Hey! Well I have finnaly done it, I left Honda after 25 years, and let me tell you im not sure if it was the right thing to do after reading some of your postings. I just bought a 650 and am wondering if it will hold up? Ive been riding and racing bikes since i have been 5 years old and thoroughly believe in maintaining your equipement however I also ride hard and am wondering if the noises in the drivetrain are going to be a problem.
P.S. has any one thought about plaining the heads to boost the compression and do you think the pistons will hold up or should they be replaced at the same time?

 

You sound just like me when I first bought mine. I am a devout Honda fan and was really concerned about Kawasaki reliability. I asked questions on this sight and was assured that kawasaki was just as bullet proof as Honda. Besides Honda doesn't even have a quad that compares to the 650. i have owned it for 1 1/2 months and I ride hard. It looks like it was in a war. i have had it in for service for a bunch of minor things.they tell me the noise on hard decel is the tranny and it's normal. I was on the Yamaha message board and they were complaining abbout the same noise. I am really pleased with this quad. Being a brang new model I think you have to expect a certain number of problems. There is an excellent write up in Dirtwheels comparing it to the Grizzly. After reading the article I am happy I bought the 650. It is just a blast flying around,jumping sliding this quad like it weights a lot less. I will say it requires a lot of rider effort and it gets tiring after a while. It is well suited for big strong guys.I just put ITP 589 M/S 27" tires on it. I haven't been out to much but I'm going right now. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

 

RMX15
Where at in Nova Scotia do you live?

 

Seriously, in the world of atvs, I rate Kawasaki the most reliable. I've had a bunch of different wheelers in my time, as I happen to like them all and I still have a couple of the Kawis. If I were to have to bet my life on which brand would last the longest, it would be Kawasaki.

 

It's funny you bring up reliablity since I too was a bit hesitant about Kawasaki. I myself had started off with Suzukis then Yamahas and Hondas after that but never owned a Kawi mainly because they didn't have a model I wanted. That changed in 2000 when after months of research I bought a new KDX 200 and the year after that I purchased a Mojave. My only near ownership experience with Kawasaki before that was my brother's KDX 80 in '87 and his left over '94 Mojave in '96. Both machines were trouble free and good performers. I guess I always related back to my experiences riding my buddies old, clapped out KX's to form my opinion. Anyhow I have been very pleased with the green bikes and wouldn't hesitate to buy another. The 650 will probably have some bugs because it is a new model but it will be far better sorted out than a new Polaris. Geez, those things seem like the first two years are prototype stage and they finally release the real model in the thrid year. Their snowmachines are no different.