The plastic on the 650 seems to me that it is a little thinner than on any quad that I have ever had. I guess it doesn't really matter because I'm not that rough on them anymore, but about 15yrs ago I would have been replacing some plastic by now. One more thing, when my 650 is pointing straight the handle bars are slightly turned to the left. Has anyone else noticed this on theirs?

 

My handlebars are straight.

Yeah, the plastic is thin. I have broken the black trim on both sides of the front fenders on branches.

I feel that kawasaki has really engineered the quad to make it tough where it needed to be tough, and light where they could make it light. They have used alloy steel in places where polaris uses mild to save weight. They use aluminum castings to save weight when welding or casting steel would be cheaper. It is probably heavier to make a 2 cylinder than a 1 cylinder of the same size. Kawi had to work to keep it light. It is evident comparing it to the Prairie 400.

 

If you can't buy after market plastic for the 650 yet it won't be to long umtil you can. Guess I need to adjust my tie rods to straighten the bars,its not that bad out of line, but it bothers me.

 

I took my 650 back to the dealer and complained about the black moulding, and they said that they couldn't do anything about it because it must have been damaged by stiking obstructions and then I walked the service manager outside and had him take a look at the bike that I traded in (96 bayou 300 2wd) and told him that my 650 had not been in half the paces that the 300 had been and they replaced the blck trim. Not sure if others will but I did have to coax him because he still had my bike and I told him that I would give himm $200 for the milage that I had put on the 650 and we would trade back or I could call Kawasaki Heavy Industries personally. He finally came around to my way of thinking. Good Luck

 

Trailhog.... I dont think your bars should be anywhere other than straight ahead if your wheels are straight ahead. You should check that out pretty quick I would think. If you do any steering adjustment you should also be sure to check the toe in after you get your alignment problem fixed.

 

I remember one of the ATV magazines commented about the thin plastic being used in the 650 soon after it was first introduced.

 

If there was somethings I could change on the 650 it would be stronger plastic and adjustable front shocks. On my 650 going down steep hills the front end really dives and if you have to cross a ditch going downhill it feels downright dangerous no matter how far back you get. Also when power sliding out of turn you can really feel that outside strut diving.