ive made the decision to sell my 04 sportsman 600 and up grading to a 06 Brute Force! anyone have any feedback on the Brute? dirtwheels seems to like them.

 

My friend has had a ton of problems with his. As soon as his extended warranty is up he will sell it.

 

Which Brute are you talking about the 650 SRA (prairie chassis) that list for 6599, or the 650i with IRS just a smaller motor version of the 750i IRS. I subscribe to about every rag out and can't remeber the Brute 750 ever finishing with high marks in any of the comparison test last year, I know DW put it in last place in several multi unit shootouts, The BF 750 finished behind the Prairie 700 in one of the shootouts. That said DW did rate the BF650 very high last year and gave it best in its class and I seem to recall it alos recived best in the under 7000.00 price class as well. That said the BF650 last year the only one offered was the SRA prairie based Brute 650. The ride and handeling of the BF750i is the worst I have ever been on and I can sure see why it was ranked pretty low. I also think the world of the prairies and can definantly see why the prairie/brute 650 SRA was so highly ranked last year its a heck of a quad for 6599 list, best overall bang for the buck on the market IMO.

 

Well....my friend has had a ton of problems with his sportsman 700. I have never had a single problem with mine. I have about 700 miles on it now.

 

The 750bf is a great quad. I haven't had any problems with mine and have about 700 miles on it. I had a 700prairie and traded it in with 1100 miles on it. I never had any problems with the 700 prairie either. The magazines have rated the 750bf lower due to the suspension issues. The v-twin motor is a rocket. Here is my take since I own one and have owned a 700 prairie.

1st Let me tell you of my set ups:

BF750: 27" mudlites on ITP black spoke wheels, cargo box with seat, front basket rack, pen locker, back up light, gun rack, front light rack on handle bar, and spot light.

700Prairie: 26" ITP 589's on vision aluminum rims, cargo box with seat, 2" lift kit, front basket rack, pen locker, gun rack, spot light.

My ridding: I mostly ride at my deer camp (~10,000 acres) that is bottom woods with mud, water, gravel, but no hills. I also ride at a place in Crosby, Tex called Mels and it has some extreme mud holes with deep ruts.

OK, here is my take based on my experience with both quads:

MUDDING: The bf750 is a better mudder b/c of the IRS ground clearance. This doesn't mean the 700prairie can't mud. With a 2' lift and bigger mud tires, I could go many places that my bf750 could go b/c of the front diff locker and power.

POWER: Both are extremely powerful, but I feel the 700prairie gets it to the ground better. This is probably due to the IRS robbing more power than the SRA.

RIDE: Both ride very good. The bf750 is a softer ride, not like a polaris, but slightly better than the SRA prairie700. I personally like the 700prairie because it feels more stable and sporty.

OFF CAMBER: Hands down the 700prairie is better b/c of the SRA. I feel neverous with the BF750 in off camber situations. This is due to the IRS problems.

SLOW TRAIL RIDING: Both are great

FAST TRAIL RIDING: The 700prairie is more stable, planted and sportier feeling. The bf750 is good too, but sometimes the IRS feels squirrely.

WORK: Both are capable of heavy work b/c of the awesome v-twins, but the 700prairie doesn't squat with a heavy load. This is due to the SRA vs IRS.

The bottom line is: If you want a great mudder, the BF is it......provided you put on good aftermarket mud tires. If you want a great all around utility/sport/work quad, the 700prairie is it. I like my bf750 a lot, but if I had to do it again, I would have kept my 700prairie as well.

 

Very well said. I myself, my brother, my dad and other guys in our group all agree with you. We all prefferd the prairie to the Brute 750i we had, for most all of the same reasons you listed.

I also want to mention that if going from the Sportsman's cadilac ride to a Brute 750. There may be a rude awaking in the ole back side. The BF750 is allot firmer in its suspension and in its seat.

 

You are so right. The sportsman has the best cadilac ride out there. The honda rincon is probably a very close 2nd. However, the BF750 is just slightly a step up from a SRA. In fact, in reality, the only thing I have gained by going to the BF750 from the 700 prairie is ground clearance. Other than that, the prairie does everything else better. I have 3 herniated disk in my neck and the ride on the BF750 compaired to the 700prairie is the same to me. I have even considered getting another 700prairie. After having the two, IMO the 700prairie is the best all around atv out there.

BTW, thanks for all the great information you give us concerning your twin peaks mods. Guys like you help out the rest of us who don't have the indepth knowledge.

 

i could have purchaced any machine i wanted when i went shopping, (including the Bomb) but i bought the camo BF 650i. the King Quad was close second. i'd do it again. just budget for tires, too.

monty

 

well i already have a pretty much BN set of ITP mudlite XL's on series 5 rims from my sportsman, a warn #3000 winch and a Warn 60in snowplow, i read in this months DW mag that they liked it and Elka offers shocks that make a world of difference. i pretty much ride in slow muddy trails so high speed handling is not that important to were i have to worry about it all the time, i just want something that has more @ss than my sportsman

 

i would buy any thing but a kawi..........