Has anybody seen one of these rigs yet? I'm wondering how the rear seat collapses down into the back, or if you just remove the whole she-bang. It's got to weigh a bit more than my 1up XP, but it sure looks nice for a rear passenger. Not sure about how it would handle vs. a 1up.

 

I have seen one in person..the seat doesn't collapse...it doesn't even come off,unless you unbolt it. No quick way to remove it. Sorry. And on a side note...the seatback looks kind of wierd in person,big and kind of flimsy feeling IMO. Probably real comfortable though,but I didn't actually sit on it.
Compared to a 1up it would ride real nice I bet,havent ridden the 2 up XP,I'm comparing a 1up XP to a 2up Outlander,so I'll say "generally speaking" the 2ups ride better because of the longer wheel base and handling is good too,a little wider turning radius,but with EPS it should be hardly noticable unless you are just going in a circle to measure the radius. But if you ride with a passenger there is no comparision,the 2up with a passenger is night and day better handing than the 1ups with a passenger. Alot more stable,instead of constantly being aware of the passenger and having to compensate for the weight rear of the axle you can actual forget they are back there if they are quiet for too long.
BTW Anyone know if they have a rear bumper for the XP touring yet? I kind of thought this from the pic but after seeing one in person the feeling is even stronger,the way the exhaust hangs out there on the back, they would have done well to design a bumper and make it stock equipment before releasing the machine to the public IMO...

 

I saw one at my dealer a couple of weeks ago. Looked OK I guess? It's probably got the same ball joint though... LOL... just kidding. To be honest, it kinda looks like they just "threw it together" without a lot of thought... but that's just my opinion.

Anyhow, my son sat on it, and said it felt "weird". He's a big guy though and use to driving a quad, not being a passenger, so I wouldn't put too much into his opinion. You need to look at one, take it for a ride, and come to your own conclusions.

 

I rode on the back of the Max once on the trail,just to see what it was like so I would know how hard I could push through the rough stuff with my wife back there. I was constantly asking her if she was doing ok. It felt weird at first to me also...way too comfortable lol...after riding back there I rarely worry that I am beating her up.

I agree though the XP Touring design does look thrown together for sure...I said that from the first time I saw a pic...they rushed it to maket. It looks like a couple weeks before the 2010 release someone said "oh crap,we need an XP Touring..I totally forgot!"

 

Interesting that you thought it looked throw together. I found youtube video and it looks nicely put together. The seat looks like it folds down in the vid. Will take a look for myself when local has one.

 

You know what....I stand corrected...apparently the seat does come off quickly! I just looked at the Touring owners manual. Hmm...the dealer where I looked at them didn't even know that,we specifically discussed removing the seat and they said it had to be unbolted, so honestly I didn't look real close. Imagine that bum scoop from a dealer...
Too bad they don't have a box or something to fill that space when the seat isn't installed. Maybe they will come out with something later on.

Here is the Touring owner's manual..
http://pi54.com/corp/manuals/Owners/9922090r02.pdf

Do you have a link to the vid? Just curous exaclty how it works..owners manual isn't real clear,looks like maybe you pull a strap and rock the seat forward.



What I mean by them looking thrown together is the back of the machine..it looks unfinished,exhaust is exposed and nothing really covering the back of it except the exposed heat shield. They left the back open where the single seater has a storage box,supposedly to show off the pass seat shock assy?? Who cares about being able to see the shock? Look at it from the back...it makes no sense to me. Also...it looks a little short IMO for a 2up version of the XP..yes they added 3 or 4" to the 1up XP but that isn't enough IMO..looks cramped in a way...the pass seat is very close to the back of the machine. Look at the rear rack,if you want to call it a rack..not much of one there.
The rider postiton is fairly far back on the XP as it is...wheelbase for the 1up is ok for rider postion,rear wheels could stand to be a little farther back,but only adding 3 or 4" to the wheelbase and making a 2up...it just doesn't look right to me. But the proof is in the pudding and I have not ridden it...so I say...it looks thrown together. Maybe someone who has ridden on can chime in..but that still waont change the fact that the exhaust is hanging out from under it and they left a big hole in the back with a big sticker below it pointing out "Looky here we have a passenger seat shock!" What..did they hire a 12 year old to design that part? lol
I'm sure it rides better 2up than the 1up XP..but I just expected something more as a 2up from the guys who designed the XP...

 

I gotta say, I'm not a fan of 2up anything. If you wanna ride, then ride, or go sit on the porch with the pups till you grow up. People did it with the snowmobiles too, and if they continued to ride, they ended up getting two separate sleds. For kids, I view it a little different, but there's no reason they can't ride either. JMO

I agree the XPT looks thrown together also. Not saying it won't perform well, but it just looks like they didn't put much thought into it. That opening in the rear is kinda hideous. I hope they make a bumper to cover that up like HO said.As for the wheelbase, I don't know. Maybe they have some ideas about ride quality being the seat is further back, not sure. I thought someone would have bought one by now, but I really think they aren't as popular as the manufacturers think.....especially with the terrible economy this year.

I bet the lock&ride boxes fit just fine on the rear rack, not sure though. I haven't seen one in person. Only saw a 550X2 and it looked good.

I'm not real excited about the retro colors they used either.

 

Yes,I believe the old style touring 1up lock and ride box will fit the XP Touring "rack" with the pass seat removed. It would be nice if they had something to put in place of the seat to give it a useable rear rack without having to mount the box though. If they had a small section of rack that would take the place of the pass seat that would be cool IMO. There are guys who mainly ride 1up that ride 2up ATVs...simply for the added wheelbase. Granted it isn't better in every riding situation but there are situations where it is...
I bet that if some 1up riders ever tried a good 2up,especially one that looked good and was functional when the seat was removed, they would want to switch,jmo.

Apparently they have a rear bumper for it now...

 

Having ridden both 1-up and my X2 I can say the longer wheelbase is a much nicer ride. Better stability on hills too. Trade off is a slightly larger turning radius and a little less center break over angle. Did I say that right? The Touring seat is removable. The new XP Touring added the shock absorber because reviewers were saying the older Touring had a less comfortable ride than the comparable CanAms or Arctic Cats.

 

I think you said it well....I think alot of people get confused and apply that theory to every obstacle crossing scenario...a longer wheelbase doesn't consitiute less ground clearance,and in many obstacle crossings that are high enough to high center a machine I actually finr the longer wheelbase to be a benefit..it will keep weight on the wheels longer without teetering. Only when terrain is at a sharp enough angle will the longer wheelbase come into play...ie abrupt hill crests,where the hill is steep and the sharply levels off to flat terrain. Or a steep mound...ect
One other "weakness" of a longer wheel base is in rutted up mud deep enough for the frame to come in contact with the mud...more belly surface area equals more drag...

BTW comparing a 2up with powersteering to a 1up XP without on tight trails the turning radius issue is non-existent. The 2up EPS will go every where the 1up non-EPS will go without backing up...the fact that you can get the bars to the locks so much quicker eliminates the turning radius disadvantage..
Granted a 1up EPS would do it even easier,but if my 2up with PS can go anywhere the 1up XP did,and sometimes it makes turns more easily, that is good enough for me! The added wheelbase is awesome ride on terrain with any type of hills IMO.