So honestly....how dependable is the Grizzly?

I ride alone 99% of the time....I live in the country so I just drive out my driveway onto the trails. I might go out 10 or 20 miles in the bush...I find new trails and follow them seeing where I end up.

My question is...is the Grizzly the bike for me?

I realize it has a great ride and gobs of power, and I love it, but since I am usually by myself, it is more important for me to get back home without being stranded or breaking down.

If I rode in groups all of the time, I would get the Grizzly in a heartbeat..... but like I said, I cannot afford to break down.....ever. I have an old 1990 Kawasaki which has NEVER let me down or broken down....Even though it is 15 years old, I am confident enough to go deep into the bush by myself without fear of not making it home.

So can anyone say that they can confidently Every Time go out 10 or 20 miles into the bush by themselves on a Grizzly and know they will make it back home?

 

yes grizzly is very dependable but not as much as the honda rincon or brute force but thats my 2cents

 

i ride with 3 600 grizlys and 1 2005 660 grizzly and i find they all do the same thing when we go up hill alot they sputter and loose power.
on the flats and trails they seem ok but when we go uphill witch we do alot of here in BC canada
they start to sputter and spit like its flooding out and they start to puff black smoke like there flooding out also.
we told them to check there floats and the guy with the new 660 is taking his in soon for its first service and hes going to let them know whats going on with it and have them check it out.
as for the other guys one guy said his is ok now and the other figuers it is because he took out his spark arrester and its running to rich now.
and i dont know what the third guy did to his because i havent seen him in a while.
but if you want somthing thats going to take you anywhere and you know how to do a bit of maintenance to your quad.(check your belt) then get the kawi 700 prarie it evan sounds better then the grizzly because it has that v twin sound. sweet.
i wouldent sugest quads like the BF or the griz or arctic cat for trail riding because of the irs suspention its too tippy on the trails the suspention has too much travel and next thing you know your upside down where as the solid rear axel quads wont do that.
and the 700 prarie if the best sra belt quad out there.
BUT if you want somthing to last for ever then get the new honda rubicon with the new 2-4 wheel drive set up and new disk brakes, auto or manual shift transmission and high and low range its sure to last a long time.
my 04 has over 2000 miles on it and all i have done to it is change the oil.
and when its time to do that a light comes on in the dash and tells you to change your oil.
so you never have to wonder when you last changed it because it will tell you when its time.
i thinks thats cool.
anyways back to the grizzly my one buddy with the 2000 griz has over 5000 miles on his and he said all hes done to his is change his oil also.
he says hes never checked his belt not evan once.
and the only trouble with it was the one time it started to act up when we were out and it hasent done it since.
and one more thing the 660 grizzly cost more then the 700 kawasaki prarie.
and the diff lock on the grizzly has a rev limiter so you cant pin it in the mud without it comming on
and slowing you down.
with the kawasaki's diff lock you just pull the lever and pin it and when your done you let go and it unlocks and you keep going without evan stoping.
now thats nice to have when your going through a 50 foot mud hole and you need full power and diff lock.
plus the kawis a V twin mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm V twin.
theres nothing like the sound of a V twin motor.
ask anyone thats herd one.
or the power and torque of one.
and if i upset anyone for comming on here and saying what i have said then i sorry.
not.
kawi rules and the rest get stuck.
i hope you look at some other quads befor you buy.
good luck.

 

Yes, the Grizzly is extremly dependable, otherwise i wouldn't have 2 of them. I also ride alone for the most part and have been out in the dunes, up in the mountains and in temperatures well below zero and have never had a problem. That's not to say something can't happen, but if you properly maintain it, it will go anywhere you want to go.

 

trust it man....all that stuff that mudblaster said has happened before BUT i must say one thing.....i mud alot (check pics) and i have NEVER had my difflock limiter hit before....this isn't truck mudding....it's ATV mudding and it's different....if you want to go into a pit and just mash it full throttle go ahead and break something if you want it's the best way to do it on an ATV....most ATV mudding tires are designed to work with the tires spinning just fast enough that you can still count the lug nuts on your rims....not spinning wildly and throwing crap all over the place....although it's fun.....it's not effective in mud.....people like mudblaster are just fanboys and will say anything to get you to buy what they have....

now back to the Grizz.....
1. it's dependable and it's in it's 4th year of production so you know Yamaha has done something right with it
2. it's got power and torque....not as much as the new big bores out there getting close to 800ccs but it's got power
3. it's got a slight stability issue stock but once you add some new 6 ply tires you'll never go back to stock tires for stability reasons....
4. it's tough....i've rolled mine twice and there's guys on highlifter that have rolled theirs countless times and you can't even tell....
5. it's had it's problems when it was a youngster.....vapor lock problems...floats sticking that cause sputtering....axle problems....no over-rides on the earlier models....stuff like that but EVERY issue has been either resolved my Yamaha themselves or by the proud owners of this machine.....
6. it definately set the standard for big bores when it came out....and people still to this day use it for a rule of thumb....
7. diff lock is great....and you don't have to stop in order to go in and out of 4x4 and/or Difflock....
8. i own a 2002 Grizz which have been said to be the biggest problem child out of them all but mine hasn't let me down yet.....
9. it's radiator is mounted high in the frame which keeps it out of the muddy stuff unless you go really deep....even if you do....Highlifter has a remedy..
10. it handles good and has no problems breaking tie rod ends.....no problems with the trannys....
11. Yamahas CVT is arguable the best CVT system out there....i've only serviced my tranny because i've sunk it in water enough times....
12. sure the IRS is a bit tippy....but wouldn't you rather have the GC over SRA?
13. my list could go on and on man i've had my Grizz for about a year now and have put it through about everything....mud snow water hills rocks....everything....she hasn't let me down yet.....
14. EVERY bike out there has it's ups and downs....it's just that the Grizz has alot more ups than downs....i've talked to guys who have had nothing but trouble with their Grizzs but then i've talked to guys that have never had trouble with them.....
15. it lacks a good low geared reverse as it's reverse gear isn't much of a difference from it's high gear....
16. it's got a good recoil backup starter....just in case man
since you ride alone alot.....in the event that you get stuck (everyone does) get yourself a good winch and you'll be good....it's kinda funny how you posted about a Grizzly but fanboys always get on here and brag about how you should buy this other bike....notice the only two others he suggested were the two that he owns right now.....buy a Grizz man cause i've never been in a situation where i wasn't able to spin the tires in low....and i've never been in a situation in which i wished i had something different....you'll be happy if you buy a Grizz....but everyone has different tastes so it may not suit you as well as another bike.....find someone that has a Grizz and take it for a spin....you won't be sorry you bought one

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I take my griz up hills that would pucker your butt hole so hard that you will suck wind, not expell it. I have never had one single issue with it stalling or sputtering on a steep incline. Their floats are set wrong and it takes 20 mins to fix it if they wanted to.
My griz has been awesome. If you don't beat the quad, it will run forever. If you are riding alone, be easy on it. Don't run full throttle through the mud. Pump the throttle a little and it will go thru even easier than those who break things. The axels break when someone runs WOT through a mud hole and then one tire stops when it gets traction and the others keep going and become fly wheels and continue to spin, and break the stopped axel.
The stock tires suck. I would recommend going with rugged 26" 6 ply tires and ITP rims. They will widen the stance as much as spacers and make it very stable. Medium tire pressure with stiff spring setting will make it even more stable at high speed through the corners and on off camber situations. I run my rears at 1 step from the stiffest and the front at 2 from the stiffest. I had to do that in the rear to tame the torque due to my mods.
If you do get a griz and have any of the issues that mudblaster sighted, then just post questions and we can help you fix them without any trouble at all. If he would just ask, those problems are really easy to fix.
The tippy thing is just stupid. I can slide mine sidways on hard pack without any problems at all. If you run through mud at full throttle in diff. lock, you are the weakest link, goodbye.
One more thing, if you are on a really steep off camber, stand on the floor boards and don' t sit on the seat. It lowers your center of gravity and will make you more stable than the SRA because of the articulation in the suspension.

 

i ride with a grizzly and i would take that thing anywhere if i owned it, i would say there veryh reliable as long as you have gas in the tank

 

i said that there problem was that the floats where set wrong.
and i also said that my buddy with his 2000 600 has over 5000 miles on his and he has never had a single problem other then the one time he was out with me and my freinds.
just because i said that theres other options out there im a FANBOY.
what the hell is a fan boy.
i tell it like i see it and i dont make up BS to try and get them to buy my brand of quad.
personally i dont care what he buys there all good.
i was just saying to check out the other brands befor he buys.
this fanboy has owned 3 differant quads in the last 3 years a 2003 500 manual arctic cat a 2004 honda 500 rubicon and a 2004 kawasaki 700 prarie.
and if you add up the miles on all 3 quads i have put over 5000 miles on them in the three years iv owned
them.
and i have road with a ton of other quads so i get to see alot of differant things they can and cant do so im pretty sure i know what im talking about.
and from what i have seen in the last three years of quading the grizz is no doubt one of the top quads but the kawi is better. and im not the only one that will say it.
look at all the atv mags and see what they say.
...................... (i know there byest also.)...................................
out of all the shoot outs i havent seen a grizzly come in first yet.
or evan 2nd for that matter.
im not saying its not dependable im just saying there is better.
i know my honda will outlast most quads out there.
and i bet its a better work quad then the grizz or my kawi.
and it will never have a belt slip or get wet.
but i still like my kawi better.
the kawi is deffanetly more fun then the honda and its probly just as relyable as the honda.
and as for going threw the mud at wide open throttle i dont do it all the time but when i want to i can without having my rev limmeter kick in.
and that crap about things braking i ride the hell out of my kawi and its bin great.
and my honda has bin just as good.
now my cat was another story.
it got so i was scared to take it out for feer that it would brakedown.
and thats why i traded it in on the honda.
because i know the honda will be relyable.
the reason i got the kawi 700 was the first time i road it i was so impressed with the power and torque i just had to have it.
and now thats all i ride.
unless my kids come out with me then they want to ride the kawi and i get to ride the honda.
and i know the honda will always get me home.
and i beleave the kawi will also.
so dont get mad and start calling names it not nice.
anyways like i said befor look around befor you buy.
just because the grizz is the most expensive dont mean its the best.

 

hey man it's all good [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

all i'm sayin is that he asked for opinions/experience with the Yamaha Grizzlys....nothing else

and by the way....i can find a brand new 2004 or 2005 Grizz off the showroom floor for 6200 out the door.....if that's the most expensive bike out there then i must not be seeing straight.....it's kinda funny because i'm not the only one that says the Grizz is better than any Kawi either......but enough of this arguing and just go back to your Kawi home

 

I ride sometimes alone, and I don't even think twice about it! As far as it being dependable, it is second to none! Absolutely none! Happy trails!