Hey, DUstanko, stebob, biggin and YZGUY, thanks! Lots of great feedback there.

Daryn: The fact that "the acceleration is so incredible you will grin each time you give it throttle" would be enough to make me fall in love with a quad! I checked out Lackdog's thread -- some awesome posts there! Confirmed a lot of the stuff I'd heard & read about the Prairie and the Grizzly. Sounds like you have a blast with your Kawi; I think that, if I had one, I would appreciate the midwestern winters much more, too! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

And, YZGUY, yep, probably trail riding, mostly, but I understand there's some mean hills at the Badlands in Attica....

 

An other sport utility would be the Suzuki Vinson 500. They are suppose to be pretty quick and handle real nice.

 

My dealer sells Kawi, Polaris, and Suzuki. I literally rode the Vinson, Prairie 650, SP700, and SP500 HO all back to back to back. The 650 just rocked. My buddy and I raced the SP700 and 650 in front of the dealership while we were wearing our business suits. Crazy sight to say the least. The 650 always got out to a quick lead and never let go. That is what sold me.

Independent rear suspension is great. I could have used it tonight as I did some serious mudding with my new Gators in some duck ponds in Eastern, ND. A farmer that I hunt with took my little bro and I out for some fun. I got high centered a few times but rocking got me out. I never got completely stuck but had to winch the Honda 400 out a few times. He ran some 25" 589's and maybe did not have the clearance that I had. We ran into mud over the hubs and water over the floorboards. Pics to follow as soon as I upload. It sure was fun. Not to mention that I was a solid sheet of mud. Good thing it was 85 degrees tonight as the hose water to wash me off was mighty cold.

Daryn

 

well im gona say at 5'7" and 135#. just about every thing you get on is going to fly as a rider i have had my quads bounce off me a few times and the big quads are heavy not sayin the you can't take care of your self .
but as a frist quad i would say get something smaller to start with and bild your ridein skills up to a biggin .i see people come in the shop all the time sayin that they wish it was lighter. bigger not always better . this sport is a blast. the 4x4 are a blast to ride . but you have to think what am i going to use it for work or play or both.

 

i think you first need to narrow it down to ...sport or utility

if you want a sport quad...i think you got the right idea...the raptor will probably be best...its fast and has reverse (which is a plus for the tight trails)

another to consider if you dont need reverse is a 400ex....its fast enough, handles much better, and is more reliable


as for utilities...i cant answer this one...ive never ridden the new big bore monsters.

 

PismoGuy400 -- yeah, you have pinpointed my main problem: Choosing between a sport and a utility. A hell of a decision for me. Actually, a friend of mine made this analogy: He basically didn't quite grasp my prob, as it's like choosing between a Corvette and a 4X4 truck. Most people would have an obvious preference. Problem is, I'd love to drive both equally well, but would be hard-pressed to choose between them! The Prairie seems like the closest I can get to the best of both worlds. Heck, if I were loaded, I'd just get one of each and have done with it! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Still haven't entirely ruled out the DS650 or the Z400, though.... Anyone have any other thoughts on these?

 

the 2003 yamaha show is on june 13,there are rumors about a 660 wolverine,that would be a sport/utilty wet dream!!!!!it would be much lighter then the grizz or 650,and im sure it'd be quite a bit faster,with better handling,more like a raptor with 4wd!!!!just cross your fingers,even if it comes out with a 500cc,it sounds like it would be a better choice for you,light weight/speed/4wd. i have a 2000 wolverine and i can smoke most all other 4wd up to about the 500cc class,and its only a 350

 

The analoge he gave you was not right in my eyes, how about--- a work veh. and a play veh.-- or a veh. to carry or pull something with,or a veh.with a sixpack rack/flag holder----something fastup OLD's or something at the bottem watching you that is too heavy and slow to make it up the hill -----something with little travel or lot's of travel---something heavy, something light.----something to drag and something to sit on and watch the drag.......-----------------------------I CAN TAKE YOU PLACES ONLY 4X4's CAN only dream offffffff sorry UTI guys it is only the truth and you know it.There is nothing nicer than a BEAUTIFULL LADY ON A BAD TRICKED OUT QD...their is like 13 of us that ride all the time. About 1/2 4x4's and 1/2 2x4's WE ALL HAVE FUN CHICKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK but the banshees 400EX and 250RRRR are KING as we wait for the rest to catch up

 

can someone get out their decoder ring and tell me what in the hell razor13 just said?


my biased opion is that if your not going to use the utility to actually work around the house, you should go for a sports bike, you'll have more fun in the long run.

 

Howitis what a Mulllllllet----------YOU HAVE IT