Bad Boy is part of the Textron family,
a Fortune 500 company known for
Cushman industrial vehicles, Cessna
aircraft, Bell helicopters and Greenlee
tools. This group of companies once
included Polaris but was sold off
in 1981. During our testing it was
announced that Textron has now
acquired Arctic Cat. No news yet on
if that acquisition will affect Bad Boy,
but it is obvious that Textron is serious
about the UTV market.
THE CONCEPT
Each of the Bad Boy models has a
somewhat unique profile, since the
design includes an extra-cab, 30-liter
storage area between the cab and the
bed. Basically, you can store a cooler
or tools in the extra cab area without
taking up any room in the dump bed.
We love the convenience, but it makes
for a long machine. For example, a
Honda Pioneer 1000 five-seater has
an 80.2-inch wheelbase, while the
two-seater Stampede is 85 inches.
Now add the room for an extra row of
seating to get the XTR model and the
wheelbase grows to a limo-like 117.2
inches! To be fair, though, remember
that the Pioneer has almost no cargo
capacity with the rear seats flipped
up, so it would be shorter.
The added wheelbase supplies
a welcome calm to the suspension
action, and as long as speeds are
kept in check, the roughly 10 inches
of travel does a great job on rough
terrain. Even though the shocks
have only five-position-adjustable
preload and no reservoirs, the XTR
copes extremely well with a single
large hit, but as expected for a sporty
utility machine, it doesn’t deal as well
with repeated large bumps. Chop is
handled fine, and hacked-up, rock-
(Top) This folding windshield
works great. Fold the top for
mild weather and pop it up in
seconds for cold or wet. The
fenders work so well that we
never got mud on the windshield.(MIddle) While the interior isn’t fancy, it is comfortable
and has everything you need.
The dash display offers all the
usual monitor functions, but
also offers diagnostic capabilities. (Right) The Warn winch
with a synthetic rope proved
useful for work and once when
we got high-centered on a
trail ride. Those loops on the
front work great for tying the
machine down for transport.
BAD BOY
