubicon really beats me up due to being in 4x4 all the time. My wife has a newer Grizzly 450 but no EPS. So it would be a great help to her too. I will probably get the Griz 700 with EPS. Oh that IRS suspension sure is comfortable too. My biggest chore is plowing snow and skidding logs. All three would do the job.

 

Congratulations on the new machine. One way or another it's a lot of fun to get out there.