Kawasaki 650 won't be at the dealers until March 2001 according to my local dealer. He plans on buying one for himself. He said he set on the one in Vegas and his words are that it is awesome!!!!

 

Do you know if the new Kawasaki 650 will have independent rear suspension and what is the ground clearance???

 

Kawasaki had a 650 on display at the Rocky Mtn ATV Jamboree with a running unit and a full size cutaway. Here is what I found out by looking at it and talking to a gentleman who claimed this was his baby and that they had been working and testing this ATV for 3 years.

Here are my likes and ??? so far.

I liked:
Seat/Ergonomics..very clean the digital display was very clean and made Hondas look too big and cluttery.

Size: It appeared to be around the same size as a Rubicon, Not as big as a Sportsman

Engine: What else can you say , 650 twin cylinder with dual downdraft 32mm carbs, It sounded very strong.

Transmission: Very tidy design with full EBS, of course I didnt get to see this in action but the cutaway did show all the details.

Brakes: Disc

????

There is no Independent rear suspension, It is a single shock straight axle.

The differential lock is a small red handle on the left side that looks kind of like a small brake handle, The engineer told me that the idea was to hold in the handle to fully engage the front end to get out of any type of bad situation.It is engaged via a cable.

The floorboards looked very cheap compared to the rest of the bike, They reminded me of those old aluminum ones found on old Polaris ATV's.

4.8 gallon fuel tank is under the seat with the fill spout found on the right side of the bike near the rear of the seat, They said they did this to keep weight balanced and to lower it in the chassis.??

The racks were a combo of metal and plastic, I didnt care for the gold color of the wheels/floorboards and racks.

Overall it looked like a very well engineered ATV.
He told me pricing would be right with the Sportsman and Rubicon, so expect around $7,000.

 

so does that mean to have the dif. lock activated you will have to have one hand off the handlebars?!?!?!?!? that isn't a very comforting thought.....

 

In those cases where you would need to use the diif-lock, in all probability, you're stopped (stuck) anyway. Removing your hands from the bars under those circumstances should not pose any problems. Suzuki has successfully used the same arrangement to engage the diff-lock on their King Quad for many years with no problems or complaints.

Army Man

 

Wait, this guy says that it's on the left side. Atving says it's on the handle bars. So could it be on the left side of the handle bars? duhhhhhhhh

 

The diff-lock lever is NOT on the handlebars. It is a small lever on the left side of the "tank". Think Suzuki King Quad, it is almost in the same spot.

Army Man

 

Armyman, The lock is on the left side of the handlebars just above the brake lever, It looks like a mini brake lever and it connects to a small cable that engages the lock.

 

What it made me think of is the way a self propelled lawnmower handle works.

 

I was misinformed, thanks for the clarification.

Army Man