I have been looking to buy a atv and how fell in love with the kodiak 450.What really caught my interest is the diff lock, but it being a automatic belt driven has me kind of wondering if i want it or not.Has anyone had trouble with belt slippage? I do plan to ride in mud and creeks and was wondering what might happen. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

i have also heard that the automatics have no engine breaking when going down hills, is this true?

 

Nah, thats the older ones with no engine braking, I believe the quad you want to get has yamahas ultramatic tranny....wich has engine braking.

 

I have an 02 Kodiak. The only time that I ever had belt slippage was when I went over the front fenders in water. And that was my fault not the atv. If the slippage is an issue snorkle the atv. That will fix the problem. You will not be disappointed with the kodiak.

GO FOR IT.

 

I run a guided atv outfit in tennessee and run all kodiaks. I have several '02 bikes with over 5000 miles. and no belt problems. The new '03 400's and 450's have a drain in the belt cover. I have yet to use it and my personal 450 has been up to the seat in mud and water and no complaints yet. The only thing you have to watch out for is hitting the water too hard. It is not the water that causes them to spit and sputter but the steam gets built up in the plastic for a few minutes and kills it if your not ready. But if you take it easy into the deep stuff then you can go pretty deep. If you get the front or rear rack under water then you need to drain the belt case because the belt intake tube are under each. Hope this helps.

 

I have a 03 Kodiak, and I've only got approx. 350miles on it. I've been in the mud up to the racks and I have not any problems with belt slippage yet. I'm also running ITP cast wheels with ITP 589 mud and snow and I have not been stopped by anything yet!!!! I've gone places the other people have tried to go and I've ended up pullin them out!!!! (that is an awesome feeling) I think that the 450 is a well balanced machine, enough power to spin the wheels and not too much power to over spin the wheels. It just seems like an all around good machine to me!!!

 

Snorkeling a Kodiak is quite common. If you go to highlifter. com and go to thier forum you can do searches and find pics of snorkled kodiaks. There are some cool ideas there if that is what you wish