Thread: Side x side recommendations?

Been running a Canam Commander 800 for 4 years now. At the time demo'd the Polaris, Honda MUV, Yamaha Rhino and JD Gator. Biggest reason for going with the Canam was the engine braking. Stick in low range and you almost don't need to touch the brakes. Fantasic on the hill's. The Polaris and Gator require a different driving style as you have to give them a bit of throttle to keep the drive clutches engaged otherwise they freewheel down hills.

Biggest thing with the belt driven machines is to use low range when towing or on hills otherwise the belts don't last long. With my Commander, regular servicing (1500km) at the local dealer usually runs around $280inc GST with pick up and delivery. About the same cost as what the Honda quads were costing to service (not picked up though) when we had them (now run Yamaha's and never looked back!). I get about 5000km out of a belt. Fitting new belt is about $300.

Build quality on the Canam doesn't seem to be as good as the Honda's and Yamaha's. It does have a nice low center of gravity but deck space is pretty limited on the commanders. OK for 5 dogs and can keep fencing gear and chainsaw in the compartment under the main deck.

Picked mine up as a demo model with 500km on the speedo and saved 4k of the new price so was a bit of a bargain at the time.