Oh was my sides splitting as I was reading the new dirty wheels last night. I'll be SO GLAD when the subscription runs out. I can't believe they talked so high about the new KFX700. Next thing you know they'll be saying it's better than the legendary 250r LOL. The day will come when they start selling the crap out of these, then the boys that go out and abuse them (like 50% of the people do) and the belt starts slipping or wears out. Most people will be pissed off because they cant change it themselves and Kaw will probably charge them an arm and a leg to do it.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] And the best thing I really liked is that the bike weighs in at over 510lbs by itself. Put a 250lb guy on it and you have a moving tank with alot of torque. Tell me the belt is going to last. THE NEW AGE OF SPORT QUADS ARE UPON US; AND I'LL BE DAMNED, THEY'RE AUTOMATICS.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Its not too hard to change a belt in CVT, unless you've never touched a tool in your life. Why don't you think the belt won't last? Snowmobiles put out so so much more torque & horse power than the KFX700, they also weigh about the same and they have an even bigger load on them because they have to turn those big tracks.

 

Yeah, but when's the last time you saw a snowmobile being driven and abused like the ATV's are? And your talking like you never change a belt on a snowmobile. Dont forget, snowmobiles use different clutches and also a wider beefier belt than the ATV's do. To keep optimum performance on these variable drive units you need to keep them clean and adjusted, something the general public is not going to do. They will do great for the first 6 months, then performance will start suffering from a fried belt, or that so much belt dust has gathered on everything it starts eating away at the moving parts. IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, and only the guys that have highly modded wheelers with the variable transmission are the ones that will understand that.It will be fun to watch the young kid who's out there drag racing against his buddies, starts brake torquing it up to get the holeshot, then wonders what that smoke and smell is. I will love to be the one who posts back after a year or so and says " See, I told you so ".

 

Ask a Kawi owner how long the belt lasts on the Prarie 650. This 700 will probably be even worse!!!

 

Hey Bubba, isn't it something how the Scrambler has been out for, oh, coming up on ten years now. All of a sudden Kawi comes out with something very similar (o.k. down right identical) and BOOM it's a revolutionary quad!!! I got to get some pics of one at the Mpls. cycle show, as soon as I posted that 500+ dry weight, people hit me as flaming the machine.....then I e-mailed the spec sheet...hehe. Fact baby, nothing but fact.

 

One question I have is, how come all of the Polaris Sport Quads with CVT Tranys seem to be OK, but once Kawi puts one on a Sport Quad, Suddenly it won't work???

Not trying to start some big BS Flame session, I honestly want to know.

 

These are the same people who say the Sportsman's are pigs because they weigh 130+lbs more then the other big bores. They say it's to heavy and can't compete against the others. Well the KFX is 516lbs dry, thats 101lbs more then the Predator, 118lbs over the Raptor, and 141lbs over the Z-400. Heck it's even 46lbs heavier then the DS650, and we know how big that bike is. There is a person on the Kawi page that saw one, and he even said that the 700 is a big atv. Yes, I believe this thing will be fast, it's a 700, it should be, but I can't see it handeling that great. I know some say that its going to be in the GNCC races, so it must handel good, but I believe they will be in the utility class, not in any sport class. If I'm wrong, let me know.

 

Yeah it's funny how Dirty wheels always said the scramblers were for beginners,and were not considered a sport bike.Try telling this to someone who has been spanked by a bike with an automatic ,belt driven tranny.wating for mine to run out also.Later.

 

Bubba you are right about the extra up keep involved in a Hi-Performance CVT, but you have to replace parts of a Manual-Clutch also. If its being marketed as a Hi-Performance ATV then you should be willing to work & do up keep on it alittle more often than a "Sport" or "Utility" ATV. Beside if I were to buy a Performance ATV with a CVT I would prefer if it was made by ArcticCat, Polaris, or Bombardier......they seem alittle more quilified for something like that due to their experience with Snowmobiles. I also dont think the quad will handle an MX track all that well, but it should be good for XC or Baja where not shifting could be benificial to the rider. Also it seems to have good frame Geometry, and if the suspension is setup correctly it should be able to carry its weight well. Another thing that is good about a CVT is that your always in the meat of the powerband, but if its not tuned correctly like most ATVs with CVTs the throttle response will suffer quite abit.

 

You've got to be kidding me. As a Scrambler owner, I think its safe to say the Kawi is nothing like the Scrambler except for the PVT. The V-force is what the Scramblers SHOULD have been. Sporty, extremely powerful, shaft-driven etc., etc. I'm surprised at the envy that the Polaris owners are showing. You should be glad there's something out that may make Polaris improve the Scramblers.