I guess that's Yamaha's strategy at this point. Do away with all the smaller displacement machines and focus on the 700cc class. I guess they think with the price of the Kodiak being about what the others are charging for a 500cc machine, there is no need to offer anything smaller. People honestly want something with more cc's, that's obvious. The reason people buy smaller atvs is because they're cheaper, not because they want something smaller. I think the 300cc Grizzly is still offered but everything else is gone as soon as all the 2014 and 2015 models have sold. It would seem they are paving the way for something more powerful but we'll have to wait and see. Look at Kawasaki, they're doing the same thing. They only have the Brute Force 750 and then its all the way down to the 300. 2 models to choose from. Then you look at Can-Am and Polaris with 450, 570, 650(can-am) 850 and 1000cc models. Seems like a lot to choose from.

 

Its not just about motor size, some people want a smaller chassis sizes.
Acually some people like the more manoeuvrable and easier to get on and off mid chassis like the 450 Grizzly over the a full sized chassis like the 450 Sportsman or 450KQ.

My Yamaha dealer told me he lost more then a few customers because some people just do not what a full size big bore *Insert reason here* all the time.
You know how many people buy a ATV for the wife , teen children or just a second ATV for cottage guest or something.

Just like everyone does not want a full dressed touring Motorcycle or a 1/2ton pickup truck.

On many tight twisty trails my 350 is more fun then my full sized chassis 500 Sportsman.

The 420 Rancher outsells the 680 Rincon I would bet , Just like the 350 Bruin,Grizzly,BigBear out sold the 660/700 Grizzly.

No selection in business is never a advantage.

I would love to have the mid chassis 450 Grizzly with the 550 Grizzly motor myself.

 

I agree with tlc this time. I actually wanted a kq400 when I was looking for another quad, but ended up with the 500 because the price difference was about $700 and I just couldn't pass it up for such little difference in price. I liked the 400 though because it was a simple quad with hardly any bells or whistles. plus it had a slightly smaller chassis which I like some of the time. what sucks now is even Honda's rancher is the same size as a full size foreman now, and that I don't like. a mid size engine should have a midsize chassis imo

 

The Kodiak is supposedly a little smaller than the Grizzly, or at least it seems smaller because of the lower seat height. I wanted Yamaha to keep making the Wolverine quad and put the 550 or 700 engine in that and make something that would challenge the Renegade but they just pulled the plug on that model. Most people aren't made of money. There will be plenty of used 450 Grizzly models out there for years to come. Most buy used so you can get your wife or kid a nice used 450 and spend less money anyway. As far as liking a smaller, less powerful machine, that is totally up to the individual. Smaller size can sometimes be an asset but less power is never preferred. Its just that sometimes less power is simply more than adequate and is accepted to get the smaller, more nimble machine and less expensive. I suspect if Yamaha did make twin cylinder Grizzly that they would have to build a whole new platform with a larger, stronger frame and it would obviously be heavier too. While the Grizzly 660 and pre 2016 700 models were not small or lightweight by any means, they are lighter than pretty much every other 500cc and up 4x4 quads. Making the Grizzly bigger and heavier might ruin the machine. I had a Honda Rancher 350 before I really liked the size of that machine. It just didn't have enough power. I just don't think we'll ever see a mid-size chassis with a big bore engine combo. Polaris did it for a few years with the compact Hawkeye chassis and the 455cc engine from the Sportsman 400. They even did away with low range to cut the weight even more though I'm sure many didn't appreciate that. But now it seems if you want power, you have to get a bigger, more expensive quad. If you want small and nimble, those quads still exist but you get a small engine that doesn't make a lot of power. If you want a big engine in small quad, you're going to have to fabricate it yourself.

 

There both full sized chassis, one has less foam in the seat with smaller 25" tires, that accounts for the height and ground clearance.


2016 Yamaha Grizzly Red ATVs

The Raptor has a light weight mid chassis with the 700 Grizzly motor. Cant do it with a Utility?

I guess it,s up to your trail conditions. No where can a 1000cc leave a 250cc on our twisty rough trails that do not allow anything to get over 30mph for more then a second or two.
Infact a Mid sized chassis ATV could Zig Zag faster through the trails here then a full sized clumsy Chassis.

The Rancher and Foreman/Rubicon are only 55cc difference in motor size. What's that work out to ? Like 2hp at most? Like you I would prefer the older Mid sized 420 Rancher over the current full sized 420 Rancher.

 

tlc I don't think the foreman should be as big as it is either to be honest

 

I agree, they need a wolverine sport 4x4 or two. Polaris axed low range on that model to save money, not weight. Polaris has never been concerned with weight lol.


also the Kodiak is a little narrower too, not just shorter in height. ive owned and ridden more powerful 4x4s, but I love my kingquad 500. it will lose traction before power and I just don't need a big hp gas sucking engine. "riding a slow quad fast is more fun then riding a fast quad slow"

 

It gets worst then that, Honda has that same motor in a 1000lb SXS . http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/en...cleCode=412619

The width difference between the 700 Kodiak and Grizzly is just plastics, they do not measure outside wheel to outside wheel. That's why the "length" can be different but the "wheelbase" is the same.

I think they each have the same frame since they have the same Gas tank, rear suspension and wheelbase.

 

I think they do measure wheel to wheel, from what I read the Kodiak uses the pre 2014 (2015?) a arms and the grizzly carries on with the newer ones

 

also the grizzly 300 looked like another kymco like the kawsaki 300 and was quickly taken out of the lineup. I don't think it even lasted past a model year.