Again, the OP stated he wanted a side by side "for the hills". To me that means he doesn't want one for working around the farm/ranch but for trail rides in the mountains. I've yet to see a Kubota out in the hills around here. Mainly Polaris RZRs, Can-am Mavericks, Kawasaki Teryx models and others with huge suspension travel (20+ inches on some models) and the ability to traverse rugged terrain at speed.
Side by Side
- Thread starter TxTom
- Start date
Here you go:
My Kubota RTV-XG850 at the local river:
Upriver:
Opposite direction. See that white dot upper center? That's my farm - on top of the hill.
View from the opposite direction; the bridge is barely visible above and to the left of the red barn on the right; about 2.5 miles away.
Old vs. New. RTV-XG850 vs. my old 2006 RTV-900. Like night and day. Going up my hills with the -900 was like trying to get a lazy teenager to wake up and do work; you had to beg, bribe, pray and hope it made it to the top of the hill.
The gas powered XG850? It not only goes up the hill, it does it with enthusiasm - Enthusiasm.
I have the Honda 1000 EPS and feel it is a huge improvement to the 3010 Mule it replaced. We bought it for use on the farm. It has the cab without full size doors. A heater might be a nice addition. My property has some rough and very steep hills. The Honda has always performed well.
Good stuff. i love my Honda ATV's. When they make a full cab SXS with Heater and A/C I'm first in line.
I have a 2014 Ranger 900xp I bought new.
I think it was under $11,000. back then. Now I see polaris has a new XD ranger , extrem duty that starts at $30,000.
Really. For an atv/sxs. I guess I'll never replace mine. I've had very good luck with it. Lots of add on's or accessories. But comfortable to drive and ride. One day year Mount Washington allows atv's to drive to the summit.
We did that a few yrs ago.
I think it was under $11,000. back then. Now I see polaris has a new XD ranger , extrem duty that starts at $30,000.
Really. For an atv/sxs. I guess I'll never replace mine. I've had very good luck with it. Lots of add on's or accessories. But comfortable to drive and ride. One day year Mount Washington allows atv's to drive to the summit.
We did that a few yrs ago.
Attachments
for hilly terrain you don't want an automotive transmission. CVT only. Here is why. Hilly terrain usually means you're slowing and stopping and then taking off again, many times over. With the Honda system which is dual clutch on the talons, you are going to find yourself in the wrong gear at some point. If you're gonna pull anything or run hills at low speeds, you'll be slipping the clutch. Slipping the clutch will wear it out (I've put a couple in-no fun). Pioneer 1000 is the same design. Secondly, as soon as you get it moving, it wants to shift to another gear. Starts making power, reducing slippage, then WHAM, you get thrown into another gear. Now the unit starts to slow down becuase it doesn't have the torque to pull the hill with the low amount of throttle given, so you either have to throttle up, which means more noise and more speed, or you have to let it downshift. Upshift, downshift, upshift, downshift-on hills and trails, they can't make up their mind which gear they want to be in. On a parking lot (like at the dealer) the DCT is pretty cool, but as soon as you put some time on them in the hills and trails, they become a pain in the neck.
CVT, the belt drive, you STAY in the power curve. They've come a long way. But still, you need to know a few things. Low speeds (under 20mph) starting and stopping frequently, pulling anything, you need to be in low gear. It's just another gear, ain't like a truck where they say "don't drive in low". Polaris actually suggests that low is the standard gear for all speeds under 20mph. If you re gonna run 25+, for any period of time, high gear. If you learn to use low like you should, the belt will outlast the rest of the unit.
I sold and still sell/service yamaha, kawasaki, kubota, polaris, and bad boy (and for a while, intimidator). Polaris outsells yamaha, kawasaki, kubota and intimidator combined by about 2:1 in this area. Yamaha makes a good unit. Kawasaki makes a good unit. Kubota makes good'uns and intimidator is just so-so. Kubota is all work (except the 850). The 850 sidekick suffered from horrible throttle control, quite dangerous to operate. Yamaha, suffered from idle vibration on the 700's and lack of power-but the 850, 1000 are pretty smooth running just noisy. Kawaski's offerings are everything from a low end cheap single cylinder Mule SX to the Pro FX/T 1000. With the exception of the pro 1000, they're all slow and get old quickly. The sx, and 4010 are governed to 25mph. Pro MX will run 40-ish, noisily (it's a rebadged Kymco 700). The 820 and 1000 are way more powerful and way smoother running but heat in the cabin area on the 820's has been an issue. I haven't been on the 1000's very much but so far they're more impressive.
In that price range you are gonna be looking at a ranger 570 or maybe a ranger 1000 (non xp). I'd just as soon skip the 570 and go right to a 1000. I am working at a polaris dealer and the ranger 1000 non xp is the one I rarely see in the shop for issues. Plenty of 570's, they're just noisy. Engine is noisy, the suspension is a little noisy, etc. 1000 is way quieter and ain't much more money; you get so much more though. I'd own one to be honest. But I bought a general, so I'm stuck with that for a while. We love it. CVT is a game changer in comparison to a automatic automotive style transmission. The CVT does what you want it to do instead of having to paddle/manual tell it to shift and fight with it.
CVT, the belt drive, you STAY in the power curve. They've come a long way. But still, you need to know a few things. Low speeds (under 20mph) starting and stopping frequently, pulling anything, you need to be in low gear. It's just another gear, ain't like a truck where they say "don't drive in low". Polaris actually suggests that low is the standard gear for all speeds under 20mph. If you re gonna run 25+, for any period of time, high gear. If you learn to use low like you should, the belt will outlast the rest of the unit.
I sold and still sell/service yamaha, kawasaki, kubota, polaris, and bad boy (and for a while, intimidator). Polaris outsells yamaha, kawasaki, kubota and intimidator combined by about 2:1 in this area. Yamaha makes a good unit. Kawasaki makes a good unit. Kubota makes good'uns and intimidator is just so-so. Kubota is all work (except the 850). The 850 sidekick suffered from horrible throttle control, quite dangerous to operate. Yamaha, suffered from idle vibration on the 700's and lack of power-but the 850, 1000 are pretty smooth running just noisy. Kawaski's offerings are everything from a low end cheap single cylinder Mule SX to the Pro FX/T 1000. With the exception of the pro 1000, they're all slow and get old quickly. The sx, and 4010 are governed to 25mph. Pro MX will run 40-ish, noisily (it's a rebadged Kymco 700). The 820 and 1000 are way more powerful and way smoother running but heat in the cabin area on the 820's has been an issue. I haven't been on the 1000's very much but so far they're more impressive.
In that price range you are gonna be looking at a ranger 570 or maybe a ranger 1000 (non xp). I'd just as soon skip the 570 and go right to a 1000. I am working at a polaris dealer and the ranger 1000 non xp is the one I rarely see in the shop for issues. Plenty of 570's, they're just noisy. Engine is noisy, the suspension is a little noisy, etc. 1000 is way quieter and ain't much more money; you get so much more though. I'd own one to be honest. But I bought a general, so I'm stuck with that for a while. We love it. CVT is a game changer in comparison to a automatic automotive style transmission. The CVT does what you want it to do instead of having to paddle/manual tell it to shift and fight with it.
Thanks for this comprehensive reply. Glad to hear from someone with such varied experience with so many brands.
I enjoy reading your posts and seeing your pictures - beautiful place you have.Here you go:
My Kubota RTV-XG850 at the local river:
Upriver:
Opposite direction. See that white dot upper center? That's my farm - on top of the hill.
View from the opposite direction; the bridge is barely visible above and to the left of the red barn on the right; about 2.5 miles away.
Old vs. New. RTV-XG850 vs. my old 2006 RTV-900. Like night and day. Going up my hills with the -900 was like trying to get a lazy teenager to wake up and do work; you had to beg, bribe, pray and hope it made it to the top of the hill.
The gas powered XG850? It not only goes up the hill, it does it with enthusiasm - Enthusiasm.