looking for honest opinions

Super dave i will txt or call you later and explain....dont want to give tbone any false hope

Cool, I tried calling u earlier this afternoon, give me a buzz

Na in all honesty hrr said he took a rhino and made it smoke tbone so there just isnt any challenge for him anymore...he is hanging up the wrenches said he will be to old for this game by the time tbone can figure out how to keep up let alone pass him

It all depends on how you ride and what you want. Do you just want straight line speed, do you want a machine that will just eat up the nasty trails, do you want a machine to joy ride around in that can haul alot of stuff, or do you want a machine that does alot of this stuff ok??? I considered suping up my 09 RZR but after I really got to looking at what it was gonna cost me I thought it would be better to just get a new XP. I wanted the XP more for the suspension than the power, although I gotta admit that power is awesome!! I haven't had any trouble with the width yet and as Rick V said, it's helped me more than it's hurt me. So it's all about how you ride and what you want. Personally I could give a rats a** about straight line speed. I want a machine that will just eat up the nasty stuff. I also wanted a very good suspension because I like to ride very fast on the trails and over the rough stuff. Personally the only thing that is on a stock commander that I would even want is the seats.

TBONE21 wrote:

Hey now... The can am is still the best out of my two. I do like it better than the xp

Tbone I sure hope your driving ability is better than your judgement...

And this test track you speak of is, it a straight, smooth road?

Tbone forgot to mention that on that track it is a 5lil mile stretch of interstate with the can am strapped down on a trailer being towed

I cant really complain about the ride on my 09 and motor wise ot gets me where i need to go...more low end grunt is alway nice tho...top speed dont impress me cuz specially around here i aint seeing 55+ in the woods...top speed in the woods arou.d here might be 40 but it sure is nice to get there in a snap...

My local dealer set me up with a clutch kit for "bottem end" but i might ha e noticed a lil bit but even with my stock tires racing my buddies stock rzr he still gets a pretty good jump off the line...

09rzr wrote:

I cant really complain about the ride on my 09 and motor wise ot gets me where i need to go...more low end grunt is alway nice tho...top speed dont impress me cuz specially around here i aint seeing 55+ in the woods...top speed in the woods arou.d here might be 40 but it sure is nice to get there in a snap...

Yea I've hit 70 MPH plus a couple times on the XP but it was always on the road. I mainly wanted the suspension on the XP but that power is sweet. What I can do in the XP that was very hard to do in my RZR is run 40 plus on the trails but I only get to do that when I'm alone cause nobody will ride like that with me. The XP is light years ahead of the RZR when it comes to the really nasty trails. And I do mean stock RZR. It also seems to do quite a bit better than the stock S.

Yea but is it worth the 16g's as opposed to sprucing mine up

How about the fmf dual exhaust for a rzr i know it aint going to give me big power but how do they sound

09rzr wrote:

How about the fmf dual exhaust for a rzr i know it aint going to give me big power but how do they sound

This tread is getting interesting. How you like to ride is exactly how you should choose the machine that best fits. I had the pleasure of driving RickV's XP and loved the power and ride. Haven't had the opportunity to drive a CanAm but I'm sure there would be a lot that I would like. What I want is a ride that I can throw around turns with throttle steer and get from turn-to-turn as fast as I can. Top end is of no importance to me, as is rock crawling and mud bogs. Sure I want to ride with those that do, but I've tried to pick a combo that will have throttle response at slow speed but get with the program from 5000-7000 rpm, reliably. We'll see. I can't wait to ride with SuperDave, Tbone and Thunter to see how I fare.

I do 98 percent words riding trying to climb crick banks trying to get where u wouldnt think a rzr should.....do some small hill climbs...like to play in the mudd it sounds like we are on about the same page finzup. Flat out drags out the back roads dont really interest me...but low end grunt def. Aint a bad thing in the woods

TBONE21 wrote:

Hey now... The can am is still the best out of my two. I do like it better than the xp

OK T-Bone you own both and say the Can-Am is your favorite. Why? You are one of the few people that can give a good opinion since you've had considerable seat time in both.

What are the honest pro's and con's of each?

The xp damn sure would have been cheaper than what I've gone thru ($$$) rebuilding this thing but I've enjoyed doing. Out of the box u can't beat the xp. Not knocking xt or article cat but my next will be an xp. The support I get from World Class Powersports is great, enough to keep me coming back!

Finz is right.

Just buy what you want. Whatever fits your riding style.
My vote between the xp and commander is for the commander right now.

Why?
Well the commander can haul your gear and tons of it. You don't have to refuel the commander on a days ride. Fill it up and she has a half of tank left at the end of the day vs the xp needs fuel every time to get home. Commander doesn't need extra fuel hauled.
Commander suspension parts are stronger. Xp already needs new tie rod ends after 300 miles.
The commander does have long travel but not as long as rzr xp. The commander has to have fox shocks though.
Commander cockpit is very comfortable. More comfy than the stock rzr.
The xp does have a more refined suspension but not by much. Don't get me wrong...I love my xp a ton but the commander gives me more options. They both have a ton of power. If you don't care about storage and fuel distance then the xp is better.

As far as ride I have them both equally smooth.

As for the xp.....

Great suspension geometry. Polaris has made some great small improvements over my old 2009 rzr.
The 900 motor is awesome and the marriage with the new tranny is fantastic.
Air box is a ten! Great work by pooplaris.
It just don't have any room to haul stuff and some suspension parts are suspect for quality.

It is a phenomenal machine though. I just like having storage and a big fuel tank.

They are total diff machines though and I love them both.

I think most everyone will probably agree that you should get or tailor your machine to how you ride. I don't care what the guys around me are running as long as they're running and we're having fun!!



A couple things that guys have said that I wanna respond to.



Finzup,,, it was definitely easier to throttle steer the RZR than it is my XP. Not sure why, I thought with the extra power that I would be able to get the XP loose around the turns a lot easier than the RZR. I don't know if it's the tires, suspension, width or a combination. Got any ideas??

09RZR,,, by the time you upgrade a RZR or a RZR-S to the suspension, and power of the XP you will have a bunch of money tied up in it. So yes it was was worth it and I have a new machine!!

Tbone,,, first off how many miles can you get on a tank of gas on your Commander? I think it does have a bigger tank than the XP but I would very rarely have to gas up the XP on a ride. I do take fuel with me just in case but I have yet to use it. I rode 91 miles on Sunday, I filled the XP up on the drive home and had 1.8 gallons left in the tank. I think I would have got at least 115 miles before I ran out. My longest ride ever was 103 miles but I look forward to breaking that one. Oh and what are you doing to your XP? New tie rods at 300 miles, I sure hope your joking, it's just getting broke in!!

Well I have never computed the miles but I can ride two days on the commander. I got 91 miles on my xp and she's about done. I ride them fast. That may be why and I'm sure the other commander owners will chime in on fuel.

Yes the tie rod ends are worn already. Simonize found it.
I think all the Polaris owners here can sympathize here on the basis of having to buy bushings all the time.

TBONE21 wrote:

Well I have never computed the miles but I can ride two days on the commander. I got 91 miles on my xp and she's about done. I ride them fast. That may be why and I'm sure the other commander owners will chime in on fuel.

Yes the tie rod ends are worn already. Simonize found it.
I think all the Polaris owners here can sympathize here on the basis of having to buy bushings all the time.

I will agree with you on the bushings. One of the added bonunes of the XP is no bushings on the rear!!

Now we are getting some good information flowing...thanks guys you def. Turned this into an interesting topic

Same with the commander....none on the rear.

Oh I forgot to add.....xp has more ground clearance than the commander which is nice. If I load down the xp with my gear and the passenger then the clearance falls. You have to make changes to the suspension to help it not dip as bad loaded and ride smooth.

Both the commander and xp has a set up for heavy loaded or not and the setup for light load is fun as heck.

Thunter said" Finzup,,, it was definitely easier to throttle steer the RZR than it is my XP. Not sure why, I thought with the extra power that I would be able to get the XP loose around the turns a lot easier than the RZR. I don't know if it's the tires, suspension, width or a combination. Got any ideas??"

My only ride was in Rick's and I'm sure he could hear me coming up the mountain - I got on it (he said I could) in 2-wheel and 4-wheel drive and wasn't doing a good job of driving. If I had the chance again, I'd try turning WAY early into the apex and floor it (with caution) in 2-wheel. All I'm saying is it's longer so it has a bigger "push", but it's got the power and I'm pretty sure I'd figure it out. Regardless, a very nice ride.

So basically .....strickly sport riding go with xp if you want any utility go with can am

My xp has a push in it too. I made some shock adjustments and helped it some. I do steer it with the gas some too. It don't really push much with the changes to the front.

09rzr wrote:

So basically .....strickly sport riding go with xp if you want any utility go with can am

Sounds like it, but where's the Wildcat guys? I thought it'd be the bomb (in a good sense). There's a certain flying Rhino, one bad-azz Teryx and a crazy "S' driver from Sofia that i want to be in front of. We'll wait on the rest of ya'll.

It seems hrr is the one everyone is gunning for

09rzr wrote:

It seems hrr is the one everyone is gunning for

More like waiting for.

09rzr wrote:

So basically .....strickly sport riding go with xp if you want any utility go with can am

Only if you want 80 HP to go with that utility machine. If you don't care about having that much power look at the Teryx. They do very good on the trails and actually surprised me a few times!!

Phil and Jimbob I did not just say that

The can am def. Looks to be great for one of them long rides where u take camping gear and camp whenever you run out of daylight