Hi all, nice forum.

I need to decide between the Vinson & Eiger, and the auto or the manual. This will be a working machine, hauling, pulling stumps, plowing, etc. I test rode them both this last weekend.

Is the water cooled Vinson more maintaince the the air cooled Eiger? I believe either has enough HP to do the work I want

For pulling/plowing will the auto do it, or should I get the manual? How does the subtransmission work?

I have a small river on my property, the ford is usually 6-12 inches deep, and 40 feet wide, but sometimes gets up to 18-20 inches deep, can I ford this?

Price. This dealer (in Harrisonburg VA) has offered:

2003 Vinson auto: 5,700
2003 Vinson man: 5,600
2003 Eiger auto : 4,800
2003 Eiger man : 4,700

This dealer charges no shipping, prep, etc. just tax. However, the extended warrenty (4 year) is $575, for all models described (that seems a little high)

I'm looking at Warn winches on Ebay: (new in the box with warrenty) 1700 for $150, 2500 for $225.

What about plows, The dealer says they are $600. Any better prices available.

I'm buying this Saturday. I live in Northern Virginia, so I would travel a couple of hours for a good deal (MD or WV is ok).

Thanks for your help

 

I own a Vinson, my buddy owns an Eiger. For the things you will be doing, either one will be fine.
But the day we hit the mud was the day I saw the difference.
He was in front of me in a field, and we started to sink in the mud.
I put it in 4wd and just kept goin, I passed him like he was sittin down, I was doin 40 through the mud(no entirely deep, but deep enough)
I told him later he should have had it in 4wd, thinkin he had in in 2wd, he said he had it in 4wd and had it wide open.
the digital gauges are nice, and no, it's no more maintance, just check the coolant.
I love my vinson, got it for 5200, for an auto.
The warranty doesnt really sound high to me, but I didnt get one, we had a 87 suzuki 300, that has never had a problem to this day.
I think suzuki is as reliable as anythign out there, of course anything you buy will be reliable if you maintain it.
Oh, and 20 inches of water is fine, if you get water in the tranny, there is a drain plug, but I've not had trouble with it yet.

 

Excellent info, thanks! I beleve I'll get the Vinson auto (thats what I was leaning toward) and skip the warranty.

Do you think I can find a 2003 near the price you mentioned?

What about the sub-transmission feature? Is it automatic? how does it work?

Thanks again!

 

You should be able to get an 03' for about what I got it for, since 04's should be comin soon.
You just got to let the dealer know you want it, and you are looking other places too.
I bought mine when there was a $600 dealer insentive that few knew about.

I'm not positive about the sub tranny on the manual, as the auto has high and low, but will do anything you want in those 2, including plowing/pulling.
I belive the manual has a super low 1st gear and 2 low gear selections? I'm not sure you will have to get someone else to answer it for sure.
I would defiantely get the Vinson, you get a lot for your money, not to say you dont with the Eiger, but in the long run, you will always want more power.

The tires suck, anyone will tell you that, I put it in 4wd to go up slick hills that I took my Magnum up in 2wd with ease.
The bumpers suck, the plastic cracks too easy, so new bumpers would be good, cause I bent the back rack when I rolled into a tree going very very slow, and cracked the front bumper cover when I slid into a tree, so i'm looking for bumpers as well.
I think you will love either machine, but the vinson is good in the long run.

 

the manual only has high and low. I just bought one friday. also, do not get the bigfoot kit. the cv joints cannot handle the pressure the tires apply to them. my friend has broken 2 cvs in the past month. he has heard that you can put some kind of toyota cv on it to handle the larger tires.

 

I noticed the lack of bumpers on the Vinson. The Suzuki catalog shows some add on tube metal bumpers. Are they they the way to go?, or is there a 3rd party that offers a better value.

I also read on this forum that the stock tires suck, any recomendations, cost?

Do you have any suggestions in regard to plows and/or carts? I'll need a cart right away, but the plow can wait till winter.

This wont be strictly a work machine, I do plan on having some fun with it. Anything else I should consider in the way of add-ons?

I really appriciate your input, thanks.

 

Willie I have an 02 Vinson auto and use mine for alot of the same stuff you do. I think it's a great machine with tons of power. I have a plow that I've used for snow(which is a blast to use) and I've used it also for pushing some dirt around. It works great. The engine braking feature is great for towing heavy loads. Imho you can't go wrong with a vinson

 

Willie, regarding your water crossing. The auto rear tranny vent is 26" off the ground, with no rider weight on it (I couldn't sit on it and measure [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]) This will be your achille heel when in water/mud. As mentioned, you can drain it if it gets wet, but speaking in long term, water brings with it dirt/grit and that's your cvt's worst enemy. Hard on the sheaves. Of course it is snorkle-able (is that a word?) and that can help a lot.

http://atvnation.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?...2&m=3656088062

The manual will not pose this problem, the airbox would be your only problematic flood point and it takes a lot more water to flood that. I have the auto and love it, though. It has a auto like shifter on the left front fender. The manual also has this shifter for h/l range. Combined with 5 speeds that's 10 gears total. I've been happy with everything on mine except its mud ability, which isn't very good thanks to 1. low ground clearance and 2. limited slip front differential and 3. trail tires. I paid 5750 for mine, an 03, fwiw. Good luck.

 

Excellent! All good info!

I aint fording if it's deeper than 20 inches, this river moves fast! It's usually a foot or less.

I surfed around and saw Moose bumpers for the Vinson, $113.95 here:

http://www.ronnies.com/store/product1790.html

they also show a full skid plate for $140.95

Any idea what Suzuki wants for theirs? I have heard some good things about Moose plows, and if I can move dirt as well as snow I'll be using this ATV a lot!

I'm pretty excited, I'll be picking it up this Saturday.

 

My dealer threw in the suzuki front and rear bumpers (silver tube ones) for 200 extra, which is 30 or 40 less than list, I think. He installed the front, and it is worth having. The rear is on b/o til june 16.