It makes me sick to read some of the posts in this forum. I have both a King Quad and prairie 650. I set out to buy the brute force so here is an unbiased opinion.

First off Fit and Finish, I disagree with what some have said and feel the King Quad was much better in the fit and finish department and I will tell you why. First the snorkeling is much better, tranny vents etc. All are u shaped like a sink and very well protected from water sources. Much better than the air box design of the Brute which you can put your hand in the box intake from either fender well... Yeah the front bumper does stink, but I think that if someone is going to be running over trees or running into someone, spend the extra 150$ and get the aftermarket bumper. Water and splash protection is fantastic, there is even a very well placed rubber flap at a 35 degree angle under the front fender tucked up so water from splashes will be directed away from your legs, sort of like the flap that hangs down on the prairies only flexible rubber with pull away rubber grommets so you wont tear them or rip your plastic fenders. All electronics are well covered and protected, seems a lot of thought was placed into this. All parts fit together nicely and the welds are very strong. Compare the front a-arms from the Brute and the King and you WILL see what I mean. Floorboards are very strong where you put your foot, on the pegs. Much larger cross members where your foot goes. The rest of the floorboard is not as sturdy well its more flexible anyway than the Brutes, but again my foot doesn’t fit down there anyway nor was it designed to.

Power. No it’s not as powerful as a Brute. It is on par with my prairie 650 though. I also think people are confused about LAG. When I think lag, I attribute that to delay before machine starts moving, before clutch engages or motor responds. I used to have a Grizz 600 and that was lag, punch throttle, hear engine, then internal wet clutch would engage the belt drive. That was lag to me. There is no lag in the King, but a much softer bottom end. Another words on the prairie and brute when you punch it 100% of the power is at the wheels, on the King its like its higher geared or like you are starting off in second in a manual machine. I can almost promise this is a built in safety feature because it does it in low as well. Mid range is better than the Prairie and close to the brute. Top end is better than both prairie 650 and 700 but not sure on Brute.
Throttle response is much better than any carbureted models I have ever tried. Much more linear feel.


Ride to me is incredible, jumps well for a big machine, corners the best I have ever ridden for an IRS setup (ridden them all). I am sure you can get a Brute to handle just as well by adding Elka shocks, tires, rims, and shaved seat. But then again I could take that 2 grand and probably make the King Handle that much better or that much more powerful!!!

I have spent a lot of seat time on both the King, Prairie and Brute so please until you try them both and I mean TRY them don't knock them. If the King is not the best machine then it’s definitely second.

Brakes are much firmer and have a better feel in my opinion to all the Kawi's. Wet brake can be modulated easier than Kawi's


Useless info:

It will wheelie easily in high or low, better if you are going a few mile per hour.

So in closing I think out of the box this may be the best all around atv ever made. And before this machine I HATED IRS. I feel more comfortable on side hills on the King than the P650!!!

Here is a list of my past and present machines to show I do not have a biased opinion.

Current
2005 King Quad
2004 Suzuki Ozark (Wife's) But looking for a Vforce [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]
2002 Suzuki Eiger 5spd
2002 Kawasaki p650
2002 Kawasaki Ninja ZX6R
2003 Yamaha R6 (Wife's)

Past

2003 Ninja 250 (Wife’s)
2002 Yamaha Kodiak
2002 Polaris Sportsman 500 HO
2001 Polaris Sportsman 500
2001 Yamaha Grizzly 600
1999 Yamaha Bear tracker
1986 Honda TRX 350 (Solid front axle SKIDDER) [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Great post Griz!

Jaybee

 

I would like to see the KQ race a P700, stock for stock, because I think they would be side by side after 400 feet. Just my 2 cents. Not that drag racing is important to me just an interesting scenario nun the less.

 

how does it compare to the new sp800?

edit: also the EFI on the king also is another good thing that the kawi dont have

 

Does the KQ have a pull starter? If not then carb based bikes are not dinO's yet![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

There have already been several post on here about P700/twinpeaks out running the KQ and by quite a bit. Even My dealer who was wanting to sell me one told me not to expect the same amount of power out of the KQ as I was getting from the Twin peaks, that I had bought from him earlier this year. I went and test road it anyway and its not as strong as the P700/twin peaks, I was not wanting a supperfast quad though I have one of those already I was considering adding a realy plush riding quad for those realy big rides we do out in colorado that usualy put 500 mile on a machine in just 3 to 4 days. IMO it was not that plush and the Big Single that was suposed to not vibrate like a typical big single, vibraded just like every other big single I have owned or road before. I just, was not that impressed. The best features on the KQ IMO is the low price, the EFI and its good looks that could be made even better by adding a black LE version like the vinny. If the Vinny LE had that motor from the KQ I would most likely be an owner right now.

 

Actually the king quad has virtually no vibration. Much smoother than my vtwin. I know, I dont know how its possible... Its even smoother after break in!!

It does have a pull starter [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Haven't tried it yet, I am afraid turning over a 700cc single will rip my arm off.

I am positive in a drag, the p700 would get a good jump on it, but I think eventually the KQ will pass it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] That does little to equate power though. I remember when I first got my p650, my buddies Grizz 660 would beat it in a drag, but guess which one is more "powerful"?

As far as the Polaris 800 I dont know, quicker and faster than the Polaris 700 though.

I just felt like the KQ was not getting a fair shake [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

I know for those who plow snow it is going to be much better because of the adjustable front shocks, I hate struts.

PS, I defeated that stupid overide as well, I am glad they made that easy. No more diff lock or reverse limiter!! Oh and did I mention it was $400 cheaper MSRP? Way Cool.

To anyone who knows about EFI:
If the battery goes dead or is removed, will it run? I understand there is a backup pull start but I remember older snowmobiles and some sportbikes need the battery or the EFI will not work..??? When I turn the key on I hear the fuel pump. Speaking of which my p650 has a fuel pump also, never tried without a battery or dead one. Anybody know?

Hey Jaybee:

That Eiger is another under rated machine, at least the manual version!! The King quad has the same smooth running engine!!