QUOTE (THE CHICKEN @ Jan 20 2010, 07:40 AM)
Wow! This thread has been brought back from the dead!
Seeing as I have a few minutes, I'll add some observations of my own.
First off, it just came to my attention that Uncle Jay has changed his avatar. Hmmmmm...
Second, I have had mixed results getting parts from Joyner. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, one time finally gave up. In all fairness, I have had similar results with Polaris as well, although they usually can get me a part within a couple of days.
Third, I have had the dubious pleasure to work on a few Joyners. Perhaps I have only gotten the bottom of the barrel ones, but I can say without a doubt that the words Quality and Joyner do NOT go together.
Fourth, I have worked on a lot of Polaris Rangers, and a couple of RZR's. Tinkered with a few Rhinos as well. The quality of assembly and engineering on these machines is readily evident. Even the mass-produced welds are far superior to the best Joyner I have seen. This quality goes beyond just chassis-it is evident throughout the machines, and the converse is true for the Joyners.
Fifth, the belt issue. Well, the belt IS a wear item, just like brake pads, tires and motor oil. How long should it last and be reasonable? Good question. My own experiences with belts have been varied. It would appear that like most consumables, the harder you use/abuse them, the faster they go. Our first Polaris Ranger went well over 320 hours on the factory belt-that thing was used constantly, though never abused. Our second ranger was belt-hungry and consumed them with sometimes suprising appatite. In all fairness, that one was also used a LOT, and usually over-loaded as well. FWIW, I wish these machines had crash box gear boxes like the first utility quads had in the 80's so you could select gears, but I guess lots of people like the "automatic" of the belts.
Next, I can't count past five, being math deficient, so I'll just add paragraphs.
It is without doubt that the non-Chinese machines have had their short-comings. The first RZR airboxes being one of the most obvious. Some of these shortcomings are not what they seem. For example, the frame issues on both the RZRs and the Rhinos. People who run these machines normally and don't abuse them, rarely have problems with them, unless they crash, in which case damage is likely to occur to ANY machine. Now, running your machine at high speed through the whoops all the time, jumping it constantly, driving it so hard you are constantly on the bumpstops-I don't believe these to be normal operating conditions. If that is how you run your vehicles, expect higher fatigue, failure, and maintenance. If you drive your RZR like Robby Gordan, expect to fix it like him too.
The "cages" on all the new RZRs and Rangers are now ROPS-which is some industrial acronym that means the structure has been tested and approved to be able to withstand a vehicle roll-over and not self-destruct-thus protecting the occupants from being crushed. ( This can't be said of previous generation Rangers which had really thin-tube cages and were famous for being junk after any rubber-side-up misshap). The rzr cages are pretty good in stock form, and the RZR S versions come with additional rear bracing AND side saftey nets to keep your arms and legs in. (They are ugly, however. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.)
Without a doubt, the last two years have seen vast improvements in the Polaris line up. Better performance, better parts, and over-all much better machines than ever before. I have no personal experiance with other brands, but I would expect the same is true of Yamaha, Kawi, etc. Can the same be said of Joyner? I do not personally know, as I have not worked on any newer ones, and have not worked on any at all in about six months. I would expect, however, that they will evolve and get better-that just makes good business sense. Wether they will ever be really "good"-well that remains open to interpertation.
The chinese manufacture thing( you know, do you shop at Wall Mart, buy computers, etc), My previous unemployment statement still stands, and has to a point been sadly proven. I do know that polaris, at least, has some of their manufacturing done here and in Canada, so at least that is something. Sadly, with the exception of custom-built vehicles(not MANUFACTURED), it's pretty hard to find U.S. products any more. (and, no, companys like Toyota that have plants here in the U.S. don't count- while local workers might get paid, the profits still go out of the country). But I digress, for once again this is a sad, sad, and very sore subject...
I think it is fairly evident that I am not a Joyner fan. But I try to be objective as possible. Also, for what it is worth, the only time I have worn a white sheet was on Halloween dressed as a ghost, and if I am baller, then it is truly sad how low the rest of the world must have sunk when I wasn't looking!
And perhaps lastly, it would appear that the only two known Joyner supporters that I can recall here on GD.com (Uncle Jay and King Of The Hill), were only happy with their Joyners after considerable modifications. As I recall, both of these people had to do a fair amount of work to their machines to get them to work properly. If one has the time and talent to do that kind of stuff themselves, maybe that is not such a bad deal. As for me, there are just too many shortfalls with the Joyners for me to ever consider them a good choice.
thanks for posting out of knowledge and experience, you have had hands on dealings with joyner...
my self, I agree with most of what you have said.....
the thing is, Ol uncle Jay and my self just happen to be thick skinned enough to put up with the hecklers..
most don't bother with telling there side.
my experince with joyner...out of the box.. horrible.. my Sr2 was the worst..
no pwer, no suspension,
but with a few mods and adjustments.. what a differance.. everyone that rode in it was impressed with the results
joyner had no business getting in to the over 20 grand market...they figured that out quick... but for 10-12k pretty good piece
I own a weld/ fab shop/muffler shop... was a construction welder.. never had one welding issue..
I seen the picture where 2 250 lb bozos try'd to baja a 250 go cart and ripped a spindle
