[Sport4x4]

I thought I would start a thread on the likes and dislikes of these two very different cab enclosures to help Viking owners looking to buy one. Other than the huge price difference what are your recommendations if you have one or the other? Is your cab heated or not. If not do you have a problem with the windows fogging up?
I recently talked to a gentleman that had just switched from a soft enclosure cab to a hard enclosed cab. His new hard cab cost him $6000. And added 400 pounds of weight to his Viking the biggest thing he noticed was a large drop in his miles per gallon.

 

[MNDirtRider]

I have the Yamaha soft cab that came on my used machine and it's not in the best shape. When I bought it, some of the snaps were rusted on and tore out of the fabric when I tried to take the sides off. The previous owner lost the piece that fills the void between the Yamaha folding windshield and roof so mine's pretty drafty - I'm still working on a solution for this. My windows are very scratched up from being rolled back full of dust and mud. The driver's side zipper is out of commission at the moment too so I need to find an upholstery shop to fix it up for me. My main complaint with it is that the back panel has those big vent openings at the top and that really causes a draft right down the back of my neck. If I were going to replace it, I would likely go with the UTV Enclosures version that goes over the whole cab in a couple of minutes. I kind of feel stuck with my Yamaha one though due to all the snaps that are drilled into the body.

I feel like I would like my Yamaha soft cab more if I had bought it new and taken better care of it than the previous owner. I could never justify a full hard cab simply due to cost.

If you're wondering how much of a difference some form of an enclosure can make. Here's a cheap way to give it a try. On my Wolverine, I made some side curtains out of clear vinyl, velcro, and some Harbor Freight grommets. I followed the plan from this thread on the Wolverine forum. If I remember correctly, I think they cost me about $40 to make and they actually made a HUGE difference. As long as you're not getting in and out of the machine a whole bunch, they really made for a nice cheap solution. They also helped considerably at keeping mud out of the cab which was a big issue on my Wolvy.

Full Side Curtains for Rain and Cold

On a recent week long trip the forecast was 80% rain for 3 days of our riding. This got me to thinking some inexpensive side rain curtains might be nice. Took a while to get a pattern I was satisfied with that I thought would work in most all conditions, pouring rain, blowing rain, riding at ~...

www.wolverineforums.com

 

[BadM0nkey]

Sport: I have some threads here about my old Soft Enclosure but in short:

• I bought mine from here: Side X Side Enclosures Utv Cab Enclosures for Yamaha Polaris Kawasaki
• It was very well made and was about $400
• Their customer support is excellent
• The only real negative is that if you do not take the time to ensure there is some slack where the doors zip in, the zippers will eventually break. You cannot have the door zippers under tension. Part of getting it right is to make sure the enclosure is between the back plastic sound barrier and the frame and that it is nice and straight and perfectly even left to right, even if you need to cut some of the wire ties.
• The only Velcro I attached to the Viking was to the windshield. In the other areas I actually used plastic Yamaha push fasteners to hold it on in various spots. Only the pushpins went through the enclosure. The female part stayed in place on the body. When you take it off in the spring just put the push fasteners back in the holes.
• I had to move my windshield mounting lugs out of the way so the doors would mount properly on the front of the roll cage. Not a big deal though and it was because my windshield was an old version.
• Your windshield will fog up which is why I installed a heater with a movable vent on the top of thee dashboard. I expect one of those 12V car heaters will do the trick of keeping it defrosted.
• I would buy another one

 

[Sport4x4]

I have the Yamaha soft cab that came on my used machine and it's not in the best shape. When I bought it, some of the snaps were rusted on and tore out of the fabric when I tried to take the sides off. The previous owner lost the piece that fills the void between the Yamaha folding windshield and roof so mine's pretty drafty - I'm still working on a solution for this. My windows are very scratched up from being rolled back full of dust and mud. The driver's side zipper is out of commission at the moment too so I need to find an upholstery shop to fix it up for me. My main complaint with it is that the back panel has those big vent openings at the top and that really causes a draft right down the back of my neck. If I were going to replace it, I would likely go with the UTV Enclosures version that goes over the whole cab in a couple of minutes. I kind of feel stuck with my Yamaha one though due to all the snaps that are drilled into the body.

I feel like I would like my Yamaha soft cab more if I had bought it new and taken better care of it than the previous owner. I could never justify a full hard cab simply due to cost.

If you're wondering how much of a difference some form of an enclosure can make. Here's a cheap way to give it a try. On my Wolverine, I made some side curtains out of clear vinyl, velcro, and some Harbor Freight grommets. I followed the plan from this thread on the Wolverine forum. If I remember correctly, I think they cost me about $40 to make and they actually made a HUGE difference. As long as you're not getting in and out of the machine a whole bunch, they really made for a nice cheap solution. They also helped considerably at keeping mud out of the cab which was a big issue on my Wolvy.

Full Side Curtains for Rain and Cold

On a recent week long trip the forecast was 80% rain for 3 days of our riding. This got me to thinking some inexpensive side rain curtains might be nice. Took a while to get a pattern I was satisfied with that I thought would work in most all conditions, pouring rain, blowing rain, riding at ~...

www.wolverineforums.com

View attachment 52320

Try here for a better option to fix your zipper.... Zipper Repair Kits | Replacement Zipper Pulls | FixnZip®

 

[MNDirtRider]

Great suggestion! Those fix n zip things are pretty cool. They seem almost too good to be true....

 

[Estevens]

I thought I would start a thread on the likes and dislikes of these two very different cab enclosures to help Viking owners looking to buy one. Other than the huge price difference what are your recommendations if you have one or the other? Is your cab heated or not. If not do you have a problem with the windows fogging up? I recently talked to a gentleman that had just switched from a soft enclosure cab to a hard enclosed cab. His new hard cab cost him $6000. And added 400 pounds of weight to his Viking the biggest thing he noticed was a large drop in his miles per gallon.

Is this 400 lbs of weight added on a standard viking or the Viking 6 model? I recently bought the Viking 6 and would like to put a hard cab. But if weight is a big factor I’m hesitant on the hard cab. Thanks.

 

[Sport4x4]

Is this 400 lbs of weight added on a standard viking or the Viking 6 model? I recently bought the Viking 6 and would like to put a hard cab. But if weight is a big factor I’m hesitant on the hard cab. Thanks.

Welcome to the Viking forum.
Yes it was 400 pounds on a 3 seater.

 

[Getzy]

I have the soft doors for my vi. I like it but it’s not the greatest. Keeps the wind off and most of the heat in. Zippers need to have the wax on them almost monthly to keep them functional. Snaps pulled out on a coupe of them so I had to replace. Cheaper than the hard doors but not as nice for sure.

 

[SuperATV]

We make a pretty awesome convertible poly cab enclosure. The window opens, the upper door is removable, and the complete door can be removed pretty easy.

https://www.superatv.com/yamaha-viking-full-cab-enclosure-doors

 

[MNDirtRider]

Try here for a better option to fix your zipper.... Zipper Repair Kits | Replacement Zipper Pulls | FixnZip®

I gave these a try and it's a no-go. Apparently the zipper on my soft cab is larger than a size 10. I've been running my Yamaha soft side on the passenger side and have been using my "ghetto-fabulous cheapie vinyl" panel (see post @2 of this thread) on the driver's side. It's actually working well enough and I find it more convenient than the zipper door most of the time. One of these days, I'll find someone to fix my zipper.

 

[Getzy]

I tried the fix n zips this weekend. Didn’t work also. I tried getting a hold of the company I bought my doors from to see if there is any warranty. I’m not impressed. Especially now I have to rig up a solution for the drivers side

 

[Sport4x4]

I have a set of DFK doors coming but they keep getting delayed because of the all the blizzard conditions across the mid west. Sure would have been nice if they had got here before this white 💩 got here. Looking forward to getting them installed.

 

[MNDirtRider]

WHOA! That's throwin it down @Sport4x4 ! Nice set up! Looking forward to your thoughts.

 

[Sport4x4]

Pictures I posted are from DFK website which show them on a full cab enclosure that run close to $4k. I’m buying just the doors used, they were posted for sale. So price was affordable.

 

[Getzy]

I was just going to say that there was someone on here from Minnesota selling doors. Pretty nice!

 

[Sport4x4]

I was just going to say that there was someone on here from Minnesota selling doors. Pretty nice!

Those be the one's.

 

[Sport4x4]

Well after 2 long weeks on the slowest truck ever my door’s finally arrived. I was surprised at how heavy they are. The frames and hardware are made out of very thick steel. Hopefully I can find the time to install them soon.

 

[bd_skrillz]

friend has that brand/ set up for his pioneer. It's pretty awesome.

 

[Sport4x4]

I got one door on tonight after work. Me likes 😁
Hopefully I can get the other on tomorrow night.
Doors have gas shock assist, mirrors, keyed door locks, and sliding windows.

 

[cactus]

That looks great!!!