I come on here from time to time, and read about how great this bike is, and how much that one sucks. and on and on and on.
Im presently driving a 350 Rancher ES. I love the bike, just wish it had more power, diff lock, and selectable 2/4wd. So Im looking at either a Grizzly 660. or a Prairie 700. I like the Arctic Cat 650, but it's way too expensive. My buddy has an '03 Prairie 650 and loves it, and is constantly sending me emails and links to stuff telling me how great the machine is. usually as compared to the Grizzly. I loved the Grizzly 600. and decided when it got even bigger, IRS, and all the new stuff, that I'd get one. but my friend wants me to lean towards the Kawasaki. Im sure you've all heard the reasons why. Im not going to repeat them.
what I want to know is this: what are the common break downs for the Grizzly? I've read about boiling gas. overheating. front diff not locking into 4wd/ diff lock. belt adjustments that are a pain. water getting into the belt/ diffs/ whatever else.
Also what are the common breakdowns for the Kawasaki? from the smallest to the biggest, I want to know now so Im not answering someone else's question in 6 months. I do prefer the IRS on the Yamaha, as well as the diff lock setup they have. I don't plan on towing too often, so that's not a concern for me.
I've ridden my friend's K650 a few times. and ridden a Grizzly very little also.
but I figure if you're buying the top of the line bike from any manufacturer, the only major differences are gonna be cosmetic. and beyond that, brand loyalty. (and brand disliking!)

I want to know what is going to break on these machines. be honest. be objective. you get no prize if I buy your favourite or not.

I like to go out and ride. I ride in northern Ontario. usually on the snowmobile trails in the summer. there's mud, rocks, hills, deep watery swamps, creekbeds, dried roads in summer, and snow in winter. ( til there's too much for ATV's) Im not gonna baby my quad. Im gonna ride it wherever I can. Im not trying to wreck it either. but I do not want to stop having fun to drag it out and to a dealer because of some mechanical problem.
I appreciate all your advice, Please don't be too biased one way or the other.
Thank You

 

Honestly, any of the things you've listed as problems on the Grizzly have probably already been taken care of, as well as any of the "older" 650's problems... however even though they refine these quads every year, there are still "new" little quirks that come up... for example... the "new" 700 Prairie has a much better belt drive system than the "older" 650... however, there have been alot of complaints about the flimsy plastic front bumper... I'm sure the Grizzly has it's own quirks, left over, or new from last years... Find a good ( the best ) local dealer & ride the quads you are looking at... I used to say that an IRS quad would never be parked at my house, ( I like a much sportier ride than has been available with past IRS quads ), however even though the new Rincon has it's own quirks, it does, IMO, have the sportiest ride of the IRS quads... although at a sacrifice of most of the benifits that the IRS croud claims ( excepting ride quality )... sounds like you had some expirience with the 600 Grizzly... well good or bad, the 660 Grizzly is a whole different animal... you should spend some time on the seat of one, to see if the higher ground clearance "type" of IRS is what you are after, or weather you'd be better served by a Rincon, or a SRA quad like the Prairie...

I wouldn't be afraid to buy any of these three ( or the Artic Cat ), if I had a REALLY GOOD local dealer that services one of these brands...

 

Personally, I don't like IRS, so I went with Kawasaki. I test drove the Grizzly and the Prairie. I thought the Prairie was much more powerful, smoother, and sportier. I have experienced no problems whatsoever with my Prairie, and I love it. The Grizzly is a fine machine too, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't the quad for me. All the mechanical problems the Grizzly allegedly possesses really spooked me. Plus, I like to traverse deep water crossings without fear of belt issues and, so far, my Prairie enables me to plow through creeks and streams at speed, and just keep on rollin'!

You really need to ride them both in order to truly know what's right for you. And if your dealer won't let you take a test ride, find another dealer! Have fun deciding![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I work on both of them. I have to say that I believe 95% of the problems we have had with each have been the owners fault.

The Prairie is by FAR easier to work on. The griz flat out takes longer to work on. the valve adjustments are a little problematic on the griz, and are real hard to do.

the water thing is true, the prairie belt got wet in much deeper water than the griz.

I didn't like the fact that you had to stop to get the diff lock on with the griz.

The griz suffers from a little lack of tire turning power in mud. Not nearly as bad as a rincon. My friend has fixed this problem with Mickey Dunlap big bore kit and CVT springs.

The gas rank boiling issue on the griz has been fixed by yamaha, plus there is an easy fix for it if you have an early griz.

The floor support crack issue on the griz has been fixed by yamaha. Plus, any guy handy with a welder can beef those up anyway.

The prairie is a little sensitive to belt maintenance. If you don't maintain it well, the belt can be short lived due to all the power. But it is very easy to keep the belt tight and get 2000 or more miles out of a belt. The 700 belt is much better than the 650 belt, but you still have to make sure you aren't driving on a loose belt.

Some of the 03 650's kept going into limp mode. Kawasaki fixed that. 04's don't d it.

Just like the other guys said. Get which one you like. I believe the Prairie is less trouble and easier maintenance. But, if I had to have a griz I am sure I would be able to keep it on the trail just fine.

 

until the artic cat came out i always used to say the griz is the 2nd best machine i'm a big guy 6'4'' 275 lbs and the griz is to small and has alot of body roll the motor runs good of the bottom then flatins out i would ride both if you have the chance before you buy plus there's a lot of good deals on used 650's out there good luck

 

I have yet to have a problem out of my grizz! I have ridden the Prairie and will say first hand if speed is your thing then get the prairie! I bought my grizz for a specific purpose(rock-crawling) and it serves that purpose well!! Another thing that alot of people always say is that a Grizzly can't traverse deep water!! Ive had mine in VERY deep water and have yet to have any slippage or problem!! Not bashing the prairie but I hear alot more problems with Kawasaki's belt drive system on the prairie than I do of any other brand!! I'm sure kawi has addressed that or hopefully they have!! Believe it or not I considered buying the Prairie before I bought my Grizz but I luckily had the chance to ride both in the area that I would be riding most! For my use and my area of riding the Grizz was the superior quad in my opinion!! The only dislikes I have of the Prairie 700 is the 4wheel diff-lock trigger style system, just doesnt suit my needs and the SRA! NOW before I go any further, if Kawi came out with a IRS Prairie taht had a different lock system, the GRIZZ would be HISTORY!!! That you can take to the bank!! I think both engines are pretty much bullet proof! NYROC is right, the majority of problems out of the machines is RIDER inflicted!! So if you maintain each well, then you are good to go!! Luckily I work on all my MX bikes from top to bottom and can easily work on my Grizz! If you read NYROC's tech page he pretty much explains to you everything you should do and shouldnt do! Look at that and see if thats what you do or don't want to follow!

 

I own a 650 and have almost 4000KM on it, I have replaced the belt once and could have run it longer. The manual suggests replacment about every 2000km or so and I am ok with that. I did blow up a front diff but probably should not have tried to tow a 3/4 ton truck out of a hole, but I take no mercy on it. I also had to replace the swing arm bearings which seems to be a very common issue due to poor seals. Other than that it is very hard on rear tires[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

My friend owns a 660 Grizz that has nearly as many KM's as me and drives it just as hard. He has not had to replace the belt yet, but thats the only thing it has that outperforms the 650. He has replaced 5 axles, yep on the second set, and recently noticed that the front shaft going into the engine is very loose and will require either a new bearing or whole new shaft. His tie rod ends are worn out and so are his A arm bushings. I do prefer the 4wd and diff lock engagement on the Grizz because it goes in way better than the 650.

My general feelings are that the 650 is WAY tougher than the Grizz.

On another note, I had a chance to ride a Rincon a couple of weeks ago and if you like IRS this is the machine to get. It is by far the best handling, best riding, IRS machine made although very gutless.

These are my honest opinions and as you said if you are going to baby it you probably will not break any axles anyway.

Good luck with your choice....

 

My friend has had all the axle and bearing problems on his grizz too, but I thought he just wasn't assembling it right or using the right grease.

Another thing, I know we aren't talking about the Kodiak 450, but if they are all like the two that my friends own, they are total pieces of junk. Worn steering stem, engine smoking, leaking, driveshaft probs. Kodiak piles of crap that only looks good on paper. I would get a 360 before I touched a Kodiak.

 

The Praire is #1 because it's faster!! (sorry I had to say that to get at Rick LOL) seriously both are geat ATVs and it really depends on personal preferences. I like the diffi lock on the praire because the more I pull the more it locks and when I want to lock the diff on I have a small quick release strap to strap it on. It's faster than the grizz and the grizz one can freeze up but transmission fuild prevents it from doing that. I've tested the 650, (I have 20,000km on it and 1000 hours). Yes I had work done to mine but I had a lemon and one of the very first ones; I really didn't have any serious problems until the 11000km mark. but putting that asside when I addressed the problems they went away except for the swing arm bearings which go at 9000km or every 600 hours. The prairie also has a nicer brake set up over the grizz. I use my praire a lot and I don't abuse it just like you; and I just bought a new 700 to keep it company. If you like farrings the grizz has a new one that is great. The prairie can rock crawl but the grizz is earier and in the water they are close but the praire likes the water a little more so I would say that's not an issue.

 

I saw that Jason!!!!

You know something, this is gonna sound so far off from my post's in the past, but I have even been thinking of buying a P700!!! LOL!! Don't get me wrong I love my grizz and I will always think that IRS machines will go further in certain situations but the guys I ride with that has the P700's usually have to pry me off of them when I do ride them!! I'm not gonna sell my grizz for one, but I think my Grizz gets lonely not having a friend around! The YFZ doesnt fit the bill so the Grizz gets kindov disapointed! P700 may soon be in the garage! I'll keep ya posted!