Here is my 2 year – 4000 mile reflection of my RZR riding experience.
THIS THING IS STILL A BLAST! Every ride is as much fun as the first time! I am addicted. I just can’t get enough seat time. I love it! It has been good therapy away from work for me to go bashing around the woods.
I drive aggressively and way too fast on quick, narrow, twisty, rocky, sandy and hard pack woodsy trails in Northern WI. Most of my rides are roughly 75-100 miles long, day, night, rain or shine. I ride mostly by myself or with my wife, so I have tried to build my machine solid to get me home without issues. I feel like it is just broken in now and ready for years of fun.
The RZR Forum is a Fantastic place to connect with & share experiences with other off-road fanatics. I visit here daily to read about other experiences & to absorb information and ideas.
The items I have added since my 3000 mile review are;
New Transmission – My transmission broke at 3600 miles. After investigating, they said that a bolt that was not fully tightened from the factory, had let loose and popped a hole in the case. My dealer came through for me and got Polaris to put in a new transmission. Total repair bill $2800. $0 cost to me. My extended warranty paid off big time!
Shocks – I added a set of Bandit Series 46 Adjustable Rear Shocks. Wow, all the reviews don’t lie. BIG difference in ride and handling! In hindsight, I should have just gotten my R/T – 2” lift and not bothered with the R/T springs for the stock shocks. I should have saved my money and just gone Bandit from the start.
Seats – I found a pair of used Triple X Suspension seats. Yup, another add on that should have been done sooner. Adding just the shocks and the seats made the ride and handling 100% better. My wife was against me spending the extra funds, but even she reluctantly agreed how much better the ride was now and thanked me because her back feels much better after the rides.
Things I’ve Learned – RZR’n is not cheap, but for me it is worth the cost for this amount of fun. I still do all the normal maintenance, greasing, replacing fluids & filters as required. I broke my rear stock shock a while ago. The little spring adjustment tab broke off and then the shock collapsed on a ride. I also broke a weld on my rear A-Arm, then found one on Ebay and replaced it. Never had any bearing, belt, electrical or plug problems. Over 3600 miles on my Pitbull Rockers & they are maybe ½ worn. My exhaust header pipe cracked and broke. I believe it was because the header wrap on the pipe never got dried it out after it got wet from washing, etc., and then just rusted the thin pipe out. That hand wiper was a waste of money. If you have a full windshield and ride in the rain, an electric wiper is the only way to go. A heater w/defroster helps keep the windshield from fogging up on those chilly WI nights. You will have to deal with the dust issue, you will never eliminate it. After sealing under the seats & everywhere that can be, the thing that made the most difference was adding a rubber seal around my doors and adding a roof vent. I can move the vent and “ram” air into the cab, keeping it cooler and knocking the dust down. The only time I have taken it back to the dealer was for that transmission issue; otherwise I have done all the work myself; learn about the machine, so you will have an idea how to fix it when on the trail.
Most Memorable Ride – I got to experience MOAB a few months ago. What an experience! I was working out that way last April and had an opportunity to go to MOAB, the off road capital of the world. Once I got there, I rented a 900S for the day, as mine was getting fitted for the new transmission. What an experience! I got to experience rock climbing on slip rock. Climbing up & down places I never would have thought possible. Riding on Finn’s trail and Hell’s Revenge twice were definitely memorable adventures. I want to go back. While the 900S was nice, I still like my 570LE better and can’t wait to take it out West!
