Yamaha's new machine hits all the right notes
The increasingly popular UTV/side-by-side sector offers a wide range of choices for farm or rural mobility, which has been made even broader with a new machine from Yamaha.
Following a quad accident that left a family friend disabled, Hamish Gilbert began looking for a better alternative to the then current market offerings. It looks like a re-working of North American sports-derived machines, but the idea was to build a machine more suitable to New Zealand conditions in durability, noise and speed.
Gilbert quickly found that durability and noise aspects could best be achieved by taking components from the automobile industry, on the premise that they were well tested and engineered and freely available at a sensible price.
The development over the last four years has resulted in a large step forward for Avatar with the recent signing of an agreement for the worldwide distribution of product with Sinomach, of Luoyang, China, part of a manufacturing group that includes the YTO company that first manufactured tractors in that country
Recently landed on NZ shores, the machine impresses as being well thought out. Inspection of the chassis and A-arm suspension units show that everything is galvanised and should be durable -- confirmed when you notice that the A-arms are greaseable. Petrol-heads will notice that the 32mm driveshafts started life in a Mazda 626.
The machine is available with either a 62hp diesel or 800cc petrol engine. The former uses a 3-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled unit commonly used in 1.5 tonne trucks from the Chery stable, with technical input from Mitsubishi, GM and Chevrolet; the petrol model takes its design lead from a Canadian off-road specialist.
In the diesel variant, the engine is laid on its side, producing 62hp vs its nearest rival in this segment whose units produce 24hp – so no problems on the power front.
Transmission on the diesel variant is centred on a 5-speed manual gearbox, sourced again from the delivery truck sector; top speed is about 85km/h, with speeds two and three covering most farm applications in the 1800-2500rpm band with a minimum of noise.
The 800cc petrol unit sticks with the more conventional layout of a CVT transmission, with the bonus of an advance engine braking system.
For daily maintenance the lift-out bench seat gives easy access to the engine bay for normal checking of the air cleaner, battery and engine oil level, and a low level indicator shows radiator levels.
Once on the move there is selectable 2- or 4WD and front and rear diffs that can be activated individually or run as a pair in tough conditions. Parking, even in difficult locations, is helped by a dashboard activated, electronic park switch which acts on the rear discs.
The driver's area is well thought out with saloon style doors for easy access to the roomy bench seat, an adjustable steering column to suit all sizes and a full width opening front windscreen. Individual seat belts assure safety, as do substantial headrests on each seat. The rollbar further enhances safety and combines with a rear glass panel, a HD roof panel and rear view mirrors to complete the look.
The service interval is 250 hours: a full service including labour, filters and fluids costs about $490.
A manually operated tipping deck appears well thought out: gone is the electric tipping mechanism that was unreliable in previous models. Tie-down rails and hooks keep loads secure. Options include a front mounted winch, full enclosures for the cab and a range of tyre options for difficult terrain.
The diesel version tips the scales at 720kg, the petrol option 680kg. Each takes a healthy 500kg payload on the rear tray and the rear ball. Ground clearance of 290mm and suspension travel of 8 inches should see the Avatar well able to tackle the toughest terrain with ease.
