Yet another 650 sand spider review

Posts: 33

There are already several reviews on BN.com regarding this machine, but my use of this buggy is a little different than the normal duner or trail rider. In central Texas, 4-wheelers and UTVs rule. During deer season there are probably more UTVs in the county than 4-door sedans and most everyone has a 4-wheeler or three. I personally don't like 4-wheelers. I think they are extremely hazardous. I would rather have my kids on a dirt bike, but the wife says no way. I would love to have a UTV, but I can't justify spending $10-12K on a UTV to run around on so my $50k pickup doesn't get scratched. Of course, I don't have a $50k pickup either.

I have a little over 100 acres that I own and another 150 leased. I was looking for something to run around on to do little chores around the place, but something high on the fun scale for me and the kids to play with. You can pick these things up pretty cheap in Texas if you are patient. I got mine for less than $3000, and I've seen several in the $3-4K range. I think that is about what they are worth. If they sold new for about $4500 or so I think that they could really catch on as a utility vehicle. My review will look at the sand spider from the utility vehicle perspective…

How does it rate against a UTV or 4-wheeler? Overall I’ve been very satisfied with the sand spider. The suspension is great. It has good power. It’s safer and more comfortable than a 4-wheeler and way faster than any off-road golf cart or gator. It can’t fit in the back of a pickup or even in my cattle trailer, so it is not as portable as a 4-wheeler. I can get a couple of bags of feed or whatever on the back and I can probably get a small trailer to pull for other chores. It would be difficult to get in and out of for someone with limited mobility. It would be cool if it had removable side panels. It really needs a 5-speed gear box or Hi/Lo range axle. First gear is not low enough for slow speed climbing. Reverse, likewise is too high. Don’t get me wrong, it does climb well, but if you need to climb SLOW, than it can be difficult with the gearing. Others have said 4th gear is also too high. I think there’s just too big a difference between 3rd and 4th. A 5 speed would provide the range of gearing between a real granny-lo and the current 4th gear ratio.

How’s it holding up? Quality? We ruined a short axle the second day out. I posted another thread on it. One of the radiator hoses is kinked, I think it’s just too long, and the hoses don’t have enough support in my opinion. We beat on the buggy pretty hard and have had no other mechanical or structural failures except that one of the mirrors broke. The mirrors are for looks only. I’ll be upgrading these also. Some of the welds are not that pretty, but the frame is very strong. I don’t have any rattles or creaks. Overall it has a quality look and feel. Chrome is not real high quality.

What would I change? I would gladly give up some of the chrome if it would lower the price of the buggy. Same goes for the winch and top lights. I would like to have a front cowling on it or a firewall to keep the crap – that would be cow crap – from flying into my lap off the front tires. Fenders would get broken off, so don’t bother. Basically, I like the Joyner 650cc Matador buggies in Mexico that I’ve seen on youtube – everything you need and nothing you don’t. Also, it would be nice to have a 12v outlet. I’m going to add one so I can run my spotlight. I would move the crankcase breather and the radiator overflow to the forward side of the vertical part of the roll bar in line with the radiator to free up access to the rear rack. I would also enlarge the rear rack and have the fuel filler neck come out horizontal on the side or rear. Also the gearing as described above.

Service after the sale? As I said, we tore up a short axle, disk base, and axle bearing on the second day. Look for my other post for details. Only reason I mention it again is because I had to order parts. Joyner had the parts in stock. They were reasonably priced and they got them in the mail the same day I ordered without an expedite fee. I had to call for my tracking number, but overall my parts service experience was good.

Conclusions? I think the Sand Spider 650 is a very flexible ATV. It’s obvious from previous reviews that it’s a very capable trail buggy. With a turbo or carb upgrade it seems to do well in the sand. Although not a perfect utility vehicle, I’m finding it’s a nice compromise at a very good price (used or auction price at least). I would love to see Joyner make some of the alterations I described above and bring down the retail price some. I don’t think it would detract from its capability on the trails or in the sand, and it would compete more effectively with the UTVs. Joyner is more expensive than others, but they have good parts service and real brick and mortar dealers.

Posts: 6312

Thanks for taking the time to write that up. Thank you!

Posts: 1642

Thursday night I picked up a used 2007 SandSpider 650 with only 115 miles. The dimensions are surprising proportional to the Yerf. The height without roof rack and upper lights would be identical to my 4209. The rest of the external dimensions are slightly larger: Wider by one foot and Longer by one and a half feet. It just fits on my 8'x5' trailer with a wheel base half a foot longer than the Yerf. While my Yerf was under 425 lbs, the Joyner is close to 975 lbs. I can pick up the front end and swing it around, but the rear is too heavy for one person to lift (unless you're Ric). Inside dimensions are close to the Yerf, but there is more shoulder room. For my 34" inseam the leg room is a little cramped due to the fixed position on the steeping wheel and the manual shifter.

When I checked it out the first time, it was dry, cold and dark. I was able to turn on the top lights and see quite well on an unlit country dirt road with 20% grade. First gear requires a little gas to get moving, but lugs well uphill. There was enough compression going down that I only needed to tap the brakes once. The shifter is vague and will require getting used to, but is no worse than a VW bug or Yugo. I pulled out on a paved road and turned off the upper lights. It has turn signals, but the control is a 3-way rocker on the dash requiring you to remove your right hand from the wheel to reach (it almost looks like it was set up for your co-pilot). On a slight uphill, it had no trouble getting up to 50 mph. With the radiator behind your head, you have to rely on the side mirrors to see who is next to or behind you. Hitting the brakes hard will cause all four wheels to lock even on dry pavement, but the buggy stopped straight and predictably. Turning radius is worse than the Yerf, but on loose surfaces it is easy to kick rear around.

As soon as I got it home, it started raining. Today, literally rain or shine, I was going to take it out. This run was through the neighborhood at 25 mph or less. It was raining hard enough that water was pooling on the pavement - When you make a sharp turn, you will get more wet from the wheels than the sky since the roof rack has a solid floor insert. As in my previous test, wet braking was straight and even across all four wheels. The exhaust is quieter than I expected. When idling, it is quieter than my ZG1000 and neighborhood speeds was at the level of a meter-maid Cushman. Stepping on the gas will produce a louder exhaust note, but will be no problem at sound sensitive locations.

So far my suspension tests have been limited to potholes and curbs. The 25" tires and long travel shocks made me take a second look to see if I missed the obstacle. Next week, I hope to test the suspension out at Anacortes on some Indian reservation land that abuts salt marshes. Maybe I'll even get to use the winch...

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Posts: 1453

watch out 4 thoes indians that where my buggy got hit but i didnt own it just dont park on the side of the road lol

Posts: 946

You might want to check your steering. My 650 is a 2005 but I dont think they have changed much. Anyway the turning radius is MUCH!!!!! better than our yerf was I still live in the same place as when we had the yerf and it will turn around in place the yerf never would. Other than the way the front end pushs at speed It handles and turns much better than the yerf. Maybe your steering is not functioning properly or needs adjusted.

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Posts: 33

So what is the purpose of the nerf bars on the sand spider? I was thinking of taking mine off too. Only down side I see is that the bars might protect the side of the buggy from coming down hard on a rock and to keep saplings from springing up after you run over 'em. My spider came with 27" tires. Has anyone noticed any real change in low-end torque or high-end speed going from 27" to 25" or the other way? There seem to be more factory take-off discounted tires available in 25".