Despite what you may believe, there are two Americas. But this isn't a political diatribe about Right vs. Left, Tupac or Biggie, or whether the correct term is pop or soda (it's pop, btw), but rather East Coast vs. West Coast off-road trails.
The two couldn't be more different, as the East Coast is defined by smaller, tighter, more tree-lined paths, often on private land, while the West Coast is far more open, desert-based fast running on public lands. As such, you'd think that the machines you'd take to either should would be different.
But that's not always the case and wasn't for Yamaha's Wolverine RMax4 lineup until right now.
After listening to its customers, Yamaha made the decision to add a side-by-side model to its lineup, as well as rename another, so that both the West Coasters and East Coasters are satiated. Welcome to the powersports family, Wolverine RMax4 and RMax4 Compact.
Sorry, Midwesterners, you'll need to pick sides. So what'll be, Bloods or Crips? Just kidding. Let's get into what's up with the new Yamaha Wolverine RMax.
Before we get into the nitty gritty, a little backstory. As I mentioned up at the top, there are two Americas: East and West Coast trails. And though Yamaha's current Wolverine RMax4 was well-received, most folks thought that the two-door, four-seat side-by-side was a bit cramped in the back for anyone outside of a child. Yamaha also saw that other OEMs like Can-Am and Polaris dominated the Western states and that its RMax4 was pretty regulated to East Coast duty.
Obviously, that couldn't stand, so Yamaha set about building something that offered more variety to its US customers. And the company figured it out by taking the current RMax4 and renaming it the RMax4 Compact, which is designed for the East, and then using an RMax2, stretching the chassis, redesigning a host of parts, and calling it the RMax4, a side-by-side ready to tackle the obstacles and terrain in the West.
But unlike other new models slapped together with leftover parts or off an old chassis, Yamaha went ham on the new RMax4.
First and foremost, it's a four-door. Yes, four full-size doors for full-size adults! Hooray. And they do indeed fit four full-size adults, as my 6'4" frame fits behind the driver and passenger seats—no more cramped coupe stadium seats like in the RMax Compact. Passengers also get access to revised footrests that are angled so you can hold your body up better when going fast through the desert, as well as a 6-gallon internal storage compartment in the rear with an LED light so you can actually see your contents and not just lose them.
There's also an all-new Adventure Pro display that offers Bluetooth capability, navigation from Yamaha's mapping partner ENC, and connection to the side-by-side's upgraded audio system. Folks wanting further mapping capabilities, however, can download GPX files to a thumb drive and upload them to their machine, including those from onX Off-Road and Hunt.
The 64-inch track width of the RMax4 denotes what this side-by-side was built for; open spaces. Fox Shocks are all around, with two options available: the brand's QS3 or iQS shocks, with the latter coming standard on the Limited RMax4 model. Both, however, offer 14.2 inches of travel in the front, while 16.9 inches in the rear, and 13.8 inches of ground clearance. Given its more open-running conception, the wheelbase of the donor RMax2 was stretched to 118 inches for a far more planted feel, and a square setup of the 30-inch Maxxis tires was decided upon.
Given you can't just extend the frame and slap two extra doors onto a side-by-side and call it a day, along with the suspension upgrades, Yamaha upgraded the electric power steering system, the sway bars, axle geometry and construction, and more for a machine that's far more capable than ever before. There's almost too much to list.
Yamaha also designed a new On Command drive selection system that offers Turf Mode, so your wheels aren't locked and scraping your grass away or scuffing up your driveway, as well as 2WD, 4WD, and Full Differential Lock. It's still powered by a 999cc parallel-twin engine, and comes with Yamaha's 10-year belt warranty.
And just like the RMax4 Compact, the RMax4 also comes with a work-oriented cargo bed at the back—one that looks primed for hauling gear, supplies, or big game in. But what I'd love to mention here, and something so many other OEMs and truck makers get wrong, is how Yamaha came up with its 150-pound max payload.
Now, that doesn't sound like a lot, and it really isn't. But, unlike other OEMs, and especially truck OEMs, Yamaha set that with four full-grown adults in the side-by-side. So if you do throw 150 pounds into the RMax4's bed, you don't have to tell Martha or Steve they have to wait at the house, while you, Jeff, and Linda go on a trek into the woods.
More companies should do this. But what does this new Wolverine RMax4 cost? And does the now RMax4 Compact get all the same new goodies?
Firstly, yeah, the Compact gets everything the new RMax4 gets. It's just shorter with fewer doors, but still highly capable of tackling whatever East Coast trail you're on.
As for cost, Yamaha set the new RMax4 with a base price of $27,999 for the XT-R model and $29,199 for the Limited, while the RMax4 Compact actually gets a price cut to $24,199 for the R-Spec, $26,999 for the XT-R, and $28,199 for the Limited. That's pretty comparable to the offerings from Can-Am and Polaris, and that warranty is pretty unbeatable.
So what do you think of the all-new Wolverine RMax4 and the newly dubbed RMax4 Compact? Are you ready to get it into the deer woods, whether it be whitetail or muley?
