Ok, I logged enough miles today to where I can acurately say stuff about this thing. Probably opened it up sooner than I should, but hey, some things just can't wait. Here it is.

Ok, I'll start off by saying that if there is anyone who is considering a Griz solely for the purpose of keeping all 4 tires on the ground, Don't waste your time. Go get a sportsman or an AC. STRAIGHT UP!- The 02 Grizzly is basically no better than a standard swingarm quad at keeping all four planted. This is just about my only complaint with the bike. I can live with it, because the only other thing I considered was a 650, and its a straight axle quad so I wouldn't have gotten that luxury with it either.

First test was the oil change ramp under a rear tire. Failed miserably. Looked just like the Honda 300 sitting there with one tire way the hell up in the air. Next test was at my cousin's house. Put the right rear on a step (much like in Boner's picture) and depending on how you tilted it, either the right front or left rear tire was about as high off the ground as the step. The suspension did not squat at all (if it did, it was only an inch) with a rider on it or not. To prove my AC is better theory, we put the 454 in the same situation. Result- all 4 tires on the ground. Granted, one tire did not have good weight on the ground, but it was down there none the less.

After this, we went to a ravine with a good hillclimb coming out of it. Large rocks with gaps between them as you start up, and its pretty technical riding. I've done it on both AC's before and it gets scary, but they do good. Their limited slips make the climb after the rocks pretty interesting, but they have both made it up. The Griz made it too, but it was a bit scarrier. I got one tire in a hole and one on a large rock to the point that my *** was on the right rear plastic and my foot was on the ground. Left rear tire was WAY in the air (the AC would be in the air too, but about 5 or 6 inches lower). It wouldn't have flipped (I did the shake test), but you wouldn't know that without safely checking with a good foothold. I used the locker to prevent a slip n slide sideways, and eventually went on up. My cousin said it looked bad from behind. He thought I was going to flip it. He also said that with all that weight shifted to the one rear tire, the IRS didn't budge maybe an inch. Might as well of had a swingarm here. I'm shooting you guys straight on this so remember this if somebody ever says otherwise.

This proves that the Grizzly IRS is good only for ground clearance. It rides superb though, but its not keeping contact in technical situations. I rate it no better than the average swingarm. It might as well have had a rigid IRS for this matter.

Hillclimbing- it will go up pretty good, but not with the same confidence as the Cat. Probably because the Cat has 100lbs. more over the front wheels than it does over the rear (ATV Magazine 500 shootout). The differential is great. Inspires confidence in loose situations where the limited slip bucks and spins its way up. I tried places with it both in and out, and there is a clear difference. I've tried these same places on the cat, and the tires were its only advantage. Those tires on the locked Griz would be unreal. I did find a hill that I could spin all four tires and do nothing but spin the quad sideways and scare myself good. I ended up moving some rocks out of the way and blasting up it real fast. After I cleared out the loose stuff, both the Griz and 454 went up easily. I would have been skeptic to clear this hill the first time with the AC though. It would have spun out even with the claws on, and I hate backing down stuff like that.

Sidehilling- The cat is more stable as I have said so many times. The griz didn't have a problem, but it feels scarier in these situations. If it was widened with tires and wheels, it would be different. Also, that AC rear end conforms more to the sidehill, where the griz acts like a swingarm and leans with the hill. I didn't have any problems, but I still say the swingaxle AC handles this better.

Sounds like I'm really downing the griz right now, but I have no regrets, because I got what I wanted, and now I know that for sure.

Ok- Steering- Rode the griz and the 454 and its total night and day. The cat felt impossible to steer even compared to the griz in 4wd (not locked, thats a different story). It carves a tight turn, and turns with utter ease. Its not even funny how much better it is. I'm not lying on this one. Feels like my honda when its in 2wd.

Ride- Awesome. A lot better than the AC on dirt roads at 30mph. You barely feel bumps at all. It rides extremely well, and the comfortable seat probably plays a part here too.

Handling- great again. Much better than the AC in 2 and 4wd. Holds the road better, not as much lean (though thats not much of a problem) You could blast through the woods on this thing like a bat out of hell.

4wd button is like a blessing. Go up a steep hill, hit 2wd on the fly, make a couple tight turns, hit 4wd as you come into another hill and take it out on the fly coming out. No hesitation. No stopping and pulling levers. It is absolutely cool to be able to have all that control. The 454 was constantly backing up when I was hitting a button and whipping around trees in the woods.

I've decided that I'm not into the lever on the kawasaki. I found some scary places that I locked it, and it would have been more difficult and scary if I was having to hold the lever the whole time. More control with it constantly locked. A zip tie would make the 650 do the same thing though. I won't shun the kawi cause its a hell of a bike.

Plastic- weak and cheap. don't believe anything otherwise no matter what they tell you. This thing is tupperware. I high centered on a log, and bent the skid down 2 inches first thing off the bat. Its a piece of crap. I ended up drilling a couple holes in it and zip tying it to the frame to pull it back up flush. I'll have a steel one when highlifter offers it up. Same goes for the boot guards. No problems with them yet, but they are made out of the same crap, and I'll replace them as soon as something is available.

Mileage- I had about 70 miles when the low fuel beacon started flashing. Thats probably about where reserve starts. This is the first tank through the thing.

Now the good part- SPEED!!!
I did not expect it to be like this. It is a virtual rocket. I hit an indicated top speed of 64mph with it. I had a GPS but its a sucky Garmin and I couldn't get it to ever update. The fire dept traded in the Magellan, otherwise, I could give you some real figures. This Garmin showed me at 28 when I was doing 15, then it went blank, and never would update. I was pissed.

The top speed wasn't what took me. The acceleration was. Just for say, we lined up the Griz and the 454. The 454 will run side by side with my 500. We took off and after one foot, the AC had the lead. That was the end of it. I had about a quad length lead after maybe 10ft. and then the Griz came alive and I absolutely left the AC standing. BigBadCat and Myself were dumbfounded by the difference. The Griz didn't walk away, it ran off and hid. I'd say after maybe 130 yards, I had a 50 yard lead on the 454. It was bad. I didn't think it would be like that. Neither did he. He knew he would lose, but not like that. He said he hit every shift perfect, and it still was like a wolverine racing a timberwolf. When the power came on after 10ft. I jumped out to about a 10 quad lead in no time. The Griz hits 50 in a heartbeat, and I don't see any other 4x4 other than the 650 standing a chance. Totally unreal. We switched so he could smoke me, and I got a good view of a green blur about a second after I took off.

The grizz doesn't powerslide or cut donuts well at all. Its narrow, and the tires hook up good. This isnt important to me though, but some folks would probably like to know.

Overall I am totally pleased with it. The only thing I didn't get out of this was all four tires on the ground. To get the total package of speed, turning, handling, and stability, I would have had to wait on a 700 Sportsman, but then again, we can figure that one will weight in over 700 lbs. Thats just too heavy I think for the difference. I'll be happy with the Yamaha. My preference over the Prairie is simply the lock button and the straight line clearance. Thats it, cause the Griz behaves the same as a prairie would in uneven terrain with no advantage. The 500i is strictly out of competition for my preferences. There is no way they can squeeze enough power out of that engine with higher compression to make it even come close to running with the grizz. Along with that, I don't think they could do enough to the steering to make it half as good either. I've ridden AC's for 3 years, and their steering is among the heaviest in the industry, right there with the 450 Honda (which may even be worse). In all that other technical stuff, AC is better. I was into the fun factor for this quad though. I think the 500i will probably become the most stable quad for technical riding, but I was looking for speed and agility this time. Remember here, I'm an AC guy, but I'm also a Yamaha guy from 1985.

As far as the other quads go. I never even considered them. They just don't fit the bill for my preferences. There are only 3 quads that I would buy right now. a Grizz, a 650, or a 500i manual. The Grizz just happened to suit me best. I like the other two, and I hope BBC gets a 650 later in the year so we can have them both. The two current big bores ruling the roost here in NW Arkansas! He was set in on wanting that 500i manual himself until we did that drag race. The difference changed his mind instantly, though he is an AC guy at heart as well. One of his bragging *** buddies got a Rubicon lately, and I know he would love to get that Prairie and smoke that kid's butt.

Well guys, that was major long, and I hope I didn't bore you with repetitive crap. Thats about all I can tell you on it so far. If it gets faster or slower, i'll let you know. If it becomes a total lemon, i'll let you know that as well.

ride on

 

Great review! I would only mention one thing you left out that the rest of us "old" Grizzly riders know. The outstanding engine braking!(for an automatic). I'm also not so sure having a stiff setup in the *** end is all that bad. At least you can load some weight on the racks without watching your ground clearence slip away. Who knows, maybe with time it will loosen up some.

One other thing. Did you try any deep water crossings? I'm not sure how the new Griz is vented. I've had mine up to the racks many times, and even floated once and haven't had to use the drain plug yet. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Rick

 

No water yet. I never haul anything other than another person anyway. What I'm getting at is there is no side to side give in the IRS. Oh yeah, and engine braking in low range 4x4 is very good. Not as good as an AC in low range 1st gear by any means, but very good for an automatic. Downhills in 2wd are similar to any other 2wd quad. The rear will slide around on you all the same.

 

I have yet to see the new grizz. You really got me wondering about that rear sway bar. Are the shocks really stiff ?? or is the swaybar just to large of a diameter to flex????. I would think you could stiffen the rear shocks and remove the swaybar. But that could make it really unstable. I got to see one to see the setup perhaps a swaybar quick disconect like a jeep uses for more flex. Maby a smaller diameter tube for the bar itself. Perhaps High lifter will come up with somthing to improve it. I would be willing to bet part of the problem is the width also. Some wider tires and rims might give more leverage to create some flex. Excelent review sounds like it really moves out. I cant wait to see one and go for a test ride.

 

Andy-
Excellent post! Sounds like overall you're rather pleased with your purchase-Glad to hear it! Glad to hear the diff. lock and speed are up to your expectations. Sounds like that thing flat out moves when you want it too!

Anyway, Best of Luck with it, keep us posted as you learn more!

Take it easy man, enjoy your 4 days off!

Mike

 

Thanks for the review! Now, is the rear suspension adjustable or not?? If so, what are the adjustments?? Preload..rebound?? etc. It would seem that you'd be able to soften it up a tad. Also, while I really enjoyed your review, I feel it's an injustice for those on the Yamaha forum whom it would serve best. I just happend to be bored and thought I'd drop in the AC forum to see what the latest was. Anyway you ought to post it there as well [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]. Thanks again.

 

All of the shocks are preload adjustable. It comes on the next to the softest setting. I adjusted the rears down to the softest setting tonight and it made a small difference. Its about 3" off the ground now on the oil change ramp. I think it was a little higher when I did it yesterday. I was able to hit 66 at one point and 67 when it started a slight grade, but I had to let off there. I still want to put the gps to it, cause I think the speedometer reads high. I put 28 miles on today, and it sure didn't seem like I went that far.

 

Hold it right there! Remember that I am one that will tell it how it is no matter what. Well, here is an example.

660 Grizzly, 98 miles. 6 days in my possesion and I have noticed OIL down on the skid and floorboard just below the pull start thing. Not a ton of it, but some. Like its got a slow leak or something down there somewhere. This can't be good. Its not as if somebody spilled it there while filling the oil either. This is a leak of some kind. Pisses me off quite a bit too. I'm known to have crap luck.

Well, I was pretty pissed, but I hit the Yamaha website to find that any authorized dealer can do warranty repair. I sure didn't want to drive another 280 miles one way to get this bastard fixed, but I bet the folks at the local dealership are going to be real happy that I didn't buy it from them. I'll check and see tomorrow if I have a little puddle waiting for me underneath the bike. I wiped off most of the oil, so any puddle will be a new one.

Never had anything close to this with any other quad other than the 225 yamaha leaking oil out of the head after it was worn out. Chalk one up for the reliability meter, because this is giving it negative points real fast. No excuses here. I don't have anything good to say about this one.

 

What! Already? Is it possible the filler plug isn't/wasn't totally tight, and maybe when running, it was loose enough that it could seep out a little? Any loose bolts or anything that could have vibrated loose after the first little "break in"? Man, I'm sorry to hear that-just hoping it's nothing serious. Is there any oil anywhere else, or anything else that looks out of place?

Hope it goes OK with the local dealer tomorrow, fill us in on how it goes, what happens with it. Seems pretty crappy it has to happen on your few days off, and on your brand new machine. I guess on the good side, the warranty will fix it, whatever it is.

Best of Luck Andy,

Mike

 

Its not the filler or the drain. The oil was mainly around the bottom of the pull start thing. I'm guessing there is maybe a gasket around there. Also, there is some other thing down there that looks like maybe a tube that oil circulates through. It connects into the bottom of the engine. There wasn't any puddle or anything this morning, but that doesn't tell me anything really. I'll probably load it up and take it in tomorrow or something. I have to go get my AC today. I think its going to cost like $50 to get the boot replaced, and that wasn't too bad. I decided to just let them do it. I'll have the AC to ride while the Griz is in the shop I guess.