Last weekend I bought a '03 P 650 (taking delivery tomorrow), and I must admit that Kawi was not even on my radar. I started my quad quest looking for a Honda (Rubicon or Foreman) or a Yamaha (Grizzly or Kodiak 440). I am a big fan of Yamaha and own a Royal Star Cruiser and two Yamaha snowmobiles.

I went to the dealer last Friday looking for a Grizzly or Kodiak and there was a P 650 on the floor. The sales guy did not even mention it, nor did I know such a thing existed. He instead wanted to sale a Polaris 500 HO. So I went home and started looking for reviews on Polaris 500 HO on the web. Went to many forums and soon discovered that people were talking about a quad made by Kawi called Prairie 650. I read more about and came across Popular Mechanic article and award. The more I read about it, the more I realized that P650 is exactly what I wanted.

Next morning went back to the dealer and to my surprise found a P650 on the floor. The sales guy who knows me from prvious experience, did not even bother take me back to Polaris. He knew I had done my research and P650 was it.

Anyways, I guess my point is that I did not even know about P650 until the day I bought it. Kawi needs to ge the word out and do some advertising. I have see some ads for Suzuki Vinson and was considering it......until P650 ruled everything else out.

 

kantdecide..
I Too am real partial to the yammy line up of bikes, the missus has a v star classic, & I have a 99 royal star "tour de boulevard classic"..really a under rated bike..all it needed was a dyna 3000 ignition, bigfoot (ISRA carb modification..Thanks Glen Fitzgerald)
& v max rear end..I'm real pleased now..45 in 5th roll on, no windshield shake..real big shame that they got discontinued..
nothing like them..

but on the 4 wheeler..I started looking at grizzlys, but since I bought a v star & a royal star within 2 years, the owner wouldn't really cut me a break..I called Mike penland, since I have known him for about 20 yrs or so, & asked him..
needless to say, I like the prarie 650, but as far as bikes, the royal star still turns my head..

 

We've tested every ATV on the market and I can say in no uncertain terms that the Prairie 650 is one of the finest ATVs on the market. Anyone who gives you a bad time about owning one is just plain ignorant. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

I'd give the Prairie 650 our highest rating. I usually don't endorse any machine but the Prairie is just a joy to ride and a great performer. It's one of my personal favorites.

 

i think alot of it stems from the fact that kawi was out of the game for a long time.they built ok quads but nothing very exciting.suzuki did the same thing.now they both have come out with some great quads in the last year or so and are actually challenging for the top spots.to be highly reconized they have to have flagship quads thatll compete with everyone else,and their starting to do that now.

 

i do see a stigma problem. as far back as i can remember Kawi was famous for engine power, but the susp kinda 'hurt'
go back 30 years when i owned a 'centurion' i should have never sold that! would outrun practically anything. plus had an old kd175 rotary valve bike for many years, both boys and their friend s learned how to ride on that. never made anyone walk....
if the honda boys flick you any, ask them about the first 2 years of elsinore.... when honda tried to copy kawi, had massive power but no handling at all! i was there. it was spooky.
i dont know why kawi is always like 3rd or 4th fiddle, they could be first easily. maybe their nuclear submarine division takes too much resources. or perhaps snow machines or watercraft are more important. anyway i ramble.
I have owned 2 kawasaki motorcycles and am glad i did. good stuff maynard! ;p


:cool

 

Kawasaki was always respected around here. For years there was only one bike dealer in the area, a Kawasaki dealer. Honda had a dealer about 2 years and went under. Now the kawasaki dealer sells arctic cat and there is a Polaris dealer in town.. I started riding at age 4 and from that time untill 1998, I had all Kawasakis. Never a problem. When I went to buy my first quad in 99 (everthing was dirt bikes before) the first place I looked was Kawasaki. Picked out a Prairie 400 at the dealer but it was late on Sat. and had to wait till Mon. to run financing. That night a friend called me about a used Big Bear at a great price. So I bought it. Mo regrets, the BB is great, NEVER make me walk or tow and we put some serious mileage on the thing but now I'm bake to Kaw. with the 650.

 

P-D,
It is called "Prairie Envy". Your riding buddies will get used to seeing(only) your tailight after a while. My Grizz 660 friends have............................ LOL

 

Would you agree that as far as the 400's go, there is a stigma? All the reviews I can find show the people liking the prarie a lot, fast, powerfull, nice ride, but they still pick the outdated Foremans over it for its "bulletproof" engine and its proven performance. Thats a stigma.

 

I'm a true Honda lover. I have owned nothing but Honda's(185S,200X,250R three wheelers and the first Honda 4X4 Foreman 350) I have nothing but praise for Honda. When I was shopping last year for a big sport/utility quad I naturally planned on going and buying a Honda. Kawasaki was the furthest thing from my mind. Well I went and looked at the Rubicon. I was pretty impressed until I started doing all the research and reading that i could. I love fondling brochures and magazine before I buy anything I think the hunt is half the fun. I read about this Kawasaki Prairie 650 coming out. The more I researched and compared to other models I thought the Prairie was the best thing out at the time. After resolving my fears about Kawasaki not being durable enough I bought the Prairie. This thing is the best of both worlds it really is. If Honda ever comes out with a comparable quad you'll probably see me in the Honda forum.

 

I am lucky that i work for kawasaki and that i live in NE. and for the most part kawasaki's are all you see around and if some one has a honda or ect thay dont have anything against kawasaki as far as the chevy , ford and dodge thing go's its the same as every other place LOL.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]