It seems to me that my king quad is better engineered than most other atv's. The engine , transmission and rear end are designed as a package . My friends kawasaki and yamaha t'wolf seem like go-karts with a briggs engine bolted on. I mean they aren't designed as a unit. The transmission is the best I've seen and the locking differential is great. It has independent rear suspension. The only things I have been on are the kawa 400 bayou, yamaha t'wolf,AC 454 and a Honda 250 2wd. Is that why i like it?

 

My King is a '99 Model year and it has great power, low and midrange. Before I installed a carb kit, this little baby would do 54 miles/hour on the trails. Now I get 45 miles with a good back wind but the thing now pulls like a bull. I have altered my KQ so that I can shift into four wheel lock in any gear. It has a SuperTrapp Pipe on it and mudders all the way around. I can pull the heaviest of quads and maybe a few trucks, out of a hole in record time. We've been all over the State of Michigan and to H/M Trails in WV.
Now I have a Arctic Cat 500i, to compliment the King Quad. What a set of quads... I love 'em both. When I go back to WV this year, I'm takin' the KQ. The low center of gravity works well with the hills and mountainous area.
Chuck

 

There is no doubt that the KQ is a fine machine. It made ATV of the year back in '91 (I think). With the IRS and wide range of gearing, it is a great technical trail bike, especially if you like to crawl your way through rough rocky trails. With the locking dif, it can wallow it's way through most mud bogs unless it gets high centered. All in all, for a bike that will be sure to get you through anything and get you back, it's hard to beat a KQ.

I owned one for four years and it served me well. But, I always wished it was more.....more than 4 inches of suspension travel, more power for when you did hit smooth uphill trails, tighter turning radius, better brakes and while I'm at it - chop off about 50 pounds. The KQ is not without it's problems, the rear brake does not retain it's seal well and thus is subject to early wear, the older front drums were not much better but at least they have been replaced by discs on the current model. In it's day it was truly King, now it is a fine utility bike that has been overshadowed by the current crop of sport utes. I gave up the IRS and locking dif. and for the way I like to ride I moved up to a better ATV.

But yes, the King Quad is a great, well engineered ATV.

Jaybee

 

I love my KQ too. But like anything, it's not perfect.

I have to agree with jaybeecon55 on a couple of points; increased suspension travel and weight. I too wish it was about 50 pounds lighter and had about 6-7 inches of suspension travel all the way around. While I'm thinking about it, it would be a killer quad if they increasd the compression ratio, and added a larger carb. A quad with it's existing features and a more powerful engine would be awesome.

I think Progressive makes a front shock for it that will increase either ground clearance or travel by an inch. I can't remember which. It's been a while since I've been to their web site.

I do love it for slow, rough trail riding. The Dynojet carb kit solved most of the acceleration needs I had, and the SuperTrapp exhaust did the rest. It goes as fast as I need it to on the trails I ride.

As you can see from my signature, I have a 250 Quadrunner 4x4 too. It's like a KQ on a diet. It's just as fast, independent suspension, shifts smoother, and seems to be better put together. I've always thought that Suzuki took the 250 (246cc) engine, bored it out to 280cc, added an oil cooler, and called it the King Quad.

Just my .02
Mark