New to the site and UTV's... Opinions

5461 Views 13 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Ben, May 31, 2015

fiddlersgreen

Discussion Starter · Apr 30, 2015

Hey guys,
Im a proud yamaha snowmobile owner for many years now but am new to the UTV game. I'm going for a new one soon and have narrowed it down to the 3 seaters, viking, arctic cat HDX 700 and polaris 900.
I'm not really fussy on the polaris but like the extra power of the 900. The cat has lots of additional storage besides the dump and the viking is , well, YAMAHA!!!
I have heard many pros and cons about all 3 but the noise issue on the viking concerns me.
Also I'm wondering if the 700 is truly powerful enough for a track set that i may add in the future and if the eps is needed...I'm thinking it is????
When looking for a UTV a winch is a must for me but I would like to have a removable setup that I can move from front to rear receiver. By what I have seen on the accessory site it can be done on the viking but was wondering if anyone has used this configuration and if so how it works?
Another concern for me will be fuel milage. Where I will be using the rig will be miles and miles of woods roads and I expect milage will be an issue. How do the viking compare to the others? I have heard the cat is exceptional on fuel.

Any HONEST opinions and comments will appreciated.

All the best

Robbie

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bluerebel

· #2 · Apr 30, 2015

Welcome!

I don't have any experience with the tracks so I wont even comment on that but as far as the noise level, it can be overwhelming if you don't have the sound dampening kit from Yamaha...If you're buying a new one, they should come pre-fitted with the kit.

As far as the winch, I currently have the one that's mounted on the front so I can't really say how the mobile one works.

Fuel mileage.....I haven't really looked into how many miles/hours I get out of mine but it does seem like I go a while before I have to refuel even after riding through the dunes, mountain trails, and some high speed stuff.

Hope that's of some help.

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BadM0nkey

· #3 · Apr 30, 2015

Since this is one of the Viking forums, pretty much everyone here went through the same process that you did but ended up deciding to get the Yamaha. You need to examine what is most important to you and what you will be doing with the SxS. For me it was the large steel dump bed and Yamaha reliability. I drive it every day at least twice and cannot afford to have it break-down on me. After reading a LOT of reviews and posts on the various forums, it became clear that nothing else would be anywhere near as reliable and be able to navigate the steep, tight terrain on my property.

Why a 3-seater instead of a 2 or 4 seater?

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fiddlersgreen

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 30, 2015

BadM0nkey said:
Since this is one of the Viking forums, pretty much everyone here went through the same process that you did but ended up deciding to get the Yamaha. You need to examine what is most important to you and what you will be doing with the SxS. For me it was the large steel dump bed and Yamaha reliability. I drive it every day at least twice and cannot afford to have it break-down on me. After reading a LOT of reviews and posts on the various forums, it became clear that nothing else would be anywhere near as reliable and be able to navigate the steep, tight terrain on my property.

Why a 3-seater instead of a 2 or 4 seater?

I would rather a 2 seater and get a narrower machine but I need a minimum of 3 seats. I wouldn't consider the 4 seater a due to their size.
I will be using it mostly for trail riding and hunting.

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BadM0nkey

· #5 · Apr 30, 2015

fiddlersgreen said:
I would rather a 2 seater and get a narrower machine but I need a minimum of 3 seats. I wouldn't consider the 4 seater a due to their size.
I will be using it mostly for trail riding and hunting.

If you are really planning to use it for trail riding and hunting and want more than 2 seats, you are doing yourself a big dis-service by not looking at the 4 seat models available from Kawasaki & Can-Am (I would never buy a Polaris or Arctic Cat). You would probably be surprised by how agile they can be in the woods, and for the most part you will probably find that Kawasaki reliability is right up there with Yamaha. If you do relent and look at 2-seaters, the Wolverine is a fantastic choice and would be my first pick. It is a beautiful machine.

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bluerebel

· #6 · Apr 30, 2015

^^^this.

I'm not a fan of Kawasaki but I cant argue with their reliability record either. They make reliable machines as does Honda. I'm about American products but I haven't been impressed with Polaris....especially their "parking" brakes, lol.

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BadM0nkey

· #7 · Apr 30, 2015

bluerebel said:
^^^this.

I'm not a fan of Kawasaki but I cant argue with their reliability record either. They make reliable machines as does Honda. I'm about American products but I haven't been impressed with Polaris....especially their "parking" brakes, lol.

Did you consider that the Polaris was trying to commit suicide?

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fiddlersgreen

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 1, 2015

Was looking at the Kawasaki 4 seater but I still want the utility aspect of the dump box. I know it's hard to get exactly what you want so I think the 3 seaters is what's best for my situation.

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BadM0nkey

· #9 · May 1, 2015

Sounds like you are in the right place then.

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davidmitchelljude

· #10 · May 5, 2015

I had a prowler hdx but like the Viking better hdx has a little more power.but the Viking is a lot more conforable. a lot more leg room I would get the power steering its worth the extra money

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Rockit401

· #11 · May 5, 2015

If you haven't driven them that is what you need to do first.

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fiddlersgreen

Discussion Starter · #12 · May 14, 2015

davidmitchelljude said:
I had a prowler hdx but like the Viking better hdx has a little more power.but the Viking is a lot more conforable. a lot more leg room I would get the power steering its worth the extra money

So the hdx has MORE power them the Viking???
I had a chance to try a hdx and was not overly impressed with the power.
Was hoping the Viking had a bit more get up and go.

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Turkey Hunter

· #13 · May 22, 2015

Fiddler if you look below your posting there is a thread " Viking or XP900" it should give you your answer. Very Helpful.

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Ben

· #14 · May 31, 2015

I bought the viking for comfort. I have a bad back and so I was looking for something that fit my back, that and it allowed me to haul my kids. The polaris is very uncomfortable when you put 3 people in it. It might be fine with 2 kids and you but the viking is comfortable with me my dad and brother in law and werenall over 220#'s each.

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