How will the UTV industry RESPOND?? Factory Polaris RZR 4 XP900??

[JoeyD23]

So I just had a thought. Knowing now just how sweet this Arctic Cat Wildcat is, and knowing how Polaris is addicted to staying #1, just how long do you think it will be before Polaris drops another trump card? I mean, the XP900 is already a serious machine and while the Wildcat is definitely a contender the XP900 still holds its own. BUT, the Wildcat is cool enough that it will definitely sell units and steal some, if not a lot of market share from the Southwest sport riders.

Hardcore Polaris guys and current XP900 owners as well as Arctic Cat haters will probably choose to look at only the negatives of this machine. Neutral guys like me always look to the positives of every machine and choose to think of the negatives as correctable (in most cases). I think the Wildcat is a good enough contender that it is going to force Polaris into a mid year release. With that said, I think it may send Can-Am into a mid year release too? Fact is we all know that the 4 seat XP900 is coming, it has too, its only the most logical progression for Polaris. Its release will send people into a frenzy and put potential buyers back into a "WTF DO I BUY NOW?" mode.

We are in the middle of one of the most exciting times in UTV history. Manufacturers are battling for supremecy and right now Polaris is the ruler of all markets. Which leads me to believe that it is time for them to show their hand, drop the ace in the hole, and steal yet another amazing UTV's thunder.

As for Can-AM, well I have heard some things and I don't think they are willing to just roll over and play dead. They too have some tricks up their sleeves. This game of chess is playing out right in front of our very eyes. Arctic Cat was thought to have been forgotten with a lack luster series of Prowler releases, but now they have come back with a vengeance. They have gone in for the XP900 KILL with their Wildcat, and they have done a good job. They definitely brought a gun to the gun fight..... How will the rest of the industry respond?

 

[RZRluvr]

You are Soooooooooooo right Joey! Only problem is my wallet can't keep up with all the cool chit we are blessed with in the SxS world

 

[NorCalRider]

I will be first inline for an xp900 4 seater. Now if this Cat is as good as it looks then it looks like 2 new machines for me next year.

 

[dezerteryx]

i love the way things are going with the SXS's finally getting to point were you dont have to strip it done and rebuild it to get it to were you want it, but on the other hand for at least the riding i do for the same money or just a bit more
i could buy a street bike rail, build a nice sr1 car, or even now a mini trophy trucks like we all saw at the sand sports show. that being said ill never sell my teryx (which will become my wifes toy at some point), but when i want to get a fast two seater i just cant see spending that kind of money knowing im going to still have to put money into a cage, harnesses, performance parts and build the suspension stronger, etc. i know being that these are mass produced machines and they have different emissions rules togo by compared to custom built machines but why not some better built cages(material, and design) and at least 4 point harnesses especially with the speeds these cars are getting up to stock. as for a fast four seater it would be cool but i just see that being kind of sketchy going that fast with four people in such a small package but the xp900-4 that are being built custom do look pretty sick,

 

[JoeyD23]

i love the way things are going with the SXS's finally getting to point were you dont have to strip it done and rebuild it to get it to were you want it, but on the other hand for at least the riding i do for the same money or just a bit more
i could buy a street bike rail, build a nice sr1 car, or even now a mini trophy trucks like we all saw at the sand sports show. that being said ill never sell my teryx (which will become my wifes toy at some point), but when i want to get a fast two seater i just cant see spending that kind of money knowing im going to still have to put money into a cage, harnesses, performance parts and build the suspension stronger, etc. i know being that these are mass produced machines and they have different emissions rules togo by compared to custom built machines but why not some better built cages(material, and design) and at least 4 point harnesses especially with the speeds these cars are getting up to stock. ok thats my $.02, for now my votes for the wild cat.

Good questions...let me answer your questions on why manufacturers aren't supplying these cars with better cages and harnesses....LIABILITY...it seems stupid but the minute a manufacturer puts a full race cage and harnesses on they are immediately admitting that the machine NEEDS these parts thus opening them up for liability issues as soon as someone wads one up. Its lame but true. With that said these cages are built to ROPS standards, ROPS is just Roll Over Protection Standards (I think?) hence why we tend to see taller cages. They want the car to tip and not keep rolling, taller cage = less rolls (ideally).

While I agree that $16,000 + is a lot for a UTV consider your options. By the time you build any UTV up you have at least that much $$ into it. I know we will all want to change things and beef them up but some people are the opposite. They don't have cash to build a UTV from the ground up, or any toy from the ground up. They do however have some credit and are willing to finance themselves into a toy with all the goodies which prevents them from having to drop another $5K-$6K to get the car up to sport model standards.

I like you enjoy the build, I love the idea of starting with a SOLID and STRONG platform like the Kawasaki Teryx and adding my own cage design, long travel, and power mods to build my own personal UTV. With a little luck I will be doing just that again this year with a Teryx 4! I still enjoy the build, the joy of watching a UTV come together and look different. I want to throw my own style into it instead of looking like every other guy who just ran down to the dealer and bought what everyone else is buying.

With all that said, there is something to being able to buy a UTV off the showroom floor and take it out as is and do 70MPH + and hit 3ft whoops like nothing. At the end of the day, these units like the XP900 and Wildcat are forcing changes amongst manufacturers. This manufacturer game of "keeping up with the Jones' is a good one for all of us!

 

[dezerteryx]

Good questions...let me answer your questions on why manufacturers aren't supplying these cars with better cages and harnesses....LIABILITY...it seems stupid but the minute a manufacturer puts a full race cage and harnesses on they are immediately admitting that the machine NEEDS these parts thus opening them up for liability issues as soon as someone wads one up. Its lame but true. With that said these cages are built to ROPS standards, ROPS is just Roll Over Protection Standards (I think?) hence why we tend to see taller cages. They want the car to tip and not keep rolling, taller cage = less rolls (ideally).

While I agree that $16,000 + is a lot for a UTV consider your options. By the time you build any UTV up you have at least that much $$ into it. I know we will all want to change things and beef them up but some people are the opposite. They don't have cash to build a UTV from the ground up, or any toy from the ground up. They do however have some credit and are willing to finance themselves into a toy with all the goodies which prevents them from having to drop another $5K-$6K to get the car up to sport model standards.

I like you enjoy the build, I love the idea of starting with a SOLID and STRONG platform like the Kawasaki Teryx and adding my own cage design, long travel, and power mods to build my own personal UTV. With a little luck I will be doing just that again this year with a Teryx 4! I still enjoy the build, the joy of watching a UTV come together and look different. I want to throw my own style into it instead of looking like every other guy who just ran down to the dealer and bought what everyone else is buying.

With all that said, there is something to being able to buy a UTV off the showroom floor and take it out as is and do 70MPH + and hit 3ft whoops like nothing. At the end of the day, these units like the XP900 and Wildcat are forcing changes amongst manufacturers. This manufacturer game of "keeping up with the Jones' is a good one for all of us!

couldn't agree more and definitly hear ya on the liability issues and glad that dealers are now selling the cars with these upgrades and can be financed with the car(probably the only way i could get them past the wife now). it going to be awesome to see what comes out in the next year and hopefully we will see more from kawi, and yamaha, as well.

 

[dezerteryx]

Roll Over Protection Structure or ROPS right off the Farm Tractors

thats what i was thinking.

 

[EVE_Designs]

I hope representatives from all companies are watching forums like the Underground. This is where the hardcore industry supports come to express opinions, share ideas, and show what improvements are made to the machine in an aftermarket setting. If I were Polaris, Artic Cat, Can-Am ect. I would designate a single person within the company to come to sites like these and collect feedback from the actual users. This could be such a huge tool and it's not being utilized!

 

[mosslager]

I want someone to come out with a 3 seater... 3rd seat in the rear as a center seat with my 2 gal. gas can on one side and my cooler on the other side and no bed in the rear. Instead that space would add to the leg room. Wrapped in a full radius cage from the A pillar to the rear bumper...like the LSR SR1 shape. I know in my camp a 3 seater would fit the needs of many of the younger newbie parents with one child or the straggler friend with nothing to ride. Make the 3rd seat removable and have an option of a storage box that can lock into the same location. Badabing! Build it!

 

[ROTAX]

The only factor that competition has not affected is pricing. The XP900 is still 16K and higher,...my rzr4 was 15K. These prices are ridiculous. I can buy a lot of other cool chit and even a car for these prices. They are gouging the hell out of people. I hope they are reading this. On a side note, a new Commander at my dealer right now is 12K for a 1000?? Why so much cheaper?

 

[the stripping shop]

The only factor that competition has not affected is pricing. The XP900 is still 16K and higher,...my rzr4 was 15K. These prices are ridiculous. I can buy a lot of other cool chit and even a car for these prices. They are gouging the hell out of people. I hope they are reading this. On a side note, a new Commander at my dealer right now is 12K for a 1000?? Why so much cheaper?

supply and demand.

 

[mosslager]

The only factor that competition has not affected is pricing. The XP900 is still 16K and higher,...my rzr4 was 15K. These prices are ridiculous. I can buy a lot of other cool chit and even a car for these prices. They are gouging the hell out of people. I hope they are reading this. On a side note, a new Commander at my dealer right now is 12K for a 1000?? Why so much cheaper?

X2... prices are getting crazy... yes I understand what it would take to buy a stock Rhino and add a LT kit and build up the motor to compete against the out of the box performance of these new machines, but its a new age. These days the manufacturers know what the customers are looking for and in raw materials it doesn't cost any more to build a Wildcat than a Rhino. Yes the engines cost money to engineer and design, but they can take an off the shelf snow mobile engine like the Apex and save those costs for the most part. They will pay for the use and branding of shocks like Walkers or Fox sure. Compare that to the engineering that goes into a new Honda Civic I can buy for the same price that needs to go through safety standards with engineered crumple zones and new strict emissions standards. Factor in the mass #'s of units sold of the Civic, Corolla, etc. and the profit margin is still insane on a new performance SXS... it has to be. I would like to grab a new Wildcat or XP but I am also in need of a new commuter car as I drive 100 miles a day to and from work and am against a fence..... buy a new car or dump more money in my current commuter for high dollar maintenance items like a new timing belt, ball joints, brakes etc. and get a new SXS. When you can get a new car good for 200k miles vs a SXS good for 5k it puts it in perspective.

 

[DUNE DUMMY 29]

supply and demand.

YOU GOT IT. IF IT IS WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT, THE MANUFACTURER CAN CHARGE WHATEVER THEY WANT & PEOPLE WILL PAY IT BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THEY WANT. IT WOULD BE GREAT IF PRICES WERE LOWER ESPECIALLY IN THIS TERRIBLE ECONOMY. I HEAR ALL OF THE TIME FROM PEOPLE WHO TELL ME I COULD HAVE BOUGHT A NICE JEEP FOR THE MONEY I HAVE IN THE RHINO & YOU CAN DRIVE IT ON THE STREET.

 

[MAGNUM OFFROAD]

Exciting time for the industry for sure! I'm all for the manufacturers competing as hard as they are and driving the performance of production off-road vehicles to new heights. But with this progression is going to come heavy price tags. I can see in the near future all sport units approaching the $20k mark, and maybe even beyond.

 

[Big Guy]

Its amazing what alittle competion and inovation will do to an industry! Look at how far the industry has come in the last 6-7 years! If only Obama and the democrats would realize the value in competion our economy would be on the road to recovery!

 

[ROTAX]

Joey,
Start a Poll on this thread to find out what our price cut off is to buy one of these toys. Maybe 10k, 15k, 20k, etc.. I am curious how much our adrenaline is worth. I will just hop-up a 70's moped if these machines get beyond the 15K range for a four seater...

 

[07fj]

I want someone to come out with a 3 seater... 3rd seat in the rear as a center seat with my 2 gal. gas can on one side and my cooler on the other side and no bed in the rear. Instead that space would add to the leg room. Wrapped in a full radius cage from the A pillar to the rear bumper...like the LSR SR1 shape. I know in my camp a 3 seater would fit the needs of many of the younger newbie parents with one child or the straggler friend with nothing to ride. Make the 3rd seat removable and have an option of a storage box that can lock into the same location. Badabing! Build it!

that would be good, put a gas can next to your kid!

 

[Bajaxp]

Everyone is focused on the high end of things. Don't forget that Polaris just came out with a 'value' priced RZR for less than $10,000...the RZR 570. And before you discount it, you should drive one. Joey was impressed and so was I. My guess is that it would smoke many other stock UTV's and even gives a RZR S a run in a straight line. Plus they easily fit into the back of a pick up, thus eliminating the need for a trailer, thus saving more money. I think it is important to come out with not only faster better suspended units, but also more affordable ones. Just saying that there is a seat for every butt.
Look at it from a street bike perspective...does everyone need a GSXR 1000? Heck no and the GSXR 600 out sells it 4:1. I have met very few people that can drive a RZR XP to it's potential just like very few people can ride a GSXR 1000 to it's potential. I went on a dune ride at Buttercup this past May and I was the only one in the group driving a RZR S. All of the rest of them were in XP 900's. I kept up with them fine and had a blast. My 2 pesos!

 

[mosslager]

that would be good, put a gas can next to your kid!

As is it sits behind my shoulder. Never been an issue.... Thats where Popo designs it to go. No different to be off to the side

 

[RZRluvr]

Everyone is focused on the high end of things. Don't forget that Polaris just came out with a 'value' priced RZR for less than $10,000...the RZR 570. And before you discount it, you should drive one. Joey was impressed and so was I. My guess is that it would smoke many other stock UTV's and even gives a RZR S a run in a straight line. Plus they easily fit into the back of a pick up, thus eliminating the need for a trailer, thus saving more money. I think it is important to come out with not only faster better suspended units, but also more affordable ones. Just saying that there is a seat for every butt.
Look at it from a street bike perspective...does everyone need a GSXR 1000? Heck no and the GSXR 600 out sells it 4:1. I have met very few people that can drive a RZR XP to it's potential just like very few people can ride a GSXR 1000 to it's potential. I went on a dune ride at Buttercup this past May and I was the only one in the group driving a RZR S. All of the rest of them were in XP 900's. I kept up with them fine and had a blast. My 2 pesos!

Well said Baja! As I said earlier, we in the sport market are the minority and are very lucky that the manufactures produce what they do. Remember that Polaris produces and sells more 50" RZR 800's than all their SxS's put togeather.