That sounded like a shot?

 

FireDemon, welcome to the forum.


What do you ride?

 

HI GUY'S:
When I went out shopping for a quad I was not brand biased at all. I looked at everything and the truth be told , I could have bought any bike of any brand. I compared features and price and done tons of research as to what bike seemed best to me. EVERYTHING kept pointing to KAWASAKI and the MIGHTY P650! This bike was and still is widely accepted as the best all around bike there is. When I rode it I was TOTALLY blown away. The fit and finish is first rate , the ride smooth and crisp, the power is simply STAGGERING! I have drove this machine to Hell and back and it keeps asking for more. I haven't had a single problem whatsoever, and If I were to do it all over again this is the machine I would buy, hands down... regardless of price, and regardless of what brand is stamped on the side. Kawasaki has won a die-hard fan in me and I look at the competition and to me at least, there are many nice bikes out there but I think this is as good as it gets.

PS: Popular Mechanics don't just hand out their engineering and design awards to just anyone you know.


ROB

 

Does this mean I`ve steped up the ladder so to speak going from Polaris to the Kawasaki?

Polaris has had a bad quality rep for years (not imo or experience) and now I find out the Kawasaki is ranked slightly above it GREAT !!! If this Prairie 650 is just as good as my Scrambler 500 was mechanically I`ll be a very happy rider.

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] you gotta love sarcasm.

 

i cant see why people put Kawi down, i beat a Kodiak 400 w/ my Bayou 220 in a woods race, and he said after it that his Kodiak wasn't "performing" at it's best, ha!

 

I have had kawi products for a while now. There is nothing better in my opinion! The bayou 220 I bought back in '89 is still running strong. When I have taken it riding with my brother-in-law, he rides a '94 425 polaris explorer. I could keep up with him everywhere in the wooded tecknical trail (ofcourse not in the mud and snow as I didn't have 4x4). My dad bought me that one and you know how it is, if someone else bought it, you won't take as good of care of it had you bought it! I have literally changed the oil 5 times since '89 and it still is reliable wheeler. It has never been in the shop except to change tires!

Sure everyone will have their favorite brands, but let's face it........

POLARIS can't stay out of the shop long enough to ride 5 time consecutively.
HONDA is bulletproof yes, but have you ever seen a sporty utility machine from them? This rincon is a start but don't let looks decieve you. I have ridden one and did not like it. Ofcourse, I did ride a prairie that same week so that really wasn't fair of me to ride a honda so close to the time that I had been on a prairie! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Overall, eveyone will be happy with their prefered brands as all brands have good bikes. I personally have never heard anyone trash kawi's. Maybe it's because everyone that knows anything about the atv world, knows that kawi is alway one of the top dogs. This year they just happen to be THE top dog![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I have never owned a Kawasaki quad but I never thought they had a stigma attached to them.

I started with Kawasaki in 1972 and have owned 8 of there bikes and have all been good machines.

Current Kawasaki is 2001 KDX 200. There is certainly no stigma with this machine.

 

Hi All:
Truth be told I really don't think that there is a stigma attached to kawi with regards to their quality. I think what it is , is that it's not as popular a brand of quad...in terms of sales. I saw stats a while ago that said Honda sold something like 140,000 Quads! Polaris and Yamaha were a liitle behind that. Kawasaki meanwhile sold about 40,000 and Suzuki even less. Bombardier were very low in sales as was Artic cat. These are all good machines despite the sales. Some companies such as Honda and Polaris are much more heavily involved in sales and thus build more. That dosen't mean that they are better. I would say that the near future you will see a much greater market share of sales by Kawi , Suz and especially Bombardier. These Company's products are every bit as good if not better than the competition, and they (Kawi,Suz and Bomb) are really getting on the ball! Bombardier employs over 80,000 people and can probably do almost anything they want...including getting very agresssive in the Quad buisness( it's a VERY small aspect of the company).

PS: KAWI GOOD !!!


ROB

 

Perhaps stigma was an incorrect choice of words, that is why I put it in quotes to begin with. Though from the replies it seems that everyone can, in some way or another, identify with what I mean.
I think kawirob may have better asked, or even answered my question, by comparing the number of sales between all the different brands.
IMHO none of the other brands even come close to the quality and engineering put into every kawi.
Its the small things that make a big difference.
-Every kawi quad I have owned has had gussets where the frame tubes are welded together for superior strength. This is something I have yet to see in any other quad.
-the rear shock on the 650 is offset slightly to the left of the frame to compensate for wheel torque instead of just being stuck in dead center like most others(engineering).
-stock shock covers on the front and inverted rear to keep out dirt.
-a rear brake system that is virtually maintenance free.
-have never worn out a tierod end and I drove them all like I hate them.

The list goes on but the fact remains that kawi sales numbers suck when compared to other brands.

Firedemon, maby it is just poor marketing like the dweebish name and apperance. If that is the case I am glad that I chose kawi because of innovative, and quality features, and didnt even consider what it looked like. Grizz looks cool but swapped rides one day to find that if you hit a puddle at any speed you would get absolutely soaked unlike my KVF650.

Anyhow whatever the reason for kawi's low sales numbers I hope they continue as an innovator of quality products for those of us smart enough realise how good they actually are!

 

yeah, when i told my friends that a gotta kawasaki there faces just went blank. then they asked what kind and i said a prairie, then they broke out in laughter. they wiped that look right off there faces when i pulled up to them long enough to wave good-bye! then off i went leaveing them in the dust! they dont laugh any more [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]