ALL NEW 2024 Kawasaki Ridge review and ride (honest thoughts, long uncut)

#kawasaki #ridge #Hesteredition
Thank you for watching! Grab your popcorn! This is a full uncut review and ride of the Kawasaki Ridge Ranch Edition. We can't wait to get our hands on the next units coming the Limited with HVAC. We REALLY wish they came out with a 4 seater, BUT we know one will come in the future. I wanted to do a FULL un-cut ride and review. With everything, there is always some good some not so good, but we want to be honest and tell you what WE felt, and NOT just a dealer up selling.
I did make a mistake in the video calling the higher HP model an "XC" when it is an "XR". My bad!
Is the Ridge a nice ride? YES it is a very nice unit and we would 100% recommend you go test drive one to see for yourself. See your local dealer and look up ALL the models on www.Kawasaki.com
www.hester-motorsports.com current vehicle inventory
hestersmotorsports

[@paullalonde4132]

I'm thinking Kawasaki might finally be listening to your advice on what the consumer wants and how to make it Better. John Hester for President! Yeah you would be Great.

[@HesterEdition]

lol Thank you, But I would just be happy having my hands in building what the customer WANTS lol

[@joeykunz]

Whenever there is a new Kawasaki product my first instinct is to check to see if John Hester has made a video talking about it yet.

[@HesterEdition]

And I love to talk haha. Thank you for watching! We greatly appreciate it!

[@lloydmarche7263]

Kawasaki makes a solid machine. Both my brother in laws have the 4 seater teryx. One drives it like he stole it and have had only abuse breakdowns . Broken an arms and blown diffs. He drive it hard. 0 engine/transmission issues. The other one is trail driven and used but not abused. 0 issues. I own a can am defender and would definitely take a look at the ridge when looking for a new machine.

[@HesterEdition]

Awesome to hear. Thank you for watching!

[@joebobrc1504]

All 50 minutes and 59 seconds worth. Great video. Can't wait to see your suspension on them. 👍🏼

[@HesterEdition]

Thank you for watching 👍 yes us too lol.

[@clintkapphan6265]

Watched the whole thing. Thank you John.

[@HesterEdition]

Thank you for watching.🙏

[@tedsamuels3203]

Love the video, It covers so much and very helpful. THANKS FOR SHARING

[@HesterEdition]

Thank you, and thank you for watching. :)

[@pajamatime5750]

This will be a solid offering from Kawi. I wish they’d give the Ridge arched A-arms from the factory…. Not sure why they wouldn’t. Otherwise, if this was available in a crew, I’d have one! The “sportier” version is an XR.

[@HesterEdition]

Always room for upgrades for sure.

[@chadsteele1315]

@@HesterEditionafter spending that kind of money I don’t want to do “upgrades”

[@HesterEdition]

@chadsteele1315 this is true, we all wish for something on a new unit, one day we will get a unit the way WE the customer want it.

[@pajamatime5750]

@@HesterEdition Arched A-arms come on most machines now. The KRX and even the Teryx S has em to a certain degree. They should be standard equipment. I added Super ATV ones to my Teryx and love em. I expect to upgrade a couple things like tires or added accessories but some of this stuff should just come standard!

[@thedudeify]

That is awesome.... Love my KRX!! Have a good weekend John.

[@HesterEdition]

You as well! Thank you

[@paullalonde4132]

I Love my Pro fxt le with your Elka's but you get them Elka's built for that ridge ranch and I might make a trip to Raton to pick one up in Person from you John. Thanks for all your Time and Dedication to your work. God Bless my Friend.

[@HesterEdition]

Thank you!

[@CadeSubscriptionAccount]

I'm considering to get one of these as a run around. Needs to be able to run into town to get diesel 50mph for 10 miles or so. And spray at 3 miles per hour. I'm considering just putting some 33s on it to lower the cruising rpm.

[@scottmatthews6375]

Watch it all, looking forward to seeing more on this machine

[@HesterEdition]

Thank you! Yes I can't wait till tons of parts are made and it open up the flood gates of custom ridges. Thank you for watching.

[@marcuswalter9446]

I watched your total video Thanks uncle Hester !!

[@HesterEdition]

Thank you!! really appreciate it!

[@larrylarson5599]

Watched it to the end! Can’t wait to see more on the Rigde and other models! What is the base sticker price on that Ridge Ranch? I’m really interested in but one.

[@HesterEdition]

At the time of this video the Ranch Edition is $23,999.00 MSRP. We always like to say, ask the dealer the Out The Door price as there is Freight from kawi (can see it on their site on each model) set up to build and service the unit then any doc fee and taxes, gotta love them taxes (shakes fist at Government) 😆 Thank you for watching, as more units come out I'll get videos on those to talk the differences.

[@randyabishop9477]

One reviewer comment about very high engine rpm at 50 plus mph, indicating it is loud and wound tight? What are your thoughts.

[@dominicbustamante1600]

I watch the whole video up to the very end.

[@HesterEdition]

Thanks so much! Going to have a video on the limited with HVAC soon! Just got it in

[@SpeeeedyG]

I’m glad I sold my KRX. Kawasaki is so behind the competition.

[@HesterEdition]

Why did you sell it? If you mean behind, as it drag race speed? Wait till you see the new pure sport that's coming! EVERYONE who wants power will love it! But as for a rock God, it is hard pressed to beat a KRX in the crawling stuff!

[@SpeeeedyG]

@@HesterEdition I had so many problems with it. It was exhausting. My local dealer sucked also. 2020 green, had issues with primary and secondary clutches grooving, belt over temp, one way bearing, door separation, axles popping out, sagging suspension after 500 miles from the tender springs, dealer said the springs are a maintenance item. First I’ve heard of that. The cab heat was unbearable in the summer due to the coolant lines running down the center console. 140+ in the cab. Knuckles kept hitting when turning which turned into a recall cause some wheels were flying off with other riders. Was at dealer 2 months with no parts. There was a noise that they couldn’t diagnose, they heard it and said it was abnormal and compared it to new KRXs that did not have the noise. It would rattle and drone the whole cab above 40 mph. Said to “drive it till it breaks”. Kawasaki reps won’t meet with their customers no matter how much you try to contact them. Wrote them emails, phone calls, voicemails and they never returned my calls. 1800 did though.

[@SpeeeedyG]

Everything they’ve made is a direct copy of their competition. This thing looks exactly like a Polaris ranger or can am hd10. Once I rode in a can am maverick R I had a deep sense of regret. What a machine.

[@jenozanetti6664]

I don’t understand why manufacturers like Kawasaki would launch a ground breaking 4 cylinder Utv and not have beefy an arms and good suspension, if you’re going to create a new product then upgrade everything right from the start. Quality suspension is always top priority for customers, spending over $23,000 only to upgrade your machine is a dealbreaker for me

[@HesterEdition]

All valid points, and we all wish manufacturers listened more to the owners, we agree, for the price point, we should have a better suspension, and the sad part is, the price the stock shocks are, you can almost get stage 3s of ours, and the stage 1s would flat blow them out of the water. Someone is getting rich on those shocks, because no way no how they should retail for $5-600 each!

[@shawndale1552]

"👍"

[@MrSteve8511]

This machine has the intake under the cab...unlike all other manufacturers. No ectra heat and better sound.

[@HesterEdition]

Yes, now to see how it handles dirt out here in the western states, then we can see what improvements on that we can make 😁

[@chadsteele1315]

I hear the cab noise in the hvac is loud as it’s geared low so revs around 8000 when speeding down the road.

[@HesterEdition]

As of right now I have not driven the HVAC unit, as quiet as it is now I know nothing in the sxs will be "car" quiet, but it has got to be pretty dang quiet for the industry. When I get one I will do a DB meter in the cab as different speeds and we shall see.

[@chadsteele1315]

@@HesterEdition awesome. I’ll look forward to that. Perhaps a comparison between the Kawasaki, defender and Ranger in similar configurations ? Cheers

[@HesterEdition]

@chadsteele1315 If I could get the vehicles together I would 100% for SURE do that. In our immediate area not a lot of Polaris Rangers or Can-Am Defenders, but will have to see if anyone around us would lend us a vehicle for a comparison. I saw one on KZbin the Ridge vs a 24 Ranger 1000XP, and when it came to the work part, they just flat ended the comparison and said Ridge wins, they were so frustrated with the Ranger trying to tow a trailer, they hooked the ridge to the polaris's trailer and hauled it out.

[@CristianZamora]

They need to come on with a 6 seater

[@HesterEdition]

We really want a 4 seater, we'll crew ourselves.

[@andregiroux9839]

is the diff lock front and back?

[@HesterEdition]

Yes

[@andregiroux9839]

@@HesterEditiononly front and back on the XR....the others don't have front locking diff.... I almost bought the ranch but found out there's no front locking diff

[@HesterEdition]

@andregiroux9839 you are right, it is 2wd, 4wd, REAR diff lock on this model.

[@kdizzi3]

I watched the whole video.. 😮 49:11 ridge crew where you @????

[@HesterEdition]

Right? We want a crew! Thank you for watching!

[@pajamatime5750]

Yes we need a crew!!!!!!! XR Crew fully loaded is what I’m hoping for!

[@1970sRacing]

$23,999

[@dinomartinez1762]

You didn't say the price

[@HesterEdition]

All current details will be on Kawasaki.com. This unit at the time of video had an msrp of $23,999.00 (plus any fees and taxes)

[@slapshot454]

They should have released the 4/6 seater before the 3 seater!

[@HesterEdition]

We agree, everyone knows crews sell a good 20-1 vs 2 seaters, heck, we don't even stock 2 seat Teryx's anymore, just Teryx-4 models, and on mules, we'll do a handful of single bench vs the 90% of FXT crews. If this unit was to go after the Polaris General area, they could have looked and seen that there are way more General crews sold.