Mule It Is

[rsar]

After six months of tireless (for the wife incredibly annoying) research, we decided to go with a 2021 Kawasaki Mule SX XC. The 3 year warranty coupled with the Mule's widely held reliability ratings were the determining factors. I bought a used Mazda SUV a couple years ago and it ended up being an $8,000 nightmare. It needed a new engine and engine harness, which all said and done added almost another 7 grand.  The wife is still pissed about it and she was determined to avoid a repeat with the UTV. We've had it a week now and I think our fears of getting a lemon have been put to rest. It's been pretty awesome not having to walk  over 100 yards each way to take the trash down to the curb and to get the mail.  We absolutely love it and once I finish widening our trails it'll be that much better. The only gripe I have other than it lacking a little in the power department and not including a single accessory like a roof, windshield, winch, or even a trailer hitch (it's  called a Mule for Christ's sake! How do you not include a hitch?) is that the brakes seem a little weak. Does anyone know about this issue with the Mule? I googled it but can't find anything. And unfortunately the guy that delivered it forgot the manual  so I'm still waiting for the dealer to mail it to me. Anyway, does anyone know if I need to make some sort of adjustment or add brake fluid to get better braking power? Any info would be greatly appreciated.  

[Travis]

congrats on your purchase...

the low on power could be that the drive belt still needs to be broken in and the seller should describe the way you should drive to properly break in the belt.\

I'd express your concerns on the brakes to the seller as well. my grandad purchased a Mule SX last year and the brakes felt good. you could stop on a dime.

[Travis]

here is the roof windshield i put on his SX.

the windshield is nice, very clear lexan the dual vents and flip up capability is nice for extra air flow in the cab.

https://www.sidebysidestuff.com/falcon-ridge-aero-vent-front-windshield-kawasaki-mule-sx.html

 

https://www.sidebysidestuff.com/moose-polyethylene-hard-top-kawasaki-mule-sx.html

the roof is just a basic HDPE plastic with a little fancy design around the top, and on the back has a slight angle to shed water.

[rsar]

is there a brake fluid reservoir? thinking it might just be low.

[Travis]

there is.. it's under the dash, put right below the gear shift there is a transparent tank and you should be able to tell the level from there.  I believe i have it circled in red.

 

[kenfain]

Congratulations on your new buggy!

I think that if you were looking for something to work out of, and drive around the acreage doing chores. The mule is an excellent choice. With responsible driving, and good maintenance, you'll get many good years out of it. 

If it's 4wd, don't drive around in 4wd. That's ONLY for when there's soft ground. Those expensive tiny little parts in the front drive just won't take the abuse, over time. 

There's plenty of accessories out there, depending on where you look, and what you want for it. Some accessories turn out to be extremely helpful, while others that I thought would really make a difference, turned out to be a disappointment. The best add ons are those you make yourself.

Here's a picture of mine. Those side boards are without a doubt, the best accessory I've added. 

 

[rsar]

All the available accessories are definitely one of the things that sold us on the mule. We're gonna go with a soft roof and hard windshield set up for the winter months. My wife really enjoys driving around the acreage in the open air and the soft roof will give us the option of taking it off at a moment's notice. Also hoping to  add a winch and hitch receiver real soon. It's gonna be fun building it up. Where do you get those sideboards and what do they cost? Do they fit the SX? I've been looking for something similar but couldn't find anything. The box  is way too shallow right now for my linking. 

[kenfain]

I found those side rails at a local Powersports /Kawasaki dealership. They were a factory offered item, so were a bit expensive at around a hundred fifty bucks. But they're heavy duty steel.

These days, I'd probably just make some out of hardware store square steel tubing, and a few oak planks. But I have seen other manufacturers that make them. Try Essex manufacturing Ft. Worth Texas. They make lots of stuff for outfitting a mule. They make mule accessories for the military, as well as fire departments. If you're ever near Ft. Worth, Texas it's worth the time to stop by. There's lots of stuff that they make for the kits, that aren't advertised. But they'll still sell most of it. Mine has helicopter lift rings front and back. The military uses them to drop a mule by helicopter into remote areas, I use them for tie downs, and pulling out of the mud. Need a tri-pod heavy machine gun gimbal for the bed? They make those too. Even though a mule is a poor platform for heavy firepower. But seriously, they also have bed extensions, where they chop another bed in half, and add that to yours to make it longer. I also picked up a few other things, like a poly skid plate, to cover the open to the ground area under the seat. Enclosing it made it more useful for storage, and protects the second radiator that's under the seat. 

[Scott Meszaros]

welcome to the mule family...........love ours....................since we bought it, i added a soft top with doors, windshield, winch, and a snow plow...............also, i rigged up a 2200 watt generator in the bed to provide power for an electric heater and small fan for plowing in the winter.......as for the brake issue, we have had none........as for the power issue, you have to remember, if same engine as ours, it is only a 400 cc single cylinder, putting out only about 14 horsepower..........my zero turn has almost twice that much..............and never sell the locking differential, low range, and 4 wheel drive short................i have been in some pretty deep snow, and it has performed great everytime..............i do wish it had a windshield wiper and a rear view mirror..............best of luck to you..................ps. we have had it since 2015..........so far, no issues..........................

 

[rsar]

Your Mule looks awesome! I'm really falling in love with ours. We're not looking do any extreme offf-roading (I have a 4-wheeler for that), just some light trail riding on our half mile of trails, work around the property, some plowing, taking the trash down and getting the mail. Oh, and riding with the dogs! It's got plenty of power for all that stuff. So, do you use a soft top, hard windshield combo in the winter? Looks like a perfect fit. That's what I worry about as some soft tops and doors for the mule look frumpy and stretched out.

[kenfain]

Mine has the factory top, no windshield, or doors. Since it's in Texas there's rarely a need for a windshield.

It does have a sliding back glass, but it stays shut, and was only installed to block the noise of the diesel air intake vent. Which is quite loud.