I would ask....how big are you?....I am 5'11 and the Kodiak was fine.The guys in our group that have Grizzs are 6'2...6'3 and the Grizz is more comfortable for them.No matter what anyone says on the trails the Kodiak does just fine.It is smaller and corners better.The ride is good now that it has IRS.The features are the same so it really comes down to if you need the extra power and want to spend an extra $1000.00.I have a Prairie now but will not go anywhere the Kodiak would not go..............but the power is nice.
02 650 camo

 

you keep going to the ride. so, here is the facts on that. both are irs, and both have ADJUSTIBLE suspencion. the kodiak you sat on just has there suspencion set to a softer setting. so, the ride on both will be similar, with the nod going to the grizzly's travel, witch is longer. if your a huge guy, then dont consitter the kodiak, couse you might feel cramped. if your of average size, and want something smooth to ride, and dont want stump pulling, rip your guts out on open, flat land, tire spinning rip roaring power, get the kodiak. if you are more into getting from a to b, and can do it at a decent pace, without trying to keep up with raptors, then go with the kodiak. if you want to have power to spare, towing that is ausome, coming out of a corner pulling the one front tire off the ground, trying not to fall off the back, while singing songs in your helmet, then get the grizzly.
both will plow, and both have great rides. the tranny setups on both are ausome, as is the display setup. the 4x4 is exelant on both. the grizzly has more power, and with that, more issues. compare it to a stock chevy 350, and a 600 hp 350. the stock will give less issues, but the 600 hp is just more fun!!! lol.

if i was not worried about full speed, massive power, i would get the kodiak myself, but i love the power of the grizzly!

 

I'm 5-11 and 190...so no problem there. I never thought of checking each of those units to see where the preloads were set at...that was stupid since they were side by side! It looks like the Kodiak will suit my needs fine...but being a gearhead I love the idea of doing some stupid things after a few brews in the great outdoors. As long as I know that either will ride smooth with that IRS I'll just wait for the buy time and see where the money numbers run. I probably would'nt use the hot rod aspect of the griz but twice a year, so I doubt I would be crying the blues if I did'nt go with the griz. And I love their trans and 4 wd system on both.....I don't care for that winding up of the rpm like a snow machine to engage the drive like the polaris has. I'll be doing too much slow speed putting around on glare ice sometimes when icefishing to deal with that. Thanks to everyone for clarifying so many things on the differences/similarities between these units. I just wish I had it in the garage already with a plow on....we're getting another 6 inches of snow right now....if theres anything else I should know about differences between these units don't be afraid to let me know. I'm always willing to spend a couple extra bucks to avoid problems down the road. I'm sure it will pay itself back in resale later anyhow...

 

Go with the Grizz, you can never have too much pow'r........right?

 

Yea....now theres that other guy on my other shoulder whispering in my ear again.....are you and him twins or what? UGH UGH>>>MORE POWER>>>>MORE POWER[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Well neversunk power is nice,no doubt but having owned a Kodiak you would not be dissappointed.I mean I can hardly say anything about power since I sold the Kodiak to get a Prairie which in the big bore 4x4's is still at the top of the food chain.The problem is once you get a bigger one then you are hooked.When I had the Kodiak I thought huh....this thing runs pretty damn good for a 400.Now after having the Prairie I had a chance to ride of one the guys new 450 Kodiak.I was shocked at the difference.Now I am sure I could probably never settle for anything less.

 

Thanks for the responses. I've settled on the Grizz. At 6'1" and 260 lbs, it will be a better choice. I think I'll start with the bigger power from the start, and the prices are only $500 apart.

 

It seems like the kodiak 450 might be a safe place to park my money for two seasons until the market on all this new technology shakes out and most machines are all EFI. They seem to hold their resale pretty good, and my stuff all looks like new when I sell it anyhow. I just can't see myself sitting on the sidelines waiting for the new stuff to appear since I sold my trike and will need to fish next season. It does seem however on the boards at highlifter that there are many complaints about fuel starvation due to blockages, cold starting and misc carb problems on the Kodiak. And most of my use will be in cold climates. Maybe its just because there are a lot of the units out there ? I dunno what their sales numbers are like. I'd sure like to see the Griz with EFI. Problem now is Suzuki might have licked their trans problems on the KQ according to todays posts (if you buy a later production run of the 05 model that is), and it would probably only be a grand more than a Kodiak by august (that trans issue seems to be about the only complaint out there on the KQ) Well...theres the EFI I want so bad, and the smooth ride etc for the same prize as a Griz. I like the Yamaha driveline better, but the Suzuki is at least similar and seems to work well....ugly colors though (as if that means anything). But now the wait for the updated model. Maybe they'll be discounting them pretty good to get their sales up again since they got a bad rep so bad over this issue. I'm just goin nuts with all the snow out there etc and no toy to play on.....

 

I have not seen the other forums stating the problems with the Kodiak.I have been in the forum here for over 4 years and I can't honestly recall seeing carb issues and fuel issues?????.Now there have been many issues with the grizz in that dept.Heck there is a guy on here with an 05 saying he is having those problems.It seems the general concensus is the Kodiak is one of the best and reliable 4x4s out there.......even the Honda guys might say that but they have a hard time [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Thats what I thought, and why I was leaning towards the Kodiak as a "no brainer". I went back about 6 weeks in the posts on highlifter and tripped over a whole bunch of these problems. Many of them eluded to it being pretty common. In fact, I just found one on this board about the griz not wanting to run after having been idling for awhile....more carb issues related to weather. At least I did'nt find anything terribly bad about axles on them.....