King’s Outdoor World Blog

2008 Yamaha Rhino 700 FI Side by Side Video Review

November 28th, 2007 David King - King's Outdoor World

I had the opportunity to travel to Knoxville, Tennessee and take a ride on the new 2008 Yamaha Rhino 700 FI Side by Side. Yamaha has come out with an all new Rhino 700 Side x Side that is a nice improvement over the previous Rhino 660.

Here are a few improvements that have been made:

-Increased the motor to 686cc (hence the 700)
-Added Fuel Injection (basically looking at the motor that is now in the new Grizzly 700 FI)
-Added power and smoothness of ride
-Improved the parking brake lever
-Added side doors for safety and keeping out the mud, brush and branches
-Passenger seat has hold bar and grip handle
-Moved the Air intake higher
-Moved the air filter more to the front to move noise away from the riders
-Added disc brakes to both rear wheels
-Parking brake uses a separate single disc brake
-Improved steering wheel fit and finish

Also available are not only the stock models, but a few different custom models with wheels and custom paint jobs.

After some really good riding, I have to say the there are some good improvements on the new Yamaha Rhino 700 FI over the older 660. Better and smoother power, I really like the new steering wheel and felt the brakes are great. Very good stopping power for a big machine. I was hesitant on the doors, but really think they are a good addition. I went through a ton of mud and river crossings and the doors really help keep you dry and clear of stray brush and limbs.

I was not impressed at all with the parking brake lever on the old 660 model. By putting on a more traditional parking brake lever, it is now nice and convenient to use the parking brake - and used it a lot. Power is great and the four wheel drive system is top notch. Motored through some steep inclines with rocks and the four wheel drive with differential lock got me out of everything. It was really wet with a lot of rock and exposed tree roots. Once these got wet and very slippery, the four wheel drive with differential lock was the only way to go. Oh, by the way…the mud bogs in Tennessee are deep!

Overall I was very impressed with the improvements made on the new Rhino 700. I think it is coming at a good time where the Rhino was in need of a good face lift. A good all around work and play machine. Nothing really jumped out at me as to something that was really missing or didn’t perform as expected.

You can see the full review on the new 2008 Yamaha Rhino 700 in the Feb/March 2008 issue of Hunting Illustrated.

Entry Filed under: News and Stuff, Video/Movies