I was all set to buy a new BF but the more I look into them I think I may have dodged a bullet buy not getting one yet. It seems like Kawi may have missed the boat on this one there are almost too many problems out there to consider it.

I rode one around the parking lot at a local dealer, power is great but there were also a couple bobbles. Putting along at 10-15 MPH if you give it a little gas it will sputter before it responds, every time, not just once in a while. If you really get on the gas it will take off like a bat out'a hell, but at normal speeds it's a wheezer. I tried to different machines one was worse than the other but they were both bad. The dealer says it normal and just needs to warm up, I say BS. I rode both machines enough that they should have beeen warmed up, the fan kicked on when I shut one of them off. This was the second time I test rode a Brute, the first time I was all over the gas just being amazed by the power, this time I tried more normal riding and I'm glad I did. I would not buy one until at least this problem is resolved, I don't know if this is the needle valve problem but I don't think it's just a jetting issue. In addition there are several other concerns that are surfacing.

I have read a few posts about exhaust headers actually glowing red.

Several posts about front end parts failing under normal conditions.

A couple posts about Rear axle/CV joints failing under normal conditions.

A few gripes about little things like no wheel wells, the old shifter in need of adjustment problem, 4x4 slow to engage, confused K-BEC, weak front brakes, etc.

With the Prairie the good outweighed the bad, with the BF I'm afraid it's looking like the opposite. It still looks like a nice machine and hopefully they'll get the glitches fit but I'm taking the "Wait and See" aproach before I drop 8k on one.

Unless the BF does a 180 before spring it's looking like the options are a Grizzly (gasp), or the new King Quad. Unless the King Quad turns out to be a total dog I think it will be the one. I'm pretty encouraged by the comments of the few people that have their KQs, granted it's only been a day and a half so it's a little early to tell but so far things sound very good. I'm a little bummed because now it's looking like I will be ATVless until spring (I want to wait for production to catch up on the KQs and wait for some reviews) when I had hoped to be getting one now but I am relieved that I waited on the BF.

Any thoughts from other Kawi owners not necessarily brand loyal?

 

If you look and see what all they did on the sp800 EFI, its pretty nice. The only bad thing about it is maybe the price and the weight. But the weight isnt that much of a problem for me, but theyve really did a nice job on adding more stuff to it to please the customers. It will have the power and the comfort. And it wont sputter at low speeds because of the EFI. Id like into this.

 

Dude I'm not brand loyal either,theres alot of quads having problems,look on any of the brand fourms and you will see many problems people have come across I own a Brute and have ridden it pretty hard and yes the head pipe turns red when you ride around real slow,but it doesn't when you trail ride,don't ask why,I don't know,and mine misses when you hold it steady at 10-12 mph but it don't studder at all when you gas it, easy fix with the needle change,its not really a problem for me I'm just gonna fix it to have something to work on, the wheel wells are open but I've rode in plenty of mud and no problems,its just easier to clean,as for all the other stuff haven't had any of them,as for the King Quad just wait until spring and I'll bet you'll see that several things have broken and many things people will find wrong with it,same for the Polaris whenever some people get a hold of them,then what will you buy? Nothing is perfect

 

yeah, what he said AND.....the axles breaking are guys running 27" and 28" mud tires, a lot of atvs have cv issues when you run oversize tires. the suspension problem is a recall and is fixed free also. I just got recall notices on my Polaris 700 EFI, the thing will stick wide open if you turn the steering hard left or right and the frame will rub a hole in the fuel line on the high pressure side. all atvs have a few problems, you didnt dodge a bullet, you talked yourself out of an awesome quad.

 

and you forgot to mention how crapy the stock tires and rims are.

 

Chainman , you are missing the funnest quad made right now , from what I have seen there is very few problems and a lot more people raving about the BF , I own one and would not consider any thing out on the market right now. This quad also has some of the best stock tires on an ATV.

 

As I inidicated in the "BF Issues" post, I think my BF is great despite some minor concerns. I am seriously concerned about the left rear cv failure after only 300 miles on a stock machine. Until the dealer determines the cause and corrects the situation, I am reserving comment on whether the issue is a legitimate concern for BF owners or not. If I had a do-over, my only newly viable option to consider against the BF is the KQ. From what I know as of today, I would confidently choose the mighty BF again.

 

treadwise, they are good tires, but between the stock rims don't have much of an offset and the tires have a serious side to side roll to them. I put a set of ITP c series with ATR tires and my quad doesn't roll much at all side to side now. You have to replace them to see what you're missing. The rear is wider by 6 inches and that really ads to the side to side stability.

 

chainman,
If you try hard enough you can talk yourself out of every ATV made. That having been said, I didn't buy a Brute Force either. I get a new ATV every year, just to try something different. In 2001 I had a Sportsman 500HO; in 2002 I had a Prairie 650; in 2003 I had a Grizzly; and in 2004 I had a different Grizzly. This time around I really looked at the Brute Force (and even told my dealer to reserve one for me), the Sportsman 800, and the Prairie 700. Sorry to say it, but the Brute Force and Sportsman did not impress me enough to get me away from my Grizzly. The Sportsman was too big and heavy, and the Brute Force is a whole lot taller than a Grizzly, and that high of a seat height just didn't "sit well" with me. I didn't think the Brute was any better than what I had, and it didn't run as good. Although I think some rejetting would fix the stumbling problem and the red glowing exhaust problem, because they both sound like a too lean needle setting problem to me.

I think the important part is to just pick something that YOU are happy with, and not to over analyze things. I wanted something different than my Grizzly, instead of a new rendition of the same thing, so I got a Team Green Prairie 700 this time around. I know it will be a good ATV, and that lime green color was just too much to pass up. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Although the waiting can be difficult, I've always kept my distance from first year machines. First year pains certainly aren't exclusive to Kawasaki. There seems to be first year problems with all ATVs regardless of manufacturer. The 650 Prairie on the other hand was, relatively speaking, bug free when it came out. I felt then and still feel that with the Prairie, Kawasaki hit one out of the park. Clearly, Kawasaki paid considerable time and attention to detail in the Prairie's design. This doesn't appear to be the case with the Brute Force. Perhaps it was a bit naive of me, but I was honestly expecting something more in the Brute Force (especially given the success of the Prairie). To me...the Brute Force feels rushed. Increased engine power aside (which is no big accomplishment) there really isn't anything extraordinary about the Brute Force. What was I expecting along the lines of extraordinary? I don't know....EFI would have been nice. But what actually came to be seems little more than new plastic wrapped around bits and pieces of things already in place within Kawasaki or elsewhere in the industry. I believe the case could be made that Kawasaki paid more attention to getting the new features on the new machine than they did taking the time to make sure the new features fit and complimented the new machine.

For those of you who have already bought a Brute Force, don't flip out on me. My money knows no brand loyalty. My point isn't that the Brute Force is a bad machine, its that I was expecting more given Kawasaki's demonstrated innovation on the Prairie. To this moment, I still consider the Praire as the industry's high water mark.

Moo,
WheelCow