I got to sit in one and check it out in person today. Local stealership got one in... here's my thoughts, for what its worth (nothing)...
1) Cage roof line is surprisingly low, I can look over the top of the roof, and you gotta duck below the top cage bar to climb in. The cage actually looks good in person, better than pics, but I saw it without the plastic roof. When you "thump" the cage... it does NOT make the hollow ping sound that rzr cage makes, I'm not sure wall thickness but it's stronger than rzr and wildcat cage for sure. I'd GUESS same or slightly thicker than maverick cage.
2) Line of sight is NOT as good as everyone claimed. It's not BAD ... but when your sitting in it, the roof line comes down quite a bit from top... maybe close to radius custom cage would, I can see how when your coming down a dune, with the plastic roof on, you won't be able to see up the next dune until you get toward the bottom. Not a big deal, just an observation.
3) Side bolster shoulder thingy are annoying when getting in and out, they are fine while seated.
4) Cockpit is bigger than wildcat sport, but smaller than xp1k and much tighter than maverick. I think this was done on purpose, if you push the seat too far back, your ergonomics on shifter and clutch will be uncomfortable.
5) Shifter ergonomics is perfect ... I was concerned it was too far forward and after long day of riding it would get uncomfortable... but after sitting in it, it's fine, don't see it being a problem. But you will have the steering wheel fairly close to your body to have the ergo's right IMO.
6) Shock springs are stiff as hell ... you cant push it down on front nor rear, very stiff out of box. I'd guess it'll need dual rates (2 springs and crossover) for optimization of ride.
7) Clutch pedal is light and easy to push, probably about a 3" throw to the floor, maybe 4" ... it's very quick pedal. Perfect for fast shifts... not so sure about crawling, don't think it's crawler without rekluse.
8) Dealers don't know chit about them. Sales manager nor service manager couldn't answer any of my basic questions. I knew more than them... pretty sad really.
9) Poor mud guys ... this is NOT a mud machine IMO, it's going to be a complete and total PITA to clean mud out of the cockpit, and the engine looks AWESOME .... but if you dip it in the mud with heat over and over .... it'll eventually make it look piss poor.. and there's a lot of engine to look at back there. The radiator will NOT be able to flush from rear, and if you go threw thick deep mud, this radiator will get clogged up completely. ROCKS will NOT be a problem from the front wheels for radiator... it's far enough forward, no issue.
10) No, the dealer wouldn't let me drive, ride or even crank the thing. I asked him to turn the key on to see the display, they didn't even have the key, it was locked in some safe with no access. They might as well put crime scene caution tape around it ... they're didn't really like all my question and me poking and prodding all over it. I offered guy $500 deposit if he'd let me drive it and if I damaged it, he could use my deposit, no deal... it was showroom only.
11) I asked how much off MSRP ... because I don't pay MSRP for anything... and he laughed at me. *Hey ... a guy can try, right? Texas dealers are not known for making great deals though. I'd have to make trip up to OK to buy.
12) Center of gravity... just by sitting in machine, it is HIGHER COG compared to full size wildcat. It felt comparable to rzr ... maybe bit lower. But definitely lower COG than Maverick. It felt good sitting in it, no complaints. Seat position was very comfortable, not straight up and down, but it's not leaning way back either.... the pictures almost make it look like its leaning way back, but it doesn't feel like that at all to me.
13) The yellow looks as awful in person as the pictures. The rear bat wings looks as bad in person as pictures... one flop on side or slide wrong around a corner and tree will remove those in a hurry. I'm not sure there's a good fix either, your not going to hide by putting on those mud / fender flares either. Some guys will like them... they closely follow the raptor lines, but I personally thought they where ugly ugly ugly.
14) If I could sum up the whole machine in one word... QUALITY. Everything is built with attention to detail and has 100% yamaha quality, they didn't skimp on anything. For example, when you take front axle of rzr and jerk it back and forth or up and down, you'll get a sloppy clunking. Not in this .. all axles where tight, everything was top notch and made very very very well. All fittings where solid, hoses, clamps, brake lines, rubber around areas to protect, sealed areas for heim joints, I mean the attention to detail and quality was a 10. For comparison, everything else is 7 or below... this thing REALLY stands out on quality.
1) Cage roof line is surprisingly low, I can look over the top of the roof, and you gotta duck below the top cage bar to climb in. The cage actually looks good in person, better than pics, but I saw it without the plastic roof. When you "thump" the cage... it does NOT make the hollow ping sound that rzr cage makes, I'm not sure wall thickness but it's stronger than rzr and wildcat cage for sure. I'd GUESS same or slightly thicker than maverick cage.
2) Line of sight is NOT as good as everyone claimed. It's not BAD ... but when your sitting in it, the roof line comes down quite a bit from top... maybe close to radius custom cage would, I can see how when your coming down a dune, with the plastic roof on, you won't be able to see up the next dune until you get toward the bottom. Not a big deal, just an observation.
3) Side bolster shoulder thingy are annoying when getting in and out, they are fine while seated.
4) Cockpit is bigger than wildcat sport, but smaller than xp1k and much tighter than maverick. I think this was done on purpose, if you push the seat too far back, your ergonomics on shifter and clutch will be uncomfortable.
5) Shifter ergonomics is perfect ... I was concerned it was too far forward and after long day of riding it would get uncomfortable... but after sitting in it, it's fine, don't see it being a problem. But you will have the steering wheel fairly close to your body to have the ergo's right IMO.
6) Shock springs are stiff as hell ... you cant push it down on front nor rear, very stiff out of box. I'd guess it'll need dual rates (2 springs and crossover) for optimization of ride.
7) Clutch pedal is light and easy to push, probably about a 3" throw to the floor, maybe 4" ... it's very quick pedal. Perfect for fast shifts... not so sure about crawling, don't think it's crawler without rekluse.
8) Dealers don't know chit about them. Sales manager nor service manager couldn't answer any of my basic questions. I knew more than them... pretty sad really.
9) Poor mud guys ... this is NOT a mud machine IMO, it's going to be a complete and total PITA to clean mud out of the cockpit, and the engine looks AWESOME .... but if you dip it in the mud with heat over and over .... it'll eventually make it look piss poor.. and there's a lot of engine to look at back there. The radiator will NOT be able to flush from rear, and if you go threw thick deep mud, this radiator will get clogged up completely. ROCKS will NOT be a problem from the front wheels for radiator... it's far enough forward, no issue.
10) No, the dealer wouldn't let me drive, ride or even crank the thing. I asked him to turn the key on to see the display, they didn't even have the key, it was locked in some safe with no access. They might as well put crime scene caution tape around it ... they're didn't really like all my question and me poking and prodding all over it. I offered guy $500 deposit if he'd let me drive it and if I damaged it, he could use my deposit, no deal... it was showroom only.
11) I asked how much off MSRP ... because I don't pay MSRP for anything... and he laughed at me. *Hey ... a guy can try, right? Texas dealers are not known for making great deals though. I'd have to make trip up to OK to buy.
12) Center of gravity... just by sitting in machine, it is HIGHER COG compared to full size wildcat. It felt comparable to rzr ... maybe bit lower. But definitely lower COG than Maverick. It felt good sitting in it, no complaints. Seat position was very comfortable, not straight up and down, but it's not leaning way back either.... the pictures almost make it look like its leaning way back, but it doesn't feel like that at all to me.
13) The yellow looks as awful in person as the pictures. The rear bat wings looks as bad in person as pictures... one flop on side or slide wrong around a corner and tree will remove those in a hurry. I'm not sure there's a good fix either, your not going to hide by putting on those mud / fender flares either. Some guys will like them... they closely follow the raptor lines, but I personally thought they where ugly ugly ugly.
14) If I could sum up the whole machine in one word... QUALITY. Everything is built with attention to detail and has 100% yamaha quality, they didn't skimp on anything. For example, when you take front axle of rzr and jerk it back and forth or up and down, you'll get a sloppy clunking. Not in this .. all axles where tight, everything was top notch and made very very very well. All fittings where solid, hoses, clamps, brake lines, rubber around areas to protect, sealed areas for heim joints, I mean the attention to detail and quality was a 10. For comparison, everything else is 7 or below... this thing REALLY stands out on quality.
