Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

I am looking for my first ATV. I am 31 yrs old and I am 5'9" 200lbs. I want this quad to work around the yard and play. We just bought 2.5 acres that backs to thousands of acres of forestland in northern california. I will be buying right after I get my financing for the house we are building. I have done hours of reading here and other sites.

I will use this quad for firewood duty, snow plowing, possibly mowing the yard, moving and hauling rocks and what not, clearing land for garden, and who knows what else. The first two are the most important. I plan to get a trailer for the firewood and hauling. I will get my own wood, so that means some off trail work. I am at around 3500' so we get snow, but not too much. We probably average 1-2 ft per big storm. I have about 500' of driveway (gravel) that is at a generous slope between 5 - 12 degrees depending on what part.

This quad will also be used for play. Many of my friends here ride bikes or quads. Most terrain is easy forest service roads, but there are gnarly places around. Many times my friends go on long rides and I would like to do some quad camping. I do plan some mud and quite a bit of snow riding. Even though I do like speed, I do not need to go super fast. As I have gotten older, I have learned that speed hurts. I tend to be aggressive and fear what I could get myself into, especially on a bigger quad. I am learning to be less aggressive and would like to continue that trend (kids will do that to you). I have ridden motocross, but I have only tried quads for short trips.

I went looking at all the major brands today. I only wish it were not 114 in Redding today and/or my wife and son were not there (she does not like the heat). I got to ride a kodiak, grizz 660, and a bomb 500 HO. I really liked the kodiak. It felt more nimble and easier to ride. It just felt good. The suspension seemed really soft though and the bike had a lot of roll to it. It also seemed much easier to through the quad around with body english. I also liked the AC.

Can someone talk me out of a kodiak?

Are there any major changes besides the name from 05 to 06?

Can the suspension be tightened?

Will a 450 be up to the task?

Can a carb handle steep hills and extreme tilting?

IS $6000 otd a good price?

Thanks for your help. Sorry about the length, I am sure I will have more questions later.

Michael

Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

Well work wise a kodiak can handle pretty much anything you want to do on a quad. On the trails I found mine to be alittle tippy for my taste and adjusting the suspension yeilded no real difference that I could tell..... I bought a used rancher 2wd ( I can't imagine it would plow very well) and on the trails, I think it's tough to beat.

If you don't have to be the fastest guy to get through the turns the Kodiak is an excellent machine.



Edited to add this I bought my Kody used a little over a year ago for $4000 it came with ramps, a snow plow, and a winch. It has a soild rear axle, the newer one have IRS so there might be a difference in the cornering...

Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

I give it an A...but with aftermarket wheels an A+ because it is wider and less tippy....yes tighten the suspention in the rear for less body roll... if plowing the front shocks will need to be tight because of the wieght of the plow

Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

Well, I'm probably not gonna talk you out of it as I purchased the 06 Kodiak 400 this past winter and love it. $6k seems like a pretty good price OTD if it includes everything like freight, set up, taxes, etc.

Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

I suggest you get the kodiac. I think they are great atvs. Ive been out with somebody who has one and it is a nice atv with its irs to front diff lock. They are smaller then the grizzly so that makes it more nimbler but has all the features. I really like the kodiak so get it and enjoy the sport[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

MIGHT want to wait until I believe either September or late August, not sure which. Check the Highlifter forums for more info, but I'm pretty sure everyone is awaiting a 450 KingQuad with fuel injection and independent rear suspension from Suzuki. Not trying to hijack the thread, but if I were in your shoes and in the market for a 450, I'd wait and see what they offered because if it's priced competitively, EFI will be a very nice feature on a mid-level 4x4.

Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

EFI is also more expensive to build......jetting a carb is cheap....My quad starts fine in all weather but if I was going to be riding in the mountains I agree that EFI would be worth waiting for

Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

The King is priced competitively with it's competition that doesn't have EFI. Just saying, he might wanna wait. I noticed he lives in Cali too. Absolutely nothing wrong with the Kodiak, my friend has one.

Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

Hey everyone, thanks for the recommendations on the kodiak. I have not found really anyone who say bad things about it.

I will definitely check out the 450 king quad if it is out in the next few months. I want to go back and ride the kodiak again and ride some others for the first time before I buy. It will be at least a month before my house financing is complete, seeing as I do not even have approved plans yet.

I am highly undecided about efi. I have read a few confusing posts on here about it. From my understanding it is not very mature in quads. What are the benefits of efi in today's quads? I live at 3500' and will ride between 3500'- 9000'. Most of my riding will be at or below 6000'. Losing some performance at altitude is not a huge deal to me. I like that carbs are easy and can be jetted for altitude. I will have to check both out more.

Michael

Thinking about a Kodiak/Grizzly 450
 

Well I will say this, I don't ride at different elevations at all. I'm in the good ol' midwest and it's pretty much prairie out here. That said, I won't go back to a carburetor. The starting is effortless, throttle response is instant, and FUEL ECONOMY is great. That last bit sold me when I bought the King last year. You said you'll be riding between 3500-9000 ft. Do you really want to stop and rejet your carb everytime it's necessary? It's not that you're going to lose performance at higher altitudes if you do not rejet the carb, but that it will not be running right and you run the risk of hurting your engine if it's not properly jetted. With EFI, you don't even think about it. I don't know who gave you the impression that EFI in quads is "immature." The only difference between it and EFI found on sport bikes and in vehicles is that there isn't a quad with an oxygen sensor in the exhaust yet, I don't believe, unless the new Raptor 700 has one. This only means that you'll have to reprogram your fuel maps with a fuel controller if you want to do any intake/exhaust modifications, it has no other ramifications beyond that.