Nice write up!
I have a black Wildcat, love it! They actually have a few issues with them.
1. The stock clutch setup is a wet clutch on the crank, with a dry CVT clutch primary and secondary, just like the Rhinos had. There are 2 drawbacks to this: the stock wet clutch can't take a lot more power (like a turbo) without seriously beefing it up. They can mod the wet clutch to lock up with brass slugs in it so it engages fully and will not slip. The other drawback is it adds 15 lbs of rotating mass on hte end of the crank, which severely limits how fast the engine can rev. 15 lbs of rotating mass is a big deal on a big block engine, imagine how much it slows a 951 cc engine!
Another option is a wet clutch delete kit. I think they're very close to a bulletproof design, which will take off about 8 lbs of that mass and directly connect the crank to the CVT.
2. The primary CVT clutch does not downshift properly under load. The engine torque peak is at 6800 rpm, but the CVT clutch doesn't let the engine get there unless doing a long flat stretch. On a steep hill, the engine lugs down, drops way out of the powerband and appears to give up. The problem lies in the clutch, which has no helix, springs and weights, so it can't be retuned. It can be replaced with a CVTech clutch and that problem can be solved.
3. The stock tires have extremely soft sidewalls and very prone to pinching against the rim. The fact that you didn't flatten all 4 tires is a testament to your ability to not hit anything! Most owners ripped a gash in 1 or 2 tires the first trip! I ripped 2 gashes in one of my rear tires (even though I pumped them up to 25 psi) on easy trails at Corral Canyon. I'm only using them in the sand in Glamis for now, until I get some good paddles.
4. There are some QC problems, like they rushed to build them. Mine had a lot of loose hose clamps, like all but 2 of them. This resulted in a minor oil leak at the cooler up front, and a little bigger oil leak at the engine. Lots of others have reported missing or pinched valve cover gaskets, pinched oil lines at the cooler and loose or missing bolts all over. A couple of people have reported blowing CV joints, and one or 2 have had electrical connectors that weren't plugged in. My glove box door wouldn't stay shut, which is also a common problem. I ended up installing magnetic latches on it, looks stock.
5. A few people have blown belts, mine blew at 109 mi, but it was my fault. I installed Sedona Ripsaw tires on ITP beadlocks, which is 55 lb per tire/wheel on the rear. We went duning in Glamis with 2 people in it, and tried to go up a really steep hill about 5 or 6 times. We finally made it up but by then, the belt was overheated and failed in the next dune over. The good news is it only takes a T30 Torx bit, phillips screwdriver and about 30 minutes to change the belt the first time. After that, it's going to be a 15 minute job, but now that I switched tires back I should get a lot longer life out of the belt (hopefully 2,000 mi +).
6. The Wildcat was advertised in early videos as having twin throttle bodies and 95 hp. For some reason (probably attorneys worried about liablilty) they scaled way back on that by the time the demo rides came along. The Wildcat is about 2 hp less than an XP on a dyno, but it's much slower to rev due to the 15 lb wet clutch assembly, so it seems even lower on power. The engine comes with 1 50mm throttle body (plenty big enough) but a very restrictive exhaust (28 lbs!!), retarded ignition timing, low compression pistons, small vales and a fairly small cam. This means that when Speedwerx, Trinity, Benchmark, etc start shipping their big valved, ported heads, big cams, 11.1:1 CR piston kits and big bore kits (1100 cc already advertised) these things are going to make some very good power (I'm guessing 1100cc with 12.1:1 on E85 with a good cam will make 100-115hp) which will be a huge step up from the 60-62.5 hp they currently make on the dyno.
With some mild clutching changes and a stock engine, they do 83 on asphalt. With a WCD kit and major clutch work and stock engine, one has reportedly gone 96 mph. That's about 25 mph faster than I want to be going if I wreck one! LOL
They have a full tube frame, which is a blessing if you have a tendency to wreck hard.
The brakes actually work great if they get burnished as instructed by the owner's manual. It takes 20 or 30 stops from 30 mph to 0 to burnish the pads to the rotors, then the brakes start to work well. Otherwise, they don't seem to work very well at all.
As for ride quality and handling through the whoops, it's closer to a big buggy than a UTV. I have a 2500 lb 4 seater with 20" of travel that does 75 -85mph through the whoops in Glamis. This one does 60-65 through those same whoops and rides slightly better than the front seat of my rail. The driver and passenger sit right in the Center of Gravity (pivot point) of the Wildcat. As the front end or rear end moves, the driver and passenger don't really move up and down, they rock slightly front and back. This gives a very smooth ride, even when at the limits of the suspension.
My 4 seater gives the same sensation in the rear seat (where the C of G is) but the driver and front passenger actually bounce up and down a bit since they are much closer to the front tires and travel in an arc with the front end.
Overall, I don't have as much dirt/desert trail time in it as Joey does, but I'm looking forward to going on a lot of great trail riding/exploration trips all over UT, CA and AZ with it!
