new to the forum and to atv's........I've been riding sportbikes for 15 years now and got into dirt bikes a while back also. nothing can ever replace my bikes, but I wanted to give atv's a try just for a different kick. Just bought a new prairie 650 and wanted to know if anyone out there might have some advice for me......never owned a kawasaki.....always owned mostly yamahas and some suzukis. got an R1 and a yz250f right now. I wanted an atv to use for hunting and just playing around in the woods or whatever.....taking the girl along etc. just wondering if anyone out there might be able to shed some light on this particular atv (i.e. pros, cons, maintainence problems, personal experiences etc.) Also wanted to know what this "black spring" is I keep reading so much about. Anything would be appreciated.

 

your gonna want to get that black spring ASAP. it is a clutch spring that goes in the driven (secondary) pulley that puts more side pressure on the belt to make it last longer, it also helps out alot if you have bigger tires. when you install the black spring your gonna want to tighten the belt so it will last much longer. you may want to book mark nyroc's site (not sure of the address but you can find a post by him and take a look) it helped me out more than a few times.if you plan on doing alot of your own work than you should pick up a service manual from your dealer or from buykawasaki.com.
hope you enjoy it! i sure have!

 

well u picked the best sport/utility quad so your off to a good start. a new filter is always a good choice( i prefer k&n but uni has a good 1 also). i actually just installed my black spring an hour ago. when i was done it had been snowing so the roads were wet but i took off down the street and did a wheelie without even trying. this spring tightens your belt and elimenates slipping and increases you holeshot alot. i would go ahead and buy it it is only 24 dollars and you can get it from EPIjust go to clutch springs than secondaey if u trail ride u want the black spring because the doesnt engage until your motor revs (acts like you poped the clutch on a sport quad). in about a month or more a new cdi is coming out from diamondg that will dramatically give you a performance boost. this cdi is required since kawasaki detuned tha engine.also a jet kit and/or clutch kit is never a bad idea

 

Hey yamaguy,

Let me be the first to give you congrats on the new purchace.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] I love mine!! The black spring everyone is talking about is the driven clutch spring. The kawi prairie has two springs the driven and the drive spring I don't know to much about the drive spring but i had the black spring put in on mine and holy S#%@ what a difference. (It makes it lot's faster in the low to mid range area, but it's harder to get up to top speed "high range")

You can find a heck of a lot of info on the prairie at nyroc's website... check it out[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]
Also at the top of the fourms it has a search, type in key words like top speed, black spring, jetting, etc. and you will find lots of info.

Also you have a private message thing that says how many private messages you have, it's in the top left hand corner when you first log on keep an eye on it (never can tell when someone will send ya a private message)

If you haven't already get some new tires ( Your gonna need um) the stock tires really suck!!!
(Just punch in tires on the search and you will find all kinds of good info on great tires) I got holeshot atr's and i love them[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Hope this helps ya out once again congrats you bought one bad machine!!!!

 

I appreciate the responses from everyone......I'll check out this guy nyrocs sight and see what it's about. does anyone know if there are any inherent problems with the p650? I read elsewhere on this site that the low range in the tranny can't handle the engine power and has a tendency to break.......has anyone else heard of this happening?

 

I just got mine a couple of days ago. So far the idle needs adjusting and thats it. I did lots of research before getting the Prairie, went with it cause the downsides sounded more like brand haters than real problems.

 

Probably the main problem with your new P650 is the stock tires. You may read a lot on here about how bad the stock tires are. Getting different tires is one of the first things people will tell you to do, aside from the black spring.

 

i havent heard of the low range breaking yet, they recomend you use low range under 20mph to help the belt last longer

 

Never have had any problems with my low range. Low range should be used for climbing, slow going riding. You will get the maxium power/torque out of this 650 in low range (up to 20mph) & the tranny will handle it just fine. For faster speeds, just put it in high & do all the roosting you want, all-day.
Don't forget to use the overide button while in reverse, the first time the engine cuts-out while in reverse is because you do not have the overide button pushed in.
This is my first Kawasaki too & so far, I am 100% happy with my Prairie 650.

 

BfB, I think we should warn new riders that don't know the override button what it really does because in 4wd on dry pavement the 650 can do a cat walk backwards with overide active [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] been there done that.... but never again! For the people that doesn't know what override does here it is: think high range for reverse, so USE IT CAREFULLY! and BTW the low range on the 650 doesn't break, sometimes the gear shifter needs adjustment for low range to work properly.