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I rode ATVs for years and never considered a UTV until back in 2009.
I started out with an early 90's 350 Yamaha Big Bear and a 2005 Honda Rancher 350. From there I bumped up to a 2005 750 Brute Force, which promptly bit the dust on a trail ride. After that I moved up to a 2006 Yamaha 660 Rhino. Wasn't the biggest fan of the utility part as it wouldn't keep up with our friends atvs so I sold it.
I recently bought a 2013 RZR S LE and a 2003 Suzuki Vinson 500 and we are back riding pretty much every weekend. I find that my wife and I argue over whether or not I am riding the Vinson as I would much rather drive the RZR. Anyone else really love this as a hobby?
I'm 73 and the wife is ......(can't get into trouble here). We basically retired in 1997 and moved into a motorhome for 9 years seeing the country and trying to decide where we would land once the nomad life was over. In 2005 I developed planter fasciitis and heel spurs. When you are on the road you do a lot of walking/hiking to see the sites and this became very painful to do, so we landed in Idaho, sold the motorhome and bought an acre of land a put a manufactured home on it. I thought I would be satisfied with just taking care of the place and the wife was horseback riding with my sister-in-law (her horses). However, I needed something else to occupy my "free time". So in 20014 I brought up the subject of ATV's. Being the understanding wife, she agreed that it sounded like a good idea but she would never want to be the driver. We joined an ATV club in December of 2014 and started asking questions about which type of rig to purchase. It came down to either a 2-up or a side-by-side. She rode on a 2-up and said that she really didn't like it, so that left the side-by-side world. There were only 3 50" wide UTV's on the market....Honda 500, Arctic Cat Wildcat, and Polaris RZR. We eliminated all but the RZR, but damn they are expensive. Luckily a friend of my brother had a 2014 570 RZR LE with only 250 miles on it (he bought a new 900 RZR) and basically sold it to us at what we considered an excellent price. We have been riding ever since March with the club. What is great about riding with the area clubs is that they rate the trails on their difficulty; from easy to difficult. As I gain experience I feel more and more comfortable in my handling of the rig....now up to the intermediate.
So we both really enjoy getting out every chance we get and seeing the country around here. We do not ride alone.
I love my RZR S LE. Around my area, it's normal to find 2012-2014s in similar condition to mine (bone stock, low miles, unmolested) going for over $12k. I actually found mine from a NASA engineer that used it to ride his kids around the field behind his house for $9k. It's the 2013 Orange Madness edition, so very easy to spot.
I immediately added a windshield, a removable soft top, and a stereo so that we could ride and listen to some music. We quickly found out that a small cooler to hold our water in the floorboard was a bad idea so I built a rail system that mounts in the bed using the stock lock n ride holes that a cooler straps into. This keeps it off the bed floor where the hot exhaust doesn't bother it. I also mounted a large ammo can to the rail to keep our tools, dry goods, etc...
We always ride in groups and usually ride for 10-12 hours per trip. This Saturday we are leaving at 9am and riding until midnight when the park closes. We rented a cabin there so we will be back up Sunday morning riding for a few hours before going home.
We do a bit of rock crawling (nothing too extreme) so I opted for the 60" RZR S to help with stability.
The wife and I have an '09 RZR 800. It was bought to basically replace the quad my wife rode/crashed and so far we love it. It has some upgrades, a clutch kit, quieter muffler, better shocks, and wheel spacers. So far it has roughly 3000 miles on it from the two tracks and ORV trails here in Michigan. I still have a sport quad but spend more time in the RZR.
Last year I made the mistake of going for a ride in a '14 900 XP and just haven't looked at mine the same since. I so want to upgrade but it just isn't in the cards for the next year or two.
Yea I was trying to work out a deal with a guy on CL this morning over some doors and he mentioned that he was selling the RZR they came off of. Well my wife saw it and almost decided she wanted to sell the atv and buy a second RZR. She quickly reconsidered when I told her in order to tow to RZRs, it would require a longer trailer and a bigger truck.
Yea I was trying to work out a deal with a guy on CL this morning over some doors and he mentioned that he was selling the RZR they came off of. Well my wife saw it and almost decided she wanted to sell the atv and buy a second RZR. She quickly reconsidered when I told her in order to tow to RZRs, it would require a longer trailer and a bigger truck.
That sounds like a great update to me... just do it !!
Well, her gears are turning.... haha. She has me looking at 3/4 ton diesel trucks now. We pulled the RZR about an hour away for a ride on Saturday and it REALLY struggled. On top of that, I only got 11mpg so "she" decided that "we" need a bigger truck. lol.
OH... and I accidentally buried it in a 4 ft mudhole so she decided that we needed a winch too.
Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
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I have a few friend that have them. I have driven them a few times and understand why they are so popular.
Especially if this is the best way to get you safely into the woods.
I prefer the challenge of 2 wheeled dirt/trail motorcycle. I also had a brain injury back in 2013 and I found the 2 wheeler beats me up way less than an ATV or UTV.
Happy Trails
My wife and I went with ATVs. A matched pair of Kawasaki Brute Force 750-B1 4X4i rigs. One with winch and snow plow, one without.
My Dodge 1500 pulls the 7X14 enclosed trailer with the two of them in it just fine.
I also have a 5X8 trailer for when we want to just take one of them.
She says she won't let me put one in the truck and the other on the little trailer behind the truck, then tow the whole thing with the motorhome. Yes, it is legal here.
Oh, well,...
I am over 70, wife is younger.
We spent several hours at a local off-road area near here the other day. Wife wants to go back!
Well, just picked up my 2008 F250 FX4 last night to tow my RZR and 4 wheeler. A little overkill, but got a really good deal on it. Now we will wait until about January, and find a second RZR.
We have yet another ride this weekend. Sure does consume our weekends, but much better than yard and house work (which we do during the week to give us clear weekends).
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It's the 2013 Orange Madness edition, so very easy to spot.
