I'm in between the commander and the wolverine

[Timmi]

I drove 4 hours to buy mine. I did get the extended warranty just in case but I don't anticipate any problems. I love my Wolvy!

I not worried about the drive of 80 miles to get the best machine. But my thoughts were if I did need to get some warranty work done. "Hopefully not". It would be a pain in the butt

[Bert]

Yea I was on the commander forums and posted over there some questions, acefire chimed in. They gave me a lot of food for thought. Nice people over there. But I have come to the point were the riding I do really don't require tons of hp. Pluse I already have worked with James @ JBS in the past over the phone. For help on my rhino an order parts and ECT. Great people to know .. And I know he's going to know this wolverine well. And be putting out some hp mods for it. And I won't feel so divorced from my beloved "tank" rhino

[jimclemjr]

Commander does look good. Has some great options. I would be swayed by the price that is about another $4-$5000 (from what it appears on line). I know that I could work on the Yamaha and get parts needed at fair price, if any work is needed' but I do not know the Rotax and not familiar with the clutch- seems to be simple enough from videos but not sure of reliability. But I would not really worry about how far a dealer is if you don't need to get there. And I would not buy a unit that I could not do all my own standard servicing on, O&F, greasing and fluids, brakes, axles, etc. I would spend time on the commander forum to see what the knowledge base was for community help. I have been riding atv/SxS for about five years and bet 95-98% of my riding averages 12 mph and so just don't think the difference between going 50 or 65 top speed is significant for me. And as always holds true- the more horsepower the more it costs you and the bigger the breaks lol. But it does feel good for an old hotrodder! Just some things I would think about.

[Yotehunter66]

Don't regret my Commander at all. Never been bothered by the heat. What made up my mind was hp, cost and utility since I use mine for chores more than trail. You can buy a small trailer to pull behind the Wolverine though if you ride more trail than uitility. What will you use it primarily for?

[Bert]

Well Iv had my wolvie for almost 9 months to the day bought Jan 12. I'm very happy with it. I can't really think of much any thing I would change. But I don't like how the is a dial for the 4 wheel drive. At high speeds sliding side ways on the muddy trail I like to reach up an kick it in to 4 wheel for more on the fly control, but you got be careful to not get to excited and over dial it to 4 wheel lock. The HP is good. But it wouldn't hurt to have it at about 60. But the mide range tourqe is very good. With very nice ride and predictable balance and comfort. With no heat in the cab.

[joaquin]

Looks like i'm a bit late to the party, but here is my 2 cents worth.

I had a 2008 Rhino, I sold it and bought a 2012 Commander 1000. Commander was FAST, but didn't ride as good as the Rhino,
I sold the commander and bought another 2008 Rhino, put a JBS sheave and I'm very happy now.

Just my 2 cents

[Bert]

Holly crap that's funny. I loved the ol rhino. But it killed my knees. The leg room is good in the Wolvarine.

[rodneygt]

Holly crap that's funny. I loved the ol rhino. But it killed my knees. The leg room is good in the Wolvarine.

Indeed. My knees were killing me in the rhino at the forum ride last year. I really loved my rhino tho. The Yamaha cvt system is smoothe as butter and James' sheave kept me in the power that the 660 made. But it didn't make much in comparison to my commander.

I was shopping new wolverines when I happened across a good deal on my commander. The 85hp 1000cc rotax is nice - it will hit 70mph with relative ease and climb a little higher if you have room. The same engine is tuned to 101hp in the maverick and detuned to 75hp in the defender. That being said I would have been satisfied with the Wolverine were it not for the bed. It rides better than the commander but I wanted a functional bed and the commander has a great one with a lower trunk with a removeable top that transforms a decent size bed into a huge one or you can use the trunk for tools, a small chainsaw etc.

[Bert]

It just seems like after doing a lot of reading the cabs were hot and in AZ. That's a big no no. At least for me. And it didnot have a good skid plate system. And the roof was another 400$ and the visco lock was still a bit unreliable it seemed from reading. And I didnot want to be in a bad situation climbing and not have full confidence in the lockers.

[rodneygt]

Yamaha has a better locker for sure. The qe visco in the newer ones engages both wheels after one slips just a little. I think the older ones like mine require a couple of revolutions on the powered front wheel before the other locks. An aftermarket co makes a locker like Yamahas for it but it's pricey and you lose the 3wd option I think

I think most of the people that say the cab on the commander is hot and loud never had a rhino! Lol

Had I only had the option for a new machine I probably would have gone with the Wolverine in spite of the big power difference. Still I've done a good bit to the used commander and have a lot less in it than I would in a wolverine. The skids are ok if you add James floor protection although I may add thicker ones. I like the plastic ones better than aluminum.