Kodiak, I dont dis-agree with you one bit. The fact is that the general public would have an easier time just changing the oil in the gearcase of the manual transmission than taking the belt cover off every other month and inspecting the belt and clutches and making adjustments. And yes the manual transmission will outlast the belt driven unit in terms of maintenence and long life. The sheaves do get worn and the clutches have to be replaced at a tremendous cost. One clutch alone will cover 2 or more sets of clutch packs for the manuals. They are just trying to make this machine the top of the hill when all they EVER DID was bash the Scramblers for trying to be called a sport quad. KevinM, it wont surprise me if you go out and trade yours in for one. At least I could say that being a Polaris person you would know how to take care of the variable drive units. TO THOSE OF YOU THAT JUST DONT GET IT: they put down the very fact that the belt driven machines were just no good for a sport quad, and now do a turn around with this one. It sounds just like the kind of BS that Dirty Wheels would go and do.

 

Bubba, I agree with you on the belt-drive point. All the magazines and dozens of people on these forums used to bash Polaris unmercifully about the "rubber band" belt drive. Now that the Prairie, Grizzly, etc., use belts you hardly hear that crap at all any more. As for buying a V-Force, I'm waiting on a phone call to go ride one. If it is what I think its going to be, then I'll own one. I told my Polaris dealer dozens of times that if he wants to make a new sale, they'll have to come out with a sporty 700 Scrambler. Unfortunately for him, Kawi beat them to it.

 

Unless I'm missing something, the KFX is basically a Scrambler 500 2X4 with a 29% bigger V-twin motor, and shaft drive. Actually heavier too boot.
How in the world can they even call it a High Performance quad?
The shaft drive adds weght, loses power in the drive line compared to a chain, and is almost impossible to change gear ratios with, how is that good on a Sport quad?
Between the power lost in the belt drive, power lost in the shaft drive, the extra weight of the V-Twin, seams like a bunch of bad ideas for a sport quad to me.
Except for Smooth trails and Dune rideing, I see this quad having no advantages what so ever, there is nothing you can do to the handling to hide that much weight in the woops and rough stuff.
If this was a new Polaris, it would be the joke of the town, not "High Performance".
The dyno numbers I saw a while back were not that impressive either, I can't remember the exact number but I think it was like 37HP at the wheels?
I'm with you Modquad, looks like a slightly more powerfull Scrambler, nothing more then that.

 

Engine: 697cc twin with available dual exhaust vs. 499cc single
Horsepower Estimated 46-50, vs. 29
Trans: Performance-tuned CVT vs. lamely-tuned CVT
Suspension: Dual A-arms and coil-over shocks vs. utility-type struts
Brakes: Dual-piston, dual-disk fronts & oil-bathed rear, vs. one-lever with rear foot assist
Frame: Double cradle, racing type, high-tensile tubular steel vs. heavy square tubing
Tires: ITP Holeshots vs. Titan 489's
Footpegs: Sport-style serrated footpegs vs. Floorboards


LMAO. Yeah, they're so similar they might as well call it a Polaris V-Force.

 

I agree with you Bubba,Modquad and CED. It looks good, don't get me wrong, but If It Is supposed to be a sport quad why the shaft drive?? That kills all the torque and gearing possibilities. Dirty Wheels is kind of double standarding the Polaris's huh? So, what Is the best atv magazine anyway? I just recently subscribed to Atv Sport, still have about a year and a half with Dirty Wheels. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

Here is the list of Kawasaki's 2003 Team Green ATV Squad, as listed on ATVnews:

Mike Penland Prairie 650 4x4 Utility Stock
Scott Kilby Prairie 650 4x4 Utility Mod.
Heidi Landon KFX700 Women
Brock Parker KFX700 Utility Unlim.
Ryan Wuebbeling KFX700 4-Stroke A *
Bryan Hulsey KFX700 4-Stroke A *
Adam Howell KFX700 4-Stroke Stock
* Class pending

It looks like they are shooting for both utillity classes (Only 1 rider on a KFX700) and Non-utility 4 Stroke classes (4 Riders). So you are partially right.


In actuallity, the Dyno Numbers are as follows: 47 to 50 rwhp and 43 to 47 ftlbs of Torque. Also, it has been posted several different times by several different Forum Members, on several different Threads, that someone had raced a KFX700 against a Raptor (I believe it was 300ft) and it won by 2 tenths. I know that doesn't sound like much and it doesn't determin how this Quad will handle, but that's petty good for a 500+lb Quad.

 

Uh, Kevin, shaft drive? O.k. the only improvement that the Scrambler could've benefitted from would be the front shocks, instead of struts. I've poked all around this thing in person, got pics if anyone wants them, it's a tank. Geez, at least you can stand on one side of a Scrambler and see some daylight from the other side. They've got this thing STUFFED in there. Gotta agree with Bubba, this is definitely a Dirty Wheels spin job. I pity the fool who gets this two wheel drive beast stuck in the mud. You might as well give it a factory installed winch.

 

Mudslinging ,trailriding, tree pushing tank. Yeeeehaaaaa!!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

How about a cup holder..DOH!!!

NC Scrambler, you picked the best one with ATV Sport. Oh great, now along with all the Yamahammers, now we're gonna have the Kawazuki folks being transients.

 

Sorry, I was mistaken, it was a 200 Meter Acceleration comparison with the Raptor.

It's not just Dirt Wheels that is giving this Quad praise. ATV Connection had a good Test Ride Article and so did off-road.com.

Here is just a small portion of their articles:

ATV Connection

Plenty of the sport enthusiasts feel an ATV that is going to be raced should not go over 400lbs. and should have a hand-clutch as well as chain-drive. Well, who are we to disagree with these riders? Everyone has their own opinions but as for me. I’ll try to remember how wrong the V-Force concept is when I’m climbing larger hills, getting more extreme air, and enjoying faster lap-times!

For the whole artical go here: KFX700 ATV Connection article


off-road.com

I love this engine. We liked it in the Prairie 650 and now even more in the VForce. The liquid cooled, 90-degree, four stroke, V-Twin has a single overhead cam and four valves per cylinder and uses a wet sump lubrication system. Combine that with the dual Kehihin downdraft carburetors and the VForce produces incredible torque and power with no vibration. The power delivery is smooth all the way through the powerband. When you stab the throttle on the VForce you better hold on because it takes off in a hurry. The only downfall is that I would not recommend a beginner rider on this machine without limiting the throttle. It is said to put out close to 50 HP in stock condition and you can feel every bit of it. Just think what it will do when you add a Pro Circuit dual exhaust? (Yes, it is already in the works and Kawasaki even put brackets on the left side of the frame for that second pipe.) Kawasaki tuned it so the VForce will outpace the Raptor by .2 seconds on 0-200 meter acceleration tests. We think the Vtwin has much more ready to be unleashed.

An automatic on a sport quad? YES. And it works awesome! Some people are going to disagree but I think most will change their opinion if they spend any time on the Kawasaki VForce. The Kawasaki Automatic Power Drive System (KAPS) uses a performance grade drive belt designed to handle the power of the big V-twin. Missing is the Kawasaki Engine Brake System that is found on the 4x4 Prairie 650. The drive clutch has also been tuned with new cam weights and a stationary sheave.

For the whole article go here: KFX700 off-road.com artile

So how many different publications or personal views will it take to win people over to the idea that the Sport Quad NORM isn't the only way go??? I'm convinced that for some, it doesn't matter how many oppinions they are given or how many reviews they read, they are just too set in their ways to accept anything new.

But Hey, that's OK, I'll still ride with Ya. Or should I say ahead of Ya. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Sorry, I had too!!!