I ride trails a lot and jump very little. I've seen the 700 on the trails and it doesn't look like a lot of fun on the trails. Help me decide if I should a 700 or a 660 raptor or a yfz450. A buddy of mine has one and he says he likes it but he doesn't ride a lot. When I ride trails I ride fast and I would be pressing the 700 really hard.
Does the extra width and weight play around with the feel of the bike. I ride a 400ex right now and I can throw that quad around like it is a toy. I am six foot eight inches tall and weigh close to 300lbs. I know the 700 would fit great to a big guy but I just don't know if I want it or not. I have put four clutches in my 400 and I am getting fed up with doing that so that makes me lean closer to the 700 every time I go ride. The 660 and the 450 have more power than the 400 though so i don't see me burning clutches as quick with those two quads. I ride a bunch of hills and that is why I have burnt so many clutches. I have to slip the clutch a lot to really have the power to climb the bigger hills.
What i really need is a sport quad test drive. A place where you can really test ride evry sport quad that is made and see which one would fit you best. IS THERE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
Any suggestions or feedback from current 700 owners would rock. There are a lot of 700's on the GNCC trail and I thought about getting into that to so maybe that info will help with your feedback.

 

Given your size I’d say you’d want either the VForce or a DS-650, and spirited trail riding is what the VForce does best. The Raptor would be good if you are compatible with the ergonomics. You have probably heard or read about the Prairie 650 / 700 being the top dog of the utilities when it comes to fast trail riding, well the VForce is pretty much the same thing with a sportier frame / suspension, 2WD and about 85 pounds less weight. If you put a set of GBC Gators on the VForce (same size as stock tires) it will give it a lot more bite for the loose & gooey stuff…

 

My first post ever - my friends and family have all of those quads that you mentioned. I am 6 feet tall and weigh 220 lbs. My brother has a YFZ450, and I simply do not fit well on this machine. Maybe I am not used to it, but when I ride it, even my friend say I look like Grape Ape driving it. Also for the YFZ, I don't think the engine power band is very practical for trail riding. I don't like the Raptors at all - they seem too top-heavy when riding them. My other brother has a DS650 and it is a powerhorse. It is bigger, but I really like it because of that. It is very wide and very stable. A friend of mine bought the Vforce 700 when I bought the my Prairie 700. It is very fast and certainly easy to ride with the automatic transmission. He loves it, but the guys who all have sport bikes do not like it because of the automatic transmission. My favorite out of all of them is my Prairie. It is fast, stable, and comfortable to ride. I am not much of a mudder, but everyone is constantly amazed at what I can climb and go through. You really might want to consider the Prairie. At the end of the day, the 4X4 and automatic make for a better day of riding. Everyone is always sore except for me. I wanted a very sporty 4X4 that would come close to keeping up with all of the sport quads and that is exactly what I got when I bought my Prairie.

 

One of my riding partners is about 6'-4 and 400 lbs (the only guy I know who can pick up the back end of a loaded Prairie 650 on a hill and turn it around). He has an 02 Prairie 650 and it handles him just fine. For his part, he really likes it due to its low center of gravity and power. He feels very comfortable on it and has no trouble with the automatic transmission. Some guys worry about the belt getting wet, slipping, blah, blah. I've had no problem with mine at 1200 miles now, except replace it a couple of months ago. I could have used it more.

The 04 Prairie is the same bike with improvements in the engine, air and clutches. It sounds like you do the type riding that would fit it (I know this sounds like a commercial, but it's true). IMO, the Prairie 650/700 is the only sport/utility bike out there due to its power and speed.

 

I am 6`5" 275 and for me the only quads i can fit on are the V and ds 650 and the utililty quads. my brother has a kxf 400 and i ride it all the time it feels like a go cart to me. I just whent and looked a a raptor for a freind and felt just like the 400 in size and we raced them and from 0 to 40 was pretty much the same, the raptor did pull away after that.

all the mags think the v is crap but for us bigger guys its great it can easily be made to put an *** woopin on a raptor. all i did was open up my air box and re jet the carbs and shim the needles and it flyes now. my brothers 400 could stay side by side with me and now i walk away like he aint even there and this is with stock pipes.

the kfx 400 sits in the garage alot if just one of us going out for a ride, the v gets all the laughs when we go out until we line them up and them opinions start to change

the v doesnt have the top end of the manual bikes but i trail ride and very few times i find my self going past 50 any way. you just have to be hounest with your self were your going to ride and chose you quad for the conditions you ride in.

just remember the confidence this quad gives you, going up hills you dont have to worry about what gear your in it has so much tourq that it has no problem going up some serious hills. i have stop in the middle of some good size hills just to show how easy it is to get the v moving back up if you need to.

imo you have two quads to choose from the v and the ds and if the ds had revers i might have it now. just remember the v has alot of ground clearance and it sure helps out in the trails.

 

I own a 04 V force and a 660 raptor. Have had a raptor since for 3 years. Bought the v Force last Oct. I have a lot more fun on the V Force trail riding. Although I am smaller, 5'8" 160 lbs. I think you would prefer the v force. And believe me it has pleanty of power.

04 V Force Orange
Pro Circuit T-4 dual exhaust
Jet hot sterling coated pipes
DG Nerf Bars
Pro Armor front bumper
K & N air filter
DG Snorkel
Pink Spring
Maxxix Razor II front tires
Trail Tech Speedometer
PEP steering stabilizer
Elka Front and Rear shocks
Maier Handguards

 

6' 8" 265 here. No shortage of power on my V. I was power sliding it and I hit some damp soil and the tires hooked up. I was clear up on the front of the bike and I still looped it.

I went to the dunes for the first time last weekend. It went up every hill I pointed it to dispite the fact that I am a complete novice in the sand. That was with the moderately priced Sandstar paddles. I bet you could climb a wall with 24" Skat extremes!! Very forgiving bike.

You should ride the big DS before you decide. It is a superb machine and it rips. Stock for stock, my buddies DS will put 5-6 bikes on me in a drag. I get him off the line every time with the auto but he eventually reels me in. If you like to shift get the DS if not, the V.

 

Next time you are out and see someone with a V, ask if you can sit on it. That should help you make up your mind.

 

Thanks for all of the help. I still haven't decided what I am going to buy. I absolutely hate the DS and the way it feels while riding it. I got to ride my buddies v-force and I seem to really like it. My only problem is not be able to ride wheelies with the precision of a manual four-wheeler. I guess I would get used to it after a while but I donb't know if I would like it that much to be honest.
To me half the fun of riding is picking which gear would be best to climb the next hill. I used to ride my buddies grizzly and after a while there wasn't a hill I wouldn't climb just for the hell of it. Two-wheel drive may make a difference but I hardly ever used 4-wheel drive when I rode it. I guess I am just too good for quads and need to go to bikes. HA HA HA HA

 

I also own both a Raptor and a P700. I love the Raptor, it's light, fast, nimble, and a lot of fun to ride. I needed a second quad so me and the kid could "share", and I wasn't really sure about a automatic belt drive 4x4. But after every thing I read, everybody raved about the performance of the P700. I did not need two of anything so I went ahead and bought the P700, and I gotta tell you , I love that quad..... I thought I would miss the trail ripping ability of the Raptor, but That 700 tears it up, effortlessly. I too am a big guy, and the Raptor is a lot smaller for me, and that means it doesn't jump or fly for me the way it does for my kid. So me, sitting on the 700 is way more comfortable, it has huge power, and your not trying to find the right gear,....you just point the bars and pull the trigger and you fly.... the 700 totally has the power to hammer the throttle and pitch it sideways at any speed. It flys flat and solid, and feels better to me than flying the small Raptor. The Vforce is nice but, no racks, no odometer, no....Kawasaki Engine Braking Control.

I still like the Raptor, but the Prairie....load the racks with gas and drinks, and a rifle and what ever else, now we're having fun...

It usually goes like this, the kid rides the Raptor, I carry all the stuff on the 700, and when we get to the nasty stuff, I'll winch the Raptor up the hills we were too scared to ride up. Truthfully the kid will go anywhere on that Raptor but there have been a couple of times we really needed way shorter gearing.

I'd say you have "got to" ride one of these Prairies before you buy anything else. Cause I know if you bought something else, one day you'd get that ride on a Prairie,....and I hate to see grown men cry....

Here are some pics of my new SKid Plates. Whatever you get, get good skids for it.