I heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend, that the Brute Force is without a doubt the all time worst handling ATV they have ever ridden. The person that said this is in the ATV "press", and had previously named the P650 and P700 ATVs of the year, for the last three years in a row, so it really surprised me to hear it from them.

So to the people that actually own a Brute Force, ... what other ATVs have you owned before the Brute Force, and how does the handling of the Brute Force compare to those other ATVs?

Signed,
Confused person with Brute Force waiting for them at their dealer.

 

This is a copy and paste from a post by Rehm70, from another site:

"My local dealer, Bignell Power Sports in Westfield, WI, has the first Brute Force in our state and my wife and I went to check it out yesterday.
Opinions:

I must say, the really cool thing about this dealer is, he gets the first revolutionary change from Kawaski in 3 years, and he puts the quad OUTSIDE to be used as a demo! He doesn't lock it up in a showroom with no gas or battery in it, and I think he should be commended for this.

At first sight, the BF looks WAY high, and the styling is pretty aggressive compared to the Prairie.
This one was red in color, a darker red than Honda or Yamaha's Grizzly.

This machine has many different ideas than the P, the seat is Downy soft, the floorboards are beefier looking, although made from plastic, the body plastic itself, is MUCH more scratch resistant than the P and V-Force, but also seems a little more stiff.
The instrument panel is the same, but mounted in a nice looking dash, and looks like it will be easier to see in bright sunlight.
The handlebars feel like they are more sweptback, not as flat as the P and V( I could be wrong on this).
The front brakes seem to have better bite, while the rear works the same as the P and V.
One of the things I thought the engineers dropped the ball on, and maybe they will come out with an accessory in the future, was the rear hitch. It is a cast iron loop, that is it, no reciever hitch here. This kind of dissappointed me, being a direct competitor with the Arctic Cat 650, and AC using their receiver hitch for a huge marketing point versus other quads, it would have only made sense that Kawasaki would have spent the time and the 10$ per machine to include this.
Another example of "if one machine was built with every manufacturer's strength's it would be awesome"deal.


Ride:

The salesman started the machine, and the first thing I noticed was a lack of vibration through the chassis.(nice)
The engine has the same familiar sounds, and seems to have a more linear torque band than the P and V. It doesn't seem to run out of steam at any RPM.
The clucthing works as well as any P or V, maybe better, remembering the 750 has more power than any factory automatic 4x4 in the past.
No matter what speed, when the throttle was pinned, there was no hesitation in pull.
There is a HUGE difference in riding position compared to the P, you sit high and upright, and the distance between the seat and the floorboards is alot more than the P.
Being a new machine with the suspension not set to an individual rider, I thought the suspension worked well, but seemed a little bouncy.
Sliding sideways in the sand was not hard, especially with the big power, but not nearly as easy as the P, due to leaning.
Don't misunderstand my opinion, the BF does lean more than the P, but not even close to other IRS machines I have ridden(Grizz, Rincon, Pol).
The engineers at Kawi did a nice job, and if you notice how the rear suspension is designed, the rear shocks are mounted farther to the rear than other manufacturers with IRS, especially the Grizz.
This design, I believe, makes it less tippy. During the ride I caught air a few times, and to be honest, (here comes the hate mail)the BF might be better balanced than our beloved Prairie's.
The steering effort is less than the P also.

My opinion is, if you use a quad for yard work, farm work, or just light recreational things, the BF is perfect, if you can afford it.
If you are an aggressive rider, then the P is the best choice.

If you are a rider with a bunch of buddies that have IRS machines, then I think you will have the best handling one of the bunch, and with wheel spacers and some spring/shock tuning, this machine could make a hero out of someone with limited riding skills-against other IRS machines.

If you have a group that includes a Prairie or two, don't be fooled, you might run with the P until the first corner, but then it's all over,it will be VERY tough to keep up with a good rider in tight trails, and the high price of this thing 7,500-7,800$ is alot of money for a smooth ride, I think."

 

Now that is good to hear. Thankyou.

 

OUTERLIMIT,

I have a Brute Force. The only other IRS suspended quad I've ever owned is a Sportsman 700. I've also owned a P650 and a P700. I ride with a guy that has a Grizz 660 and I've had a lot of seat time on it. The BF is definitely better suspended than a SP700 and a Grizz. It's far less tippy and much more confident in rough terrain. It's very comfortable at speed or just cruising. When I bought mine, I set the shocks to the stiffest setting and it works awesome.

I see you've owned or still own a Grizz. Think of it as a better suspended Grizz on steroids. It's a wheelie machine. You don't even have to pull up on the handlebars. The power is AWESOME. It feels faster than a P700, although testing will have to confirm that fact. In nasty terrain, there is no equal. The low-end and mid-range is in a class by itself among utilities.

 

You see, that is the problem when people listen to someone who has a friend, who has a friend, that knows of a friend who thinks they know it all. I am not knocking your post, just trying to make a point that it is better to get the facts from someone who actually has facts and not from a friend of a friend who said their friend heard something. I would trust someone like thesitv2 that has one who already knows the truth of how it handles.

 

Someone told me it was that Doug dude from the AtvTelevision program/website. Also saw a questionable ride report posted here on the Connection hompage.

Oh well, I didn't know for sure and still don't after reading a very postive review at Atvoffroad and also everyone that I have seen that has bought one and posted says it is awesome and the handling is awesome.

Guy at highlifter had a Rincon and bought a Brute and said the Brute actually handled better than the Rinny.

 

While it's hard to believe (from just looking at the suspension geometry of both bikes) the Brute Force may actually handle better than the Rincon. I know my Rincon handles like nothing else out there with IRS, but if the Brute is better, then I just may have to say bye-bye to the Rincon and get me one. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

As much of an awesome machine as the Brute is, I'm happy to see a fellow Red Rider chime in. Yellow, we'll both be the butt of some bad messages I'm sure, but I'm gonna support you on that. The Rincon I rode handled exceptionally well and did powerslides so much better than what I expected. It was not as good as a SRA of course, but much better than a Grizz and I think you guys are kind of giving it a rough time.

 

Its a give and take deal. My grizz handles turns faster with that anti-sway crap on there, but its independant articulation is virtually nonexistent. Take off the bar and you can feel the dip in turns, but you've got the wheel travel then for rock climbing and whatever else.
Same for the Arctic Cat and Polaris IRS quads.

Saying one is "better suspended" than another is a hard target. You're just looking at high speed sport handling here. Step back and factor in the quality of ride and articulation and all the other factors. Its funny that people (not necessarilly in this thread) have already dissed the BF cause it might not take a corner like Prairie. At the same time, remember it won't get hung up on a rock and bottom out as quick as a Prairie either. And they gave it a decent name this time.

 

opinions opinions..mine is i think you guys are way over thinking this whole thing..Ill say it again..there is a Finite speed acheivable on the trail and after that even rocket boosters are not going to help you..a 400 ex will hang with a p650 and a rincon will hang with a grizz..it stands to reason that any big bore will hang with the new 750...if your blazing down 1 laners thru the woods its all a moot point..the only place your going to get blown away is drags in the open..and that is a rarity,at least in the northest hardwood forests