re: SxS Can Am vs Polaris vs. Honda

Oh my bad I didn’t realize you had frickin googled it

AI says otherwise.

Look, everyone I know with Pioneers has had a good experience with them. Most people I know running Polaris have not. The same holds true for me. And that’s all I can go off of.

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AI says otherwise.

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AI is anecdotal evidence on the internet. Nothing more.

The pioneer 1000 is a fine unit if:
1) You drive it like a belt drive.
2) You remember to run the nuts off of it occasionally to burn off all the unburned gas fouling the plugs and sensors.
3) You don't mind being miserable while you drive.
4) You are willing to ignore the sound of two hammers hitting together every time it shifts.
5) You are okay with a shocking amount of rattles.
6) you don't believe it will be as reliable as a pre 1995 no electronics Honda.

My pioneer 1000 went 13ish thousand miles with zero mechanical failures. They will NEVER sell me another one.

I replaced it with a used very low mileage Ranger 900. It also went 13 or 14k miles with zero failures.

The most reliable unit, by a large margin, is the Yamaha Viking. But the design is 14 years old. And it shows.



For the OP considering a dual purpose unit who thinks the canam has better towing and capacity than the General, drive both. I bought Yamaha's Rmax for the exact same reasons... And the problem is, it's more like the Canam. The Canam and the Rmax are both go fast units that have a bed on them and can work a little. The General is a utility SXS that can still go fast. That doesn't sound like much of a difference until you use them. The general is relatively quiet, can tow, and is very comfortable towing a heavy load at slower speed.

Both the canam and the Rmax are loud, have tons of suspension, and work way better for hauling arse through the woods.

The Ridge is still too new, but it really has the potential to be the best thing made in the last ten years. I just can't get over how damned big it is. I always do the same mods to every SXS. Forward arms, 33in all terrains, winch, and lights. The ridge would be 8 ft tall at that point


With the exception of the coin flip of canam (they really do make the most and least reliable units), all of the major manufacturers will treat you right in the 1000cc category. And if you get a good canam, you will be sold on them until you aren't

Unfortunately, with the current clutch maintenance schedule, I can no longer rec the Yamahas if you're going to put miles on them. Great unit, but you should not have to inspect, clean, grease, rebuild the clutch every 2500 miles.

I admit you are 100x more informed on this subject than I am. Do you work on them for a living or something? That’s a lot of knowledge

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There are 5 Pioneer 1000s at my FIL’s club and they are run through the nastiest mud you could imagine. Most of them have over 10k miles and they’ve had zero problems combined. The Polaris bikes they’ve owned (and that’s all they used to run, myself included) stayed in the repair shop.

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Given the average hunter isn't like myself and doesn't put 10k miles per year, that would mean you're comparing them to what 2010-2014 Rangers?

Also, I too thought my pioneer was great, hell I didn't even notice the noise.mm until I drove something else

I’m switching from Polaris to Can Am next week. Got $4500 off a 26 Commander.

From what I’ve heard and read they’re equal to Polaris in terms of reliability. The Commander comes with more power and a winch installed from the factory. That combined with the deal I got and I didn’t hesitate.

I’ll be on trail next weekend so I’ll give a more detailed account after that if you’re still deciding.

What do you know about the Kawasaki Mule? Is it any good?

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Kawasaki Mule? Is it any good?

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Better than we all give Kawasaki credit for.

The cheapest one is a lawn mower engine in a golf cart, but it works well for checking cows.

The pro fxt mule is a great one, just dated at this point. There were a few hiccups with the 1000 fxt for a while, but the smaller engine one was always solid.

I almost bought one about...three rangers ago because the pricing was just so damned good. Ultimately I decided not to only because the crew sits too low.

The kubota isn't a side by side. It's farm equipment. Slow. Heavy. Reliable. HEAVY. Low.

I’ve got a 2014 mule. The small one. Family wanted smaller so they could travel the 4wheeler trails while crawfishing. I use like x said, for checking cows. It’s been rode hard, very hard. Had a few things to fix over the years, but way less problems than you’d think considering the abuse it takes.