Side by Sides

[Iam2alan]

My wife and I are considering purchasing a side by side to bring along behind our Greyhawk 31FK. Can anyone point me in the right direction to do the necessary research, reviews and to better understand what I am getting into with a vehicle like this? We are looking to use them on backcountry, forest service roads. We are not planning on doing any rock crawling to very little to no sanddune driving.
Any information would be appreciated. Hopefully this is the proper location for this post.
Thank you in advance.

[Stingray75]

So many out there to choose from. Dirt Trax Television has a number of videos on YouTube that may help you sort out all the features. For us, it’s a Polaris RZR 900 Trail. We do mostly trail riding and plan to visit some of the National forest areas in Utah where some of the trails are restricted to machines no wider than 50”.

[Sundancer330]

You may want to do a Google search for UTV Forum sites, there are many to look at with lots of info. Not sure you will get much input from this site, dont see much talk about UTVs here but someone may chime in.

[Iam2alan]

Thanks Sundancer and Stingray. I wasn't sure if there was much discussion on the UTV's here. I thought it worth a try since it has always provided me with so much information. Tghans to both of you, I will take a look athte sites you referenced and google for other forums.
Thank you again.

[farnik78]

We love our Kawasaki mule. It’s not as sporty as a rzr but serves our needs great. We have been over many miles of national forest back roads in Colorado and New Mexico. Plus Kawasaki has a 3 year warranty which is 6x longer than Polaris. Mine just expired and I never had to use it because Kawasaki builds a quality product.

[Iam2alan]

Thank you Farnik78, I appreciate the info. I wondered about the "mule" type v the "rzr" types.

[farnik78]

Kawasaki makes a Teryx which is more like a rzr. I like the mule because it has more room and can haul more.

[Rustynuts]

Used to always have Polaris RZRs but made the switch to Canam and couldn’t be happier. On my last polaris I got tired of receiving so not rude notices in the mail because of fires and recalls.

[Iam2alan]

I saw that when I looked last evening. All of them look great and are similar in specs. We would be looking at a 4 seater to be able to take the grandkids along! Thanks again for your help.

[Iam2alan]

Good to know about the rzrs, they seem to have the best marketing program tends to make one overlook all the potential pitfalls. I have seen the Can-ams and will take a look, thank you.

[scuba0331]

Check out the Honda Pioneer 1000-5. Awesome machine!

[Bobx2]

We stuck with Polaris but went with the General instead of the RZR. It is much roomier than the RZR but with the same wheel base. We love our's, and so do our kids. You can get it in a two or four seat model.

[Iam2alan]

Thanks Bobx2, I appreciate the advice. I will take a look.

[Loboclone]

we have had various UTVs, for my money we bought an Oreion Reeper. Street Legal in 49 states! Licensed just like a car and you can rock crawl or just tool around.
We have had ours for over 3 years and love it, take it Grocery shopping or just do backcountry.

[JJaxon]

Originally Posted by Sundancer330

You may want to do a Google search for UTV Forum sites, there are many to look at with lots of info. Not sure you will get much input from this site, dont see much talk about UTVs here but someone may chime in.

Take a stroll around side by side nation at https://www.sxsnation.com/forum/
A lot of great people and good info there, just like this forum for rvs.

[WinnieView]

We owned a Polaris Ranger for several years but didn't use it enough so we eventually sold it. We towed it behind the RV everywhere we went on a small trailer.

We made ours street legal and in AZ it was licensed as a motorcycle, but we never used it on paved roads. We did that as many Federal and State campgrounds required it before it was allowed off the trailer.

[Rusty Nuts]

My son is an avid side by side driver and has driven several different makes and he prefers the Artic Cat for overall performance although he also likes the Polaris too. Like a previous posting mentioned, you need to consider the width of the machine if you plan to take narrow trails. Some of the long travel machines are great for the desert, but that limits your ability to take some of the best trails in the mountains.

[Iam2alan]

Thank you Rusty, I had not been aware of the width issue until getting all the feedback from all of you. I would be doing much more riding in the mountains than on dunes or beaches. I appreciate your information.

[Iam2alan]

Thanks Loboclone, I appreciate your information. I actually saw on of these units this past weekend. At first I thought it was a Jeep! I will search for some info and dealers in my area.

[fuimus]

we have a Honda Pioneer 500. Perfect for my wife and I. Some of our trails in PA have size restrictions. and in NY if its over a 1000lb they wont give you a registration. the P500 is 900lb. https://hondasxs.com/categories/hond...-500-forum.86/