Hard-Working Viking Gets Job Done

And, it seems, everyone wants a slice of that pie.

So along comes Yamaha with a new side-by-side, the Viking. Interesting thing about the Viking, though, is that Yamaha is describing it as “a robust and high-capacity utility vehicle.”

Why release a dedicated work vehicle when high performance side-by-sides are all the rage? Yamaha officials say look at the hard numbers. Utility vehicles still dominate sales with 66 percent of the total SxS market being utility based. Further, 68 percent of the total SxS market is farming and hunting use—46 percent of which is primarily farming, ranching and business use.

Yamaha made a pretty strong case for the Viking. And to drive (pun intended) home that point, Yamaha chose the 25,000-acre Red Reflet Ranch near Ten Sleep, WY, to give the media a chance to see the Viking 700 in action in its natural habitat. Indeed, it was the ideal setting to show off the capabilities of the Viking, which replaces the Rhino in Yamaha’s side-by-side lineup

Not Quite All Work

One thing we appreciate about the Viking is that Yamaha isn’t claiming—or rather trying to market—this vehicle as anything but a work vehicle that you can also enjoy on the trails when the work—or hunt—is done.

To be clear, Yamaha has called the Viking a multi-purpose side-by-side but that multi-purpose is work and hunting/fishing, not high speed trail or dune riding.

We confess we did some trail riding around the ranch and in the mountains east of the ranch, along with some work, although it wasn’t much work for us. Throwing a few bales of hay in the cargo bed and hooking up a trailer loaded with fencing supplies and equipment wasn’t really work but it did show the work ethic of the Viking as well as what it is capable of.

In our initial report on the Viking (www.dirttoysmag.com) after our ride on the working cattle ranch, we gave a brief overview of what we considered five standout features. Reviewing our notes from that day’s ride and looking back through the pictures, we still think those five attributes—true 3-person seating, electric power steering, improved engine, engine braking and vehicle balance—are some of the Viking’s finest features. To those we add a couple more outstanding features—carrying/towing capacity and smooth operation of the transmission, especially under load.

Seating For Three

It may seem a bit odd to start with the seating capacity of the Viking but who wants to work alone? You can not only take one, but two other people along to help with the chores or go along on the hunt.

As we pointed out in our initial ride report, we admit we were definitely skeptical that three adult men could sit comfortably in the Viking’s three bucket seats. In fact, to maybe even make a point about our skepticism, we invited Yamaha ATV/SxS product planner Travis Hollins to ride with us—and to sit in the middle. It turns out the cab is very spacious and there is plenty of room for all three.

Yamaha accomplished this by offsetting the center bucket seat, which is reclined by five degrees (which doesn’t sound like much but it’s just enough) for shoulder clearance. The center seat headrest is set back 76.6 mm (3.01 inches) from the other two headrests.

With the Viking’s pass-through cab design, it is also easy to enter and exit the vehicle. There are three-point seatbelts for all three riders and the passenger handhold is adjustable forward and back 84 mm (3.34 inches). The driver’s seat is also adjustable.

“Every occupant has been thought about or considered from the very beginning of the concept of this vehicle,” Hollins said. That was obvious to us as we think Yamaha got this right.

Carries Quite A Load

You’ve got the capacity to carry three workers—or hunters—so what about the vehicle’s cargo capacity and towing? The stamped steel bed is rated to haul 600 lbs. and is big and tough enough to carry a myriad of farm supplies and tools—or five bales of hay, which is what we hauled. The steel bed can be a bit noisy when empty and tooling along a trail, but that’s the difference between a steel bed and one made out of a different material.

As for towing, the Viking has an impressive towing capacity of 1500 lbs. We pulled a trailer loaded with fencing supplies and tools, along with the five bales of hay in the cargo bed and one passenger which, when all added up, is quite a load. With that kind of load, the Viking did have to work hard to carry all that weight, but it did get the job done. It wasn’t like the Viking really struggled; rather, it was more that you could tell it was carrying a load.

It was while hauling and towing that we paid close attention to the Viking’s balance. We also noticed how well it handled mountain trails. All in all, the vehicle is well-balanced. Part of the feeling of being so well-balanced comes from sitting so low in the chassis—3.3 inches lower compared to the Polaris Ranger. Yamaha was able to put the bucket seats lower by mounting the engine behind the seats.

The Viking’s powerplant is Yamaha’s most powerful four-wheel drive engine yet. The 686cc liquid-cooled 4-stroke features an SOHC, is a single cylinder and offers 4-valve fuel injection. Low-end torque is pretty much a must if you’re working on the farm or ranch, either because of the conditions you’re driving in or when you’re hauling a load. There was enough power when hauling a load and we were equally impressed with the instant throttle response on the trails. We hit the rev limiter at 51-52 mph on the open trail with no load so it’s not off-the-rails fast but the power was adequate for the farm and mountain trails. There were times when we had the Viking’s gas pedal floored on the mountain trails and we weren’t setting any land speed records but it got us up the mountain.

The engine is mounted rearward behind the seats in the Viking, which helps reduce the heat in the cab area.

Ultra Smooth Ultramatic

You can have all the power you could ever want but if it’s not getting to the ground who cares? Yamaha’s Ultramatic transmission (H/L/R) gets the credit for getting the power to the ground on the Viking. One of the key features—among many—on the Ultramatic is the one-way Sprag clutch, which delivers all-wheel engine braking and works really well on this vehicle. Technically speaking, the one-way Sprag clutch mechanically “locks” all four wheels together, which is how the vehicle gets all-wheel braking.

We had to come down all the hills and mountains we climbed and the all-wheel braking worked perfectly. On our way back from our mountain trail ride, it rained very hard for a while, making the trails a gooey, sticky and very slick mess. It was that stretch of trail that we most appreciated the engine braking. The vehicle slowed down many times without our touching the brake.

An automatic centrifugal clutch helps maintain constant belt tension, reducing wear and thus improving durability.

Still another of our favorite features on the Viking is the Electric Power Steering. We were impressed with the EPS system, which responded even with the slightest turn of the steering wheel. We like feedback from the terrain and the Viking EPS gives that without either over- or under-compensating for the obstacles on the road or trail. And EPS is the way to go when the vehicle is in four-wheel drive and you’re traversing logs or battling ruts in the trail (or crossing choppy pasture land). It was also a welcome addition carrying heavy loads on the ranch.

The EPS works by reading steering wheel torque, vehicle speed, On-Command setting (2WD, 4WD and 4WD with diff lock) and negative feedback. All those inputs help the EPS to determine how much assist to give.

Yamaha uses its long history of EPS systems—the company was the first OEM to bring EPS to an ATV—to continue to “provide the best-feeling EPS in the industry,” as one Yamaha official said. He added, “The key is in providing the right balance between a light feel that reduces fatigue and negative feedback, while maintaining enough feel and positive feedback from the terrain to give the driver maximum control and confidence. Not enough assist and EPS loses its benefit. Too much assist and the driver loses the connection with the terrain.”

It just flat works. Period.

So is the Viking the perfect utility side-by-side? No. We don’t think that machine exists. There are a couple of minor “issues” if you want to call them that. There is a noticeable vibration, which at idle you can see when the dash vibrates but goes away as you press the gas. And the Viking does push in the corners a bit but that is because the suspension (8 inches of travel in the front; 7.9 inches in the rear) is dialed in to carry a 600-pound load. In other words, the Viking is purposely set up from the factory that way because it is set up to work.

While the Viking may not be perfect—and again, no vehicle is—it is still long on features and has an excellent work ethic, one fit for any farm or ranch or hunting trip.

And while it’s a worker, it still knows how to have fun.