Well, it has been several months since I have been on the forum, but I am selling my POS polaris 800 x2 that is one month shy of being 2 years old but has been in the shop a total of 3 months at 5 different times. It has been nothing but a POS and I doubt I will ever own another polaris. Three of my friends have or had polaris atv's and all three have had problems with them, but I though it was just their machines. Well, after the 5 different times in the shop and almost $1800 out of my pocket that wasn't coverend under warranty, I have had enough and is being sold today.

Before the questions, here is some back ground. I have had several kawasaki's and never any problems. I had a 2004 prairie-700, 2005 brute force-750 and we currently have a 1998 mule-2500 and a 2004 prairie-360. All have been great quads and virtually no problems.

I have also owned a yamaha 250 4x4 timberwolf and a honda recon 250. Now, I am wanting something reliable which the kawasaki's have been. However, I don't like the brute force stiff steering, thus I am considering a 2009 KQ750.

I have looked at the honda rincon, but no low range and no front diff locker and after riding it, the power was similar to a 500 IMO. I considered the griz 700, but I hate where they put the instrumentation center---on the other side of the handle bars---to far. I have also considered the AC700, but the price was much higher than what I can get the suzuki KQ750.

SO: I can get a dark green suzuki KQ 750 for $7000 OTD! What is the pros and cons of this quad? I am mostly using it for trailing riding, at the deer lease and on the farm. I will not be using it for deep mud bogging as I will probably get a used bf750 (2005) and gurilla lift it for that purpose.

I don't want a pi$$ing contest, just good factual information on the good and bad of this quad. Thanks!

 

IMO KQ's are one of, if not the best deals in ATVing. However, I would have to warn you that $7000 OTD sounds a little too pricey. In our paper I've seen them advertised sub $6K.

Anyways, I've test ridden most of the full-size ATVs and the KQ is probably my favorite. I like the manual control of the fron diff-lock, dual lever braking, the slightly smaller size, lighter weight, and from my experience, Suzuki's have been extremely reliable for me.

I know some people on here, however, complain about twitchy steering once you put more aggressive tires on them though. Not sure if this affects you.

For trail riding I would think they would be a great machine. Plus, they are also available with power steering now too, if that interests you.

Hope this helps some! Suzuki just revamped their website too if you haven't been there: www.suzukicycles.com

 

Thanks for the good reply. I rode one this past Saturday that had 27" ITP mudlite XTR's and it wasn't twitchy at all. It steered extremely easy and I did it with one hand.

Now for the price you are talking about, where is this? The MSRP is $7699 and I am getting it for $6250 sales price and then freight & prep is $227 and then the rest is taxes, which I will file the farm exempt to get back at tax time next year.

 

The twitchy steering comes at high speed. Another problem that is frequently reported (and I have experienced once at a very slow speed) is that due to the caster of the front end, the tires will lock with aggressive aftermarket tires on them. Once in 1800 miles. Again it is not all owners and I'm sure type of driving comes into play. Deep ruts are usually the culprit. That being said, I love my 700 and, as mentioned above, it's due to its size and the fact it sits low to the ground. My only other complaint was their cheap plastic pins in their plastic, but I have seen they changed them.
Hope this helps.
Buck

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: 700vtwinman

Thanks for the good reply. I rode one this past Saturday that had 27" ITP mudlite XTR's and it wasn't twitchy at all. It steered extremely easy and I did it with one hand.



Now for the price you are talking about, where is this? The MSRP is $7699 and I am getting it for $6250 sales price and then freight & prep is $227 and then the rest is taxes, which I will file the farm exempt to get back at tax time next year.</end quote></div>

I'm in MN and I'm not sure about the OTD price, but that's roughly the advertised price up here. Everyone up here buys Polaris and Arctic Cat since they're based out of our state, so the others go for cheap. Brand new Honda 700XX for $5495, msrp $8K!

 

Suzuki did some minor updates on steering system/front suspension for the 09's here is a video on the major updates that you can look at. For what its worth the King quad and the Yamaha Grizz are almost Identical in ever aspect (4x4 actuation, wheelbase and so on), tho IMO the Grizz is a better more well rounded/engineered machine! You can't go wrong with either and do yourself a fave test ride both esp the ones with power steering you will be very pleased with what you find!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_9i5uE5k9k

Here this video is on the all new KQ 500 with PS but it does tell you about the new suspension setup!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEYvKZzOiRg