Im looking into getting my son and myself into some trail riding come spring and I cant afford two new rigs so im looking for some decent used ones.
So I been looking at used ones locally and seen a few,but I think I want either a honda rancher,king quad or a grizzly 4x4. Im open to others but for now from what I read these would make good trail rigs and seem to be a good reliable choice.
That being said Im looking for something around the 3k price area,and I ran into a 04 650 grizzly,that seemed in decent condition with just under 3,000 miles. There asking $3,400 looks pretty much stock except for some nice mudding tires. 650 is a pretty big machine,think its too big for a 14 year old?

If anyone knows about these,would you recommend them for a nice trail rig? Any known problems for this year or machine in general,or anything to inspect or check if I go to look at it? We're just looking to do some mild off roading,,not looking to jump it,or go across water up to are neck or anything crazy like that,Just looking for a good reliable machine,Is this it?

His asking price is a tad high,but pretty close to bluebook values,Does anyone know how much atv's go down in value every year? Just curious because now its in the range,but where only a couple of months away until its another year older. If there is anything I need to know about this machine,please let me know,Thanks for the help!

 

I think their biggest issue is the front drive shaft is known to wear in the spine where it attaches to the front of the transmission. Grab the shaft at that point and see how far you can wobble/push it from side to side. Parts run about 300 to rebuild this.
Also the clutch should be dismantled and repacked with grease every few years. Mostly labour there. Check all the cv boots and look close at all the seals. Aftermarket Parts and used parts are getting reasonable for these and units because they are a common machine.
As for size it will weigh @ 100 lbs less then a polaris or AC in this class. My 10 year old is starting to drive mine and does ok with it. Sure it has more engine then he needs or is allowed to use but its not hard to handle.
They have some quirks, like the headlight switch can be place 1/2 way between hi and low and the soldier on the bulbs melt and they fall in the headlight. They are also known for engine overheating and vapour locking the fuel system. Take a good look at the rad. I gave mine a new one for $90 from ebay. Figured it was hardly worth combing the bent fins.

 

Good to know about the driveshaft,I'll be sure to wiggle it around,,Should have no to little play?
Im not crazy about the headlight thing,but not a huge deal to me.
I am concerned about the overheating as we will be doing most of are riding in the spring/summer and im sure warmer temps wont help that out at all.
Is there a particular problem,or just run hot and the cooling system isnt good enough to keep temps down?
Any fixes with this,like a electric fan or anything? Would this problem be enough to look at another machine?

ITS A 2004 MODEL,,Not 2006 as I thought,,,any changes?

 

All the 660 were basically the same to my knowledge, I think the early ones used ujoints instead of cv on that front drive shaft but I could be wrong. There was a update for the gas boiling issue that should be done already on the newer (2004 and up) 660. Which was vents in the side panels below the tank from what I have read.
But it is still a ongoing issue even on the newer 700. Guys have tried everything but nothing has completely solved it. Hot weather and fuel tank that close to a hot engine = problem

If its 90 degrees out and your driving slow you will see bubbles in your tank. I have had to blow into the fuel cap vent hose to force fuel to the carb so it would start. But I also had tried to add a fuel filter and that required a loop of hose and a filter under that tank. I since removed it but have not rode in hot weather since. Less fuel line should help. Others have wrapped their exhaust, insulated lines and fuel tank.
That same day the engine was also turning on the hot light. I replaced the rad because 30 % of my fins were bent over, good news is a new one was cheap $90. Again have not rode it in hot weather since to test it.

Any used grizz drive shaft is going to have some play, the best fix is to weld some (1/4") of the splines from the old coupler to the new one and change the shaft. My is very worn, but it has 5000 miles on it too. I bough the parts and put another 500 or 600 miles on it since and it still has not failed. If I did a lot of high speed riding it would be more of a concern to me but usually I ride 30 mph on down so a wobble in the shaft really does not hurt anything, although it will slip the splines some day and have to be fixed. Hopefully I get around to replacing it before then.
I got it as a basket case some idiot wrecked. I only paid $500 for it but put 2K into it. I new that going in. 1/2 of what I changed was things a used bike would need anyway. Tires, Battery, Brakes, wheel bearings, seat cover. Despite its rough life it seem to still be pretty sound motor and trans wise. Uses no oil and runs great on all but the hottest days we have had. Hopefully the new rad helps that.

Another thing to check is the play in the wheel bearings. Lift it off the ground and see how much play there is. Kawasaki uses the same Koyo bearing and sell it for 1/3 the price. I was surprised how much the new ones I put in 500 or 600 miles ago had loosened up, but I guess some play is normal. There was a youtube vid of some guy who had worn his 10X worse then original ones were, So maybe I changed them too soon but I didn't want a future problem.
I still want to clean and repack my clutch grease, and do the front shaft, then I think it will last me a long time. I have 3 young boys so I'm sure it will get well tested.
All this being said I still think they are a decent atv.

If you are going to hire all this kind of work done it would be expensive, your better off buying new, but if you can do things yourself the parts are prob as reasonable as you can hope for with any brand, because they are quite common. and I think the engine is well built. I like the ultramatic trans, I have a polaris too but the yami has a wet clutch with theirs so no belt wear.
Any atv is going to have some issues, just like any car. I'm not trying to scare you off, just inform you going in. Imo mud machines (one with oversize tires) are used harder and wear things out faster, I would try to avoid those, otherwise the 660 is a pretty sound bike.
There are other forums dedicated to only the grizz, you can read for days over there and the grizz has a loyal following, so can't be too bad.

 

My friend bought a new 660 Grizzly back in 2003 and still rides it now. The only thing he has done to it was one front wheel bearing.
He has not even lock at the belt as of yet or clean the carb. It runs like new and this guy works it.
For a 660 its not bad in weight. Its lighter then my 500 Sportsman.
His 10 year old son rides it around his probity all the time no problem.

The 660 has been replaced by the 700 for some years yet a 660 Grizzly would still beat many new ATVs in a shootout.
Besides efi or power steering it has every option the newest 4x4s have.

It will run circles around a 2015 680 Rincon and in low range with diff lock will out work in as well.
Not bad for a ATV that came out 13 years ago.

 

Thanks for all the info,,I'll check out that other forum and read around. I'll let you guys know if I go look at it,,or maybe even bring it home!

 

I've owned one and they're great quads. Plenty of power, tons of accessories available. No, they're not as fast as an Outlander 1000 or a new Sportsman 1000. But you're also not spending $12000 either. You can get a nice used 660 Grizzly around here for $3000. If you want to spend another grand, you can get a nice used 700. At this point, I would probably get a 550(which has about the same hp as a 660) or a 700 to get fuel injection and never have to even worry about a carb if I ever decided to get one again.

 

You worry about carbs but not fuel injection systems? If a carb isn't working properly I remove it check the float bowl for water and grit, blow out the jets and bowl, re-assemble and 97% of the time the bike is fixed.

With injection you do a fault code reading, provided you have a reader for that model, mostly they don't show the fault anyway, then clean the injector, then do a pressure test, if you have the correct adapter. No pressure? Pump seized, $200 dollars please. New fuel filters are either unobtainable or extremely difficult to fit, or both, and pathetically small anyway.

 

All my ATVs had carbs and I never took one off or worked on one. Start them up and go for a ride summer or winter .
The Grizzly 660 is rated at 41hp while the Grizzly 550 is 37hp BTW.