Pure Sport: 2017 Yamaha YXZ1000R SS

The Yamaha YXZ1000R SS features a high-performance Sport Shift five-speed sequential shift transmission that is user selectable for the ultimate in off-road control. Sport Shift is Yamaha’s sequential five-speed manual transmission that marries the power, durability, and efficiency of a traditional manual transmission with an automatic clutch system. This system replaces the standard foot-operated clutch pedal with finger-operated paddle shifters, mounted to the steering column just behind the steering wheel. To switch gears, you never have to let go of the steering wheel, which is handy when you’re negotiating difficult terrain.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

Whether your chosen playground is an endless sea of sun drenched sandy dunes, or a damp forest full of tall trees and narrow dirt trails, scaling down from a large vehicle to a nimble and responsive UTV can be a fun and liberating experience.

Being able to zoom in and out of tight spots, and explore areas your full sized rig simply can’t go, can put a smile on your face every time you get to drive one.

As you have undoubtedly experienced, off roading over uneven and loosely packed ground is best done in a vehicle that you have total control over. Steering and throttle response are of great importance if you’d rather focus on getting to where you want to go instead of focusing on getting unstuck.

The fundamentals are the same whether or not you’re in a truck or a side-by-side.

Pure Sporting Fun

Because the Yamaha YXZ1000R SS is designed for pure sporting fun, it is equipped with a feature that you’d usually expect to only find on European supercars: Launch System. Activating Launch System by using the brake pedal and both steering wheel paddles, allows the driver to build up power for high-speed take-offs and maximum acceleration.

Powering the side-by-side is a 998cc inline three-cylinder engine. There’s plenty of get up and go, thanks to its compact double overhead cam, twelve-valve cylinder head, aggressive 11.3:1 compression ratio and dry-sump lubrication. All this culminates in a power plant that outputs 112 horsepower, great mid-range torque and a high-revving 10,500 RPM redline. It has a reported top speed of 85 miles per hour. Combined with its sequential shift transmission and shaft-driven four-wheel drive, you’ll be hard pressed to find terrain that you can’t power through.

Its ground-hugging prowess comes thanks in part to Fox 2.5 Podium RC2 Shocks. These piggyback shocks give the Yamaha YXZ1000R SS an amazing level of performance adjustability. It has both high- and low- speed compression damping adjustments, as well as high- and low-speed rebound. The versatility of this setup, and the capability it brings to this UTV, is off the charts. Each shock also rocks on dual springs, with crossover adjustments that provide a generous 16.2 inches front, and 17.0 inches rear, travel.

Fun Utility Vehicle

With the entire driving experience in mind, Yamaha designed the cockpit to occupy the middle ground between pure driving performance and comfort for its pilot. Stepping inside, you’ll find comfortable high-back seats with extra lateral support and outside shoulder bolsters. Its floor has been purposely shaped to provide the driver and passenger both ample legroom, while still allowing for a steady grip during aggressive maneuvers. You can adjust both the front seat and steering wheel to get just the right fit.

Make no mistake: The Yamaha YXZ1000R SS is not made for doing mundane chores around the property. We know that you have plenty of options when shopping for a UTV. Yamaha helps us narrow down the field by producing this machine that’s made for fun — and boy did they deliver.

Where would we take the SS out to play? It doesn’t matter, as long as we’re behind the wheel.