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Kawasaki Teryx 4 vs Yamaha Wolverine X4

29K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  kdt1970  
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATE: This was written before Yamaha redesigned the 2021 models and removed the kidney buster, which gives the X2/X4 an even bigger advantage.

My take on the Teryx vs X2/X4:

Unless you fit in the big-n-tall category or are disabled and entry\exit is #1 priority the X2/X4 is superior:

There are some flaws in the Teryx, some of which you'll only discover by joining one of the various Teryx FB groups as few owners disclose these problems when potential Teryx prospectors inquire about Teryx flaws.

- X2/X4 has 69 HP to Teryx' 57.6 HP (Teryx officially shows 47 ft-lbs of torque. HP numbers are from various sites)

-Kawasaki doesn't sell any replacement frame parts for the Teryx. If you tweak something it has to be totaled out unless you repair it yourself. The roll cages are weak, ripping A arms off the frame isn't uncommon and tweaking the frame is common as well. You can literally build an X2/X4 from ordering all the parts separately.

-Steering racks don't seem to hold up very well. What good is a warranty if you're on your 3rd steering rack?

-Front diff actuator is garbage. Some are bypassing it with a cable actuated lever.

-The rear wet brake isn't up to snuff stock let alone if you add larger tires

-It's a must to run in low gear. It doesn't take many instances of not following this practice to blow a belt. On older Yamaha models you can eventually lower the life of your belt by constantly running in high when you should be in low, but rarely will one or two mistakes cost you a belt. The X2/X4 is ridiculously low geared so you rarely need to be in low but in extreme situations

-The Teryx CVT uses a wet clutch similar to Yamaha, but that's where the similarities end. It's nowhere near as robust with failures often taking out the primary, secondary, or both. In addition, you must remove much of the plastics and the gas tank to service the CVT. Both sheaves must be removed just to change the belt.


-Speaking of gas tank, many have problems with fuel contamination

-Apparently, to clean the Teryx Radiator, you have to take the whole front end apart.

-Despite the Teryx's fully-adjustable shocks, its ride is harsher than the X4 and inferior to the X2

-Teryx has noise, vibration, and cabin heat issues

-X2/X4 has better suspension travel and turning radius

-X2/X4 has a dry sump oil system and forged pistons and connecting rods. Can you say 'turbo ready'?

-X2/X4 has a 14 volt, 598 watt stator output vs the Teryx' 300 watt (as tested)

-X2/X4 has both paper and oiled air filters for maximum engine protection

-X4 has self-leveling rear shocks

-X2/X4 has 2000 lb towing capacity vs Teryx 1300 lbs

-X2/X4 now have a separate transmission divorced from the engine

-X2/X4 has helical-cut gears

-X2/X4 has drive-by-wire throttle

-X2/X4 has LED head and tail lights and the X2 has rear LED back up lights with the X4 already being prewired for them. This is even on base models

-X2/X4 has 10 year belt warranty and 20-year or 100,000-mile engine warranty when you use Yamalube. Kawasaki's 3 year warranty is nice but it's nice to not even need it.

-X2/X4 full belly skid plate design is better than the Teryx and probably superior to any other UTV model I can think of:

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vs

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-Teryx owners boast of its storage capability with the mini

rear bed. That rear bed is exposed to the elements even when you have the sunroof. X4 has just as much storage, it's just that it's split behind and between the rear seats. Look at the Teryx rear seats and there's no storage space between them like on the X4. We put our cooler between the rear seats and can access our food/drinks without having to stop and get out.

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vs



What are the weak links?


Wish they wouldn't have installed the big tire kit or used 18 gram weights instead, but otherwise a good review

TERYX4 LE VS. WOLVERINE X4 SE - UTV Action Magazine
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
I agree. If they would have got the weights right I don't think they would have been saying that the T4 felt more powerful. Either that or they should have ran the oem wheels and clutch weights. Stock vs stock. I don't know if anyone else has had the pleaure of riding their 850 with a T4 but I have a couple times and spanked em all over the mountain.:scool::scool::scool:
I really hope they didn't do acceleration test in low. They're so used to the Teryx having to be in low that they may have done the same with the X4. Low in the X4 is nearly useless unless your pulling stumps and with the big tire kit it's going to move at a crawl.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
I thought this was for 2019+ models?
It is. As far as I know the Teryx still has a 3 year warranty with the KRX only having a 6 month warranty.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
But the 2018's have the same belt as the 2019, correct? The 10 year thing I assumed was to try and gain some new buyers.
Yeah, wish they would retroactively extend the 10 year belt warranty to 2018's. It doesn't matter though as you're not going to find very many X2/X4 owners of any year blowing belts. I haven't heard of one yet.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Massive,
I do enjoy reading your posts about what you see and learn about the X2/X4 and the competition and would like to offer a FRIENDLY debate on your findings with this Yamaha vs. Kawasaki comparison. I have owned 4 side x sides so far, a 2010 Teryx, a 2014 Teryx, a 2016 YXZ, and now a 2019 X2. I know that only owning 2 Kawasaki's is not a large sample size, and I could have been just lucky, but I have to say that both of the Kawi's were excellent machines. I never experienced any of the issues you stated above and I ran the crap out of them. I do believe that alot of the info you have gathered does have some merit, but some of it is very arguable. I do believe the HP of the Teryx is more like 60 and not 47, and the Brute Force motor (base design for Teryx motor) is a very proven design. It also responds to mods VERY well. Todd from Hunter Works would probably agree. He helped me with my 2010 and it was a SCREAMER!! Well,, for a Teryx anyway. As far as belt issues go, if you blow a belt on a Teryx, you must have something wrong with your brain!! I don't remember if the 2014 had the belt alarm, but the 2010 alerted you LONG before any belt damaged occurred via a warning light on the dash. Save my butt a couple of times. I have always been a Kawasaki fan, and I'm trying not to let that cloud what I remember about the two units I had, but I do need to mention that I do not like the way the new style Teryx looks. I loved the 2010 and that one of the reasons I went with the X2. I looks very similar to the 2010 Teryx. I will say at this point that I LOVE the X2 so far.

My riding experience is more on the 2 wheeled side and I have been doing that for over 48 years (yes, I'm old...) and I have seen many innovations and new technology come and go. Some of the examples you list as attributes I respectfully disagree with. In my opinion, fly-by-wire is the absolute worst technology ever applied to performance machines (keep in mind I'm a little old school)! There is no avoiding this tech now and I just hate it. I'm just rambling on now so I will stop.

Like I said above, Love the new Yamaha, but also loved the old Teryx also. Just didn't want you to beat up on the Teryx to bad. It's a great machine also.
By all means!! I'm really big on having correct/giving correct information and apologize for any errors. I've had to correct my post once about the underbelly skids picture, which may have been an older model Teryx. Actually 47 is the Teryx torque output, which is accurate. I mis-labeled it as HP. Yamaha doesn't give X2/X4 torque specs so I used the well-known HP numbers. I was comparing apples to oranges and have updated my post to compare HP to HP. I updated the Teryx HP to reflect 57.6 HP: https://www.atv.com/comparisons/2018-yamaha-wolverine-x4-vs-2018-kawasaki-teryx4-by-the-numbers Thanks for the catch....I'm surprised no one else caught it until now but they could have made the same mistake I did and used the readily-available specs and mixed up torque vs HP.

I have no doubt the Teryx responds to mods very well but let's compare modded Teryx to modded X2/X4 if we're going to do that. Does the Teryx have forged pistons and rods and a dry sump oil system? Weller Racing has already slapped a turbo onto an X2/X4 engine and the jury is still out, but I'm betting the X2/X4 will not have to have any sort of internal engine mods NOR clutching mods to handle the Weller Racing turbo......Forged pistons and rods!! I have to add that to my list!!

All the belt and clutch problems are from NUMEROUS posts over on TeamTeryx FB group. I don't even know of Rhino, Gen 1, nor Viking guys complaining of their sheaves cracking/exploding from contact with water. Definitely not X2/X4's. There are multiple instances of Teryx guys cracking their sheaves (primary or secondary, or BOTH!). This brings up 2 problems: 1) sheaves made too thin and/or inferior castings 2) the CVT isn't cooled sufficiently. I've heard of many smoking or blowing belts simply going in reverse. My neighbor smoked her belt up going in reverse. Sure, you'll have those like yourself with testimonies of never having issues. All you have to do is look at the physics of each machine, the Teryx and the X2/X4 to confirm which is built better as well as the number of complaints each has. Look at the intake and exhaust sizes of the CVT ducting on both the Teryx and the X2/X4. Look at the thickness and size of the primary and secondary sheaves of each. Look at the wet clutch sizes.

Drive-by-wire: The nice thing about it is it can be tuned (of course you're at the mercy of the tuner if you don't do it yourself). While it still uses a cable from the pedal to the throttle module, that cable isn't under the same strain like a conventional throttle cable where it's fighting a throttle body spring AND gas pedal spring to eventually stretch\wear it out.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Another thing about the Teryx is the V-Twin engine. Guess who else has a V-Twin (Rotax)? The Can Am Commander, one model I can say is complete garbage from first-hand experience. While V-Twins may make great power and have other benefits, they are an ergonomic nightmare for exhaust, air intake, and cooling routing, to dealing with the waste of space and heat management. The new KRX has a parallel twin like our X2/X4's which I think is a smart move.
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·