Thinking of buying a new RZR.

Gundog · 2008-11-22 23:07:46

Hi My name is Mike and I am new here and I have some questions.

I now own a Chinese mini buggy with an 800CC engine I just bought it recently and have fallen in love with buggies and offroading. My son and I have been having a good time with the buggy I bought but it is laking in a few areas. It did what I wanted and now I think I am ready to move on. I did not want to make a huge initial purchase not knowing how much I would like having a buggy now that I know how much we like it I want something better and easier to get parts for aftermarket and repair parts.

I am trying to decide between the standard RZR and the RZR-S. I want to do some trail riding with it but I want it too be stable. I have done a little trail riding with the China buggy and it is 67" wide but won't fit in many of the ATV trails. I also want to run in the dunes. I live about 20 minutes from some decent trail riding and about 2 hours from the Oregon dunes.

I just want to get this right. I thought about buying the standard RZR and if I wanted it wider just adding a long travel kit but they are very expensive and it seems I would be better off just buying the RZR-S I am just afraid it may not fit on some of the trails the standard model would. I would really like to get a ride in one before buying. is there anyone in my area who owns either a standard or S model who would be willing to give me a ride heck I will trade for a ride in the China buggy.

My son and I went to a dealer the other day to see how we fit in the RZR we fit allright not great because we are big guys. I had the salesman move the seat all the way back and surprisingly we fit I am 6'-5" and my son is 6'-10" I imagine we were a sight in it but it seem comfortable I wish it had a couple more inches of leg room but most things fit us the same way the China buggy is actually pretty roomy for us. Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Mike in Vancouver, WA

RANGERDALEXP · 2008-11-27 18:39:06

If the area in your area requires you to the 50" rule the RZR is it, that would be the only way i would go with the standard RZR, it is a great machine for 2009 and i think they have worked most of the bugs out, I own a Ranger XP and the only addition to my family would be the RZR-s, It is a more refined machine and the suspension is way better and you get the H.O. 800 engine other then the standard 800 engine, it is also 6 mph faster with around 5 extra H.P., For running in the dunes that extra horse power will make a big difference, I have driven both of them and the difference is night and day, when the RZR first came out, the only thing that stopped me from getting one at the time was the difference in the stability of the machine compared to what my Ranger XP has, It just felt to tippy from what i was used to but that is not a problem with the new RZR-s, it was that stability problem that saved me from all the first year problems with the standard RZR that i was able to avoid, rummer has it that for the 2010-2011 version that the sportsman H.O. 850 engine will find its way to the RZR-s, Good Luck and chose wisely, I hope what i have told you will help .

Gundog · 2008-11-27 22:09:49

I looked at a used 08 RZR today and I really like it but he wants $9200 for it, it has some nice options that add about $1800 if purchased new. I think he is about right on the price. The NADA is $8200 then I figure about 50% on the options used. I am wondering if I should just buy a new one this will save about $3k over new. Is there that big a difference in the 09's?

I have decided to go with the standard model for the trails plus I still have the China buggy for dunes and we are going to turbo it.
Mike

RANGERDALEXP · 2008-11-27 23:38:16

The 2008 models have had some big problems with the filter system and was redesigned in 2009 to fix the problems along with some other small problems, before you buy a 2008 you need to make sure that it was not run in dusty conditions and i would do a compression test before buying one, Take it to a dealer if you are not sure on how to do it and have them check it over before you purchase it, it was the biggest problem on this unit, I know that the RZR-s goes for $14,000 but when you think what it would cost to build a stock RZR to that point it is a good deal, I have had some friends that have bought some of the stuff from china and they are short in life expectancy and become unreliable, they are not cheap to fix and parts are hard to come by, It would cost more to turbo it then the cost to buy an upgraded RZR-s over an standard RZR, A friend took his china made Quad on a trip with us and i had to to tow him back because the engine melted down and come to find out it was the second engine he had in this ATV, I would not waist any money in it and keep it stock and put the money in a quality product , believe me when you buy a good UTV you will wonder why you bought the other one and it will be up for sale, I hate to be hard here but i have seen this with the introduction of the chines units the last four years and none of the people i know have kept them, They are a great beginners unit and you grow from it but do not put any money in them :idea: .

Gundog · 2008-11-28 10:30:40

The RZR I looked at has sand padles on it and has only been ran at the dunes the original dirt tires were taken off and never ran they come with the unit. I am not thinking you get much dust at the dunes just sand do you think that would be a problem? I have read about the touchy throttle issue are there other issues? I read the new ones are not as noisy. I am not sure what other things were changed. I was a mechanic in my younger days and I have a compression gauge I could do a check what should compression be on one of these engines? this RZR has about 39 hours on it and less than 400 miles.

The China buggy I have is no where near the quality of one of the Japanese or American UTV's I knew that when I bought it. The China buggy I have has a small car engine in it and they are a fairly good engine and are easy to turbo. I have a complete fab and machine shop and the ability to make some parts if I did not I would have never bought my machine. I have done some upgrades to it already and it is fun ride. I can turbo my buggy for about $600 because I will make all the parts except the turbo. I would agree if you don't have these tools and skills I would not mess with the China buggies they are not plug and play like a nice UTV.

If I bought the RZR-S I would have 2 buggies that I could not use to trail ride near my house that is why I am thinking of keeping the China Buggy and buying the standard RZR I will take them both to the dunes to play anyway the RZR has 3" offset wheels for the paddles so it should work fine just not as good as the S model. I may eventually sell the China buggy but I don't have much invested in it so for now I will keep it for friends and family that want to play.
Mike

#1 2008-11-22 23:07:46

Re: Thinking of buying a new RZR.

#2 2008-11-27 18:39:06

Re: Thinking of buying a new RZR.

#3 2008-11-27 22:09:49

Re: Thinking of buying a new RZR.

#4 2008-11-27 23:38:16

Re: Thinking of buying a new RZR.

#5 2008-11-28 10:30:40

Re: Thinking of buying a new RZR.

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