I've heard alot of you on here saying about how much you love your Kodiak's, and how great they are in the mud, and how great the belt drive is, but here's the thing... Everyone I've spoken to in person about trading in my '96 WOlv for a 2000 or 2001 Kodiak ultramatic, has had a first hand horror story about the bike's belt problems. Most of the stories have to do with people with brand new machines, only hours old, getting into mud, and not getting to the other side. I'm not talking about black mud that goes all the way down to hell. I mean average puddles that 3 wheelers are easily making it through. Most stories are of the belt housing filling with mud and water, and I heard of one bike that just burnt the belt off trying to push through the mud. What really confuses me is that I was under the impression that the Grizzley's and the other automatics were belt drive too. Why haven't I heard the same stories about them? I really like everything else about the bike, but the belt scares me. What's the real deal?

 

Funny that all you have heard is about the belts burning off, If you put this quad underwater, I mean "UNDERWATER" you will have belt slippage problems no doubt! But for normal wet riding and for mud up to the top of the wheels you will not have problems. This quad is very well designed and has been trouble free, I cannot remember the last time anyone posted on this forum about lack of waterproofing on the Kodiak!

 

My Grizzly has the auto tranny. I've taken it through water deep enough to float it. Never had a problem with the belt slipping. When I do go through water that deep I go slow and easy. So far no problems. I've heard guys that hit deep water at high speed can slip their belts. I ride mine in high range most of the time, and I've never burned or slipped it from that either. Don't get me wrong, I prefer a manual shift over an auto any time, but my auto has been trouble free. So don't let the auto tranny stop you from buying a Kodiak. Its a really good machine.

 

Hey derekjes,

Being from st.john you know how big the st.john river is. I got about 3/4 across on my y2Kodiak in fredericton area The current actually carried me down the river sideways as I entered a small channel and that's the only reason I turned around. NO belt slipping at all. And as far as mud goes, I've been in the deep black stuff and the only thing that slips are my tires, not the belt. I can't count the times i've been in that thick black **** so discouraged that the only thing to do is crack a beer an laugh, then fire up the winch! The only problem I've ever had is a little bogging if you hit the mud fast but I'm going to find a cure pretty quick.


2000 Kodiak 4wd
26-12X12, 26-9X12 Bear Claws
2000lbs WARN
Kimpex ft/rr bush guards
55 watt halogen lights
Kimpex fender guards and rear pegs
Diff boot skid plate
power windows and cruise control

http://photos.yahoo.com/y2kerplunk

 

I have Y2k Grizzly with 2000 miles on it have put the beast through pure hell, running the pipelines in northeast Pa. I mean they lost bulldoers in the swaps when they built these lines. I have never had a problem with the belt. I have crossed the Lehigh river in water up to within an inch of the top of the seat and never had a problem. Dont be ascared go for it YAMAHA nows what there doing.

 

Hey derekjes, I have gone through mud & water over my wheels & never had a problem with my belt. This machine has got me out of some pretty scarey fixes that the other boys just shook their heads at. I am just waiting for moose season here to begin so I can put it to the ultimate test. Go for it. You won't regret it.

 

I agree with everyone else, i have never had a belt problem. The transmission is great and so is the quad. Buy It!!!

 

Some Kodiaks shipped with the Air cooling ducts hose clamp type connectors a little loose letting water get in, in shallow water. A friend of mine had this problem and that was his fix.
I've been deep without any problems. I punish my machine regularly and she loves it.

 

THE REAL DEAL. You can go into water just a hair under your racks without taking on water. You can also completely the Kodiak for a brief moment without taking on water. The drain plugs for the belt are poorly located. I found if I take on water, no matter how I situated the machine on an incline, I could NOT get enough of the water drained out. I always have to stand it on end in order to drain all the water out. But once done, you're good to go once again. Every time I take on water for the belt (which happens often), it only takes a couple of minutes to be back up and running again.

 

I never had one problem with my belt slipping. I have had that bad boy through some pretty deep sh&t too. There is a lot of old coal breaker mud here in NEPA, you know, the kind that is soft as hell and the further you go the deeper you dig in. We also have a lot of rivers and small ponds that will test your machine every day. I had it to the exhaust pipe in mud and water, and it never missed a beat.