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I can't decide what i should by a wolverine/900s/teryx?

29K views 37 replies 19 participants last post by  CRSPEC 
#1 ·
I'm at a lost, I will mostly do trails in the woods/mountain areas so lots of rocks and tree logs/stumps, i live in the yukon, its beside alaska for you usa guys. I love the look of the rzr the most, I like the teryx but man is it ever loud. The wolverine is probably the most comfy to sit in, but i really hate the low doors and the whole power issue with the wolverine. It has what 50hp? I will use it once a year for a moose hunt. Rest of the time just going exploring.

Also, how rugged are the rock sliders and skid plates on the wolverine or are they just a gimmick and will bend very easy?
 
#2 · (Edited)
No power issue unless you want to go 80 in the dunes. For trail riding "0-50" will do the same as anything but in great comfort with superb suspension. It's better than my buddies new 900s even though his has 2 inch more travel. He's bouncing all over the place and I'm stuck to the trail. When you want to ride all day, I'd pick the wolverine. The low doors is an asset in trail riding. You really want to see if you will clip that tree or not. It's as easy as just popping your head out and look. No need to stretch, unbuckle seatbelt to see over a high door.

Umm, the skid plate is steel, built in and tough. Not sure about the aftermarket aluminum sliders. Aluminum is usually a no no in rock crawling since it grabs the rocks. Plastic/steel is much better for sliding.


Keep doing some research and you'll come to the same conclusion most of us here have.
 
#3 · (Edited)
There is some is one set of dunes out here but its about a 2 hour drive from where i live so i'll mostly stick to the trail stuff. So the wolverine is more capable then the rzr? And with the doors i'm buying a sxs so me and my son can go out together he is 3, so the extra security is for him.

Edit. I thought the wolverine came with rock sliders factory?
 
#4 · (Edited)
I ride in alaska, and for comfort and terrain ability, I preference the Wolvie over the RZR's. Two reasons, the first and foremost is comfort. The Yammy is superbly soft on the rocky, and root covered trails. I have ridden in RZR's new and old. And the really jostle you around. Just this last weekend, my buddy in his rzr was done riding, because he was simply wore out. The second, is the low end torque. It is much more manageable power to the ground than the v-twin. That one big piston pumping, is great for the trails I ride, and adds to the enjoyment and ease of operation. The twin is high revving and spins tires a lot, in turn losing traction. I find myself crawling over obstacles that the rzr is working hard to clear. Yes the rzr has more power, but in my opinion does not lay it to the ground properly in terrain that you and I find ourselves in. Rzr is a great machine, if you want to rip and tear for a few hours. wolverine is good for a whole weekend excursion. Now the downside of the Wolvie, I am assuming that you ride in high mountain terrain, and low boggy valleys. My biggest issue was clearance. It was easy to overcome, but maybe not cheap... I went from the undersized 25" stock tires, to 28" Terminaters. To get to the stock cleArence of the rzr. I beat the heck out of the skid plate for the first three hundred miles (stock). Only tapped it once on my last 80 mile ride(Terms). The plate is holding up well, it is rolled a little bit between the supports. From the tundra humps, but I expected that. All in all I think they are all good machines. Final thought is this, if you don't buy the Yammy, your going to re beer this post as your buddy is towing you out in his time tested and proven reliable Rhino.... ;) My 2 cents
 
#5 ·
think about reliability... so that eliminates polaris...lol.. i don't think there's much difference in power between the wolverine or teryx.. the DOHC in the yamaha is pretty quiet..V-twin is nice in the kawasaki but power steering and comfy ride from those KYB shocks make it a no brainer.. also doesn't help that u asked on a wolverine forum.. ;) remember what you're gonna use it for.. i'm on the east coast, nothing but woods and rocks and my wolverine eats it up!
 
#6 · (Edited)
If i rode as remote as you will rzr would not be considered. My sons new 900 is back at the dealer with voltage regulator issues and wont charge. Seems rzr's are burning themselves up these days. Google images rzr fires and you will see what i mean. You could make a nice fire to keep the bears away for awhile anyway. The Kawasaki's are great machines, ask anybody that has one, however the wolverines are better. The teryx has more hp but more weight that evens that out. Wolverine has the best engine breaking of the two. Wolverine has the best transmission and diff lock of anything made. You sit in a wolverine and on a teryx. The wolverine gel seats are like the grizzly seats, super comfy and very supportive. Again the best of the 2. My skid plate has bumped a few times on rocks and i feel sure is worth its weight in steel anyway. The built in rock sliders on the sides saved me the first time my friend drove it at a utv park. She clipped a tree at 10 mph that just bumped us off. The wolverine has no cab heat and exhaust is not very loud. The last and most important thing, if the wolvie wasn't already the best machine the suspension alone would make it worth buying. It makes riding so much more fun as it just eats up the bumps. It continues to amaze me every time i drive it just how good the suspension really is. Don't regret your UTV purchase, buy Yamaha Wolverine.
 
#8 ·
personally I wish the wolverine had higher doors with all the brush in my area,i put up a cargo net on passenger side so my dog doesn't get smacked in the head.as far as noise the wolverine is good until about 30mph then has a high pitched whine . another issue is the amount of mud that gets into cab with the tires sticking out past the body,the rear box doesn't tip so harder to work on,other than that it handles and rides great with awsome 4/4 and great hold back on hills.
 
#10 ·
Seeing as my parents have a Teryx, 2 of my good friends I ride with have a Teryx, and a whole group of guys I ride with have RZR's in every size and color I can give you an idea to the best of my knowledge of a comparison with my Wolverine. I ride mostly trails, fire roads, and use my machine for work and hunting when it calls for it. I needed something with a bed and it needed to be reliable but at the same time not be to big so it wouldn't fit down my trails, so that ruled out a RZR/Ranger for me, but while riding with my friends with RZR's they are definitely off road capable machines and a blast to ride, but there hasn't been anything my Wolverine can't do that they can, unless you count insane climbs or insane top speeds. That said they are broke down a lot. The Teryx's are very capable and very nice machines, after riding both the Teryx and Wolverine I went with the Wolverine because its suspension and the cab fit me better. But between them 2 it was very close to which one I wanted to buy.
 
#14 ·
Don't do it, had one. Now I own a wolverine. Go over on the commander forums and check out all the problems they have, you can bet you'll have some of those problems too. Not to mention the lousy 4wd, cheap plastic skid plates, lousy clutch, lousy suspension, leaky radiator hoses, excessive heat in the cab, extremely loud rear diff, you get all that good stuff with a higher price tag to go with it.
 
#16 ·
I have had the r spec for only 3 weeks .. if that.. and have already embarrassed a maverick 1000 and a rzr 1000. Sure they lose me on the roads but once we hit trails. Rocks, roots, off camber anything that pushes you to 3 wheel I walk all over them. The 4 wheel drive kills the 3 wheel all wheel drive all I know is he those guys shut up pretty fast while wincing to get where the wolverine drove to ... but again they kill me on the roads
 
#17 ·
I think its a great thing that we are moving in a direction that we have this many machines to choose from: wolverine, teryx, rzr, commander, etc. I, like everyone else, have my opinion and I will share it in hopes to help you make the most informed decision possible. As for the moose hunt alone, I would say the commander or teryx may be the better option due to the amount of storage integrated into the machines. From there I would recommend the teryx based strictly on reliability. I have heard horror stories about the can am's "technology" leaving people stranded...most notably the speed key. As for the exploring the Yukon, whuch you mentioned to be the majority of the riding you do, we can throw the other options in. The rzr and wolverine both offer awesome suspensions and for me, the comfort of the wolverine takes the cake here. Since you are using the machine on your moose hunt, unless you need to run the moose down the rzr is going to be very out of positiondue to its lack of space for your gear. The wolverine or teryx would be, in my opinion, best suited for your needs. I recommend the yamaha from that point based on ride quality and comfort. Hope we have helped!
 
#19 ·
I can vouch for what was said by fordtruckman about the amount of miles you can put on a wolverine in a day and not be wore out at all. And that is a big deal when you are riding in demanding terrain. I was riding in the Ozark mountains last week in some just rocky, hilly mess and if I had been on my old rancher I woulda been wore slap out. We put about 130 miles on in two days which is a lot for me but I was not at all wore out from driving the thing. Its effortless to drive. The teryx woulda been harder to drive it is bigger it would be like driving a tank compared to the wolverine. Go test drive one against the other and you will be able to see what I mean. I aint gonna comment on the Polaris much I just don't like them for obvious reasons.
 
#20 ·
Pretty much mu only hesitation on the wolverine is the welded on skid plates. How are you suppose to access the underside for cleaning the mud/dirt that gets crammed up those cooling holes and for maintenance? I'm sure I'll eventually push this skids in then what?
 
#21 ·
You can wash and access everything you need from the top of the machine. There are pre drilled holes for drain plugs in the skids for your maintenance . I dont know what you would do if you push a skid to the point where you would have to replace it. If thats an issue then buy the Aluminum skids from Yamaha to help brace it up.
 
#22 ·
For cleaning inside on top of the skid plate, the side panels come off with 2- 10mm bolts and 6 push-pins. If I haven't sunk it in mud, I usually just remove the console and spray it out that way. Not that bad actually.

There is additional factory skid plates you can add if you will be doing a lot of rock crawling. I've been through some gnarly stuff and my plate is a little scratched. No dents at all. For replacement.. that would probably be a fab shop job to re-weld new pieces on.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I'm guessing because bolts get bent/broken the plates hang. Threaded bolt holes get striped and then you have more problems. Bolts are subject to mud and water, sometimes making it near impossible to get them loose.

Also I'm guess from an engineering standpoint welding the plates makes them part of the chassis and therefore a lot more structurally rigid.

If you have actually pulled a couple of the side panels its not that hard to work on anything.
 
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