Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Yamaha Viking opinions

Had a Polaris, didn’t trust it. Was fast but clunky and rattled. Don’t need to have a speed demon, I want something dead nuts reliable

I have been looking for a Honda Pioneer, Kawasaki Mule Pro FXT or a Teryx4 with no luck. Two Vikings are for sale that can be bought for around $11k

I don’t know much about the Vikings. Any input is appreciated. Both are the single seat machines that can seat 3 adults. One is a 2018 and the other is a 2014 I think. Both have power steering

I hear they are fairly sturdy but rather loud when compared to more modern designs.

I have a friend with a Viking. Not sure of the year. I’m guessing it’s at least 8 years old. It still runs fine. He hasn’t had any issues with it. The only thing I don’t like is the seating design. It has three distinct seats and isn’t very easy for the middle rider to get into position. I like Yamaha. Had a Rhino for 14 years with no real issues. Just normal maintenance.
I bought a Kawasaki Teryx 2 last year and am very happy with it. It’s tough to find anything in stock these days.
Good luck with whatever you end up buying.
Bob

Buddy has a '19 viking. It's not bad, ran it in the dunes many times. He plows with it. His front differential did detonate on him ( he glad it was under warranty) otherwise no problems.

We picked up a mule MX pro this spring, definitely not a speed demon but dang it's not bad.

The 18 Viking will have the sound dampening kit and engine stabilizer bar. The 14 may run forever or the engine bolts may back out and eat itself.

The Viking will be more reliable than your Polaris. It has issues being louder as a single cylinder, will rip up your yard with the locked rear end, will go through nasty stuff with the front locker, will eventually have exhaust pipe breaks from meeting EPA emissions, will be two inches shorter in the rear from sag. In short, the viking uses old tried and true technology to create an affordable reliable machine. They sacrifice modern refinement by doing so.

We have a 2018 Viking that my wife wanted. It only has about 1300 miles on it, but it has been fun and reliable. It is a bit noisier than I would have preferred. The differential lock is nice. It seats 3 comfortably. The only downside is that it is a 60 inch machine and the forest ATV trails are all 50 inch trails in my area. It runs fine on the forest service roads, and it is plated and can be driven on city streets to the shop for service rather than trailering it.

We have a Polaris Rzr 800 that's 50". There are only about a half dozen models of 50's made. We have 100's of miles of 50" trails in this area and we seldom encounter other riders on them.
It will fit in the back of my long bed pickup although the tailgate comes about 4" short of closing.