Unfortunately, most companies only care about one thing, and that's profit. This is especially true in the ATV Rental industry. You see, it's the little things that separate good companies from bad ones.
Over the last year, I have been approached Can-Am, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Polaris to sign an exclusive contract to offer their equipment in our rental fleet. My biggest concern was quality, durability, performance, and protection for my customers. Profit was the last thing I thought about.
Polaris ended up being the brand I chose for the best in every class. However, I didn't sign a contract because I would have been forced to charge more money. Not only that, but nobody was interested in providing the after market parts needed to protect my customers. In fact, I would not be allowed to outfit my equipment if under contract.
Our Razors are equipped with Gated Speed Shifters, after market drive belts, bushings, and under body skid plates. The Speed shifters allow the machine to stay in the proper gear for our style of terrain. This saves belt life, and you, the frustration of possibly being broke down due to belt issues. We use the Tusk skid plate to protect the under body of our 4 seater machines. Our terrain is very rough in spots. The 4 seat machines are very long. This means the under body may scrape in certain rocky sections. Other companies will simply handle that by charging you damages. It turns my stomach when I see that happen (and it happens alot). Our skid plates fully protect the under body and floor pans. It's just one less thing you have to worry about.
All of our machines are also equipped with front and rear bumpers. We understand that things happen. You may tap a tree, rock, or another machine. It's so much cheaper to pay for a bumper than it is the entire front or rear end of a machine, which can cost up to $1500. Most of the time, if the bumper is still pretty straight, we'll just blow it off.
We hate charging for damages as much as you hate paying for them. I know what it's like. I crashed a rental jet ski once and had to pay through the nose for damages. I also got charged labor to fix it and downtime. We don't charge labor or downtime at Backbone Adventures. And, we NEVER charge more for a part than we pay.
Having said all this, I do want to show my appreciation for Polaris products. They have greatly improved over the last few years. I have tried every brand name you can think of. Polaris is constantly trying to improve their quality and performance. I could write a book about the problems I've had with other companies. I will say Kawasaki is in a close 2nd place. Between them and Polaris, they are the only companies manufacturing in the U.S.A, and it shows.