I am in the market for a new ride. I have been a Honda man for 30 years and they have left me on foot. I have a EFI 06 680 camo Rincon now. At sea level and around home it is fine I love it. I added the DGL front locking diff and Bighorns. My only complaint is riding in the Colorado Mts. You lose a lot of power with the altitude. So over 12K feet my little 680 is a slug with no low range. Also the engine braking on the long descents is weak. Have any of you gone from a Rincon to BF750 or do you ride your Brute in the Mountains?
I was thinking the KQ 750 would be a better choice but I am afraid it will lack power too. I don't like the Kawi shifter on the right side and the pull lever for locking diff is cheesy IMO. The fuel economy is probably a lot worse with the Kawi though. Thanks for your opinions! I like the NRA edition but the local dealer won't order one without a hefty premium.

 

You might want to check out the Grizzly 700 with EPS (they also offer the Grizzly without the EPS - electronic power steering option but that feature is worth the additional cost). I was a former Brute Force 750 owner and have ridden both it (in 2005) and my new Grizzly 700 (in 2007) on the Paiute Trail system in Utah in elevation ranges from the mid 5000's to around 11,500 feet and the Grizzly never felt down on power. Actually the Brute didn't do bad either, but the Brute has required a lot more service (warranty work) than my Grizzly has plus the Grizzly will go a lot farther on the same amount of fuel. In fact, the only reason my Grizzly has been back to the shop has been for the recommended initial service after break-in.

Both the Grizzly and the Brute Force have excellent engine braking (although that feature is one that failed on my Brute and was one of my warranty fixes). However when both are working properly I feel the Grizzly when in low range and in 4x4 mode has a stronger engine braking effect as does the Brute (in the same mode)...

 

A few things I didn't like about the Grizz was the rack and short seat config. It was not friendly for a passenger, legal or not. I also didn't like the cluster being down on the front end and not the handlebars where it should be. I don't know if a single cylinder machine will cut it. Are all low ranges the same? I rode a KQ450 FI and the low was too low it wouldn't do 15-20 without red lining. I know the 05 or so BF's had nut, bolt, ball joint recalls or such. I like the push button locker on the KQ and Grizz.

 

I don't know what top speed in low on the Grizz is, my guess is probably the upper 30's. It does have a short seat, definitely made for one rider. A passenger would be sitting partially on the rear rack most likely. Both the Grizz and the Brute would be wheelie prone with a passenger (if a lot of throttle were applied).

Besides the front end parts recall (I had an '05) my Brute blew out the front diff (part of the case broke off), the 4WD switching unit and the engine braking mechanism failed and the motor mount bolts came loose which caused the engine to shift and break the header pipe in the front (all of those issues occured at different times). All of that was repaired under warranty. Also in 2400 miles I was on my 3rd drive belt (those weren't under warranty). In the Grizzly's favor it has 1900 plus miles on it and nothing has been done except for the break-in service and an oil change. Even my '02 Grizzly which I've had for 6 1/2 years now is still on the original belt.

The Brute does have more power than the new Grizzly and you can feel that in the seat of the pants (and it amounts to about 4 mph difference at the end of a 400' drag race over my 700 Grizzly but the Brute had a Dynatek performance ignition module in it as well). The Brute would wheelie almost violently in low range when punched. The Grizzly will too if you are sitting back in the seat and punch it in low range, but not as quickly as does the Brute.

Some things I liked better about my Brute were the sound (twin cylinder engine definitely sounds better) and a little more power. The lever activated diff lock is advantageous under certain conditions too where you want to lock the front end to clear an obstacle you suddendly came upon. Otherwise the push button system of the Grizzly is nicer (IMO)...

 

THe new 08 brutes have had all the issues worked out of them. I know the 05s were problematic. The new brute has better steering geometry so its a good handler mixedwith better shocks and EFI which will help tremendously when your out in those high elevations of colorado.

 

2TV did you have stock size tires? I was thinking that as long as I left a bike stock with stock 25" tires it would not blow up diffs, CV's etc? Thanks for the input.