I went to Wolf Pen Gap this weekend for some ridding and while I was there I saw 3 P650s.
Since I was thinking about buying one I stoped to talk to the guys that was ridding them.
They all said they loved them and to my suprise one guy let me ride his.
So I jump on and the first thing I notice is that it the seat was comfy. It seems that most of the Jap bikes I have been on have a rock hard seat but the P650was nice.
The brakes and the finger controls were all well placed,and the floorboards were nice and wide.
While sitting still I turn the handlebars from lock to lock and the steering supriseingly lite. I liked that!

So far everything is looking great.
i put it in high range and ease off. I noticed right off that it didnt seem to be as torquey as some 500 Polaris's Ive ridden but to be fair i was being very easy with it since it wasnt mine.
I rode about half a mile down a gravel road and noticed that at 35mph in high range the motor seemed to reving really high. I didnt like that at all! I even checked to make sure it was in high.
My 400 and 500 Polaris's will cruise easy at 35 but the 650 seemed to be straining.{not in power but in RPM} It did have a nice ride though.
I turned around and come back down the road and made a slow{about 10mph} turn back into the guys camp and the front end pushed so bad i couldnt believe it. It seems like it would be down right dangerious if you opened it up on a tight trail.

Dont get me wrong,Im not ******* on the 650 at all. Every single P650 owner I have ever talked to say they love it but the slow cruise speed and the aweful handleing was a major turn off for me.

Now that Ive rambled on and on,i do have 2 questions.
How much are the springs that correct the front end push and what is the top speed of the 650?

Andy G

 

You should probably stick with your polaris. It sounds right for you.

 

Not sure on the cost of the front springs but the top speed is around 67 on stockers with a propperly adjusted belt. Doing the old "gas n' boot" helps when turning tight too.

 

Andy, the push in the front end is from the crappy stock tires, not the springs. If you put some good tires on there, the push is gone. If you do want some stiffer springs, Progressive Suspension sells a spring kit for around $170 (not certain). Top speed varies on all belt driven machines as there are a lot of variables to take into consideration such as belt wear, belt deflection, condition of sheaves, you see where I'm going. Anyways, I have had mine to 93kmh with my 26" 589s on it. That's fast enough for me. See if you can ride one with aftermarket tires and you will see what I mean about the crappy dunflops. Check a lot of Kawie posts. You will see a lot of guys have scrapped their stockers.

 

I bet what you heard was the tranny. Its loud on the P650 and can over take the engine and exhaust sound. I was just at Progressive springs website and seems like the msrp was around $169 for the adjustable springs. If you thought the P650 had soft seat, sit on a new model "belt drive" Kodiak.

 

That tranny does sing, don't it. I kinda like it though, reminds me of the sound of a big ball bearing turbo.

KOD, check your pms.

 

Thanks for the replys.
I want to say again that Im not trying to bash the P650's.

Mastrblastr
i completely understand the importance of good tires. When i put Bearclaws on my current 4 wheeler it was a night/day differance for the better.

KissofDeath
I guess it could have been the transmission that I was hearing because as hard as the motor seemed to reving, I couldnt amagine it would go over 50mph,much less 65.

After ridding one I had completely ruled out buy one but now you guys have me thinking again. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

I just wish i could take one on a real ride.

Andy G

 

Conman has it figured right. Andy you just aren't ready to move up yet. Sounds like Polaris is all you can handle, so enjoy.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

C'mon now Dangerous. Dont make me have to ride over there and show you how to really ride.

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Andy G

 

u and a small group of others are the only ones who dont like 650s. ur probalby just made that u cant get one and ur stuck with junky american made polaris. i would be ashamed to own that. everyones right u cant handle the power of the prairie