I have been lurking on RZR forum for about a month; doing lots of research. There is a wealth of info on this forum
I wanted to get everyone’s recommendation on a new purchase, as I am trying to minimize the "I should have bought XYZ instead" if possible.
My location is Utah, in the Salt Lake Valley. In Utah we have 6-10k elevation Uinta mountain trails, lower 4k elevation mountain trails with scrub oak and sagebrush (like the west side of Utah lake and 5-mile pass); high deserts and sand dunes. Not to mention; Moab.
I have never owned an ATV or UTV, but need a new hobby. I thought I would buy a jeep and then have fun tweaking it to ride in the hills; but talked to too many people with reliability/cost issues. Besides; UTV’s seem more fun. I am not sure if my wife will get "into it" but if she does, she will want to drive rather than be a forever passenger
I figure I can go riding on Saturday mornings; even in the winter (if the snow is not deep) at the low elevation sage brush mountains; along with high desert flat BLM roads and trails. I think most trails are Jeep capable but I am not an expert on what we have here.
My daughter got married in Cabo San Lucas a couple of years ago and I rented a Honda Recon ATV one day and then a RZR 800 60 inch the next. On the ATV I was hanging on for dear life following the crazy Mexican ride leader. The next day was much more fun riding the RZR in the same areas (beach, dry river beds) following the same crazy leaders. Both days I had a ball while avoiding helping with the wedding details.
I doubt I will ever ride dunes. It doesn’t look that fun to me as I doubt I will be a jumper.
The other options seem more my style. I am told that 50" is not a huge issue unless you go to some of the bigger touring trails in middle Utah.
I envision going off by myself most of the time; and with my college age son 1/3 of the time until he goes off to school. Probably 80% of the time in the high desert mountains near Salt Lake. 20% of the time will probably be at camping events in the Uintas with nieces, nephews and future grand kids. Giving them calm rides to and fro.
My left brain tells me to buy a Yamaha Wolverine; as it is a cross breed between a utility UTV and a RZR. My left brain also likes the price and the Yamaha reputation for reliability.
My right brain wants a RZR because they are way cool, have tons of accessories; and will be powerful enough, no matter what I decide to do in the future. The 900 is scary fast in the limited test drives I have done; while the 570 is probably plenty nice and is more like the 800 I drove in Mexico. But the 900 series has a much more comfortable cockpit. I have a mixed opinion on the reliability of RZR’s as half the mechanics I have talked are saying not to worry about it (I wont be destroying the vehicle) while the other half steer me away from Polaris (they work on both Polaris and Yamaha). I have also read the known issues on this forum and the Wolverine forum
I am handy and can do simple car work; but not tearing apart engines; welding and the like. I would imagine that I could replace belts on a UTV, and that actually sounds fun…minor tweaking of the vehicle but not a total rebuild.
Here is what I have come up with and I admit to being in a brain freeze as to what I should buy. The prices are the best deal I have found with no taxes, doc fees, accessories etc. to keep things equal
2016 Yamaha 700 eps Wolverine- $12,700
2016 RZR 570 eps trail- $11,800
2016 RZR 900 eps trail- $14,500
2015 RZR s 900 eps with SLP clutch work to get EBS $15,960 (I want EBS)
Obviously, I would like to spend as little as possible.
Any advice would be appreciated, as I am sure there are folks out there that chose one over the other and either loved their choice or did the "I should have bought XYZ." I probably would be happy with a 570 and the price is nice.
But…….for only $XXXXX more you can get……..
