The vinson is faster than the quadmaster because first of all its geared higher for a sportier machine, the carb is also different although im not sure if its accually bigger, and the exhaust was also retuned. The head was redesingned for more top end power also. The quadmaster is accually a lighter machine but the vinny is still quite a bit faster. My 03 vinny will top the speedo out at 62, but with the stock tires pumped up to about 9.5 pounds and the winch and front plastic off i got my stock vinny up to 70.4 mph on pavment on my gps unit. Normal set up it usually tops out around 64 or so

 

i had my 1997 kingquad up to 56mph on a fire road!

 

My 03 vinson ive gotten it up to 70 by the speedo it is runnin 27" zillas

 

He doesn't ,it happens a lot on this site.
Here is a Vinson in a 500 shootout Reviews of Motorcycle, ATV, Snowmobile and Watercraft vehicles the 500H.O is slightly faster with 35hp and I can tell you they just get to 57mph on hard flat. My friends 42hp 660 Grizzly passes by me pretty good and his top end is just over 60 mph.

Suzuki did something to the 493 motor for the Vinson because its rated at 32hp while Quadmaster is 27hp. The new KQ 500 efi is also a 493 and that is 36hp now I think.

My friends 50hp 800 twin Sportsman is lucky to get over to 65 mph.

the fastest 500 4x4 made is the Can-Am 40 hp twins Outlander/Renegade 500s and they just get over 60 mph.
I Ride a 80hp 800 Outlander alot and it barely got up to 70mph on a wide smooth straight gravel road. So these statements are really cracking me up. LOL

Get in a car , get it up to 70 mph and look out the side window and imagine a 500 4x4 ATV sticking with you, that aways snaps people back to reality I find.

Welcome to the real world and don't kill the messenger.

 

Of course I just notice this post is from 2006.

 

Yea, pretty old thread, but it's still interesting how the manual Vinny's seem to have a little more top end speed than the CVT's. I wonder if the mags ever did a shootout between the two. I'd love to read that if they did.

I've always wanted a manual shift Vinson. I love the idea of having a solid rear axle instead of IRS. I don't need the little bit of extra ground clearance that IRS provides, or the slightly softer ride. A solid rear axle is just a much more bullet proof design than all of the IRS utilities made today as far as maintenance and long term expense. Plus, I think it would handle pulling a trailer much better than an IRS quad. For pure utility, I think a manual shift Vinson would be one of the best choices for a utility.

Nothing wrong with the auto CVT version, I'm just partial to shifting. But I didn't know they were actually faster though. Learn something new everyday!

 

The only 5 speed in the group was the 500 Foreman and it was the 2nd slowest after the 421 Grizzly which should not be in this 500 4x4 comparison since its more of a 420 Rancher mid size class ATV then a full size 500 Foreman competitor.

 

The Vinson 500 was the fastest 500cc machine at the time, about 60 mph is realistically what they would run stock and that was for the auto version. Had an 02 Grizzly 660 and it would go 65 with stock tires. The Grizzly 700 still only tops out at about 65 but its quicker than the 660. I would be happy with either an auto or semi-auto version of the Vinson. I don't think irs is that important either. Cv joints wear out and those rubber boots are always vulnerable for getting snagged on something on the trail and then all your grease leaks out. Yes, irs does ride better but something like a Vinson has enough suspension travel that it doesn't ride that badly. I've owned a Honda Recon and an even older Yamaha Timberwolf, probably the 2 utility atvs with the worst ride imaginable and they didn't seem to ride that horribly to me. I wish Kawasaki still made a solid rear axle Brute Force, that would be high on my list if i were to buy a new quad but only used ones still exist.

 

I know this is an old thread, but I have some interesting news on the 5 speed versus CVT debate. I've always wanted a Vinson, and I actually bought two about 5 months ago. Both are near mint 2003 models, one is an auto and one is a 5 speed. The day I got them, my brother and i took them out on the highway to see which one was faster. The 5 speed was about 2-3 mph faster on top, and actually got there a little quicker too. The fastest the speedometer on the auto got up to was 61, and it took a LONG time to get from 60 to 61. The 5 speed registered 63, and it got there relatively quickly from 62, so I think it was close to hitting 64. We were ringing them out on the pavement!

Now, I'm not saying they were actually going as fast as the speedo said, but the 5 speed was definitely faster and it was pulling away from the auto very slightly from the start, and definitely by a couple mph at the top end.

BTW, the only reason I did this was to answer this question for myself. I would NOT recommend running them that hard, and I certainly won't be running mine that hard again ever. They are very smooth motors, but at about 55 and above on the speedo, they both seemed like they were going to grenade. When we let off the throttle after each run, they were backfiring like crazy as they decelerated.

Also, we ran them 3 times. Once from a standstill, once from a rolling start (mid throttle 3rd gear on the 5 speed and pacing with the auto), and then another similar rolling start with my brother and I switching machines. Pretty much the same results each time.

I hope someone finds this useful. BTW, I sold the auto version to my elderly neighbor shortly after I bought it. I'm hoping to buy it back one day when he no longer needs it. Despite my love of manual shifting, the auto was a blast to ride, and my kids and I actually preferred it in a lot of situations. The tiny top speed difference will never come into play for us.

 

Prince revive-a-thread...
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