UTV Scene's John Pellan ride tests the 2016 Yamaha Wolverine R-Spec UTV at Yamaha's Media Intro at Brimstone Recreation Area near Knoxville, TN Read our complete review of the 2016 Yamaha Wolverine R-Spec at this link: utvscene.com/20...
Hey Travis, almost every review on RU-vid about the Wolverine has a comment about it being under powered. No, it doesn't need to go 60 mph through the woods, but the extra power and torque would be a welcome addition for people that ride in areas that have steep, rocky terrain. Yamaha should at least give customers the option to purchase a 1000cc twin. Obviously I'm not the only one looking for this. Listen to what potential customers are saying.
It appears to be a very capable machine but why not more power? This would be a great base model but a more powerful v-twin engine option would seem to be a necessity since everyone else other than Honda has one. If you wanted to ride on the dunes or wide open trails, it just wouldn't be powerful or fast enough. Just because a machine can run 70 mph doesn't mean you have to go that fast. But a machine that can run 70 mph can cruise at 50 while this is screaming because its going almost full throttle to run 50. Its very much like the Grizzly 700. If the Grizzly had more power, it would have no equal. But Polaris, Can Am, and Arctic Cat have 1000cc class machines that blow it away on power. Same with this machine, if it had more power, it would be the best of the best. I believe Yamaha should have 2 models, this 708 cc single cylinder and a 1000cc class machine pushing over 100hp to capture the true sport rider. You can never have too much power, I don't even know what that Yamaha rep was thinking. They make it sound like the customer is too stupid to have more power because they couldn't control it so we will limit you. You can make the throttle response linear so that it is controllable at slow speeds but has plenty of oomph at higher speeds.
Greg Rowe I'll never understand how they can put out a 600 pound motorcycle with 130+HP, but feel that 40HP is good enough in a 1200+pound sxs. And this comment is directed at all the Japanese sxs makers. The Honda makes 26hp, the Teryx around 49 stock. I've added full duel exhaust, power commander, and a stage 3 clutch so I'm at about 61hp now, but that's still not enough for such a heavy vehicle. Also when I say not enough power you have to realize I'm comparing it to the 1000cc models. My teryx will spin the tires on any surface and accelerate up any incline I point it at, but faster is always better! :)
Exactly. Having power in reserve would actually make for a more reliable machine as well. You don't have to abuse the machine to ride aggressively and never have to push the engine to its limit. Its not like they can't make a cvt system to handle it, they do it in snowmobiles already. Beef up the axles and you're good to go. The Wolverine looks like a great platform to build a sport side by side on, just give it a 2nd, more powerful option for the engine. Most will still buy the 708 cc Wolverine because it will be fast enough for them and cost less. The rest that must have more power will pay more for it anyway. Price it competitively with a Rzr 1000 or Maverick 1000 and you will take away thousands of sales of these machines and put customers in 1000cc Wolverines instead. Give the customer equal the performance and they'll go with Yamaha quality and reliability.
so which is berter to have driving though a cow field that goes as far as 1 mile. but it has a lot of thorns and you want to have good tires. and go at least 30 to 40 mph?
Im a powersport salesman. If yet to move one of these machines. From a sales standpoint, This machine doesnt really have any competition in regards to what its designed for. And by that I mean a slow steady sxs that can get into some difficult terrain. I also sale RZR .... RZR is known first and foremost speed. Like he said this is more comparable to the Kawasaki Teryx, but the Teryx is much bigger than the Wolverine. This machine can get into some places that the Teryx cant. I think its going to be one of those machines that the customer knows they want before coming into the dealership.
I have this same machine. Mine vibrates quite a bit when I'm climbing a hill or at times when it's under a load. Is that normal or can it be repaired? Thanks
Out of the box, the wolverine has a better suspension than the Teryx, but beyond that, the Teryx has it all beat. Vtwin engine, much better storage, dump bed, and the teryx comes with power steering so its cheaper. After spending a grand upgrading the shocks on my teryx to bandits, the wolverine offers nothing.
Teryx is a great machine however wolverine offering nothing over the Teryx but suspension is a little misleading. Price with EPS is more $199 to be exact, but the Wolverine comes with a roof, so it's cheaper. Also comes with full steel skid plates ($600 plus option so the Wolverine is a $1000 less) Also comes with rock sliders for the rear wheels, is tapered 2" higher on the sides underneath for better ground clearance, has tapered up a-arms up front for more ground clearance, will tow 200 lbs more than Terex, weighs 250 lbs less, holds 2 more gallons of gas, is available in color options and Camo instead of black. I can dump my own bed for that big a difference.
Oh you'll be dumping that machine all right, those welded steel non removable skid plates will be forming rust from day one. That's the worst decision they Made on it. The Teryx has plastic removable skids and they work well, I've beat mine up pretty good making trails on my property and have no problems with them. And if I ever do I'll replace them with better plastic that's not noisy like steel when going along rocks or over downed trees. Rock sliders and taper are nice, but hardly necessary. The rock slider is only effective with the stock tires, almost everyone changes to wider larger tires which will stick out further. Teryx comes in lots of colors and Camo. Tow rating is just a number, I've seen a Teryx pull an f250 out of the mud. They can do much more than they are rated. Overall I like the wolverine, but if the engine wasn't a deal breaker(it is) that non removable skid plate would be. I mean really, what are you going to do when that's beat up and bent all to heck?
Danny Williams Black is $12,999 you have to go to the LE at $14,999 for colors and $14,299 for camo but that's knit picking. If the steel skid plate won't handle what I plan to give it then I will cut the welds and either get a thicker piece of steel or I'm sure there will be lots of aftermarket things made for these down the road, plastic skids are ok for a while on our trails but wont last forever. Contrary to competitors beliefs these are selling like crazy. Ask any dealer. Perfect for what I want too. My wifes ranger isn't trail friendly enough, my sons 900 RZR is too wicked and no storage, the wolverine is a perfect mix and it's a Yamaha. That may not mean anything to some but I purchased a 750 Brute Force and a 700 Grizzly at the same time. Rode them the same in the same places, had electrical problems with the Brute that gave us a fit and problems with the front gear casing not going into and then back out of 4wd. Had to replace a real axle and a wheel bearing on the Brute Force too. Never the first problem with the Grizzly and I still have it and the Brute Force is long gone. As I said the Kawasaki Teryx is a great machine but I will be staying with Yamaha, even if it cost more.
UR2BaBiker2 I'm a fan of Yamaha, My first street bike was a Yamaha and I still own it. The Teryx is the first Kawasaki I have owned. Also have two Honda's. So I'm pretty good with any of the Japanese companies. I almost bought a Viking when I first started looking at sxs's, but the dealer wanted to play games so I kept looking. When you get sick of those metal skids, and if you do much rock crawling it will be sooner rather than later, cut that steel off, buy a 1/4" or 1/2" sheet of UHMW plastic that will outlast both our sxs's, get some nut-serts from harbor freight, and build you a removable plastic skid. Make lots of holes to help it drain. Its going to be a lot of work, but Yamaha really didn't think it through so it will be necessary. You'll be amazed how much quieter and easier the wolverine slides over everything with the plastic. And just for the record, my 2014 Teryx 800 came with plastic roof, half windshield, aftermarket wheels and tires, wheel spacers, and 2" lift kit installed by the dealer for $12,800 out the door. And they gave me the original wheels and tires.
