From looking at the currently available buggies there was confirmation of some things I had heard and a few surprises.
The ‘facts’ first:
• The Wildcat suspension and the RZR 900 are well matched for landing jumps or taking a big hit. However I have heard that the Wildcat with its longer stroke is noticeably softer and gives a more comfortable ride. Where this makes a difference is in open desert / Glamis, when hitting whoops the Wildcat will soak up the bumps all day long. For the RZR to achieve an equivalent level of bottoming toughness it is sprung stiffer.
• The Wildcat is better in big rough (rock crawling) due to its softer suspension and long travel. It is better able to keep a wheel on the ground and clawing than any of the others.
• For eastern / Midwest trail riding I think the Polaris has an advantage (better design if you can believe that). Total suspension stroke is less important when riding in the woods, precision driving and good
Engine control play a bigger role.
• The Pilot and the Odyssey need to double there suspension stroke to play at the same level when the going gets rough. For groomed tracks they need a little more power and a little more suspension but they are close.
The surprises:
• The Pilot and the Odyssey are still in the hunt for top speed, impressive after all these years.
• These things are damn expensive.
• By sticking to light weight and one seat you can get by with less power. For me this is good as I don’t plan to mess with the Engine for a while.
So that brings everyone up to date with my last 2 months of daydreaming.
If I were to run out and purchase a new buggy today I would get the Wildcat X.
If I needed to be a little carful with my money and I was not in a hurry I might wait a few years to see what else comes along.
As I am usually broke because I took my family on a 2 week vacation touring Arizona and my daughter wants a new saxophone and …. I will modify an Odyssey.
The grades shown below are a summary of the numbers in my investigation.
Getting raw numbers is a little impersonal and sometimes the assumptions you make at the beginning sway the results more than expected.
For example, I would like to see the Pilot rated higher and the 4 place buggies came out higher than I thought they would.
Take it all with a grain of salt, but wrap you mind around it and learn what you can.
My takeaway:
• Keep the light weight single seat concept.
• Must have much more front suspension stroke.
• Little more rear suspension stroke would be nice.
• I didn’t show it but I also tracked ground clearance, need to keep up with the big boys or you will plow your way around after they dig wheel ruts.
My plan for this week end is to summarize what I would like to achieve with my Odyssey.
Then I can start working on how to do it.