I had a 650 pra. and now have a 700 pra. they are both solid axle in the rear but, the 700 has a softer valved rear shock and it rides a bit softer than the 650 did, I have Holeshot radial's on mine and the ride is fine to me, however the IRS machines will ride better, but as far as beating you up, No the prairie will not beat you to death.........

 

The machine Alex is talking about will be made by Suzuki and be released in summer 04' as an 05' model, Suzuki is putting out a yellow and blue version of the Prairie 700 in a few week's and calling it the Suzuki "Twin Peaks" it is identical to the prairie 700 just different color plastic and front bumper, next summer Suzuki is offering the new "King Quad" it will have a 700 cc single DOHC with fuel injection and IRS, and Kawasaki will get that version to sell just like suzuki got the prairie..... Partnership benefit's from both company's......so consumer's will have a choice of either IRS or Swingarm 700 machine's.........They are both designing this machine, but the suzuki version will come out first........

 

Well, thanks for all of the information. I think you alll have me convinced of the power of the Praire. I am pretty sure I will be looking for one, soon. There also seems to be a lot of mods availble, too? New or used, I don't know, what was the first year it was made? Does anyone have a used one for sale in the California, Arizona, or Utah area??

 

Stakk,

Was I reading your post correctly? So the '05 Prarie will have IRS? To me, the perfect atv would be the Prarie 700 with IRS. I will purchasing either an 04' P700 in April or an '05 P700 in August. Please tell the '05 P700 will have IRS - I'll wait the extra few months if it does!

 

Well as Alex stated above one of the mag's already posted that Kaw was testing a IRS big bore quad, and, It's now common knowledge that Suzuki and kawasaki are in parnership with product development and model sharing, so Suzuki has already revealed their new machine will have a 700 single dohc with IRS to be released next summer, it only makes sense that they are working on this machine together and Kaw will get this model just as they shared the Prairie with Suzuki to be called twin peak's...the kawasaki brand of this identical machine will be excatly like the Suzuki meaning it wont be the 700 v twin but a 700 single dohc Remember they have to stay under that self imposed weight limit they set years ago so the single will have to go on the IRS machine, the twin with IRS would be too heavy, It will be interesting when they release picture's and final feature's....but the Suzuki will come out first with the Kaw version coming out several week's to month's after the Suzuki model....these will be 05 model's so it's a way's off yet.............

 

My 04 P-700 DOES NOT have IRS. It is, however, very plush. I have owned 2 Prairies. Loved'em both.
I will agree with Stakk's observations. I can ride my Prairie over 100 miles of Hatfiled/McCoy trails, and still walk, at the end of the ride!

 

The Kawasaki Prairie 700 is not IRS, it has a soild rear axle just like the P650. ALEX KAWASAKI is totally incorrect in his statement of it being IRS. I have both the P650 and P700 along with the V-Force 700 and all 3 use the exact same rear suspension soild axle setup. The only difference is the V-Force has a stiffer spring and revalved shock.

 

Just something to consider if you are still looking for a nice, plush ride. I am in the same situation as you, torn between the Rincon and the Prairie (either 650 or 700). At first, the outstanding power of the Prairie attracted me to the point where I'd almost forgotten about the Rincon altogether. Then, I started hearing just as spirited reviews of the Rincon's awesome suspension that I had the 2 quads neck-in-neck and couldn't decide at all. If you're looking for a plush ride, but would love the power of the Prairie, I would suggest the Rincon. Don't stop reading just yet! I have my reasons!

1. Honda is known for it's legendary reliability and ease of use, which would lead me away from the Arctic Cat if you were thinking about the big cat as your solution.

2. In the coming issues of Dirt Wheels magazine (December 2003 and beyond), there will be articles on Hans Luenger's HMF-sponsored Rincon for the GNCC modified utility races. Yeah, you probably don't want a full-blown, race-ready Rincon, but...........think of all the mods for the Rincon that are going to be listed in these articles, namely the power mods! This may be something to consider and who knows, you might suprise some of those cocky Prairiers at your riding spots[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] After all, it was a Rincon that won Baja!

Hope I helped someway if you aren't already 100% sold on the Prairie, because it is a great quad.

 

Not many people can afford the rincon's $7,500 price tag and than another $500 or so in mods just to keep up with the STOCK Prairie that you can buy for under $6,500.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]
If IRS really means that much to you, buy the rincon. But if power is what you want, there is no question. It has to be the Prairie!

 

You can by a Rincon for well under the $6500 you listed for the Prairie 650. Who said it had to be brand-new?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img] A brand new Prairie 700 is $7100 and they do not make the Prairie 650's new anymore so I don't see the HUGE difference you're making it out to be. I see 3 ads in my local trader right now on Rincons for under $5500 and in great condition! I was just trying to point something out so this person could make an educated decision. I agree with you, the Prairie is an awesome quad like I said.