What would be the perfect width, length for a side X side

For riding Windrock, Royal Blue, and Brimstone what do you think is the best over all width and length for a side x side? I am in the process of building one from scratch and I have to buy axles so I can make it any width and length I want. I am using Can Am front and rear differentials and an 800 Rotax Can Am turbocharged motor. I figured this would be the place to ask for advice for the length and width.

56 to 58 if you want to have ease of the tightest
trails. But for stability and best climbing.
around 59 to 60.

My S is 60 1/2 wide.
it climbs like nobody's bissiness.
and most people don't seem to have any trouble
navigating trails.

My Rhino was 55 1/2 in the front
and 57 7/8 in the rear. and i never had any
problems in the woods ever.

But my S is more stable than my Rhino was.
lower center of gravity and long travel.

There is a bank in my back yard , i have drove
down side ways on the S , and i would not do it on
my Rhino. i feel it would roll. So i am likeing the 60 inch width..

Chris....

I had a Rhino a few years ago but it just didn't have enough power for me so I sold it. I ride trail 12 at Windrock a lot and when I had my Rhino it did ok through it but I have seen a lot of Terex body parts laying around on 12. It is pretty tight in some places. I don't want this one as wide as a Terex. Trail 57 also has a place that gives some Rhinos a problem if they are really wide.

It suprised me to read that the Razor is longer than the Rhino, they don't look like it. There are things I like about both the Rhino and the Razor. But I really like the power of the Rotax motor. Hopefully I can take the best traits of each and have something I will be happy with.

I am sure it will be a nice machine your building....

He didn't bother to tell you guys its going to be running a turbo too!

He did not get that name for nothing

Gunny, you sure have a nice Razor. Can I borrow it sometime?

Badride. I think you would be surprised at how well you can get around the woods with 60". If I was building a machine, I would really study the RZRS. It is unbelievable at climbing.

The width needs to be in the A-arms for more travel. I think that a machine with some kind of mid travel at 58" would be perfect.

Badride wrote:

It suprised me to read that the Razor is longer than the Rhino, they don't look like it.

The RZR is not longer than the Rhino. It does have a longer wheelbase though. Here are the specs.

Rhino- 113.6 inches overall length. Wheelbase 75.2 inches.
RZR-S- 106 inches overall length. Wheelbase 77 inches.
RZR- 102 inches overall length. Wheelbase 77 inches.

My .......62 inches wide with 14 inches suspension travel. 80 inch Wheelbase.

Badride wrote:

Gunny, you sure have a nice Razor. Can I borrow it sometime?

on that idea

wvyankee2 wrote:

Badride wrote:

It suprised me to read that the Razor is longer than the Rhino, they don't look like it.

The RZR is not longer than the Rhino. It does have a longer wheelbase though. Here are the specs.

Rhino- 113.6 inches overall length. Wheelbase 75.2 inches.
RZR-S- 106 inches overall length. Wheelbase 77 inches.
RZR- 102 inches overall length. Wheelbase 77 inches.

My .......62 inches wide with 14 inches suspension travel. 80 inch Wheelbase.

I think wheelbase is what he meant, not how much plastic hangs out.

Big-R wrote:

Badride. I think you would be surprised at how well you can get around the woods with 60". If I was building a machine, I would really study the RZRS. It is unbelievable at climbing.

The width needs to be in the A-arms for more travel. I think that a machine with some kind of mid travel at 58" would be perfect.

60 I am sure would be better and I will get as close to that as I can. I am going to stop and wait on some of the Rhinos next weekend when we go through 57. I guess I need to see for my self how hard they have it in the really tight sections. I did follow a Rhino a few weeks ago in one of the wooded sections on a new trail and the guy kept hitting trees with the rear wheels. Of course, it was near the end of the day and he may have been getting a little tired/lazy. His tires stick out 2 or 3 inches in the rear.

I would go 60-62 inches wide and maybe 4-6 inches longer than the Rhino for stability. I would also make two upper or lower shock mounting points one for a lower riding stance maybe 10 inches ground clearance for handling on the open gravel roads and one with 14-16 inches ground clearance for rock climbing, rougher trails, and MUD.

My perfect size would be 4' x 8' with wheels at the four corners and the engine as low as possible for low center of gravity. I followed a Rzr S going up to Black Mountain at Evarts and he had to run over alot of rocks and little trees due to the width. Will a Rzr-S fit -- Yep most of the time. Does a Rzr-S have to run over more stuff -- yep some of the time.


Basically I'd build it like a jacked up Honda Odyssey or Pilot from the 1980's and squeeze two seats in if possible. Come to think of it -- is that what Polaris did with the Rzr???



YEARS MANUFACTURED: 1989 & 1990MODEL: FL400R

ENGINE:397cc single cylinder two stroke
IGNITION: Solid State CD
STARTER: Electric and recoil
TRANSMISSION: V-belt torque converter with forward/neutral /reverse LENGTH: 96.4 inches WIDTH: 50.50 inches
HEIGHT: 57.2 inches
WHEELBASE: 62.2 inches
GROUND CLEARANCE: 5.3 inches
FUEL CAPACITY: 4.2 gallons includes 1.3 gallon reserve
TIRESFRONT: 22 x 7--10
REAR: 24 x 11-10
SUSPENSION FRONT: Double wishbone,5.9" travel,shocks
REAR: Double wishbone,7.1" travel,gas charged shocks
DRY WEIGHT: 605 pounds
COLOR: Red
OPTIONAL HONDALINE ACCESSORIES:
Front and rear bumpers,nerf bars,skid plate,tachometer,body cover(no longer available from Honda)
BRAKES FRONT: Dual hydraulic drums
REAR: Single hydraulic disc

roamerr wrote:

My perfect size would be 4' x 8' with wheels at the four corners and the engine as low as possible for low center of gravity. I followed a Rzr S going up to Black Mountain at Evarts and he had to run over alot of rocks and little trees due to the width. Will a Rzr-S fit -- Yep most of the time. Does a Rzr-S have to run over more stuff -- yep some of the time.


Basically I'd build it like a jacked up Honda Odyssey or Pilot from the 1980's and squeeze two seats in if possible. Come to think of it -- is that what Polaris did with the Rzr???



YEARS MANUFACTURED: 1989 & 1990MODEL: FL400R

ENGINE:397cc single cylinder two stroke
IGNITION: Solid State CD
STARTER: Electric and recoil
TRANSMISSION: V-belt torque converter with forward/neutral /reverse LENGTH: 96.4 inches WIDTH: 50.50 inches
HEIGHT: 57.2 inches
WHEELBASE: 62.2 inches
GROUND CLEARANCE: 5.3 inches
FUEL CAPACITY: 4.2 gallons includes 1.3 gallon reserve
TIRESFRONT: 22 x 7--10
REAR: 24 x 11-10
SUSPENSION FRONT: Double wishbone,5.9" travel,shocks
REAR: Double wishbone,7.1" travel,gas charged shocks
DRY WEIGHT: 605 pounds
COLOR: Red
OPTIONAL HONDALINE ACCESSORIES:
Front and rear bumpers,nerf bars,skid plate,tachometer,body cover(no longer available from Honda)
BRAKES FRONT: Dual hydraulic drums
REAR: Single hydraulic disc

Honda , was a head of there time. it just did not take off back then.
thay need to remake the pilot. just as it was but 2 seats
and an 800 twin and add 4wd , and it would be a killer
machine.....

Then Marty's next machine would not need to be
the big red pig that he wants.....

roamerr wrote:

GROUND CLEARANCE: 5.3 inches

TIRESFRONT: 22 x 7--10
REAR: 24 x 11-10

Would not be much of a rock crawler nor a mudder but would be killer on the gravel roads.....

Back in the day those 24" tires were considered big! The rear brakes remind me of my Rhino or Can-am -- sucky brakes (REAR: Single hydraulic disc).

You could use "final drives" on the end of each axle to mount the hubs, and still get the ground clearance everyone wants in a pretty narrow track.

Of course you'd then have a higher center of gravity...

IMO, you can't have it both ways -- which is more important in your compromise solution?

mud-and-guts wrote:

Would not be much of a rock crawler nor a mudder but would be killer on the gravel roads.....

Thats me.

Thanks for all the input guys. I guess as it stands now it looks like it will be around 77" wheel base with a some where close to 58-60" width. I want it as long and as wide as possible but short and narrow enough to get through the rocks and trees where I ride. I plan to put the seats close to the floor similar to a RZR so I can keep the center of gravity as low as possible. I want to keep the cage low for the same reason and also so I can get under the trees that sometimes are down on the trails. I can't make my mind up about a windshield. Yes, no, half, glass, plexiglass????? I had one on my Rhino and it was really scratched up after only one ride. It ended up getting broken because I had it let down and I got into a tree on trail 12 at Windrock. I replaced it with one from Hunter Works that was solid but had vents at the bottom. It didn't scratch hardly at all but I didn't get much air. Any opinions on a windshield?

I like the 1/2 windshield as it keeps most of the wind and debris off you and still lets enough air flow thru to keep the dust from pulling into the cab. I bought mine 2 years ago from Extreme Metal Products and it has taken a beating and has held up well.

wvyankee2 wrote:

I like the 1/2 windshield as it keeps most of the wind and debris off you and still lets enough air flow thru to keep the dust from pulling into the cab. I bought mine 2 years ago from Extreme Metal Products and it has taken a beating and has held up well.

I agree I like the half windshield also. I have the Yamaha half and it is holding up excellent.

Yeah, I kind of like the half unless it rains. I may try to build something that I can just remove the upper part. I liked the folding windshield I had except that when I let it down it cought on a tree and busted it. If I make the upper cage so that the upper part is small enough I might get by using one from a Rhino and cut it down to fit. I remember riding at Windrock with the full windshield and you had to keep stopping to clean the snow off, bummer.

I ripped up my folding windshield also. I have the same Hunterworks windshield too. I put the full shield on when it is cold and take it off when it is hot. This works best for me.

Big-R wrote:

I ripped up my folding windshield also. I have the same Hunterworks windshield too. I put the full shield on when it is cold and take it off when it is hot. This works best for me.

I think this winter I will get a full windshield myself. Since the Seizmik doors I am running have upper half's it should hold a little heat.

mud-and-guts wrote:

Big-R wrote:

I ripped up my folding windshield also. I have the same Hunterworks windshield too. I put the full shield on when it is cold and take it off when it is hot. This works best for me.

I think this winter I will get a full windshield myself. Since the Seizmik doors I am running have upper half's it should hold a little heat.

I have a full windshield and a back enclose-meant and that alone keeps heat inside the cab.