time to upgrade tires bumpers etc. went from a vinson 500 to a KQ400asi. I'm sure i went down on power a bit, do i need to be weight sensative when choosing replacement parts, tire ply , winch, bumpers etc.

 

Lighter tires help but the rest will not matter. The 400KQ is a nice trail ATV but it will not fly down those smooth roads like your Vinson.

 

I'm with you there TLC, how much down on power am i compared to the vinny?

 

Your 500 must of been 35hp and your 400 (376) is about 24hp.

 

Suzuki does still make a King Quad 500, I guess you chose to get the 400 instead? I still wish they made a non-irs 500 like the Vinson. I almost bought a Vinson before I got my Grizzly but the guy selling the Vinson apparently didn't want to sell it very bad since he failed to respond to any of my phone calls about it. It was a nice Vinson too for about $2500 and had brand new tires and a winch I believe as well. I assume he probably had already sold it and like so many people didn't remove the craigslist ad. I guess if you don't want a new irs 500 class quad, you have to buy a Honda Foreman now. That's the only one left.

 

i chose the 400 for SRA and budget. more for utility work. it's still plenty of fun. i think 400's and under are underated and overlooked.

 

The size of the smaller machines can make them more nimble. I've owned a couple 250cc machines myself, a Honda Recon and a Suzuki Ozark. Most recently, a Honda Rancher 350. I really liked the size of the 350. I wish someone would make a 4x4 utility that size but with more power. The Rancher 420 used to be about the same size but Honda in their infinite wisdom, has made it now basically almost the same size as the Foreman and Rubicon. In my opinion, they ruined the machine. Now its just an underpowered, overweight full-size machine. I think Yamaha could have put the 550 engine in the Kodiak 400/450 chassis with the solid rear axle and that would have been a wonderful quad. If Yamaha had built that quad, I would have bought it. A mid-sized chassis with a bigger engine would have been a huge hit. You don't need as much power as the weight would be less. 40 hp in a 550 lb quad is just as good as 60 hp in an 800 lb quad in power to weight ratio.