Yamaha’s new Viking utility vehicle
Three person seating in the Yamaha Viking
Yamaha Motor Corp USA has announced their new side-by-side vehicle, the Viking. A key feature of the Viking is the three person seating. The pass-through bucket seating has an center position set back 5 degrees to improve comfort with maximum shoulder room for all three occupants. The new utility vehicle also features 686cc liquid-cooled 4-stroke, SOHC, single-cylinder, 4-valve fuel-injected engine that delivers a top speed of 50 mph. A crossover vehicle, the Viking is targeted towards work and trail riding applications. Other key features include:
- Fuel injection
- 9.7 gallon fuel tank
- Electric power steering
- Driver controlled On-Command® system, featuring 2WD, 4WD and 4WD with differential lock selections
- Ultramatic™ transmission with dual speed gearing and an automatic centrifugal clutch
- 12 inches of ground clearance
- Full steel/composite smooth skid plate front to back and side to side
- Assisted dump bed with 600 lb payload capacity
- 1,500 lb towing capacity
- Maxxis Big Horn 2.0 tires were designed specifically and exclusively for the Viking
- 4 wheel disc brakes
The Viking will be available in August with standard models coming in Steel Blue, Hunter Green (with sun top), Red (with sun top) and Realtree AP HD camo (with sun top). The non-EPS models start at $11,499 MSRP while the EPS models start at $12,499 MSRP. A Special Edition Tactical Black model will be available in spring 2014. Learn more: Agweb.com
In a related note Yamaha is expanding production at the Newnan, GA facility, in part to build the new Viking utility vehicle. The company will hire 100 people to work on the vehicle. The facilities will also be producing all of the company’s ATVs. The US market represents 70% of their ATV sales. Learn more: AJC.com
Comment: It has been a few years since Yamaha has come out with an entirely new utility vehicle. This is another sign of the strength of this market. In the last few years all the major players are not only upgrading existing lines but pushing into new market segments: Yamaha with the Viking, Polaris with the Brutus, John Deere with their RSX line, etc. The additional marketing dollars and new features coming into the market should help grow the market further and offer good values for customers.