after a few months of owning my HD 8, I wanted to post a review to help those in the market decide.


Was leaning towards a Polaris, but decided to try a different flavor.


Its extremely offroad capable. I was in some horrible rough country in Bandera County recently and it performed well beyond my expectations. Honesty, it went up hills covered in loose rock and slick shale that I didn't think it would go up....but did so without issue.

Very Fuel efficient. sips gas. Fast too....has a top speed of 58 mph ( that's per me, not manufacture specs).

Rides comfortably. has a 2" lift which probably stiffens it up a bit but is smooth off road. in line with a Polaris ranger. Quiet and comfortable.


Overall, its a solid machine I would buy again in a heartbeat. Offroad its not as smooth as a Mule FTX pro but its a bigger machine that seems to be more offroad capable and has better interior features so its a positive trade off.

Lift is a must if your goin to operate in any kind of rocky terrain. Was in my buddies non-lifted HD10 last week and it was bottoming out constantly.

Skid plates are muy Bueno...one of the best factory plates I've seen.

only complaint is the small CV boot protectors....already ripped open one boot on a cedar stump.

Best factory wheel/tire combo. 27" bighorns that are grippy and tough.

hydraulic bed is easy to operate. solid machine overall

Good Review and I agree with all that was stated. FYI, if you want my stock bighorns for backups, they are yours. I don't check in very often so reply yes if you want. I replaced with Essex T-Hawks. They are pretty much brand new, and sitting in the rain today. In fort worth

Great review. I've been really looking at this vs. the mule pro fxt. Everything I've read on that defender is they are just flat out awesome. The only complaint I've seen so far is the plastic sides on the floor boards, but most put rock sliders to keep them from getting torn up. When the time comes, i'll be looking at them pretty close. Keep us posted how things are working out with it over time.

Oh, and...

Have 500 miles on it and 67 hrs now....still chirping right along.

No issues yet and it continues to be everything I could want in a UTV

One thing that is good is the radiator is mounted much higher up than on my Polaris, don’t have worry about it getting clogged with grass seeds like before now that we are in spring time

The Defenders are beasts. I added a Torq locker to the front of mine cause we do alot of sketchy trail riding and it really climbs like a billy goat now.