We have 25 hours on our RSX850i gator, and most been at low speeds checking on cattle. We have had it in the shop for a couple of things.
1) The emergency brake cable broke. The tech said it has been a common problem and has fixed 3 other RSX850i's emergency breaks.
2) the transmission would lock up in gear and it would not let you shift in or out of gears. It would also bind going into gear from Neutral to Drive, or Neutral to Reverse, or it would shift with a big clunk. So the tech adjusted the tension of the shifter and it has been much better about getting in and out of gear, and it has not locked up since he adjusted it.
Heat- at slow speeds the motors fan runs frequently, and there is a good amount of heat coming from the dash and mostly on your legs. I have not noticed a tremendous amount of heat coming from under the seat to the shifter, however the motor is directly under the shifter and the the dump bed. The exhaust pipe is mounted high and the tailpipe is directly out of the rear, so it won't start weeds on fire. Even though there is heat shield where the exhaust goes under the dump bed it still makes inside the bed a little warm, especially when there is someone sitting down riding in the dump bed. At faster speeds the fan does not turn on as much due to the radiators need for air.
Noise- Noise is not really too much of an issue. It is no louder than any other side by side. It is not any louder than a Can Am Commander.
Gas Cap- the gas cap leaks like crazy! If you go on any hill or any bump or anything, gas ends up all over the side of the machine under the fuel fill cap. It doesn't matter if its full or if you have a 1/2 gallon in there, there is always gas leaking out of the cap. It needs to have a longer filler neck on the tank because when you look into the tank you can see all the way across to the other side of the tank. You don't look down into the tank, you look across the top of the tank! In the specs it says it has a 7.4 gallon fuel tank but mine overfills at 5 gallons. Refueling it is tricky.
Price- we paid top dollar for our RSX850i. It comes standard with a 6 month warranty, we got the extended 2 year warranty... With the name John Deere on the front you get top notch service and the guys at the shop are great!
Shocks- mine has the upgraded fox shocks on it. These shocks are two way adjustable (by rebound and coil stiffness). Mine was set right in the middle. I adjusted it so they are as soft as they go and it gives it a great smooth ride. I am often cutting across fields so the softer the ride the better for me. Now if you we're jumping, the stiffest setting would be ideal and I could guarantee you would never bottom them out. It's a great suspension system. A lot of other side by sides run the same fox shocks.
Overall you have to realize this is a new machine and everything is NEW. So you have to come to expect some minor things will have to be changed or adjusted. There are chips (similar to diesel truck chips/programmers) for the Piaggio motors. The top speed of 53mph is an electronicly governed setting, and chipping it will allow you to have a higher top speed. There are also kits that are bolt on that turn it from 850 to 1000 (for all you side by side racers out there).
Hope all this info helps
Seth
