How is the Kawasaki Prairie 650 in mud? I was wonderin b/c i'm fixin' to either get one of those or the 500H.O. and i mostly travel in the boggs[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] I realize the prairie has problems b/c or clearance but i really like it. If i put bigger tires on it, would it be more competitive against the sportsman?

 

The 650 is excellent in the mud. I luv my 650 in the mud. I especially like the grab the diff lock on the fly, plus it is really well protected against high water.

 

nyroc:
do you have stock tires on yours? i was in the polaris forum and they said that he was behingd one and his 500 did better.

 

Just guessin from what I've seen, I think the 500 HO and the grizz might be a little better in the mud with comparable tires, due to ground clearance from the IFS rear.Unless your ride double, cause the IFS machines lose a lot of clearance with the 2nd person on the machine.I really think it would be very hard to tell the difference between any of them in the mud, though.

 

yes, that is one of the down sides of IRS. but i think that is one of the few down sides of it. I know everyone i talk to when trying to decide between new quads, they op for one with the IRS.

 

I have 28" mudzillas. The stock 650 tires are inferior to the stock polaris and stock griz 660 tires by a long shot. I imagine a stock 650 would not do as well as a stock 500 ho in the mud.

I imagine that my 650 would easily eat 500 ho's and 700's with stocker tires for lunch in the mud. I did not like the crummy stock tires in the mud.

I have repeatedly shamed my friend's 660 in both mud performance and ground clearance. There are places I can't go cuz I get center hung, he does not make it nearly as far because I have dug the ruts too deep for him on my 650. I make it through all mud pits with less tire spin than he does. Plus I make it through many that he gets stuck in.

I noticed when he gets off the griz and pushes it, he gains a little bit more clearance, just like you guys mentioned.

You can't win them all, my tires do suck for driving over 50 mph. They don't bite hard surfaces well either. But they bite grass and mud really well.

 

The 650 is one heck of a machine. The power and speed are incredible. However, in the mud they do not do as well as the machines with independant rear suspension. Ground clearance is about 4 inches more on the 500HO, 700 and the Grizz 660 than on the 650. My neighbor (with a 650) drags his frame in ruts I ride through with no problem.

 

Sportsmans have beeter clearance than the 660 anyway. He rides with a sportsman that has him beat in celarance, so he is getting bigger tire this week. He will be the guy making the ruts the deepest.

Ruts suck. They get dug down by the quad with the most clearance, then they suck for everyone else after that. I wish someone could come up with a rut grinding mechanism, like a 5th tire or something that would knock down that center ridge. Maybe that would not be a good idea. Ruts still suck. Some 2x4 guys try to follow you and you hit a deep rutted trail in the woods where there is no way around and you have to tow them along.

 

If you really run in the mud most of the time - IRS is the way to go. Myself, I enjoy the sportyness of the 650. I ride with mostly 2WD models like 400ex's and such. I can keep up with them on the trails and in the sand they don't stand a chance! All around - the 650 is the best machine but if I were to ride bogs most of the time, I would opt for a machine with IRS.

 

This afternoon my friend sunk my fathers 650 that I just bought for him. It in about 22 inches of mud. The bike still has the stock tires on it. But my bike, with 27" 589's, went through with no problem. To make a long story short, we used one 650 to pull out another. Just used the tow straps and she came out with barely a tap on the throttle.

So far my 650's have handled anything I have thrown at them.