I just got a 2005 Grizzly last week. So far 3.5 hours. I have nothing to compare it to. It rides smoothly enough for me, starts in the blink of an eye and seems nice all in all. As i'm running it in still i have not been over 15 mph and have not given it a full throttle wack yet so i can't comment on the power. When i give it a good punch to about half throttle it does not threaten to throw me off or spin any wheels so i hope there is much more power in the last half of the rev range. i will be good until 20 hours and then give it stick and see what she can do.

I have checked all fluids and they are fine. but one thing it does that is puzzling is that the fan comes on on the radiator very quickly. From "cold" ( warm summer day ) the fan will come on with this quarter throttle warm-up riding within two mnutes. I would not expect it to get hot enough in two minutes to get the fan going on. It never indicates a overheat condition on the guages. I can comfirm that the fan will go off from time to time so it does seem to to working as it should. It is on most of the time though. The radiator is not clogged and the bluish coolant is within spec as viewed through the slot in the side panel. I dont think you are expected to check the actual radiator level much as this involves taking off the rack and plastic panel to get at the radiator cap.

Is this fan coming on so quicky and staying on most of the time, normal ?

The next thing is the rear axle. i was told that it had a differential. ie the rear wheels could turn at different speeds and this made it ok to drive on paved surfaces. indeed i was told you could get a road pack for it which meant a number plate and flickers and it could be taken on the tarred road. However the manual does not seem to support this and when going around gravel curves i can feel , see and hear a "crunching" that indicates that one of the rear wheels actually slips or spins in the dirt to keep up with the other wheel.
This seems to indicate that the rear axle, while IRS, is still solidly connected from wheel to wheel. I'm talking about two wheel drive here without any locks being applied.
Is this right ?
If so, there is no way it can be driven on a paved road without being dangerous and stressing the tyres and axles with the twisting etc. Just like driving a non - permanent 4wd wehicle on a paved surface in 4wd.

Otherwise, i find the engine while healthy sounding, does not sound much like a thumper and if you leave the handle bars alone it will rattle the brake handles with some vibration. Generally, I like it and hope to get the best out of it after the break-in.

Thanks for your comments.

Skindiver.

 

Both of the rear tires will turn at the same speed just like a solid rear axle

 

Its probably not all that unusual for a new motor, to run a bit hot, and the radiator isnt real huge. I would say, if there isnt much air flowing thru the radiator, then the fan would probably need to come on. Im always surprised when the fan, comes on , when the temp is in the teens. I figured it was so cold, that no way can the coolant get that hot. But it does. Check to make sure the other fluids are ok. Oil and diff fluid.
It wont hurt the motor to let it rev a bit. Its just high loads, you should avoid, such as pulling heavy trailers, or mountain climbing for hours. If you could ride at 20 or 30 mph for awhile, Im sure the fan wont come on til you stop and idle.
There are very few quads that have a real diff in back, the bayou 300, and the polaris with the box in back, are the only two im aware of. Theres a spool back there, and no side to side slippage will occour, except at the tire to road.
You must be living in AZ, warm summer day in feb, sure doesnt happen up here.
Welcome to the forums

 

Here's a tip. Usually the Grizzlys come from the dealer with the shocks set in the second from the softest ride. ( The second notch on the shocks ) . This seting is good for slower riding but when you make turns at a faster speed it is too soft and you will feel alot of body roll. Set the shocks in the 3rd position ( the middle notch ) You will need to remove the back wheels to adjust the rear suspension. I adjusted mine with a pipe wrench. In the 3rd notch, your Grizzly will handle much better. You have to ride it to believe it. You especially notice it when going at a faster clip, down the trail. I have a couple friends that also have Grizzlys. After they rode mine, they adjusted their's as soon as they got home. Try it!

 

A lack of ram airflow at slow speeds does make sense. I will not take the thing on paved roads, not so much because it could be dangerous but rather to avoid the stresses on the axles etc with the twisting wheels.
As for the shock settings, i was thinking that i would set them up a notch as so as i get through the break in period. i'm hardly driving fast enough at the moment to coax the machine into any sort of body roll but when i get on, ( 115 kg or 250 LBS) the side i step on sinks quite a bit. So i take that as an indication that it needs to stiffen up.

As of yesterday i have noticed that the exhaust exterior is discoloring from the heat. Was shiny silver and now going a brownish blue colour. Gave it a bit of a 3/4 throttle wack down the long driveway and it got going nicely.

I am not fussing with jetting at this stage as it seems to ride well the way it is. But my elevation is 5500 ft above sea level. Would the factory jetting be for sea level ? I take it that if it is then i will be running a bit rich. Will i get away with this ? ( i imported the bike new, stock, and privately from Tennessee in the States so no dealers have fiddled with it.) (I prefer not to let them get their hands on it anyhow. They just stuff everything up in my experience )

BTW I'm in South Africa, and its flipping hot here during the day.

Thanks for your help.

Skindiver.

 

Skindiver, you need to start riding that grizzly like you're going to ride it in the future. The break in on my Griz was about 30 minutes of varying the throtle and rpm's. After that I let her rip. There are 2 mind sets on breaking in motors. One is to do it easy like the owners manuel says. The other seems to come from people that have a lot of experience with rebuilding motors and that is, after it has had a chance to warm up and cool down a few times, you ride it like you will ride it in the future.

 

skin

I HAVE A 04 GRIZZ AND MY FAN COMES ON ALL THE TIME, SO YOU HAVE NO PROBLEM THERE

 

I have spent the last two hours reading up on break in methods. yes one says ride it hard out of the box to ensure high pressures behind the ring to seat it properly and the other follows the manual to the T.

Frick it !! as if having too much work stress was not enough !! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Im now at 4 hours @ 12.5 miles/ ie 3.1 miles an hour. Seems low but thats an average including warming up at idle etc. I have been taking it up to 20 MPH once or twice per ride briefly ie hitting that speed and then backing off. The manual says to avoid prolonged throttle above 1/2 for the first 10 hours and avoid prolonged throttle for over 3/4 from 10 - 20 hours. Also vary throttle constantly.

I think i'm going to get a bit more agressive with it building up in agression up to 20 hours but i cant bring myself to wack it wide open, ie hit top speed before then. If i had a tacho figure it would be more helpful than "half throttle". Ie tonight i will crack it up to 30 MPH a few times.

What do these engines rev to ? Being an automatic, do you ever get a sensation of a gearchange like in an auto car or is there just a seamless pull all the way to top speed ?

 

Can't answer that but I'm in the same boat as you. I've got 3.7 hours on mine and I'm dying to wind er up! Haven't got above 1/2 throttle and 45mph. But so far I love this machine. I went to the dealer tuesday planning on picking up a new brute force 750. But after seeing the grizzly sitting right next to it I couldn't bring myself to still getting the BF. This ought to make you grizz owners proud![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Also, My fan comes on often at slower speeds.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]