Kubota RTV XG850 Sidekick Experience?

SidecarFlip

Banned

Equipment
M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
7,197
546
83
USA
Kubota missed the boat, they should have made a full cab version with HEat and Air. What were they thinking?
Don't quite follow that. It's an off road vehicle for the most part. Why heat and air. You want that drive the family buggy.:confused:
 

man00

Member
Jul 3, 2013
197
10
18
okla
Think I'm going to hold off on the "pedal upgrade" heard about half the folks were not happy with it..This from my dealer
 

Kubotadad850

New member
May 13, 2020
1
1
3
Cohocton, ny United States
Hi. New member. Just traded my 2017 x900 on a 2019 xg850 new. Scoured posts and watched videos before trading. So I was aware of the gas pedal issue before purchasing but was not at all deterred as I heard there was a pedal upgrade. My dealer hasnÂ’t heard of it. So I get the machine home and first had some fun. But I soon understood what was previously posted about the foot hovering and felt fatigue in my leg. The pedal is poorly positioned and it is too easy to press which contributes to the jumpiness. So I removed it, put it in a vise, straightened it at the bend, repainted it(the bending caused the paint to crack), waited a few minutes, and reinstalled. The pedal was now at a much more natural position. But in my opinion, the spring is too weak and too easy to press, especially when starting out and going over bumps. So I stopped at tractor supply and purchased a 3/4x3-3/4x.105 extension spring. The stock spring is 4 inches but they did not have that in a length that would work. I had to bend the bottom tang in order to install it but it went on with relative ease. So the result. It definitely felt a lot stiffer. But, for me it worked great. I feel I have much more control when taking off because I have to push as opposed to the weight of my foot causing jumpiness. Also, itÂ’s nice being able to rest your foot on the pedal without causing a surge. Im happy with this new setup. But for those who find the stock pedal annoying, there is an inexpensive option thatÂ’s diy. U could even try various springs to customize the pedal to you. Hope this helps someone.
 
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man00

Member
Jul 3, 2013
197
10
18
okla
Hi. New member. Just traded my 2017 x900 on a 2019 xg850 new. Scoured posts and watched videos before trading. So I was aware of the gas pedal issue before purchasing but was not at all deterred as I heard there was a pedal upgrade. My dealer hasnÂ’t heard of it. So I get the machine home and first had some fun. But I soon understood what was previously posted about the foot hovering and felt fatigue in my leg. The pedal is poorly positioned and it is too easy to press which contributes to the jumpiness. So I removed it, put it in a vise, straightened it at the bend, repainted it(the bending caused the paint to crack), waited a few minutes, and reinstalled. The pedal was now at a much more natural position. But in my opinion, the spring is too weak and too easy to press, especially when starting out and going over bumps. So I stopped at tractor supply and purchased a 3/4x3-3/4x.105 extension spring. The stock spring is 4 inches but they did not have that in a length that would work. I had to bend the bottom tang in order to install it but it went on with relative ease. So the result. It definitely felt a lot stiffer. But, for me it worked great. I feel I have much more control when taking off because I have to push as opposed to the weight of my foot causing jumpiness. Also, itÂ’s nice being able to rest your foot on the pedal without causing a surge. Im happy with this new setup. But for those who find the stock pedal annoying, there is an inexpensive option thatÂ’s diy. U could even try various springs to customize the pedal to you. Hope this helps someone.
I went ahead and got the "upgrade" done by my dealer. It helped a little but if you already fixed it to your satisfaction I wouldn't worry about the upgrade. I don't know what parts if any was change by the dealer.
 

Groff5

New member

Equipment
RTV-XG850
May 18, 2020
1
0
0
Germantown H
SidecarFlip;366931 Got the upgraded fuel pedal from Kubota (installed it myself said:
What do I ask for to get the upgraded pedal? The jumpiness of my Sidekick is a real pain. Other than that I love it.
 

Johnc1949

New member

Equipment
RTV-XG850 and BX-23S
Aug 26, 2020
1
0
1
Alabama
I have been working with my dealer on this issue but haven’t gotten very far. They ordered a replacement part, the bracket that holds the gas pedal arm, but it was identical to the original bracket. It was my understanding from reading all the posts on this issue that the fix is a redesigned gas pedal arm that is longer then the factory pedal arm. Is this correct and does anyone know the part number? BTW, I found a dealer in Washington that sold a redesigned pedal arm but they had to stop selling it because Kubota sued them for patent infringement, see attached image. So where is this part Kubota?

tks
 

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rule18

New member

Equipment
None yet
Aug 19, 2020
8
0
1
Orange County, NY
I'm currently in a JD Gator 825i, which I like but the poorly designed primary clutch and it's "stickyness" is killing me, I can't shift without a fight once it heats up. My buddy is a Kubota fan and is trying to get me into a Sidekick. Can anyone with a 2020 XG850 tell me whether or not you have the same issues? I'm hoping that Kubota doesn't spec the same $#!tty primary. Looking forward to some real world reporting, thanks in advance!
 

FTG-05

Active member

Equipment
L4330 w/FEL, RTV-XG850 and ZD326S
Jul 21, 2013
231
84
28
TN
My XG850 just came in yesterday. The throttle issue is, IMO, a safety issue. Kubota has had +3 years to fix this issue and hasn't. There is simply no excuse for the touchiness of the OEM throttle/foot feed.

It's really the only complaint I have about the machine.
 
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Oliver

Active member

Equipment
L2501, JD 3520
Feb 2, 2011
526
120
43
Preston County, WV
My XG850 just came in yesterday. The throttle issue is, IMO, a safety issue. Kubota has had +3 years to fix this issue and hasn't. There is simply no excuse for the touchiness of the OEM throttle/foot feed.

It's really the only complaint I have about the machine.
That's crazy on Kubota's part. But maybe the real fix involves remapping the FI and that might require going through emission certification again? It's not a big deal in most use but to me it was annoying.
 

Thunder75007

New member

Equipment
M62 & XG850
Aug 10, 2021
2
1
3
Oklahoma
I just bought a XG850 and I hate the foot peddle. I have to hold my foot up while driving. I knew I needed a stiffer spring but was not sure what to get. The spring that you used is great! Now I can drive it and not wear out my foot trying to keep it from smashing the peddle to the floor. A BIG Thank You Sir!
 

mikester

Well-known member

Equipment
M59 TLB
Oct 21, 2017
3,121
1,606
113
Canada
www.divergentstuff.ca
I just bought a XG850 and I hate the foot peddle. I have to hold my foot up while driving. I knew I needed a stiffer spring but was not sure what to get. The spring that you used is great! Now I can drive it and not wear out my foot trying to keep it from smashing the peddle to the floor. A BIG Thank You Sir!
Can you post a link to what you used?
 

ItBmine

Well-known member

Equipment
B2620, RTV-X1100C
Jan 21, 2014
1,328
335
83
Canada
Don't quite follow that. It's an off road vehicle for the most part. Why heat and air. You want that drive the family buggy.:confused:
I used to think that too, but seems like nobody in my family wants to take the atv's over the RTV-X1100C any more.
 

crmorse

Member

Equipment
'20 RTV-XG850, '16 L47 TLB, '06 JCB 506CHL, '99 JD 455G, 1953 Ford 8N
Nov 28, 2016
102
0
16
Anniston, AL
I've got 510 miles on mine and my brother bought one at the same with about 700mi on his. Both of us have problems with it stumbling/bogging some times. It's like it's a fuel map issue because it seems worst in high-humidity. Anybody else have this problem?

It's got loads of power (and fast) when ti's running right but there's just certain conditions where it doesn't want to pull. Unfortunately, the driveway up to my build site is one of them and I drive that every day so it's a constant annoyance. It seems to be worst if you've coasted down from a higher speed to about 3400 RPM or so and then try to speed up again. If you let it idle down below ~2700 rpms it will rev like normal.

I've heard there's a service bulletin out for this issue so I called my dealer and got the whole "we've never heard of that" routine but I could bring it in anyway. Unfortunately, they're down a mechanic so it'd be three weeks before they could even look at it. No appointments available either.
 

Plant 175

Active member

Equipment
Kubota Sidekick
Jun 3, 2021
108
55
28
Wisconsin
I haven’t had any issues with mine but I asked the dealer about recalls on gas peddle and he said he never heard of any issues either.
 

JDChase

New member

Equipment
Grand L6040 HSTC, XG 850, B 26 TLB, Z 726 zero turn.
Mar 13, 2022
19
4
3
Greeneville, TN
I’m sorry for your dissatisfaction with your Sidekick. I love my 1120D but I’m on flat ground at sea level. At least with your sidekick you can’t blame the transmission as it is a CVT like the other brands you mention. I think you are on the right track. The engine needs more performance by tweaking the EFI computer I’m guessing. Good luck, hope you get it resolved to your satisfaction


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I just saw a post on here from Canada that said Kubota was replacing many ECUs. It
may be worth looking into, yours may be one that is affected by the campaign.