trx450,

What does the stock front suspension lack when plowing? Is the mods you mentioned just a front shock change or is there more to it?

 

is the front shocks different from 650 to 700?

 

SPD, the front struts are pretty soft. You can get a set of aftermarket springs through Progressive Suspension that fit your stock struts. They come with adjusters so you can adjust the preload on the springs. Great for setting up your quad for your riding style and weight. My 650 bottoms out in the front pretty easy with my plow on, so a set of Progressives is in the near future (income tax return!!)

 

The frt. springs are saggy. You put a plow on the frt., it'll be even worse. As for the fast trail handling, these bikes like to "push" in a turn. This little trait does not inspire confidence to dive into a hi-speed turn! As far as I know, no one(yet) makes a hi-performance shock for the FRT. ELKA and Progressive makes spring and preload adjuster kits for the frt. ELKA makes rear shock for the big Prairies. About $700.00 for it..............................

 

I have a 60" steel plow on a P650. Yeah, the front end goes down a little with either factory or Elka springs, which I put on my 650. If it didn't go down a little with the plow weight, it would be a mighty long and rough day when you took off the plow and hit the trail.

Take the plow weight question off your list. Nothing to worry about no matter what springs you have. The only reason to put on progressive or Elka springs is for cornering, not for plowing.

 

I can not agree with the statement: "the springs are only for cornering".
My Progressive Kit worked very well in straight line mode, AND I could adj. the ride height to compensate for the added weight of the plow. The pre-load/spring kits make a very versatile machine even more so, in my opinion.

 

SPD: I never had a problem with the front springs bottoming out when plowing. I also didn't have a serious or unsafe bottom-out problem when straight trail riding. The only problem I ever had with stock springs, learned the hard way, was dipping into a turn at speed.

As far as reliability of the P700 (same as P650) goes, if you keep the filter and oil changed and the belt maintained, that quad will be very reliable and a lot of fun.

 

The Progressive and the ELKA kits are more than replacement springs. They also have preload adjustment collars that are installed at the same time. This adjustment can help account for weight changes, such as adding, or deleting a plow. I do not state that a plow bottoms a P-650 or P-700's frt. springs. I said a plow would (naturally) make the suspension sag some.
These kits are not an absolute necessity. They do, however, provide an extra margin of safety and performance, as you begin pushing the "performance envelope" on these bikes.

 

Thanks for the replies. As soon as the weather starts clearing up so it's not so wet and muddy, I will start with the test rides. Little by little, the group of ATVs has been narrowed down to three just from reviewing features and ergonomics of sitting on it. That and preferences by the wife........

The finalists are the P700, Grizzly, and AC650. I did find a local dealer that has some rebate deal going on the P700 that is tied into a something like a savings bond. OTD price is $7399 which is $300 OVER MSRP. But, there is paperwork to be filled out and sent in that will result in a rebate check of $2000 after 3 years. So the P700 ends up costing $5300. I will definately have to check into this further.

 

I have heard of the same type of 2,000$ rebate going on with some dealers on Polaris. I haven't seen any first hand though but 2,000 back would be an awesome incentive to help sell one of these puppies!

Maybe it was the same dealer also because I think they sold Kawasaki and Polaris but don't remember where it was but remeber someone talking about it.