Considering new UXV 450i Camo

[jew8201]

I much prefer a bench seat, the seating position is more comfortable for me, the seat is roomier, and if I have to slide in from the passenger side I can if I've parked to close to something on the driver side

I'm not sure, to the Arctic Cat's have tilt steering wheel?  for me, that is the most important feature for access of getting in and out

I don't know that I have a preference in seating. I like both. I also like a center console too though.    The arctic prowler 500 has the exact same adjustable steering column as the kymco 450i.

The side x sides I am looking at and considering in no particular order are: Kymco 450i and 700i, CFmoto Uforce 500 HO, and honda pioneer 500 (although it literally has to crappy a top end speed for me its neat machine none the less) Arctic cat prowler 500 (if at a good price)

Of all those I like the features best on this 450i. I've got to see it in person. Which I am going to try and look at the arctic prowler 500 tomorrow and hopefully will have a better feel for them.

[airshot]

    The bed on the 450 is all steel, only the top of the side rails/tail gate are plastic. The Artic Cat Prowler is priced 2 grand higher than the Kymco.  The Honda Pioneer 500 has 3" less ground cleanance and only 24" tires and have had some issues with their electronic transmissions. Keep in mind that any machine you buy the top speed is at wide open throttle!!  If you run it like that for periods of time you will certainly shorten the life of any 4 stroke engine no matter whose name is on it. Also keep in mind that the 500 and the 700 machines are much larger, wider and heavier then the 450 so their top speed is not going to be a lot more. Any atv will be faster as they are much lighter in weight with a comparable size engine. The 450 weighs 1100+ pounds, most atv's that size are half that weight.  Just not going to be able to meet the same specs on the 450i with any other machine for the same price..

[jew8201]

    The bed on the 450 is all steel, only the top of the side rails/tail gate are plastic. The Artic Cat Prowler is priced 2 grand higher than the Kymco.  The Honda Pioneer 500 has 3" less ground cleanance and only 24" tires and have had some issues with their electronic transmissions. Keep in mind that any machine you buy the top speed is at wide open throttle!!  If you run it like that for periods of time you will certainly shorten the life of any 4 stroke engine no matter whose name is on it. Also keep in mind that the 500 and the 700 machines are much larger, wider and heavier then the 450 so their top speed is not going to be a lot more. Any atv will be faster as they are much lighter in weight with a comparable size engine. The 450 weighs 1100+ pounds, most atv's that size are half that weight.  Just not going to be able to meet the same specs on the 450i with any other machine for the same price..

Airshot  I couldn't agree more with your comments. All those variables play a role in each machine and engine size.  And that is why I have been and continue to research this purchase to death! I am really appreciating everyones comments and discusses. Let it continue....

[k9bitten]

So the top speed you say is around 48? How has the bigger tires affected the power? Low end or top end? If at all?

Since putting on the bighorns  I've only been in the woods and I haven't found a long enough stretch to find out what the new top speed is but I have seen 41 mph and it was still climbing. I have no regrets of going to the bigger tires. It doesn't seem to have affected it much at all, if any, In high range and none at all in low range. I'm a big guy too. 6 foot 3 300 pounds and the tilt wheel was the big selling factor for me. I usually have my wife with me and I know before I changed the tires it would beat my friend and his wife in their Ranger 500 drag racing and top speed.

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[airshot]

Airshot  I couldn't agree more with your comments. All those variables play a role in each machine and engine size.  And that is why I have been and continue to research this purchase to death! I am really appreciating everyones comments and discusses. Let it continue....

Yep I hear ya....I did the same thing last year when I decided to buy my machine. I had owned ATV for the past 18 yrs and decided to go the SxS route this time. Let me say I have no regrets, the SxS is so much more versatile and really top speed means nothing to me. I am out in the country and we can operate on the back roads so mine sees a lot of road use during nice weather. I normally keep my top speed around 35mph, which I find plenty fast as they can get a little squirely on pavement with off road tires on them. I did not want a full size machine for what I use it for so the smaller size 450 fits perfect. I spent about 3 months searching and asking questions before I decided. One thing I did find interesting was to search other manufacturers forums and find comparisons that private owners posted that compared their brand to a friends Kymco machine.  In every case I found, the owners might have preferred their own brand but had very high regards for the Kymco machines. And the 450i engine was used to give Kymco two GNCC race wins on the national level with their ATV's, so I have confidence in it. Kymco also has a number where you can call the factory in S.C. if you have any issues to deal with. I found them quite helpful with my questions and concerns.  They don't allow dealers to be closer than 100 miles, so you may need to drive a little to find comparisons. Dreimier25 is a great guy to deal with, I bought some of his products and there quality is very good. His family dealership can answer any questions you may have, to bad your not close enough to deal with them directly.

[k9bitten]

from what I have seen, the prowler has a cosmetically different layout on the dash and does not have a parking brake like the Kymco

The cat also has only a 6 month warranty  vs Kymco 1 year. I've been riding Cat sleds since 1968 and I bought the Kymco. The Cat underhood storage is a bit more refined and closed in but I actually think the Kymco underhood is more practical. It's a lot easier to service without having to remove the bin like the Cat has. I know you want to do your home work. Like you, I read every review and watched every YouTube video I could find and couldn't find one negative review. I kept saying to myself "ya but there MUST be SOMETHING negative"  and remained skeptical. I felt like "OK I'm taking a chance buying this" and you know what?..... those reviews are spot on.  For the money the thing is awesome. No regrets.

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[randyo]

. Keep in mind that any machine you buy the top speed is at wide open throttle!!

I would suggest if you need full throttle to hit top speed on your's, something is amiss, on  flat going, I can easily hit the rev limiter without going over half throttle, even pulling a trailer or my 1000lb tow-hoe I can maintain 45mph without going "full throttle"

[jew8201]

Yep I hear ya....I did the same thing last year when I decided to buy my machine. I had owned ATV for the past 18 yrs and decided to go the SxS route this time. Let me say I have no regrets, the SxS is so much more versatile and really top speed means nothing to me. I am out in the country and we can operate on the back roads so mine sees a lot of road use during nice weather. I normally keep my top speed around 35mph, which I find plenty fast as they can get a little squirely on pavement with off road tires on them. I did not want a full size machine for what I use it for so the smaller size 450 fits perfect. I spent about 3 months searching and asking questions before I decided. One thing I did find interesting was to search other manufacturers forums and find comparisons that private owners posted that compared their brand to a friends Kymco machine.  In every case I found, the owners might have preferred their own brand but had very high regards for the Kymco machines. And the 450i engine was used to give Kymco two GNCC race wins on the national level with their ATV's, so I have confidence in it. Kymco also has a number where you can call the factory in S.C. if you have any issues to deal with. I found them quite helpful with my questions and concerns.  They don't allow dealers to be closer than 100 miles, so you may need to drive a little to find comparisons. Dreimier25 is a great guy to deal with, I bought some of his products and there quality is very good. His family dealership can answer any questions you may have, to bad your not close enough to deal with them directly.

Airshot I am the same way in that I come from an ATV back ground. Had and have ridden Atvs all my life. I guess that is why top end and respectable speed is some what important to me. My 500 suzuki vinson could hit 60 no prob. But as mentioned weight and overall size are all factors. What lead me to side x side consideration is there versatility and the ability of having a cab to get comfortable year round use out of it as well as have the wife ride along too. I wish I was close to Dreimier25 and there shop as well. I am in North Carolina.   

[Driemeyer25]

Hey Driemeyer25, I have looked over many of your products for the kymco UXVs. They are definitely nice and look of highest quality. I would certainly be adding some of your products to my machine to beef it up. I particularly love the half doors. One thing I'd like to see with the half doors is fabricating them so that they would extend down to the floor board, if that makes sense? I may give you a call at some point.

Thanks-Josh

Jew8201
Since I created the doors with the ability to be removed easy out of the hinge like Jeep doors, I was afriad it would be too much weight to hang on just one hinge pioint. But I have developed an extra mud flap at the bottom that will attach to the door and atleast close that gap. I will be putting pictures up soon. As far as the differences between the kymco and arctic cat. We sell both at my family's dealership, and the kymco is cheaper as well has a softer seat, ebrake, and rear swat bar. The overall ride and handling as well as comfort is better than the cat. I read in a magazine about the potential bed rail issue on the Kymco. I was suprised Kymco didnt developed anything, so I decided to myself.

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[randyo]

I don't know what I would do without the ebrake/parking brake, without it, ya can't really park on a hill without putting the shifter in park, my biggest complaint about the 450i is how the shifter sticks in park position, I never use it

[jew8201]

At this point my biggest concern is the CVT. Not so much the performance of it as related to the machine in general but its location for service, the breather on it and the drain. Can anyone explain this a little better to me? I've never owned a CVT off road vehicle before. How well is it sealed what are the service intervals for it like???

[k9bitten]

Your Vinson didn't have a CVT? I'm pretty sure they do. The cvts have a snorkel that draws cool air into the enclosed housing and an exit snorkel to exhaust the heat. If you are in water that it is deeper than the height of the snorkel inlet it would flood the clutch housing. Hence the drain plug. The snorkel inlet is on the drivers side roughly between the seat back and rear tire. We've been through some pretty  deep stuff and never injested water. My buddy has a cf moto rzr  clone and he gets flooded in places I have no trouble.

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[jew8201]

Your Vinson didn't have a CVT? I'm pretty sure they do. The cvts have a snorkel that draws cool air into the enclosed housing and an exit snorkel to exhaust the heat. If you are in water that it is deeper than the height of the snorkel inlet it would flood the clutch housing. Hence the drain plug. The snorkel inlet is on the drivers side roughly between the seat back and rear tire. We've been through some pretty  deep stuff and never injested water. My buddy has a cf moto rzr  clone and he gets flooded in places I have no trouble.

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The Vinson (2004 model) was the manual foot sh** version. Thanks for explaining the Cvt on the 450i.

Looked at a Polaris ranger midesize 570 and definitely don't like the front end suspension on them. Lot of weak points with the McPherson struts front. Which brings me to the kymco suspension how does it perform and hold up? Anyone had any suspension problems??

[airshot]

   There is no maintenance on a CVT until time to replace the belt.  Yep that sucks on a SxS as there is a lot to remove to get there but I check mine at around 1600 miles, normally replace with a new belt and save the old one for a spare if in good shape and so far all the CVT machines I have worked on still had good belts at that mileage. My only concern with auto-clutch shifters was the clutch was using the same oil as the engine and allowing the clutch residue to mix with the engine oil cant be good.  Otherwise those were nice to be able to pick the right gear for your needs. However with the CVT just stab the gas and go and the engine always stays in the proper torque range unless your doing serious hill climbing or plowing snow then low needs to be used.
  When I looked at the Polaris SxS models I had your same concerns with the front suspension and I do know of some folks having issues there. I was also not impressed with the welds on the frame sections where they join, not very uniform means less strength.
Actually I found those same issues on the John Deer models as well with the poor looking welds. I also made it a point with the dealers that if I was not allowed to look them over closely and take a test drive I would take my money elsewhere. Being a 65 yr old guy they knew I had the money to pay for it and was not some kid out shopping for joy. Only one dealer refused to allow be in the service area to be able to look them over very carefully....and yes I walked out the door!  With that said, The dealer for the Kymco went absolutely overboard to allow me to look at anything I wanted. Don't know if they are all that way or not but this one was. I went into the shop where they had one getting service, and I was allowed to get in, crawl under, take things apart to look inside, what ever I needed to do. Then to top it off, when I told them I wanted a test ride they gave me a 450i camo and took me to their test track with hills, mud, sharp turns and decent straightaways and said try it out!! After a 20+ minute thrill ride on their proving grounds I went back and put a deposit on the red unit they had in stock. They were the best dealer experience I ever had buying anything.  Don't know if others are that way or not, but these people sure were friendly to the buyer.

[jew8201]

   There is no maintenance on a CVT until time to replace the belt.  Yep that sucks on a SxS as there is a lot to remove to get there but I check mine at around 1600 miles, normally replace with a new belt and save the old one for a spare if in good shape and so far all the CVT machines I have worked on still had good belts at that mileage. My only concern with auto-clutch shifters was the clutch was using the same oil as the engine and allowing the clutch residue to mix with the engine oil cant be good.  Otherwise those were nice to be able to pick the right gear for your needs. However with the CVT just stab the gas and go and the engine always stays in the proper torque range unless your doing serious hill climbing or plowing snow then low needs to be used.
  When I looked at the Polaris SxS models I had your same concerns with the front suspension and I do know of some folks having issues there. I was also not impressed with the welds on the frame sections where they join, not very uniform means less strength.
Actually I found those same issues on the John Deer models as well with the poor looking welds. I also made it a point with the dealers that if I was not allowed to look them over closely and take a test drive I would take my money elsewhere. Being a 65 yr old guy they knew I had the money to pay for it and was not some kid out shopping for joy. Only one dealer refused to allow be in the service area to be able to look them over very carefully....and yes I walked out the door!  With that said, The dealer for the Kymco went absolutely overboard to allow me to look at anything I wanted. Don't know if they are all that way or not but this one was. I went into the shop where they had one getting service, and I was allowed to get in, crawl under, take things apart to look inside, what ever I needed to do. Then to top it off, when I told them I wanted a test ride they gave me a 450i camo and took me to their test track with hills, mud, sharp turns and decent straightaways and said try it out!! After a 20+ minute thrill ride on their proving grounds I went back and put a deposit on the red unit they had in stock. They were the best dealer experience I ever had buying anything.  Don't know if others are that way or not, but these people sure were friendly to the buyer.

That is definitely a awesome dealer/buying experience you got to have! I don't that any dealers around my area having anything close to a "testing" area, other than a parking lot. Far as the polaris I do like the machine so some extent, but the way that front end suspension is designed surely would scare me with the design in the geometry of it, got some weak points, especially for a machine of the weight of these SxS.

How's the suspension perform on this 450i? 7.5" of travel all the way around. Also hows the electrical system? Anyone had any issues there? Bearings, ball joints???