Awesome, just awesome. With the possible exception of the exposed rear brake drum, I have heard nothing but praise for this machine. Speaking of the rear brake drum - any body have any problems with it being too low? Anybody ever whack it once good and break the seal on the drum?

 

I ride a Prairie 300. It too has the exposed drum and I've yet to damage it. I've done quite a bit of " stump jumpin " with it and have been nothing but pleased so far.

 

I own a kawa dealer ship, good luck trying to tear this machine up. We sell mainly to the farming community,lack of washing is common along with deep missouri clay,The very first kvf400 had some warranty problems. kawa figured it out pretty quick and fixed the failed parts. Our only problem is the front brake pads.The big kawi stops perfect,however xtreme aggressive riding will shorten pad life. Nothing to worry about this is my opinion, (very xtreme braking)and is very common to other manufacters wsed in same conditions. your only worry will be ride+work+ride+ride+sleep+ride+etc good luck
greencow tecate4 z-1 900 prairie 400

 

proof reading is not my strong point,or spelling,punct./'l;
oh my point. The warranty problem I was refering to was the rear brakes (water in brake drum).

 

No problems here with the rear brake exposure. The tire is close enough to take the abuse.
I also have the hand guards, ordered from cabelas. They fit perfect and work well also.
I'm mounting my 26" mudrunners tomorow, so I'll let ya know if it's got the power to spin them in thick mud.(once I get a chance to go riding)
They make the stock tires look bald!!!

 

My neighbor has a Prarie 400..he had MAJOR problems during his first year of ownership, Including torque converter failing, 3 Belts, Reverse Chain Breaking in the transmission and hardly being able to retain rear brakes for more than a month at a Time, And Front Master cylinder now Having said that, after these problems were fixed Its been trouble free after about a year, and runs well. His Quad Has 25 inch Bear Claws,
and seem to work really well. he has no Problems turning them over..
Overall the Prarie is a good bike I feel, He Has , about 5 months ago sold it to his father and Bought an Xplore 400, So now they Both ride, Along with me..

 

Was it a 97? My 97 gave me some fit's until I traded for the 99. It never had serious problems like the ones you described, only minor stuff.

 

geesh After looking over my typos from last post Ill type more slowly.
To answer, it was a 98 model. Everything happened rather quickly to it, maybe Dealer assembly?
Afterwards, as I said, the problems were fixed and its been relatively trouble free. I Like the ergonomics alot better than my Xplorer, Kinda like my suspension alittle better though.
A guy about a mile down the road from me has a Prarie 300, that has been pretty much trouble free.. all in all good Bikes!

 

i am a kawi dealer can tell the most common items we install. winches, mid size rack extensions,(4")
,also some type of hand gaurd, and cv joint gaurds for those who are going to woods ride alot. i have them on my prairie 300 4x4 only because i like to explore the woods and not stay on the trail! we have had no major problems with the 400 4x4. actually we can not keep them in stock! good luck and enjoy. d.j.
ps: i have the side mount gun rack but i take it off for riding season!

 

Well the 400 prarie had enough power to spin the Goodyear mudrunners in thick mud. One spot in particular really showed me the weakness of three wheel drive. Anyway these tires are a little more "mud" and less on the utility side I was looking for. They sucked whatever "sport" this machine had right out of it. No more fish tailing around corners!
O well, maybe I'll adjust to the stiffness and be glad when I make through mud holes I used to drive around. Come to think of it driving around them wasn't so bad after all.