You would have thought Kawasaki would dave designed some sort of locking mechanism to hold the lever in a fully locked state. Not a big deal really though I guess if it is easy to keep it pulled back with finger.

I need some seat time on each to figure out which I'll get. I have sat on the Griz in the showroom and it felt really good but I didn't get a chance to ride it. I need lots of power, good weight carryining capacity, true 4x4 capability (sorry honda and I'm not totally sold on the Polaris system) a soft ride for my bad back(IRS) and excellent reliability. No really much high speed stuff mostly slower, trail stuff and work such as mowing, snow pushing, hauling a trailer and doing the various jobs around the farm. The trail stuff consists of heavily wooded areas with some very nasty mud. I've talked to guys at the local non-dealer related repair shop and they have been adamant about staying away from Polaris.

I'll probably end up putting 589s on it but I am concerned about them tearing up the trails too much. I may just stick with a set of radial ATRs and see how they work first.

 

There was a recent post on all complaints on the BF......honest and complete. Maybe you could find it and one like it for the Grizzly on forum search.

I hear a lifting belt helps the back for riding.

 

Mike Penland and Highlifter teamed up and made the pen-lock which holds the diff lock in for you and it is only around 25 bucks i believe. This way you get the best of both worlds b/c you still can do it manually. Get the brute!

 

I rode with a friend that has a grizzly a couple of weekends ago and let him try my brute force out, he was amazed by how much more power it has. After riding his grizzly I think its ride is more plush, but does not handle as well. If you are looking more for a plush suspension I prefer the ride of the Arctic Cat 650.

 

gotta go with the Brute

 

you let a Grizz owner ride your Brute? it's amazing he gave it back lol.

 

Yep, that was me. You can see all of the info at NYROCS website. Follow the links to the Brute section.

Even with some of the issues the Brutes have, NONE of them is really a big deal. It is a great machine and once it's broken in, the motor is absolutely wonderful.

Here's a link to NYROCS site: http://atv.dnsalias.com

Mike

 

I to am shopping for an IRS quad there is one problem that plagues the IRS machines. They like to flip over backwards going up hills. I know all of you who have IRS will say different but from what I have seen IRS is soft in the rear. Soon as you give it gas it will sag and flip and is accentuated by any box or with any weight on the back. I can give you examples of Pols, Yammys, ACs, Hondas and Kawis that have this inherent problem mostly I think because of the way they are designed. Yes you can still go up hill but the potential of flipping over backwards is something else you have to be conscious about. Would I let someone ride my IRS machine up a hill knowing they are inexperienced.........not a chance. I would feel better them being on my modified Kawi SRS quad going up the same hill than almost any IRS machine. Note, I said almost any IRS machine. There is one brand that I am totally sold on and that is the Bomb Outlander. Why, it has a trailing arm suspension just like the stadium style trucks, off road baja style system. It is a proven format, if anyone has had the chance to ride this machine you will notice how the back end lifts up like a shaft drive motorcycle. It transfers momentum forward instead of to the back as in other brands. There is a new supposed 800 cc coming out this spring this is the quad I am waiting for, if it has some goodies that I have come accustomed to then I will buy if for sure.

My second choice is the Kawi BF these would be my reasons.

1) locking front diff on demand.
2) Most performance for the least amount of dollars.
3) largest support in the after-market department performance wies.
4) Dependable drive train!!
5) Enclosed rear brake excellent, Honda take note!!
6) Strong axles.

Things I would change on the BF.

1) Longer A-arms make it wider.
2) Longer shocks.
3) Air box.
4) Plus it wouldn't take much to pull 80HP out of this machine.........HHHHHHHMMMMMmmmm!!

These are some of my observations with IRS quads.

 

the rider flips 'em, not the machine [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

You have to admit that IRS is easier to flip than SRS. I did not intend to get into a debate on the problems of the IRS system as I am about to purchase an IRS system myself. I would have hoped that people would take a good look at the suspension itself and how similar they are. One little test to try, you don't even have to take the quad for a ride. Go to the different dealers walk up to the quad sitting in the show room, push down on the rear rack and tell me what happens. Come back on the forum here tell what happens.