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Everything posted by rsar
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Agreed. After all the money we invest in these things, imagine getting a lemon. I've read more horror stories than not about reliability, but virtually none have been about the Mule. Our SX has been a godsend. The things we've been able to do since getting a year and a half ago are countless. We have a really long driveway and used to have to walk the trash and recycling down to the road. Now we haul it down in a trailer with the Mule. Never realized how much that sucked until now. We live in the woods and burn about 3 cords of firewood in the winter and this thing hauls about 50 percent more wood than my old ATV. I'v e also been able to pull logs out of the woods with a tow hitch and tow strap. Haven't even needed to add a winch yet. I'm looking forward to adding a snowplow someday, but for now we have a snowblower. Regarding the lack of power, just saw a vid on youtube about a quick fix that adds about 10 mph. It voids the warrranty of course but I wouldn't attempt it till after the warranty runs out anyway. I've attached the link for anyone interested. Works on both the 610 and SX. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc9u8f0fQRE
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So the manual says to change the engine oil every 250 hours, but how can that be accurate when I just needed an oil change at 50 hours? Did they use different oil or something?
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Just got mine back last week and it ended up costing $629 and change. I felt the same way after paying almost 11k for the thing only 8 months ago but now I'm glad I did it (Not really a choice though since you need to get your first service done by a Kawasaki techfor your warranty if it's a new vehicle). I'd been experiencing some hesitation and rough idle and those have been eliminated by the service. It's also running smoother and quieter overall. I just hope dealer service is not gonna be an annually recurring charge. What comes after first service and when does it need to be done? Does anyone know?
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And thats with free pickup and delivery. Imagine having to add another $100 or more. I think I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and get it done. Been having some rough idle and hearing a squeal when steering so there could be some issues that need tuning. The technician said its around 6 hours of maintenance at $110 per hour so that's the bulk of the charge. I'm not a mechanic so in the end it's kinda worth it for peace of mind.
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Just got quoted $770 for my Mule's first 50 hour service. Is it just me, or does this seem insanely excessive? I was expecting something in the $350 to $500 range and thinking that even $500 would be a little high. Is dealer service really necessary at 50 hours? At this price I think I'd like to shop around for a mechanic that could do it for half the price. I don't really have the option of shoping around for a cheaper Kawasaki dealer, as there is just this one dealer a reasonable distance away (30 min). The next closest olne is 3 hours away.
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Lol. The door idea was for me. She likes it completely open, no top, windshield or anything when its warm enough. i'm not a fan of the cab being open all the time but I understand the OEM enclosure isn't set up for having just the doors on. That's cool though, I look the look of it and I'll leave it on December to March.
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Finally found a pic of the OEM Kawasaki cab enclosure on an SX XC. Looks tight and I think the price tag is warranted so this is what I'll be getting for next winter.
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I was just thinking for warmer spring and fall days. My wife likes no top on warmer days (not that kind of top!) and I wouldn't mind having doors on all year round. Doesn't seem like it's made for that easy on, easy off changeability though.
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Is it at all possible to have the doors on without the top?
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Well, if it would end up looking like yours I would probably leave it on close to all year as well. I have an SX XC and I'm not sure it would fit as tight on mine as yours. The only pic I've seen of the OEM cab on an SX is a stock photo and it's hard to gauge the overall look. Is it hard to get on and off? I would imagine it would take some time. Here is the only image I've seen of the OEM Kawasaki cab on an SX. It's not an XC but it's essentially the same specs with 24 inch tires. Mine has 26 inch tires.
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Yeah, the factory Kawasaki enclosure that Scott has comes with doors. You pay dearly for those doors though. I think all said and done, it runs about $1800. That's a lot for something I might use 6 weeks a year but looks like I dont have much choice. Part of our acreage is wide open farm land and the wind chill is beyond brutal there. Just came back from a bone-chilling ride that was far from fun but had to take the dogs on a poop run. Wind chill temps are about 15-18 degrees right now. The cab definitely helps a lot, as it blocks the wind. Heres a pic of the OEM cab. Looks tight. Doesn't look ratty or sag like most of the aftermarket ones. And it shouldn't for more than 50 percent more money.
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So I finally got my Quad Gear cab enclosure after waiting out the backorder for three months and to say it's been a huge disappointment is a pretty big understatement. I think mostly because I could make it work, if not for one major issue. The windshield is right next to impossible to see out of. It's a real headscratcher because the side and rear windows are okay. It's not high quality 30 or 40 gauge marine vinyl but I have Quad Gear's stand-alone winshield so I knew it wasn't the best in terms of visibility, but definitely doable for the price. Incredibly, the side and rear windows of the cab eclosure are just as clear as the stand-alone windshield. And the windshield on the enclosure is like 50 percent worse than the stand-alone. It's the same company! I don't get it. If it had just been the rear windshield that was that bad I would have kept it. There are some creases and wrinkles here and there, but I've been using the stand-alone windshield for the past three months so it's good enough not to have to shell out $600 plus for the stock hard windshield. I'd put visibility at about 65- 70 percent. The wife hates it though, which is a pretty big negative. In any case, my original plans were to have an upholsterer change the crappy vinyl out for the high quality stuff and I even sent it to a guy who ended up flaking out on me and refusing to do it. He said he didn't want to charge me $400 for something I paid $200 for. Long story, short, I decided to return it and just get the insanely expensive Kawasaki enclosure next winter since the frigid temps here are about to start climbing in a couple weeks anyway. I first put it on just to see how it would look (I took pics of course) and found that it didnt even seal 100 percent and made it drafty inside the cab. So make that two major issues. At least with the stock enclosure everything will be top flight. Doors will be nice too.
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Hey guys. Just read in the manual about inspecting the drain cap on the belt drive torque converter for dust and/or water. I got under the mule but the clamp on the drain cap does not seem removeable by hand. Has anyone done this? If so, how do you get the clamp off and how often do you inspect it? Also, since the temps have begun dipping below 40 degrees here I've started noticing a squeaking noise when turning the steering wheel. Does something need to be lubed? Sounds like something could be rubbing.
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So looks like I've been reading it wrong. It only displays hours, not miles. Here I thought it was supposed to display both. Apparently what I thought was 10.6 miles is actually 10.6 hours.
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Hey guys. So we've just gone over the 10-mile mark on the new Mule and the hour display has yet to actually display any numbers, or anything other than what looks like a flashing hourglass. I've reached out to the dealer but they haven't really shed much light. They say it could just be that we've only put slow miles on it (and we have. we definitely haven't even hit top speed yet.) or it is simply showing that it's accumulating time, or it may need service. I can't imagine that it could possibly need service already. I've checked all the fluids and I haven't noticed any issues whatsoever. It seems to be running better everyday. In any case, I've attached a picture as well as a video of the display in the hopes that someone can ease my mind and tell me there's nothing catastrophic going on here. 20210812_191322.mp4
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Your Mule looks awesome! I'm really falling in love with ours. We're not looking do any extreme offf-roading (I have a 4-wheeler for that), just some light trail riding on our half mile of trails, work around the property, some plowing, taking the trash down and getting the mail. Oh, and riding with the dogs! It's got plenty of power for all that stuff. So, do you use a soft top, hard windshield combo in the winter? Looks like a perfect fit. That's what I worry about as some soft tops and doors for the mule look frumpy and stretched out.
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All the available accessories are definitely one of the things that sold us on the mule. We're gonna go with a soft roof and hard windshield set up for the winter months. My wife really enjoys driving around the acreage in the open air and the soft roof will give us the option of taking it off at a moment's notice. Also hoping to add a winch and hitch receiver real soon. It's gonna be fun building it up. Where do you get those sideboards and what do they cost? Do they fit the SX? I've been looking for something similar but couldn't find anything. The box is way too shallow right now for my linking.
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is there a brake fluid reservoir? thinking it might just be low.
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After six months of tireless (for the wife incredibly annoying) research, we decided to go with a 2021 Kawasaki Mule SX XC. The 3 year warranty coupled with the Mule's widely held reliability ratings were the determining factors. I bought a used Mazda SUV a couple years ago and it ended up being an $8,000 nightmare. It needed a new engine and engine harness, which all said and done added almost another 7 grand. The wife is still pissed about it and she was determined to avoid a repeat with the UTV. We've had it a week now and I think our fears of getting a lemon have been put to rest. It's been pretty awesome not having to walk over 100 yards each way to take the trash down to the curb and to get the mail. We absolutely love it and once I finish widening our trails it'll be that much better. The only gripe I have other than it lacking a little in the power department and not including a single accessory like a roof, windshield, winch, or even a trailer hitch (it's called a Mule for Christ's sake! How do you not include a hitch?) is that the brakes seem a little weak. Does anyone know about this issue with the Mule? I googled it but can't find anything. And unfortunately the guy that delivered it forgot the manual so I'm still waiting for the dealer to mail it to me. Anyway, does anyone know if I need to make some sort of adjustment or add brake fluid to get better braking power? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
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Hey guys. After mulling it over for several months, the wife and I have decided that our old Honda four wheeler's best days have come and gone. It's served us well over the past 8 years but it's time to upgrade to a UTV. We're excited and more than a little nervous, considering some of the horror stories we've read about UTVs at our price point, which is somewhere between 9 and 10k. In my research I've only found a couple options in that price range that would come with all the options we want (roof, windshield, winch). The Massimo 410, 550 and the Coleman UT400. We live on a 14 acre property so utility will be it's biggest use but the property is partially wooded with about three quarters of a mile of trails so there's a little bit of fun to be had too. The trails are pretty narrow however. My four wheeler can navigate them fine but there are some narrow sections that would rule out anything over 54 inches wide or 74 inches tall which takes the Massimo 550 out of the equation. So it's between the 410 and the Coleman. We're leaning towards the Coleman because it's the smaller of the two and about $1400 cheaper. I'm a little concerned about the mixed reviews on the Coleman, though. Seems to me you need to be darn near a mechanic to maintain the UT400, which I am not. I've managed t keep the Honda running all these years but I haven't had to do anything major like adjust the gear linkage, which from what I've read seems to be a common necessity with the Coleman. Fortunately, our handyman is also a bit of an auto mechanic so we would have him behind us. In any case, I just wanted to pick some experienced brains to either ease my mind on the Coleman or steer me towards the Massimo 410 or even something else.