I also would like to know about the Elka Shocks, such as can i get them for my quad!!!!

 

Anyone with Elkas or Works and an opinion?

-Krait

 

AC machine either way. H1 if you tow alot or need low end power and 700 EFI if you travel alot or just want a faster machine. I like the H1 engine, its Arctic Cats own engine, the engine is smooth and the feel is great. EFI is also a great engine. you hit that throttle and youre gone with the 700. either machine would make you happy.

 

V2, Krait, elkas are awesome. you'll have to spend a little while dialing them in for your use. if i had to replace my atv, i'd order elkas the same day...

monty

 

where do i find info and order them?

 

Krait, we just got back from three days of riding the Grizzly 700. We went to Jericho, UT, which is about 25,000 square miles of BLM land that has been used for dirt bike desert racing for at least the last 30 years. There have been so many races there, that now there are probably thousands of trails you can ride. Many of the trails are single track from the bikes, and ATVs should stay off of these, but there are also numerous bike race courses that are wide enough for ATVs, and lots of two track ATV width trails. The bike courses have been used so much that they are nothing but whoops, huge deep hard dirt whoops that go for miles, and miles, and miles. I put 120 miles on the Grizzly, and my wife put about as many miles on it herself. I would typically ride my YZ 450F, with my sixteen year old son riding his KTM 300 XC, for three hours in the morning, then ride the Grizzly for several hours each afternoon, then play race against my 10 year old son and his KTM 65 SX on a mini desert loop near our camp in the evenings.

As for the Grizzly:

Best attribute -- engine/transmission package

Worst attribute -- Suspension

Might as well get the worst overwith. There is no way you can go from riding a YZ 450F wide open all morning trying to keep up with your hotshot kid, and then get on a Grizzly 700 in the afternoon, and not think the suspension on any utility ATV is absolutely horrible. The front shocks on the Grizzly 700 are over damped on the rebound stroke, and pack down on repetitive big hits, like whoops, so they stay in the stiff part of their travel, and you just slam from one whoop to the next. One time over the weekend my 10 year old son passed me in the whoops when he was on his 65 SX and I was on the Grizzly. And I thought I was pushing it hard, until he cruised by me like I was sitting still. Stay away from whoops on any utility ATV; you wont have fun, and the quad wasn't made for it. The shocks on the new Grizzly do seem to have more bottoming resistance than on the old 660 though. And on big single hits they are fine. I hit a cattle gaurd jump on a graded gravel road at 60 mph, and the Grizzly flew about 2 feet in the air, for a distance of 50 feet, and landed lilke I was landing on a cloud. That was impressive, and really surprised me considering how unimpressed I had been on the bike race courses. Bike race courses are brutally rough though. The Grizzly suspension seemed fine on any normal ATV trail, and on Jeep roads. I would say that overall it is pretty much on par with any utility ATV, except perhaps the Rincon.

Weight balance is farther toward the rear on the new Grizzly. When they moved the gas tank down they also moved it back, which moved forty pounds of gasoline at the same time. It is easier to wheelie the 700 than the 660, but not as easy to keep the front end down on really steep hillclimbs. One of the toughest climbs I have ever done on a bike is in the area we rode, and I never could climb it with my old KTM 525 without overheating the engine, and spewing steam from the radiator by the time I got to the top of the hill. I did that hill on this trip with the YZ 450F, and although it didn't overheat, I did have to work the clutch a few times to get around the Z-turns and up over the big rock ledges that are right after the turns. When I climbed this hill with the Grizzly 700 I needed low lock, and had to stand up on the floorboards and lean way up over the front rack to keep the front end down. I hadn't realized that hill had been that steep when I went up it with the bike. It is one nasty hillclimb though, and the ground is just covered in loose rocks and tractionless silt, which makes it even tougher. It is easier to move your weight forward on the new Grizzly than on the old one though, because the seat/tank junction is flatter. And the weight is lower on the new Grizzly, so sidehills are more comfortable than on the Grizzly 660, and downhills are no problem at all. I went down a hill that was completely covered in loose rocks, with rocks varying from 2" to 12" in diameter, and so many rocks that there was no dirt in between the rocks. The hill was so steep that even with the Grizzly skidding all four tires it was still picking up speed going down the hill. The sliding downhill for fifty feet part was a bit scary, but the Grizzly itself still felt well planted, and stable.

High speed stability is also good. I rode for about nine miles at 60 mph on a graded gravel road, steering with one hand because I was carrying a big chunk of quartz I had found with the other hand. Even powerslide turns while steering with one hand were not a big deal. Top speed is 64 mph by the way, which is the exact same as it was with all three of our previous Grizzly 660s. Yamaha must have decided 64 mph is a good number for their big bore utiliity ATV.

And now for the best part, engine/transmission. This is the best engine/transmission combination I have ever seen in a utility ATV. The engine is so smooth and quiet, with the best matched transmission ever, so the whole time you are using the ATV for its intended purpose (not whoops) you are left thinking "wow, this is nice". Perfect power, perfect shiftout rate on the transmission, just a real high quality ATV that is an absolute joy to ride. On some of the high mountain ATV trails through the trees and streams I remember thinking that I hadn't had that much fun in a long long time. It is nice to ride a smooth relaxing ATV that makes a technical trail so effortless that you can sit back and really enjoy the scenery. I am very happy with the Grizzly.

I didn't even mention power steering did I. Its not that big of a feature if you ask me. The handlebars will still jerk if you hit a rock with just one front tire. I read somewhere that with the power steering that wouldn't happen, but that is not correct.

DesertViper

 

http://www.elkasuspension.com/

ebay also has Elkas for Kawis, and probably others as well. when you order Elkas, you will have to let them know how much you weigh and how you will be using them, so they can customize them for you.

monty

 

v2rider - Check out http://www.elkasuspension.com/utility/index.html, they might have shocks for your quad. Not sure tho. I'm sure they can work with you on the matter, might cost a bit, but sounds like they are worth it.

DesertViper - Awsome writeup. Sounds like you liked the Grizz quite a bit. Obviously, comparing suspension on a utility atv to a race quality dirt bike is not apples to apples, I highly doubt any ute quad including the rincon has the suspension to handle that kind of terrain at any decent speed. I will most likely, if it is financially viable, put either Elkas or Works shocks on whatever quad I get. I know some of the riding I would be doing would be better on a sport quad, but there is lots of stuff that would require a 4x4 and the racks, hitch etc. And I can't afford two quads. (YET[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]).

You mentioned that the engine had great power, does it compare to the Prairie 650 you used to have? I have spent a decent amount of time on my buddies Twin Peaks 700 and I love that Vtwin.

Anyway, thx for the writeup and your opinion, I have narrowed down the choices quite a bit I think, now I just have to wait until I have delt with some other financial obligations.

-Krait

 

Krait,
that is exactly why I added the dirt bike information in my post, so that people would know where I was coming from. I'm sure someone that has never rode a bike would think the Grizzlys suspension is great.

I have had Works shocks, Elka shocks, and Ohlins shocks on several ATVs. Ohlins have consistently been the best, followed by Elka, with Works coming in a distant third. I had Works struts and a works shock on my Prairie 700, and was not happy with them. I switched to Elka front springs with the stock struts, and it was easily twice as good as the Works struts and stock springs. I never tried the Elka springs with Works struts, because Elka didn't recommend it.

The power of the Grizzly 700 is a better power than that of a Prairie 650 or 700. I don't know if there is more power, but the power spread is better, with more power down low, and more torque. Engine response is quicker on the Grizzly, perhaps due to fuel injection.

 

Both of these brands of shocks are very expensive for the utes just to warn you. I've heard they are over $1000..kind of crazy considering their just shocks.