Looking at both to purchase...please give your comments. thanks...

 

I think the king quad is a better bike especially for that year. When the brute force was introduced,it had problems with tie rods bending and other small issues. My friend had one,bought new and went through 6 different tie rods and that was doing the same trail riding that all of us other gus were doing. he eventually went to billet octagon tie rods he fund online. it needed a new wiring harness and some other things. This same guy now has a 2009 king quad and has been great for him. The brute now is better though from what i can see and tell. Then again if they are both used,you never know what your getting.

 

Mud...Thanks. It seems like the King Quad has a better reputation.

 

No way man- I owned both. (among a dozen other big bore atv's) and the only atv that bent tie rods on a regular basis was my KQ700. I researched it and they are known to have unstable steering issues. Just search the suzuki forum for "tierod" and you'll see- I put 27" tires on my KQ, every rock I'd hit would pin the bars left or right and destroy my wrist along with a rod, I had the same size tires on my BF750 and the bars were 100% more stable- never bent a single rod- and where I ride here has trails with some decent size rocks & roots. I don't think it's the metal of the rod, but maybe the design of the steering system absorbing shock- every little nudge gets transfered right up to the handle bars.
Every time I got the KQ over 30mph on a smooth dirt trail- the steering was real squirrelly. The brutes stable steering and monster bottom end were the reasons I fell in love with it within the first 30 seconds of riding it. I never missed selling my KQ- but I miss the hell out of my BF750! Not only that- I'd grab a twin over a single cylinder any day.
just my

 

Thanks Beergut.....

It seems across the board, that there are multiplied more issues with the BF...no partiality here. I just type in the line on my serach engine and their hundreds of issues from belt problems to smoking wires. Maybe its because they sold more? More machines in circulation...I dont know. Yes, King Quads have front end issues and there was a recall back in 2005. Pluse, Ive heard of battery issues.

Maybe I'll just flip a coin

 

Try them both out- every quad has issues, but IMO, a belt that might slip is not as annoying as a weak front end- and charging / battery issues are very costly.

 

There is a castor mod you can do to the King and add a steering stabilizer from a Yfz450 to knock out the twitchiness in the steering. I have had both( Brute 650i ) and currently 2 Kings,450 and a new 500 with p/s. The p/s versions dont need the mods and dont have the twitch due to the p/s and the different castor angle. The Brutes power is awesome and that was a plus, however, I did not prefer the stupid diff-lock lever...but that is just a personal nit-pick! Overall for me, I thought the reliability as a whole was better with the Zuk. although as Mud said, with a used quad, its hard to tell what you'll get! Good luck with your purchase.

 

I totally agree about the diff-loc lever! What a stupid design! Every other atv maker uses a push button except kawasaki- last thing I want to do is hold in a lever while fighting my way through a mud pit or steep rocky incline! I don't know what they were thinking- and they are still using that dumb lever today!
Having said that though- there's not much that will hold you down when the brute is in 4x4, I think I've only used the diff-loc maybe 3 times.

 

I have the King and though I agree the steering is different, I like the ease of it. And after 2 1/2 years and 3000 miles, the handlebars have never pulled from my hands and I'm only 5'3" and 160 lbs. Oh yeah, I do ride offroad and have been to Evarts KY and Windrock TN, both good technical places. The Brute has the power and ground clearance but I like the Kings lower center of gravity and stability.
Buck

 

I am leaning towards the King Quad because of dependability. I really want a brute but, to be honest the issues with the brute FAR out number the King Quads.