The price is 6999. The thing is so powerful that a good throttle twist will bring the front end off the ground. News via factory rep this a.m.

 

$6999.00 That sounds good to me. I have no experience with Kawasaki at all except a 30 year old Massy Ferguson tiller with a Kawasaki engine. It as reliable as anything I've ever seen. My father bought it new and gave it to me 8 years ago. To my knowledge the oil has only been change once. This thing sits outside all year and has never failed to start on the first pull.

This will be my next quad but I'm very concerned about the belt drive. The last belt driven quad I had an Xplorer, it constantly slipped and burnt belts. Something with this much power would most certainly could chew up a belt in no time. I can't wait to see and ride one.

 

An article in the March issue of ATV Magazine tells how the Prairie 650 belt drive is much more robust than the one on the smaller-displacement Prairies; also, the story gives some information about the electrically-operated drive belt braking system (an alternative to engine compression braking).

Diogenes

 

Our local Kawasaki dealer doesn't think the new beast is going to come out until the end of summer. I can't wait that long!!!! Still hoping for a March release date.

 

Move over rubi,griz,quadmstr,big cat,bomber,and yes even the bigger(heavier) than life sportsman a new
king is on the way! his name ? starts with a "V" and I hear they are twins.

 

Hey! Just thought!

This topic's title is, "breaking 650 Kaw news."

The info in the March ATV Magazine on the drive-belt's electrically-actuated brake should be, "BRAKING 650 Kaw News."

Diogenes

P.S. Don't tell me, I know: 90 % of the Forum readership doesn't get it; the other 10 % is offended!

 

hiofcer, 200 hp. snowmobiles use belt drives with good success, so 42 hp. shouldn't be a problem. Several auto manufacturers will soon be producing belt drive transmissions also. I read this in a recent edition of Automotive Engineering. The reason is light weight along with better fuel economy and performance.

 

Get yourself on a MachZ 800 triple and bing the sled up to 120mph and then tell us how the belt belt system holds up.
Last week when ice fishing we had 2 people on a 600 V Max snowmobile and pulling a sled full of fishing gear and we were doing 60mph across a slush infested lake!Now that sure put the belt to the test, so the 45 hp 650 4 stroke thumper should be a easy day for the belt.

 

To: Jscyoung and Tim 1,

I'm very aware that snowmobiles use belt drives. Even high performance sleds with more HP than the new Kawasaki. But snowmobiles don't ride in water or mud up to their racks/windshields. If I was a betting man and you rode your sled in 18" of water the belt would most certainly slip and burn. I should actually take this bet. It's a sure thing.

I like the new Kawasaki a lot and I would love to have one but I'm extremely leery of belt drive systems. I have been riding quads and motorcycles for 18 years know. I owned a Polaris Xplorer, a belt driven quad. I have had numerous problems with belts on mine, as well as seeing my share of other people having problems with belts.

Please don't tell me I need to use low range Blah, blah blah. If belt slipping is truly a non-issue or overblown, why have so many people experienced this problem? Also please tell me, why people carry spare belts on their sleds if the don’t slip or burn?

Please don't turn this into a bashing thread. This is not my intent. I have my reasons why I don't like belts, and yes it may be just the factor that will decide if I buy the new Kawasaki. Only if they had an option with a manual shift.

 

Actually I have seen sleds cross a lake in the summer time with 50 feet of water and go for a mile.Snowmachine make no attempt to water proof there belts while atvs put them in water tight housings.Snow machine work the belt as hard or harder than a quad when going through slush,deep powder snow because there is so much drag.That's why a sled need no EBS because it is always fighting against drag and when you let of the gas the machine instantly wants to haul down to a stop.I put 1500 miles on my old belt on the bike and changed it only because I wanted to see what it looked like and it was fine.I put on a Dayco Ultamax2 belt on this time so it should be good for a few thousand miles and I kept the old one for a spare.