Hey guys new to the forum, my hats off to you ,it is chock full of great advice. I am in the market for a new four wheeler, just sold my 2002 suzuki 500 quadrunner 4x4. That bike was great minus the ride and the low ground clearance. I explore some really gnarley country here in idaho where the truck may be 30 miles away. looks like the idustry must me leaning toward the automatic tranny. How reliable are these? I am not talking about just screwing around but putting myself(300) pounds and carrying ALOT of gear.I would hate to be 30 miles from help in a snow storm, and have the belt give out. I have been looking primarily at 2 models the big 650 cat and grizzly. they seem to be alot alike, minus a few details. I would predict That the japanese made grizzly would be more reliable. what do you think? How tippy are these models going up very steep rocky hills? I like the looks of the rincon but i have to have a low range for what i do. i have also thought about a manuel shift 500 arctic cat, but not many dealers even stock them. anyway looking for a little advice/ exp. Thanks! Mark

 

I use my grizzly for hunting. We camp usually 50km from any road and have to haul our gear in. Haven't had any problems at all yet. I've pulled out a 45" bull moose without a problem with the belt. I stalled out the 2500lb warn winch though. At first the Griz felt tippy but this was the first IRS quad I own. It feels pretty stable now and have tackled some pretty wild hills without any wrecks. As for reliability my dealer had a 2002 grizzly go through with 9000 km on the odometer and only thing that had to be done to it was a wheel bearing. I'm 300 pounds as well and the suspension works awesome. I didn't have to do any adjustments from the factory settings. When hauling in our camping gear the unit sits a little low but not enough to be concerned about.

 

My dad loves his Prairie 650 I love it to. We have halled an 86 full size bronco with it and it had no problems. I would say it is the best out there right now. They stopped making it though they took it to the 700 prairie. Hope my advice helps you in ur choosing.

 

i agree wit crayton

 

I don't ever worry about my Prairie and have taken far enough away from the truck to have to haul gas. Made a couple of 80 mile plus trips. It sounds like you want the IRS suspension though, so I would take a really hard look at the Arctic Cat 650. I just think it feels more stable than the Grizzly but the Grizzly is a nice ride. You might want to check out the new Polaris now that it is EFI.

 

There have been times in the past when i have drug or hauled an entire elk out of the mountains weighing 500 or more pounds plus myself , up and down some awfully steep country. For 3-4 miles. Can an automatic tranny(belt) shifted into low range, take this kind of abuse? Or is a manuel tranny the only way to go? Thanks and keep the replys coming. Mark

 

I pulled a 5 ft wide spiked harrow (spelling) for two hours to level an acre of ground for a friend with My Suzuki Quadmaster. It's a auto and had no problems the kids were taking turns riding on the back with me. Drag weighed about 250 pounds and had 6 inch angled spikes for breaking up the piles of top soil. I know my Prairie could easly handle the same. I have pulled logs that weighted at least 600 pounds they were easier to pull than that drag. Any of the newer autos can pull a elk jus use the low range and they will be fine. The tranys are tough as long as you use them correctly. Biggest problem is people who use high range to pull things or cruise at 10 miles per hour in high. That make the belt slip and burns them up.

 

Just look at the ATV pulls and see for yourself what kinda machines can take the abuse of heavy duty pulling. Mostly you will see the Polaris 600 and 700 twins, the Prairie's and the occasional Traxter 650. That oughta answer your question on whether the belt drive machines can handle pulling heavy loads

 

my grizzly with the itp tires will break loose the tires way before the belt would start to slip. Very rare that a properly adjusted belt would slip on any brand of machine.

 

The Prairie and the grizz. Don't be worried about how tippy the larger bikes are. the grizz is nice but the center of gravity is higher than the praire and the IRS on the grizz might be a bit better in the really tough spots. I have never had a spot where one bike couldn't go because it wasn't high enough etc... You just need to take a different approach depending on what you are riding. Both require maintance and it's preventable maintance that you will need to learn. Things to be cautioned about on the praire is swingarm bearings, and clutch adjustment. The main on the Grizz is front CV axles and engine work on the top end after 10000km. I have 20,000km on an 02 Prairie and 1600km on my 04 700 Prairie. The new praireies are coming with IRS too but you might not like the IRS. Good luck