Thread: Bought the new Polaris Ute

So, further to my original posting here https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....dations-42527/ requesting feedback on quad bikes, I ended up proceeding with the purchase of a Polaris Ute.

Reasoning for going with the Polaris?

1. Price - the Polaris is lower priced than others in the market, and while going for a jap bike might have been a better bet in the long run, I couldn't stretch that far.
2. The 'ute' layout on the Polaris offers considerable flexibility in terms of load carrying. Its rated for 180kg in the back. Last night I had 50 possums plus an extra rider on the side with no issues.
3. The 2017 model has excellent engine breaking, plus hill decent control, plus a turf mode which is essentially one wheel drive, which is excellent for doing tight turns on the flat or for saving your tyres on the metal road.
4. Its wider and longer than most other bikes out there which makes it super stable.
5. The local Polaris dealer is only 4 minutes away making servicing and support close to home.

We were out doing the local Drury possum hunt over the weekend and this was the ute's maiden voyage. I have to say I am very impressed. I ended up in some very steep country which I wouldn't have gone into if I had have known how steep it was and the bike was extremely well behaved and very predictable. The combination of power steering and hill descent control are amazing. The AWD system was flawless and never felt like it was spinning a wheel in any corner, and there was far too much of both the accent and descent that was being done on 2 and 3 wheels instead of 4!

My dislikes, while minor would be:

1. The high beam headlight is attached to the handle bars which is a pain if you want to put a box on the front carrier or even lay your coat across the front. I will over come this by mounting a light bar on the bull bars and reroute the wiring.
2. The position of the ignition key on the same 'pod' as the light means that the key can be stressed if you have anything sitting on the fuel tank, like your rain coat because you cannot sit it on the front carrier because of the light.
3. The Polaris factory side bars need some work to make them more rigid.

So, very happy with it at the moment, and am currently designing and building the carrier frame for the ute tray for guns and ammo