Hey Everyone,

Why has there been so little talk about the Vinson??? Are there none out there or is there nothing good or bad to say about them.

I am getting ready to get back into ATV's and am a die hard Suzuki fan. The Vinson seems like a nice fit for the type of riding I would do. Any info would be appreciated.

 

The Vinson 500 is a good machine. It doesn't have the power of some other large ATVs, BUT is one of the best handling and most comfortable.

The only thing about the Vinson so far was a battery hold down bracket recall. All of them should have been fixed by now.[It's just a 5 minute thing]

The yellow one is pretty sharp with a set of chrome wheels!

KNOWSALOT

 

I've got a green Vinson with almost 200 mi. on it. No problems so far. It's still jetted for sea level and I had it up to 8700 ft. this past weekend. It still started up there with no problem and ran fine. I could tell it was running rich though. I usually ride anywhere from 6-10 K ft. so I'm going to drop the main from a size 128 to around 120. DynoJet is supposed to come out with a jet kit soon.

The rear disc squeaks a little but other than that, I'm a happy camper. I haven't opened it up yet, but I had it to 47 mph and still had lots of throttle left. The Dec. Dirt Wheels said the Eiger would do around 55-60. It makes me wonder what the Vinson will do.

Mark

 

markdf,
what kind of price did you get your Vinson for? I've been thinking about getting one but haven't heard anything about how they've been working. Any other info you could give would be great.

 

LEP7MM,
I paid $5800 + tax. I declined the free $300 in accessories and they came down a couple hundred on the price. I went to another dealer yesterday and asked how much he would come down if I didn't get accessories, and he said $250. Someone else on this forum told me they paid $5770. That's about the cheapest I've heard.

This is my first automatic and I think it's spoiling me. I think it has lots of power, in fact I find myself thinking that it has too much for the trails I ride. Most of the places I ride require you to keep your speed below 20mph because of the rocks, ruts, etc. In fact my KQ goes as fast as I need it to. The difference that I like is in the acceleration. Big difference.

I don't know what else to say about it. The suspension is nice. The shocks are set for the softest ride. It rides pretty smooth. I haven't had any problems, or heard of any recalls although KNOWSALOT says there is one. I may have to check with my dealer.

The carb idle and mixture are easy to adjust if you take the black plastic off around the tank.

I took it up the mountains the opening weekend of the deerhunt and was getting all kinds of stares. The styling of the machine does turn heads.

It gets between 17-25 mpg, depending on the type of riding. The slow steep stuff eats the gas. I usually ride above 6000 feet and plan to lean it out shortly.

Any other questions, let me know.

Mark

 

markdf,

thanks again for the reply. I'm really interested in the Vinson and from what you've said has pretty much guaranteed a Vinson in my garage in the next month. I'm currently riding a '00 Sportman 500. The main reason I'm looking at the Vinson is for something lighter and for what you get, they are the most affordable in the 500 class. The price is right in line with what you've paid, but I might opt for the winch. I have plenty of work cutting brush for next years deer hunt before the snow flies here in MN.

How smooth is the shifter? How smooth is the auto tranny in the Vinson? The gas mileage has me curious. My SP ran 60 miles on 1 1/2 gallons last April on a trail ride. But that was high range and averaging about 35 mph. That was with 300 miles on the odometer before the ride so the motor was probably loosened up by then.

Thanks for the info.

 

Hey markdf,

Your Vinson may have been fixed before your dealer received it, or your dealer fixed it when he assembled it. Here's how to check if it has been done or not.

Take off your seat and look at the battery. When the Vinsons were first released, the battery hold down strap[rubber] stretched over the battery and simply hooked into plastic tabs which are made to the fender.

If yours was fixed, there should be a metal bracket about 1 1/2" wide that slides underneath the battery box[fender] and protrudes through the fender at the top. This is now what the battery hold down strap hooks into.

I hope that I didn't confuse you with all the mumbo jumbo there. Hope it helps.

KNOWSALOT

 

Hey Guys,
I also have a Vinson,yellow with warn winch,27" mud bugs.Always had k.q.'s before this no shifting business seems to agree with me though.I'm about 230#,so the 500 haul's me around much better!I paid 2000.00 with tires and winch plus my 2001 k.q. trade.Only problem I've had is the shifter is a little tempermental now&then,I'll have my dealer look at it when I take it in for battery box recall,their replacing the whole rear clip just for the battery box defect.Got 150 miles on mine it will be interesting to see if they come out with some aftermarket stuff,ie[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]ipe,jet kit and so on.I emailed Dynojet and they said they are in the process of testing one now and soon there will be some performance stuff available.With 10-1 compression and 36mm carb some extras should make her a little meaner!

 

Is the Vinson powerful/responsive enough to lighten the front end for obstacles? Any problems with water crossings?

 

phoneguy,
no problem hopping over logs rocks,ect.As far as the water crossings,haven,t had any problems,that belt cover is pretty nice,cast aluminum with a bolt about every 1 1/4" or so.Kind of like an oil pan on a truck motor,not nearly as much heat dissipation on the old leg either,the duct work,cooling system for the clutch seem's best I've seen yet.