Hi Guys,
I have a 2016 Yamaha Kodiak 700 EPS. I bought it new and put about 600 miles on it so far. I bought is on reputation for reliability. The problem is on long 3-4 hour trail rides, its not very fun to ride. The suspension feels like something out of the 70's. The machine bounces around a lot, even with the shock preload set on the softest setting. I thought about buying Elka shocks for it but is that throwing good money after bad?
I had a 2005 Polaris 700 Sportsman and that was so smooth on really rough stuff that it completely spoiled me.
I now want to sell my Kodiak and buy a big bore Polaris but I keep reading review after review about poor Polaris quality and poor manufacturer support after the machine breaks. I cant afford to pay 8K for a machine then put a new motor in it if it blows.
My dealer is recommending the King quad 750 ( which cost about $2600 less then the sportsman 850 ) but I don't want to end up with another stiff bumpy machine.
Is there anybody out there who went down this road already?
I am not interested in starting a brand war here, but I have not seen any good comparisons or shoot outs about the kind of thing I am looking for. I am looking for owner experiences. Can I get some advice?


Thanks, Jeff
( BTW there is no place I know of to go and try these machines out before buying )

 

I'd spring for the Elkas. Every body that I've talked to with them raves about ride and handling. I've owned 1 Polaris, a 1996, it rode better than my 2014 Arctic Cat, but it was a money pit. BTW, if you liked the Polaris, screw what the forums say, most of my friends love em. I always used to drive Toyota Camrys, because Consumer Reports talked them up. Then I bought a Dodge hemi, all my friends said I was nuts. 355,000 miles later, it has been trouble free! I love the Arctic Cats (Arctic Crap) Thousands of miles, never had a problem. Go with your heart, not what popular opinion says.

 

I've been on a lot of different machines. Polaris does have the nicest ride as far as comfort goes. Son's Scrambler XP 1000 has about 1000 miles on it now and he hasn't had a single issue with it. Goes like a scalded ape. I rode it for a while on our normal New England trails and out in Utah. What a nice ride. Tons better than my Can-Am Outlander Max. So, if you're concerned about reliability get the extended warranty. I used to have a 2006 Polaris Sportsman X2 500. Only reason I got rid of it was I wanted more power. Had to replace the battery and one wheel bearing over somewhere near 5000 miles of abusive riding.

 

Forgot to ask if your Kodiak is a solid axle machine. Big difference between how a solid axle rides and how a quad with independent rear suspension rides.

 

My Kodiak has independent suspension front and rear. And I guess its OK overall, but on rocky trails you feel every bump, if you hit a bump too hard it upsets the direction of the machine. It has power steering and all that but there is still to much steering feedback for me. I know some guys like that but I prefer to plow through anything and stay straight and true without getting the bars jerked out of my hands.


I was riding the other day and coming down a steep washed out trail and came up against the berm on the other side and the front left wheel bottomed hard and tweaked my wrist. That's what got me thinking about moving on.


I bought my wife a new sportsman 450 and she loves it. I gotta say, its more fun to ride than my machine but I cant live with a small bore. Her Power steering is amazing compared to mine, and the suspension is better. The 450 is an entry level machine so I am hoping for more out of a new 850.

 

Did you ever adjust the preload on the shocks? what was your tire pressure at?

 

Zrock -
Shock preload is set to softest setting, tire pressure 5-6 lbs


Its definitely better with softer spring preload, but its still not what I would expect from a 2016 machine. I was told that the Kodiak 700 is not really meant for trail riding but more for working around the farm.

 

I just read that the new Polaris sportsman 850's does not have Mcpherson strut front suspension like the older 700's and 800's did???????


Is the new dual A arm suspension as plush as the Mcpherson struts? My bet would be NO.
Dose anybody out there have both?? What are your thoughts??




This is kind of ridiculous, spend $9000 and then see if you like it !!??

 

I know of several people on here and one person I know from work who just bought a new Kodiak 700 and they all love it. I think you're expecting too much from it. If you're riding really rough and rocky trails, nothing will feel plush and soft on that kind of terrain. Polaris machines do typically have the best ride, across the board though, I'll agree with that. I've never bought any atv without riding it first though, I couldn't imagine just checking it out in the showroom and buying it not knowing how it felt to ride it. I guess its up to you whether you want to spend the extra $$$ to upgrade to more power and more suspension travel. A Sportsman 850 would be a noticeable upgrade in both areas. The Sportsman 570 eps would probably be almost equal in power to your Kodiak if you didn't want to spend quite as much money.

 

You'd lose your bet in my mind. We had 3 Polaris quads with McPherson struts. An old Xplorer 250, the Sportsman X2, and a Sportsman ATP 500 HO. The Scrambler feels much nicer to ride than the older struts. It really soaks up the bumps. I rode through some whoops faster than I have on any other quad. It just soaked them right up. They nailed the suspension in my mind. My son bought his Scrambler about a year before I bought my Outlander Max Limited. Much nicer ride. I was really looking at the Sportsman but there were two things that made me lean towards the Outty. Rack space with the passenger seat installed and the air ride suspension in the rear that can be adjusted up and down with a push of a button. Otherwise it would have been the Sportsman Touring. The only thing I don't really like about the Scrambler is the clutching engages a bit higher up the rpm range than I'm used to. That and mud protection. We got mud flares for his Scrammy and it's much better.