Hey Rob,

I had to put 1/2 inch of spacers in between my shocks and springs. It corners a whole lot better now. If you like I could send a couple of pics if your interested on putting on your site, Rob

 

ROB,
THESE LAST FEW POSTS HAVE SAID IT WELL, THE KING IS A EXCELLENT QUAD FOR WORK AND PLAY. YOU WILL NEVER BUY A QUAD THAT IS GOING TO BE PERFECT IN EVERY WAY. YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT FEATURES YOU REALLY WANT IN A QUAD, AND GO WITH THE ONE THAT SEEMS TO FILL AS MANY AS POSSIBLE. I AM VERY HAPPY IN MY DECISION TO BUY THE KING. I GOT ALL THE IMPORTANT FEATURED I WANTED WITH MINE, AGAIN I SAY IT WAS THE ONLY QUAD ON THE MARKET THAT HAD THEM ALL. AND I ALSO FIND IT AMUSING THAT THE QUAD I CHOSE IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST TALKED ABOUT QUADS OUT THERE. GO BACK AND READ THROUGH THE POSTS AGAIN, IT IS CONTINUOUSLY BEING COMPARED WITH QUADS IN A CLASS ABOVE IT IN C.C. WHETHER THEY LOVE THEM, OR HATE THEM I THINK THE KING SHOULD FEEL PRETTY FLATTERED. MINE DOES....
00KING

 

Zukimoto have you ever ridden a 300 Cat?? Around here KQ are probably the most popular bike, & I may buy another one when they come into the 20th century, Consider the Cat has 50% more suspension, dual A-arms to keep tires parallel, gear indicator lights ( have you ever downshifted to neutral unintensionally on a hill because you didn't know wether or not there was another gear there ). I'll give fit n'finish to the Suz any day, but for performance of duty the Cat wins hands down.

 

Pictures!!! Always send pictures if you have a mod. Be sure to send plenty text explaining the complete process.

AC, The dealer where I bought my KQ now sells them. When I was price shopping for a KQ I found another dealer that sells AC. They also liked the AC better than the KQ. But being in the south the AC are just now becomming more popular. We don't have to many snowmobiles down here as you may know. You still don't see them in the back of pickup trucks around here. The cross link rear suspension (or whatever it's called) on the 500 looks pretty cool. Much better than the single shock type set up. But man the AC 300 seems to have about an 80" wheelbase! I've never ridden one so I have know idea how it turns or handles.

Rob

 

Cats are getting very popular fast in Canada, probably because of Cat's snowmobile dealership network. Semi-independant on the 500's works very well at keeping tires on the ground for traction although it does allow for some body roll. The 300's are about 3-4" longer wheelbase than the KQ & probably help in the ride department. Cat turning radius is smaller than a KQ, about what a 250 4X4 Suz will do, manuverability is excellent.

 

sxr6,
Haven't ridden the AC300. I don't doubt that it has a good ride. King Quad's suspension is a very smart design and certainly not outdated, unchanged yes, but nothing wrong with that. King Quad has suspension travel of virtually 4" ft, and 5" rear, 3.9 and 4.9 to be exact. AC300 has 6.5 at each end. That's 40% more for ft. and 24.6% more for rear than KQ, not 50%. The things that concern me about any long travel suspension are the angles at which the u/cv joints are subjected to and the inherent sway and higher center of gravity of the machine. I'll take King Quad's lower center of gravity for the places I ride and friendlier u-joint angles for long trouble-free service. I'll also take KQ's no-hassle, ready to go, ft. diff lock.
The gear indicator lights of the AC300 are a good thing, and would be a welcome addition to my King, but what's up with that plastic skidplate?

John

 

Robnhouston,
well after an 11hr drive from the Hatfield McCoy trails in West Virginia,im really tired and pretty worn out.

Never in my yrs on ATVs [1983] have I ever experienced mountains and hills like we [8 of us] rode in WV!These Mountains humbled me a little.They were completely breath taking to me.The Polaris done fine and it never broke down ever[sorry],however,we did have a few minor problems with a flat tire[honda 450s] which was repaired right there in the mountains with the help of Eric Baatz and some plugs and a bottle of Slime.Ecorman made a fine adjustment[KQ] to his pipe and his ran well after that.No serious injuries in OUR group.We all come back home.An older local resident told Ecorman and I that WV leads the nation in ATV related DEATHS.I beleive him.The locals ride double and NO helmets,STUPID!

Actually,
the KQs in this group [2] did very well in this type of terrain.We had a little mud and ALOT of VERY steep HARDPACKED,semi rocky hills.Wheel speed was not generally an issue in these mountains,traction was.The KQ supplied a very low center of gravity[NICE] and the rear suspension proved to be VERY effective for conquering off camber/rocky situations.A drop to low range and 1st gear supplied ample amounts of torque for conquering these mountains and hills.

You guys know I love my Xplorer,however,I found the KQ to be the superiour ATV for this type of terrain.

My Xplorer has 26 inch Mudrunners and a very high center of gravity.I sit about 8 inches HIGHER on my seat than you guys do on your KQs.I often felt very uneasy being that high centered on my Xplorer at 2000 ft above the street and hanging on by the side of the mountain ridgeway.I also have a clutch kit.I often felt very uneasy on off camber hills at very slow speeds with the belt engaging at higher rpms.It would suddenly ''catch'' and lunge forward a bit and that made me uneasy.I took off the Engine Braking and that was a HUGE mistake.

If I were to do this again,I would not use 26 inch tires,you are simple sitting to high.I would NOT be using a clutch kit[lunging],and I would NOT remove the Engine braking.In fact,I dont think I would even be on a big 4x4 Polaris,they are just to high centered[for mountains] and make me feel uncomfortable.My hat is off to the KQ,it really was at home in the WV mountains.
Bill

''If you want to come in second in the WV Mountains,DONT follow me''[lol]

 

OK who did it? Eric did you? Eman did you? Somebody hit Bill in the head or something. Did and alien ship appear and take Bill back to the mother ship for some "experiments"? Or am I being suckered into something.

Whatever it is I'm bookmarking this page, copying the html and posting it on the KQ page.

Actually glad yall made it back alright. You should open up another thread for the stories and details. We can't wait.

Rob

Tell me the story again about how the QQ is better Bill

 

Rob,
nope,nobody hit me in the head,no alein either.For the type of terrain we were in,the KQ was simply more suited for that enviroment.It sits much lower and is gear driven so it dont lunge forward in tricky/tight situations.I dont like heights with nothing below me and sitting higher on my Xplorer was no picinic either on them mountain ridgeways with nothing below you.The last day of riding[Sunday],I turned back on a more difficult trail in the mountains to a less difficult trail.Even if I were on the KQ,I would have still turned back to a less nerving trailhead,but I think it would have made me feel a little safer sitting on the lower KQ.

We got into a very harry situation on a mountain side ridgeway that had an off camber slide to the downhill side of the mountain with a huge bolder sticking out,I proceeded VERY VERY cautiously with the Xplorer and was extremly nervous about attempting to go around it[LONG way down].I was going at a snails pace and did NOT like my Xplorer's high center of gravity nor did I care for a clutch kit in this type of situation.Its just my honest opionion that the KQ is better suited for this type of terrain.The only thing I suggust is NOT to run stock KQ tires because of the very sharp rocks,run a aftermarket 4/6 ply for added strength so the tires dont risk punturing a hole.It did happen once.

Now when we all got back to camp,the Queen Quad jokes were still going on,and Ecorman teased me about riding behind my ring-ring-ring-ring exaust[2 stroke]ATV.He made one huge mistake of telling me his middle initial of D stood for Donald and his friend Anthony said it stood for Donald as in Donald Duck.I then started calling him the Queen Quad Quacker.It got a good laugh going on.We drank plently of liquids[beer]and ate real good at the end of the riding day.We seen Deer.We seen some Bear tracks to.
Bill

 

These also sound like the the conditions that would be perfect for a Honda 450, with it's controllable, usuable, 5 speed, low-end power and low center of gravity.