Help please.
I have been lurking here for a few weeks, ever since I learned there was such a thing as a RZR.
I have been trying to decide between the RZR and the Rhino. I am 72 years old and have a Yamaha Raptor and a 94 Suzuki King Quad. I ride in the desert around Yuma, AZ in the winter and around Mt Hood, OR in the summer.

I would like to have something I can haul the grandkids around on that is safer than the King Quad and a lot more power. I really like the Raptor but it's only for one person.

If some of you that have had a Rhino and now have the RZR could give me some of your experience on the machines, the good and bad, it would help me decide.

Thanks in advance

Neil

 

I had an 06 rhino 660 for about a year and sold it and bought a rzr. if you are planning on riding mainly dirt , not sand dunes the rhino is very hard to beat. I hammered my rhino for a year and just changed the oil once and did nothing else to it. it was unbreakable and very stable and would climb or pull anything. the rzr is only a 2 seater and will never be anything but a 2 seater where the rhino comes as a 2 seater but most people buy aftermarket seat kits and convert the rhino 2 a 4 seater. I bought the rzr mainly for the increase in power for very aggresive sand dune riding. the rzr's have quite a few bugs in them and are having quite a few mechanical issues where the rhino will be basically trouble free for you. If I were in your shoes and from what you have told us about your use for this machine , the rhino would be my choice 100%. hope this helps. Gregg

 

Oregonneil, I have a RZR on order now, and have a few worries myself. Mostly because it is so new and we all know that when a manufacture sends out a product early it is going to have a few bugs. My wife and I are 57 and not real small, we both got into the RZR and it was a nice fit, but that is all you would want to have climb in. If you plan on giving more than one grand kid ride at a time, I do not believe the RZR would be a good choice. Another point is this thing has get up and go, I think it is going to take me a while to get use to that myself. I do not know how old your grandkids are but some day it would be fun to let them set on your lap and drive.
We will be in the Yuma area ourselves this winter, mostly over in Salome, Have a fun time with what ever you get.

 

Thanks Gregg and CaptnKidd for the good advice.
Yesterday I actually got to look at and set in a RZR with another guy, who is pretty big, and it fit just fine. I was surprised that it had so much room, we didn't even bump shoulders.
It's sure a good looking machine, but so is the Rhino. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Thanks again.
Neil

 

It is going to come down to what you really want out of it.

Me, I wanted it for the SPORT aspect of it and the fact that I can take a member of my family with me. ALSO, I wanted to buy something that would have enough power that I wouldn't be tempted to screw with it.....reliability reasons. I go to Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Michigan a lot and I have YET to see a Rhino make it up Test Hill. I have watched many try, but none make it. Even some that looks like they sank a bunch of mone in.

I have a 2002 Raptor that is now a 719 Stroker.....so I know waht the 660 engine is capable of, I also know how much money and work it has taken to get it to this point.

There are a lot of Rhino's out there that have $15K to $20K invested in them.. I didn't want to go that route.

As it sits right now, my RZR performs better than all my expectations. Except the ugly rims ( which I am planning on changing ). If you think you are going to need a dump bed , get a Ranger or a Rhino. If you are looking for performance and the ability to tow and need to occasionally haul 300 lbs of whatever on the rear rack that doesn't dump, then buy a RZR.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: oregonneil
"...I would like to have something I can haul the grandkids around on that is safer than the King Quad and a lot more power. I really like the Raptor but it's only for one person....If some of you that have had a Rhino and now have the RZR could give me some of your experience on the machines, the good and bad, it would help me decide....Thanks in advance
Neil..."</end quote></div>

A lot of guys choose the bench-type seat vehicles to haul multiple grandkids around at one time; yet since you've narrowed it to these two and emphasized the power aspect...I'd go with the Rzr.
As GregV mentioned; the proof here is found somewhat in the sand (I rode the same area he mentioned recently) where those ten extra horsepower really make the difference. I then headed for the western Upper Peninsula and road some tight, twisty ORV trails that would have been wheel busters at that same speed with my Rhino. Finally, I ended up on some old railroad grade in the Keweenau area that I had road many times on the Rhino.The sand and that challenging 50" might have made me a believer...yet this washed/whooped out hard pack made me a true convert. You could never simply point the Rhino down this grade and just hang on (for fear of possibly getting thrown off to the side or worse yet swapping ends); yet this is exactly what I was able to do with the Rzr.

Lots of confidence in the handling (it's often very hard to judge the lay of the trail at speed as you come in and out of the shadows); a super smooth ride (for stock suspension) and very few if any 'surprises' in regards to control on a larger or irregular divots.

"Point it and go" while pretty much totally relaxing at speed in this situation is nothing that I have previously ever experienced on an off-road machine....and I like it. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Thanks everyone for your comments, they really helped and I appreciate it.
I decided on the RZR. The grandkids only come to visit 3 or 4 times a summer and the rest of the year I'm playing. Two of the 5 have their own quads and the oldest of those 2 just turned 16 and has discovered girls so his interest has shifted to other things for now.

My summer cabin buts up to the county land and there are many trails to ride and in the winter I ride the desert around Yuma, AZ.

Now it's just suffering the agonizing wait for it to get here, I'm #8 on the list. Maybe Sept if I'm lucky.

I am saving a lot of the good ideas and information I get from reading the posts here and I thank you all for the information you post here.

Neil

 

Congrats, Neil. It's holding up for me so far and would only check the air filter regularly in regards to further advice here.
Have a great time with it and welcome to SxSing.

 

Mine should be here in August, Hope hope. We want to ride it here in Alaska, before we head south. Maybe we will see you in Yuma, Neil
enjoy.

 

Hey CaptnKidd, I hope you get yours and get a chance to do some riding before you leave for AZ. Anybody doing any metal detecting for gold around Salome.

Where are you in AK? I lived up there during the pipeline, working for RCA Alascom. Had a great time and love AK.

If you are riding around Yuma and see an old fart on a red RZR with a metal detector strapped on it someplace, stop and chat.

Neil