This post was copied from "new to site and atv's Brute Force 750i" for which the same review is posted. For reasons that some people would not read that thread, I posted a new thread for people to read and debate this issue.

READ THIS POST CARFULLY, dont rush through it, most of you Brute owners will respond not in a kind fashion and become defensive. I know because I used to be that way up till I took it for a trail ride. Im not writing this to **** Brute owners off. This experience is with after market tires. Beleave me when I say I was a big fan of the Brute before my trail rides. My defence of the Brute is posted here under " Big bore shootouts WHATS UP!! thread. My opinion of the Brute has since changed.

1) If you do rough trail riding as on rocks or steep inclines such as steep downgrades, this machines suspension was not made for it, or they Kawasaki did no testing with it on those kinds of trails, beats me but the front suspension is junk. Its to top heavy, and feels way to tippy and from my extensive trail riding it is to top heavy.
The suspension does not handle the rear to front weight transfer while breaking on a down hill incline, it causes the machine to tip or with some speed will cause it to push of the trail. For inexpearnced rider this may be cause for an accident. The fun factor with this drops the Brute to zero in my book.
Most people who have money would buy a better shock and spring package for it, that may help with the weight transfer. I did buy new front springs for it, it made turning while in 4 wheel drive a workout. For that matter it made turning while in 2 wheel drive not much better, plus it put unwanted stress on the tie rods. We all know about the Brutes tie rods. While riding on rocky terrain the Brute is unresponsive and unwieldy which make for a very uncomfortable ride.

My end result and opinion, the suspension can not handle the weight, the center of gravity and height of the Brute.

2) The rear break system on the Brute is great, the way its design is and all. No wear and no
matainence with them. Stoping the Brute is a whole different matter.
On down hill inclines the breaks tend to lock up, front and rear. Dont know the reason for this other than the Brute is just to heavy and there is no play in the breaks. On rocks or leaves the Brute will not stop.

3) The seat is wide, hard and to high. For a smaller rider this may be an issue?

4)Also to add, the black plastic skirts that stick out by your shins, they both hung on trees and ripped the red plastic like paper all the way across the finder. Both sides this happened to my Brute. To point out, this was a bad design flaw with the plasic fender. Not a big deal to me however something to watch for on the Brute!!

Now to be fair there are good points to the Brute!

1) POWER!! It has all you need and more for going through mudd, which I have found out this is where the Brute shines!! Its home is in the mudd, with good after market tires the Brute is a mudd machine.

2) Top end speed the machine ROCKS!!

3) Pulling power. If you are on a farm or in that type of environment here the Brute has another home, its pulling power is great with an after market hitch or better towing pakage.

Thats my rundown and opinion of the Brute. Feel free to debate me here on the suspension issue. But those are the facts and and its hard to debate with proven facts. Those facts led me to trade my Brute for a 06 Griz.

 

Nice review. It always good to have an owner's honest opinion. Do you miss the power now that you have a grizzly? How does the yamaha do in the same situations?

 

you sud realy post this at kawiriders.com i,m sure they would love to debate you

 

I miss the raw power off the start, however the Griz handles so much better. As far in the same situations in deep mudd it seems to do well. Right there with the Brute, and on hills up or down the handing on the Griz makes up for the slight loss of power.

 

As I stated in my post, I do have facts to back up my claims. Several mags back up my claims and from other Brute riders also. Most Brute riders say they just get used to it and for me I would also. I never could get used it, just was not fun. And fun is what I get out of riding 4 wheelers.
To go over to the Kawiriders and post this, they would think I was just there Brute bashing, and would be a waste of my time to do so.

 

i'm biased here as well since i own a brute 750. as for my expieience between the two (brute & grizz) is the exact opposite and i tend to disagree whole heartedly with the magazine reviews. those riders do not spend enough time on any of the atv's to give an educated opinion(again personal opinion, nothing is fact, just opinions that tend to agree or disagree). just because they have expierience riding atv's does not make them experts. i would never get on two sport atv's and say "wow, this one is dangerous and no fun to ride" since i dont own a sport atv or ride my 4x4 like a sport atv, and that is exactly how these test riders treat them. i have yet to see where a mag review really put a utility atv to the test that they were made for, they ride them as fast as they can and then bash the ones that dont do as well. i have yet to see a mag test some sport atv's in the mud and rock climbing, then say how bad they did in the mud. ok, enough about mags.

as for the brute & grizz, my opinion comes from riding at hatfield mccoy and here locally. during some rocky hill climbs my friend (decent rider of a grizz 660) nearly lost it a couple of times as going downhill the front suspension nose dived and compressed so bad that the rear nearly came up over him & on uphills the rear compressed so much that the front almost came back on him, we had to grab his racks to keep him from going over, and this was with the preload cranked up all the way. out of 2 prairie 650's, a rubicon and my brute he was the only that had a problem and we all took the same line. also with fuels packs on the grizz he bottomed out quite a bit. fast paced riding the grizz pushed in the corners as well, but i didnt see it first hand. but i would never bash the grizz, very nice atv, soft suspension, nice cushy trail rider. now, the brute, the hard steering is new to me, i dont feel like it is hard and now lately its all the rage, they say the king quad was so nice and steers very easy, but now they its too easy and be dangerous. i rank these opinions with the others as "what ever". i did replace the tie rods with dg ones but mine were still in decent shape, i mainly changed because i put on 27" mudlites. as far as hills, i have only ridden one atv that does hills better and that is the rubicon because of its engine braking, but as far the brute it handles the hills with the best of them, i hardly use the brakes because of low range and engine braking, also i've only had the rear lock up once and that was when i was downhilling at 20mph and in snow. handling, i'm no guru, push, roll, whatever i just ride it and have fun, i ride hard, gotta ride fast sometimes when your riding with prairies. everyone has all of these fancy descriptions of how it should handle or how it handles. all i know is i can ride fast and it slows down when i need it to. its never a race so i'm not worried about beating someone or losing and then saying "well it couldve cornered better, not pushed so much, not so tall, and tippy". i did find it tippy once but everyone atv i was riding with had the same problem in that part of the trail. i agree with you on the power department(unbelievable) and the seat(could be softer) but i do find the riding position do be very comfortable and i enjoy sitting up high(its the difference of feeling like your sitting on it or in it) i feel like i'm rambling here, sorry.

all i know is the brute is fun to ride and so are all the others, the idea is to get outside and have fun with your friends. stop worrying about all the issues with the atv's and just ride. i dont feel you are bashing and dont think i'am bashing this is just my opinion as well. I GOTTA GET OUT & RIDE.

 

So i take it the 650i has the same problem? let me know please.....

 

I own an 04 Griz and an 05 Brute. I ride in mostly rocky and hilly portions of the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest. It is true that the Brute has a stiffer suspension than most Utility quads. This suspension works very well at speed, but seems harsh when going slow, as will any performance suspension tuned for high speed (ride a YFZ, TRX 450). After bottoming the suspension of the Griz out several times I have come to like the stiffer Brute suspension (see my pictures). While jumping utility quads I watched my Brother in law destroy his rear shocks on a Polaris 700EFI while the Brutes held up going over the same jumps. Going down hill, the Griz will spool up and the engine breaking is minimal compared to the EBC braking on the Brute. The feeling of being tipsy goes away with experience and learning your machine. For rock crawling and hill climbs the Brute great. Leisure trail rides the Griz will always be a winner. The Griz does everything well and nothing great. I will always have a Griz in the stable, but when I want a big grin I'll reach for the Brute first.

I can't see why any one would be offended with your observations or opinions. We all have different personalities and riding styles. After all it would be a real shame if we were all on Honda Ranchers extolling their virtues. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I sold my brute for the same resons you dont like yours I will say that it was fast But I also have to say is was built poorly lots of problems that should not have happened with no dealer backup so Kawi can kiss my A$$ I will never buy another one of their products again

 

I like reading other peoples opinions and reading there stories about different riding styles, I think you ment the Brutes softer suspension? The engine break on the Brute is one of the best and forgot to mention that, just never could get used to the rolling or tip in the suspension, after 103 hours on it since Jan 10 when it came home.
Its fun to read about peoples taste in these machines and there perspectives on them.

My friends all have Honda's of different sorts and they all loved the power the Brute brought to the table, my friends that rode my Brute never commented on the suspension they just loved the feel of power......lol. All around so far Im very happy with my trade. I never did put much into that what these ATV mags shootouts said, however now I may put more consideration them into when buying my next 4 wheeler.
I am sure of one thing, that I will never buy another 4 wheeler without IRS.
Nice pics Curls of that Griz getting air!