Which Utility Quad is the best?

[patblkwell]

Hey Lomax, wow that was a great review of the big 4X4's man! Sounds like you really know what you're talking about. I've read reviews online, both positive and negative, and after a while you seem to get torn between deciding which one to go with. Have you had any experiences with the Kawasaki Brute Force 650 and 750? Is it worth the extra $ for the 750? Also, are the Brute Forces better than the Praire in your opinion? Sorry to bombard you with so many questions, I'm in the market for one like Clay is and want to find out as much info as possible. Thanks.

[ClayW]

I have been leaning towards the Vinson or King Quad myself. Buddy has a Vinson, and its been thru hell and back. So the auto is much more lame than the manual. Intresting. Thanks man. Any more input would be great.

Clay

[Lomax]

Pat, The if you get the straight axle 650 Brute force then its basically the same thing as a 700 praire with 50 less cc's. We drag raced a 650 Brute againt a 700 king quad a few times and the king got showed up by the V-twin. In all fairness the King had 28 inch tires and the Brute had stock 25's. The brute force 650i and 750i I really have no experiance with. I have seen them at rides but I havent ridden one. I have heard complants with belt issues but I havent seen it myself so its only hearsay.

I am not going to say its alot more lame. The one I drove was. Now wheelie kings buddy that rode with us in Florida had an auto Vinson and he seemed to do fine, I never rode it though so Its hard to say. I would stick to the manual if it was me in the terms of the Vinson.

[patblkwell]

Hey, yeah my cousing has an '05 Praire 700 Woodsman ed. with the straight rear axle and he said he prefered that for pulling a trailer and hauling heavy loads. I rode his and it was super fast, that's why I am leaning towards getting a 700cc+ one so I'll have plenty of power when I need it and won't have to worry about getting anything bigger down the road. That brute force is a pretty cool bike, I really dig the V-twin that's on it.

[Lomax]

yeah, its the same motor as on the prarie, just bumped up in displacment a little. Hell, i think FST has an 840cc stroker kit out for it.

[ClayW]

Yeah , im thinking Vinson, K Quad or 700 prarie. Thats me

[wheelie king]

Those are 3 great choices, Clay. The only thing I have heard negative about the independent suspension Kawis (like the brute force) is axle and CV joint trouble. By neighbor has been through 2 axles already on his 2 year old Brute Force.

[ClayW]

Yeah, Im going to look at one tommorow. 650 or 750 brute force. Cant rememer. Im going to check it out. After I see it, I will make my decision.

Clay

[03 ORANGE SHEE]

all of them are nice, i bought this because of suspension travel and power
i got a 50 inch plow, 28 inch 589's, 2 inch reciever hitch, and 2500lb winch. i have broken two driveshafts from jumping and landing hard with the throtttle wfo, thats the only problem ive had in its 800 miles on it, but thats from abuse, and large heavy mudders

[patblkwell]

Nice looking grizzly you got there, I like the aggressive look of them. I am leaning towards one of the brute forces because of the V-twin engine in those bad boys. I also like the front diff lock setup that the kawasakis have.

[03 ORANGE SHEE]

the grizz has the diff lock as well from the factory

[TimSr]

My friend has the Vinson that I tested, and I aslo tested Mik6's Pararie. Im not a utility guy so im viewing these form a sport quad metality.
The Vinson was nice cushy ride. I guess there are two type tranny options. He had the manual shift, autoclutch model. It was nice and comfy, and he got it for an ATV Rally/Poker Run machine which Id have been comfortable using it for. It had planty of guts and was nice, but I didnt get real excited about it.
When I rode Mike's Prarie, I was awestruck. It felt like a great big giant sport quad to me. The ride was geart, power was super, and it handled like a sport quad. I even took it out on the motocross track. Im not crazy about flying around in the air on a 6 ton Mack truck, but this thing will do it in style, and land like a YFZ. It was easy to powerslide corners in true MX fashion. I honestly believe I could take that quad out and finish in the front half of the pack. I know thats not what you buy a Prarie for, but for a sport quad rider, I found the Pararie to be something I could get excited about.

[ClayW]

Yeah Tim those V-Twins Kawasaki puts in them are SICK. They will flat haul butt for utility quad. I found my bike. I will be picking it up in about a week and a half. Its a 2005 Kawasaki Brute Force 650 V-Twin. I went and rode it this evening on some rough ground and on the street in the subdivision for a few minutes. Man..... That damn thing will FLY. Has power out the Wazoo.... Big time. The bike will do over 70 and get there pretty quick. Its just a unbelievalbe bike.. I was blown away. I also have driven a Vinson. No comparison at all. Its the woodsman / camo addition. I will put some narly tires and wheels on it and she will be good to go. Pat found this video clip of a test these guys did on it. Check it out.... Where it says ride test video. Baaaaad Arse.

ClayW

http://www.atvscene.com/machines/kaw...ce650i-06.html

[Tri-ZNate]

I drag raced one of those at the strip and he was running 6.4 seconds for 300ft so they definatly fly. Congrads

[MIK6]

CONGRATS on the 650!!!! You can't beat it for the price!! I love my 700 and wouldn't change my choice for anything. Here is the best hop-up and maintance site for the new bigbore ATVs. NYROC's site... http://atv.dnsalias.com/ I have used a few of the NYROC mods on the P700 and have had them work as they were discribed. I keep the trouble shooting info in my rack bag just in case I need it (which I havent). I did use the belt light reset instead of going to the dealer, worked GREAT! I can give you any info you might need w/ this ATV.

GOOD LUCK
MIK6 / Mike