BEen tossing around some ideas about a 4x4 quad. I like the Bayou 300 because it's a 5- speed with a 2speed subtrans. Thisis good because I'm a little leery of actuators and belt motors etc. I wouldn't mind a V- belt if ya didn't have actuators up the ying- yang. So to the question, is the Prairie 300 a V-belt setup, and if so- do ya have all these things like engine braking and what not? Thanks

 

I have had 3 Prairie 300 4X4's...a '99, '00 & an '01. (also an '01 P400 & '02 P650) They are fulltime 4X4 and have hi/lo range. They have a belt drive. To me there is no comparison to a Bayou. All the Prairies (300/360/400/650/700) are basically the same physical size and weight (600lbs) They are quite a bit bigger and more plush riding than a Bayou. I like the full floorboards on a Prairie too, compared to the open pegs on a Bayou. The 300s and 400s do NOT have any type of enging braking, like the 360/650/700's do. But to be honest I think that might be a good thing compared to the KEBC. If you are riding a 300 or 400 down a steep hill, if you accelerate the throttle slightly, it causes the belt to engage and will actually slow you down. This is more profound in low range. It's not the perfect setup, but it works.

Please don't take this wrong, but I honestly think that a 300 is the perfect womans or young persons ATV. They ride super nice, have adequate power (except going uphill at 11,000 ft. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] ), are easy to handle and the parts are CHEAP compared to a Honda or Yamaha. Top speed for each of mine has been around 38-40 MPH on the flat at 5000' (2X4s are quite a bit faster) I'd much prefer to ride any of my 300s compared to my brothers Honda 400 Foreman ES. That thing will beat you to death!

If you can find a 400 at a good price, I'd spend a couple hundred extra and buy it compared to a 300. They look almost identical to a 300, but they are water cooled compared to the 300 being air cooled. They have quite a bit more power too. Probably mostly depends on what you come across. If you like horsepower, look for a 400. If you want a low cost, reliable, fun ATV...you can't go wrong with a 300 Prairie.

Hope that helps

 

yep what he said... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] we have an '01, that was my quad, until the '02 - 650 came out & I just had to have one... since then, my wife has beaten most of the mid sized 4 X 4's in mud bog racing, with our 300... we plow our driveway ( 1/4 mile long ) with it, it has done several ATV pulls, including an open class pull, where it finished 3rd, only 10ft behind the 2nd place 700 Prairie... all this, & it still has the original belt... they are very durable quads, the only thing I don't like, is the "push the button to move" shifter, which becomes a little less of a pain, if the start in gear safety interlock is disabled ( which is easy to do )

 

Funny thing about the shifter on the 300s and 400s...when I got my first 300 ('99), I thought that shifter was the biggest, ugliest thing I had ever seen...and cumbersome too. But after the first week or so, I actually got to liking it. It is pretty handy for the most part and once you get used to using the button only for low range and reverse it becomes easy to shift it where you want it. I will admit it took some time to get used to it though. However...compared to my friends '02 Kodiak or the '02 Grizzly (hey, I love Yamaha's...just not their shifter!) I had for a while, the shifter on a 300/400 is a piece of cake...just not as nice as the P650 though. There is an adjustment for the shifter that needs to be dead on. If you get it set right, it works like a champ...once you get used to it.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I just don't like it when it comes to plowing... to go from low to reverse, & back to low is much more difficult than the gate shifter on the 360, 650 & 700 Prairies... I have heard of people removing the button mechanism... but I'd be afraid that it would always get bumped into a wrong gear ( it does still get driven pretty aggressively, at times )... making it so it starts in gear, is also a big help, when the nieces & nephews come over, & turn it off, while in reverse or low ( it can be a real pain to shift into neutral if shut off while in low or reverse )

 

Does the 300 Prairie have a limited slip frint diff- or is it undifferentiated? And if it is limited slip- can I do away with that and make it sold, no differentiation? I've heard nothing but good things about this quad, good gas mileage, ample power for all but exteme situations and a comfortable ride. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

It has a limited slip front... I'm not sure, if there is a locker available for it or not... I'd check with High Lifter

 

I have a 99 Kawasaki Prairie 4x4 and it doesn't have any kind of actuator for engine braking or 4 wheel drive. They are full time four wheel drive. The first time Kawasaki came out with the actuators were on the 2002 Prairie 650 4x4. They have an actuator on the engine braking and one to electronically shift from 2wheel drive to 4 wheel drive. I think the 400 is a great quad, haven't had any problems with it.

 

Thanks sdbowhunter, that's what scares me to death. I hear people going on about the thing buzzing all the time and they're told that it's 'normal' and that when there is no noise- that's probably when it's fried. The 300 is looking better and better all the time.

 

One of my friends has one, theyre great quads. You cna beat them and beat them and they take more and more. Hes done mud runs with the stock tires and taken 5th. Its a limited slip fornt, but in situations where one tire has much traction and the other doesnt it will sping jsut one. No problem in mud though.

The tops speed is in the 50mph range, it takes a lot to get to that but itll do it eventually. Its not a powerhouse but there not times where you say "I need more power" if you want to paly hard you might want some but theres plenty.

IF you get your technique and timing right (standing on the rack) itll wheelie. It jumps very well for a sport utility, if your ridign single its very hard to bottom it out. Riding double in jumps and reapated whoops the shock will start to fade, but it takes a lot.

Great quad imo.

If you go here, theres pics of the rig in a coupel mudruns. Didnt have any problems in those mudruns, and never got stuck. http://www.highmark.uni.cc/ATV/atv.htm