By J. Hayden Turner
The Polaris RZR 1000 first released in 2014 and has revolutionized the UTV market. For 2017, Polaris has three models of their flagship RZR in 2 and 4 seat configurations; the 1000S, XP1000, and the XP1000 Turbo. Additionally, Polaris has two special edition XP models, the High Lifter, made for playing in the mud and the Hard Rock Edition, for extreme trail riding and rock climbing. In this article, I give my review of the two seat 2017 XP1000 along with a few modifications I have done so far.

The RZR XP1000 has a 999cc four stroke, twin cylinder engine making 110hp. It has a high and low transmission driven by a CVT belt drive that lets you really feel the power. The 29" Maxxis Bighorn tires do their best to grab the terrain, but are easily overpowered if you get too aggressive with the skinny pedal. The electronic power steering makes slow speed turning easier and still allows good feedback at higher speeds. The Walker Evan adjustable shocks are easy to tune with 16" of travel in the front and 18" in the rear. The 2 seat XP is fairly wide at 64" and has a wheelbase of 90"; making it stable for climbing steep hills. If you ride a lot of tight trails you might want to consider the S model as it's a little narrower coming in at 60" wide with 100hp. If you are a wide open dune rider, then the XP1000 Turbo is the machine you want to look at. It has the same 64" width as the regular XP but has an additional 58hp to help conquer even the steepest of dunes!

Driving the RZR XP1000 you can really start to appreciate the time and effort that went into making the machine handle and perform the way it does. The advertised top speed of the XP is 82 MPH, though I have not personally verified it (because my dad will not let me out of his sight when I drive it!), but I have no doubt it will do it. I can tell you that it will spin the tires at 50 mph on a gravel road and it never feels tipsy or out of control. Polaris really hit it out of the ballpark with this machine.

My first modification was to install a Pro Armor 5- Point harnesses, to keep you planted in the machine on the rough trails. In my opinion this should be the first modification done on any of the sport Side by Sides. With the amount of power and speed these machines are capable of the stock 3pt seatbelts are not adequate.

Additionally, I also installed a RyFab folding full glass windshield to keep the wind, rain, dirt and bugs out of my eyes. The best thing about the RyFab windshield is when the weather gets hot, you can simply fold it down and have a nice breeze flowing through the cab. It also has a vent at the bottom of the windshield frame that you can open and close. The frame around the glass on the RyFab is bigger than some of the competitors which takes a little getting use to at first, but overall we are pleased with the quality of it.

With the installation of the windshield, I thought it would be a good idea to installed an ISOTA Off Road aluminum roof and UTV giant half doors to try and keep the water and mud on the outside.

We have a 4,500lb winch and a light bar that we hope to have installed and tested before next month's article.

The Polaris RZR 1000 XP is a powerful, capable, high performance machine, and I can't wait to see what technology in the UTV market brings in the next few years!