Eceriderjbomb....................More power to ya! I have gotten my Kodiak up to 53mph, tops, but I have 100lbs on you. I have heard of some who have had their Kodiaks up to 57-58mph. But I'm not gonna call them liars. Too many factors figure into how fast a machine can be pushed to. Speed is great, but it's not that important to me. Dependability of the machine is what I look at.

 

In the end it will come down to whether you want automatic or dont want automatic. Either quad should be virtually bulletproof. its like asking if you want your money in large or small bills, its good either way hehe

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]I think I have made up my mind and will go with the Kodiak. If for some reason the belt gets wet I will have a winch on this one to pull me out. My Timberwolf was a two -wheel drive without a winch and my Kodiak will be 4-WD with a winch so I should be okay. Thanks to all that responded!

 

I have a 04' Kodiak 450, great machine. Mine on an open road with me laying on the handlebars almost can do 56. If I don't lay on the handlebars then it can go 53 or so. I diddn't buy it for top speed though since I do a ton of trail and 4x4 riding so it works great. Alot of power and a very durable machine. I have rolled it 3 time [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] But never broke or bent anything all it has done so far is scratch up the plastic alittle. The last time I rolled it, it went down about 50 ft or so rolling and got wedge between 2 trees about 2 ft in the air. used the winch to pull it out and there was no body damage at all. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] It is a great machine but tends to be alittle top heavy at some points. As long as I watch my self at higher speeds going around sharp corners it does great have taken it in puddles at have came up to the top of the seat and the tranny never once gave me any problems.

 

Well, you couldnt go wrong with either choice. Now that you have decided, if you want to see just how bad the Kodiak is, do a search here for member Kisssofdeath; or do the same search at Highlifters forum. Click on his gallery links and check out what he has put one through. His pics are what made me buy one. Now the new 450 has that digital display so I dont know if I would go to the extremes KOD did with one of them. All the same, they are bad. Im taking mine to the Highlifter Mud Nationals.

 

well im only 15 and i like my 2004 BB over my friends Kodiak by far. The only thing my friend has that i don't is the fully sealed engine. My Big Bear tops out at 52 on the road, but it sounds like it's going to blow up. My friends Kodiak has gotten up to around 56 on the road and didnt sound as wound up. But, ididnt buy mine for speed. My Big Bear can get over watever you throw at it...and it jumps pretty good to weigh so much,haha.....but of the two, my Big Bear is easier to handle when jumping due to the size of the chassis on his. His seems tipsy real bad too..and the belt sometimes slips when takling steep slopes, while my BB just pulls on up with the driveshaft(no problem at all)...The only thing i see that a Kodiak is better for is mud riding and due to the fully sealed engine and is better for speed due to the automatic transmission and the gears arnt so low...but the Big Bear can get through some mud, just my thoughts on the two, l8er

 

MY BIG BEAR WILL ONLY DO ABOUT 45 TOPPS

 

I've got a 2004 Kodiak 450 and I've had it to 57 mph. I still could have gotten a few more outta her.

 

wolv03 is right. there is no way a big bear is going to do 50 let alone 55.

 

the big bear is a great machine, but the kodiak is more rounded, good choice.