Buying first SxS, opinions?

[Skrilla]

Wife and I are looking at buying our first side x side, I've been doing lots of reading about the different sizes, styles etc. and have it narrowed down to 2. Either the 50" RZR 900 or the 50" Arctic Cat Wildcat trail. I personally don't know anyone with the AC, but the price is sure tempting. The RZR has more power, but with the cost savings upfront the AC can be made just as quick if not better with the EVO stage 3 kit for $1500. Just seeing if anyone has any experience with either of these machines in terms of reliability, overall usability etc.

Cost on both seems to be a 2-4k savings on the AC over the RZR. I have only driven the RZR 800 and quite enjoyed it. Mostly be used for our trips to Moyie lake, and Crowsnest. Both our current machines are Polaris and we have had great luck with them. No experience at all with Arctic Cat.

[spike98]

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Wife and I are looking at buying our first side x side, I've been doing lots of reading about the different sizes, styles etc. and have it narrowed down to 2. Either the 50" RZR 900 or the 50" Arctic Cat Wildcat trail. I personally don't know anyone with the AC, but the price is sure tempting. The RZR has more power, but with the cost savings upfront the AC can be made just as quick if not better with the EVO stage 3 kit for $1500. Just seeing if anyone has any experience with either of these machines in terms of reliability, overall usability etc.

Cost on both seems to be a 2-4k savings on the AC over the RZR. I have only driven the RZR 800 and quite enjoyed it. Mostly be used for our trips to Moyie lake, and Crowsnest. Both our current machines are Polaris and we have had great luck with them. No experience at all with Arctic Cat.

I picked up a 2015 RZR 570 EPS a few years back and here are my thoughts.

- Buy used....seriously. The depreciation is the same or worse than automobiles. There is also a ton of awesome deals out there as people like to buy toys, don't use them, then sell them. You can get mint shape low hour 900 trail with a bunch of mods for $13k.
- Keep some cash on the side for repairs. You WILL break things. Usually they are just small but its still wise to plan for it. For example, this past weekend my buddy blew up a CV and killed a belt. It happens a lot.
- Don't skimp on recovery gear. This stuff can potentially save your life and no body likes that guy that doesn't even have a winch.
- The deals on the Arctic Cats are tempting but I'd stick polaris. In the last couple years of riding, i have never once seen a RZR not make it out of the bush under its own power. I have seen a handful of the Arctic Cats out right left behind because they couldn't be trail fixed.

[mzdspd]

I owned a AC Mud Pro 700 for 3 years and I bought new. I rode with a lot of Can am Commanders, Polaris RZR and Wildcats (not the trail) and honestly, I would buy the Wildcat Trail

You can save a ton of cash and AC products are always the easiest to work on. If you blow a belt in the bush, the trail is really easy to do a belt swap. Sales people will tell you that you will never break a belt but if you do any mud riding in the heat, it is very common to snap or fray belts due to the heat and stress.

The RZR 900 will have more power but the 700 in the trail should be plenty of power. And more power = more issues (like snapping axles) in the mud. Most of my friends ran 1000 Canams and we would all get thru the same mud pits even though I had less power and just the stock lift and stock Zilla tires.

I would buy the Trail, get a high quality warn winch (synthetic lines are nice if you can). Get a plastic roof, half windshield, and bumpers. The stock carisle tires are okay, I have found the Zillas are my favorite tire for a mix of mud and trail riding. If you get into some deep mud, get a snorkel and a rad relocate. Snorkels are very handy, Nothing worse then getting stuck in water and worrying about flooding your quad.

Oh and be prepared to get flamed for buying a AC. Most people ride Canam or Polaris and will give you shit but I think everytime we went out, the canams were always the quads breaking down or overheating.

[Darell_n]

Canam also just released a 50” Maverick, and for cheap. Might want to check that out too. As for any 50” model I’d just buy a quad as the ride quality and ground clearance is terrible on all of them. Every 50” owner I’ve meet regrets buying the small machine as 99% of the trails in Western Canada are 65-72” wide and growing every day so the loss of comfort is not worth it. My Commander is around 68” wide and I have zero issues on trails that are not signed for dirt bike use only.

[Skrilla]

I've debated buying used, just scares me what I have seen my own quads go through. I think If I go used I would just pick up a RZR 800 as they are very cheap nowadays. I did not realize Can-am made one as well.

[spike98]

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Canam also just released a 50” Maverick, and for cheap. Might want to check that out too. As for any 50” model I’d just buy a quad as the ride quality and ground clearance is terrible on all of them. Every 50” owner I’ve meet regrets buying the small machine as 99% of the trails in Western Canada are 65-72” wide and growing every day so the loss of comfort is not worth it. My Commander is around 68” wide and I have zero issues on trails that are not signed for dirt bike use only.

I disagree here, 1000 times over. Even my buddies 50" wide 4 seater has troubles out at maclean and waiparous. The wider trails are rode and subsequently torn up by the 4x4's and suck to ride. The nicers narrower trails give anything over 50" a hard time.

[mzdspd]

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Canam also just released a 50” Maverick, and for cheap. Might want to check that out too. As for any 50” model I’d just buy a quad as the ride quality and ground clearance is terrible on all of them. Every 50” owner I’ve meet regrets buying the small machine as 99% of the trails in Western Canada are 65-72” wide and growing every day so the loss of comfort is not worth it. My Commander is around 68” wide and I have zero issues on trails that are not signed for dirt bike use only.

That is a good point about the width. I would agree as well, I have never ran into an issue with trail widths with our group with the commanders.

I guess AC also has the Wildcat Sport which is 60" wide and has 3 more inches of ground clearance.

What is your main goal with this side by side? Just light trail riding or mud pits?

[Skrilla]

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That is a good point about the width. I would agree as well, I have never ran into an issue with trail widths with our group with the commanders.

I guess AC also has the Wildcat Sport which is 60" wide and has 3 more inches of ground clearance.

What is your main goal with this side by side? Just light trail riding or mud pits?

Just mostly riding trails, little mud here and there. I thought about getting an XMR or Renegade 1k and giving my current rig to my wife to ride, but the price is damn near the same as an AC SxS and RZR

[carson blocks]

I've got a Honda Pioneer 1000-5 I use for hunting and general trail/recreational use. It's 63" wide, so you're not going to take it up the very narrowest quad trails, but at least where I hunt and ride, I've never had to turn back because of width. I like the comfort and the extra room over the cramped 50" class machines, and with one handle, it switches between a 5 seater with a little bed, or a 2-3 seater with a great big bed so you can haul all the people/gear you need to places you'd have a hard time getting on foot. Reliability was my #1 concern, and between reading the forums for Polaris etc and my buddies with Rangers, it definitely had me leaning towards Honda. Power is great and the DCT works good, I much prefer driving it over a CVT. It wasn't a super cheap machine, but I haven't regretted it for a minute.

[mzdspd]

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Just mostly riding trails, little mud here and there. I thought about getting an XMR or Renegade 1k and giving my current rig to my wife to ride, but the price is damn near the same as an AC SxS and RZR

I have 2 friends with renegades and another with a XMR, all 1k. Amazing quads but all 3 of them would break axles and 2 of the 3 blew up the differential. I think they just have way too much power for their set up.

[SKR]

Guys who are breaking parts are using too much throttle. If Can Ams didn't sound so good with the throttle on the bar their owners wouldn't break things.