Tuesday October 25, 2002 11:30am est



Hello everyone on the forum:

This evening I purchased an astic red 650 and would like your opinion on my purchase--do you think it is fair? My final price with a 1997 yamaha warrior trade-in was $5,800. This included the tax, a 4 year extended service plan, and a free 10 hour tune-up/inspection (first scheduled service). This 10 hour service schedule supposely costs $125. I did not know Kawasaki had a 4 year extended service for 2003, but I have it. I was told this service plan is $650. My warrior had some mechanical problems estimated at a minimum of $200 worth of repairs. My younger son who is now in college rode the warrior hard at times--jumps, trails, etc. The frame was also welded at 2 different spots. Front tires are ok, but will be replaced when sold. There are indications that there can possibly be other problems.

I am 58 yrs. young and purchased the 650 based soley on the recommendations of this forum. I want to use it for keeping my wooded yard (1.5 acres) in shape. I also have trails on my property that we used for the warrior which I enjoy riding. Also, a number of rock ledges that I would enjoy trying with the 4X4 features of the 650. Hope to purchase a small trailor for the back and also a plow for the winter. Will also spread blue stone on my drive way every 2 years. Enjoy working in the yard, but need to make things a little easier--enter the prairie 650. My 18 year old will probably want to take it trail riding when home on vacation from college.

Do you think my purchase was fair for me--I thought it was fair to both parties. What do you think? Is the praire tough enough to let my son go trail riding, he rides hard but I want to share it with him. He was tough on the warrior I traded in, but maybe its only my age and the way I treat machines!

Thanks for all your help . . . . . John

 

atvdad,

Sounds like a good deal to me, but wow you purchased a lot of quad for 1.5 acres.

It should be able to do what your asking and 10 times more.

You might as well forget about riding it when you son comes home from college.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Good luck with it.

Chet

 

Hi Chet,

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer. Your input is appreciated!

John

 

John,atvdad,

I just noticed where you live : Rhode Island.

Being the smallest state, is there very many large acreage land plots.

One and a half acres there might be quite large for that state.

Just wondering?

Chet

 

atvdad, From what I've seen the Prairie650 can take a pretty good beating. As with anything, the harder you ride it, the more it will wear. But, this is a top of the line sport/utility quad, it will probably do a wholer lot more than you expect. The Warrior is an outdated design compared to the 650, you are gonna love this thing, good luck.

 

Hi Chet,

Yes, I guess that size is all relative. When I went to school in texas, the texans would
laugh when I referred to size and rhode island together. But to answer your question,
in my area the buildable lots are between 1.5 to 3.0 acres. There are some larger
parcels that are used to board and raise horses.

I will pickup my 650 next week or weekend. They called friday and said the 650
is ready, but my schedule has been very busy. Chet, I just purchased an "Agri-Fab"
utility chart to go on the back of the praire. Have you ever heard of it? After
researching the web for about a week, I thought this was a nice cart. It has a 1,500 lb
load capacity, pneumatic tires, 17cu feet and uses 16 guage steel. It will give me a nice combo this cart and the 650. Can't make any excuses now to the wife about working in
the yard (hi hi). I enjoy getting outside, especially after teachin high school computers
all day.

Chet, have a great week and I will let you know about the 650, after I've had it for
a few weeks.

John

 

atvdad,

"Agri-Fab" utility chart.

Is that the one that has the ATV type tires equipped on it?

Also, did your Prairie 650 come with the hitch? I remember the big stink back when the 650 came out that it had the place where it would be attached on the rear but did not come with the machine to keep it below a certain weight level if I remember right. I also remember people asking here on the forums where they could get one because a lot of dealerships had them on back order. Seems like to, Canadian machines came with the hitch.

So make sure you get a hitch if its not included on your new Prairie 650.

Chet

 

Chet,

The tires are 16" x 6.50" pneumatic tires--not sure if they are atv tires. The 2003
praire 650 comes with the hitch as standard. It sounds like the cart is good quality.
The 2002 model of the cart uses 16 guage steel and the new model for next year will
use 18 guage steel--guess they feel the 18 guage will be more cost effective. I don't
really know if there is much of a difference between the 16 guage and 18 guage, but
I prefer the 16 guage.

John

 

John,

We have a cart similar to what you purchased (I don't think its Agri-Fab) and we have had it since 1989. Its beat to heck, used to be a pretty corvette red color and I spray lots of WD-40 on it so it doesn't rust away. Its sitting in the middle of the woods right now. I was hauling some wood. Its probably home to some animal now because I learn it over on a tree so it doesn't hold water. When I go get it I throw it over real quick and run just in case there is a rabid raccoon or possum under there.

I found what you purchased on there 2003 model web site. I agree I would rather have the thicker metal or the 2002 model.
"Agri-Fab" web site

I even purchased one of there models and didn't realize it and I can guarantee that all the decals and newness wore off about 3 years ago. I purchased model 45-0272, Utility "10" Poly Dump Cart. I thought I would try the poly because I keep it outside over in one of the parking areas we have and its great to fix areas on the drive that need small rock.

I pull it behind are Recon and the Agri-Fab poly dump cart has been given the stress test. Last August we had a wash out area on the property and since we have life time supply of rip-rap rock I filled that cart up and I know it was carrying the Max weight of 650 pounds. The tires look like they were going to pop. LOL[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] One thing that I do is to air the tires up before I really load that small cart down.

One problem That I see is with the tires. They would not hold air very long. So at the beginning when I would use it I would just bring the air tank along to fill the tires up if the cart had been sitting very long.
I got to thinking I use slime sealant in all my ATV and small tractor tires why not put some in there. They hold air now for a much longer period of time now.

Chet

Oh and its nice to see KAWASAKI decided to supply the hitch with the 650.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Chet,

Thanks for all the info. My son use to use the slime when he did mountain bike riding and racing. The slime is a great idea for my 650 and agri-fab cart. I am hoping to garage the cart with the praire if I can find the room.
Although it lists a capacity of 1,500 lbs, I don't expect to load it to capacity. I am hoping to get allot of use out of it though. 17cu feet does not seem that large, but I will make judgement when they call me to pick it up and take it home. The hardware store manager said he would assemble the cart at no charge. I did check and he is correct since the base price is $274.95 and he did not charge extra.
Chet, I will let you know how everything works out when I receive the 650 and the cart. I use to ride the warrior and enjoyed it, but did not ride hard like my son. The frame of the warrior like I mentioned had to be welded in 3 different spots. My younger son like to do wheelies and jumps. Not so for his old dad.
The 650 looks quite large and I hope I find it comfortable to load on my trailor when I pick it up. Also, need to make room in our 2 car garage. Maybe one of the autos will be outside this winter, hi hi.

John (650 & utility cart)