buying a new Kodiak 450 next week - will be riding in mountain loging roads most of the time - i also will be in very rocky area's at times - what skid plates should i get - factory offers 8 different ones -
1 - ft brush guard
2 - FT grab bar
3- Rear bash plate
4- Ft Bash plate
5- engine skid plate
6- diff skid plate
7- Ft arm skid plates
8- Rear skid plater
should i just get all of them & be done with it?

also what winch should i get -


thanks - t

 

Get the $69 Warn 2.5 that Yamaha offers with purchase of the Kodiak,....also order you a complete set of Ricochet Skid Plates. I have this skid plate package and they are awesome! Very well built. I highly recommend. They are more heavy duty than what Yamaha offers. Plus you'll save enough cash to have your winch mounted!

 

i agree with gutbuster, aftermarket skids are the way to go, yamaha rapes you with your pants on for their skids.

 

>buying a new Kodiak 450 next week - will be riding in mountain loging roads most of the time - i also will be in very rocky area's at times - what skid plates should i get - factory offers 8 different ones -
>>

Gutbuster, thanks for the heads up on the winch deal. Slipjoint, check this Yamaha site: http://www.yamaha-motor.ca/promos/index.php?group=A It says the winch is actually FREE right now(and next week), along with other valuable promos on the Kodiak 450. The reason I'm thankful for this thread? I'm picking up my 450 Kodiak camo tomorrow am, and though I got a great deal on the unit, the dealer somehow failed to mention the winch deal and the other promos, and actually sold me the 2.5 warn package for $329.00 (list price $399.00). I can't wait to bust her chops tomorrow morning about the "oversight". I wouldn't have even known if I hadn't seen these posts.
Larry
P.S. I'm new to ATVing and this forum, too. Always wanted one (an ATV), so I'm diving in before I get too damn old. I'll also be on logging roads and pulling a trailer to clear some land. Good luck next week, slipjoint. Nice forum you all have here. Thanks

 

so far the best price i have got on a Kodiak 450 is $7,049.00 OTD - but they didn't say anything about the pro-mo either - the highest price so far was $7,780.00 for a Kodiak

got a $7,200.00 on an Outlander 400 EX - the EX comes with the winch & HD bumpers some other goodies -

dealers in my area hold pretty tight - most toss in another 450$ freight - wild doc fees set-up fee's - title fee's - sales tax is between 5 & 6 hundred bucks - i sent out 19 fax to dealer asking for a bid this morning - so far got back 5 replies

 

slipjoint,
I picked up my 450 earllier today. I went to the dealer with the print-out of the free winch promo I had found online. The salesperson, manager, and finance person all stared at the thing in disbelief, then got on their own computer and found the same page after googling "Yamaha atv promotion". After a LOT of head scratching (they had never even heard of this promo), someone realized it was from Yamaha's Canadian division, not USA. So, no free winch, etc. My apologies if that earlier link caused any problems or high hopes.
By the way, I brought the quad up to the mountains, where it's snowing pretty good. This quad is amazing, so far! Couldn't be happier!
Larry

 

Don't let them BS you at the dealer. I bought my brand new 05' kodiak 450 last july-aug and the winch or a plow was free with the quad, but I opted out and got a better price on my quad, like $6700 out the door for a special edition that stckered for $6699.

 

i laid the free winch on the dealer yesterday - same deal - they were shocked - but they also figured out it was for our friends up north - i offered them 7 grand OTD for the 450 with a 2.5 installed - they turned me down - so i e-mailed a couple other dealers - they did offer me a winch at cost but their figure was $229.00 - less than your dealer said was cost - i have been self employeed most of my life - to me profit was never a dirty word - but all these phoney numbers they come up with is what ****'s me off - added freight charge's - huge handling fee's - my favorite is DOC fee's - all this is additional dealer mark-up - Doc fee's is part of doing business - why can't they just come out and say that - even slimy car dealers admit that on their added window stickers - it's to early in the AM to go on a rant - i'll just have to wait till Tues & see what a couple other stealers come up with - right now i'm at $7,295.02 OTD for a camo with winch (camo option is 300 bucks retail)

PS - i went to see the outlander for $7200 & the guy said he made a mistake on the phone that it was 7600 OTD - i didn't say a word - i just turned and walked out - honest mistake or a stealer?????????

 

You would think they could give a etter deal than that. Yamaha is a California Company and all

 

<<[ it's to early in the AM to go on a rant - i'll just have to wait till Tues & see what a couple other stealers come up with - right now i'm at $7,295.02 OTD for a camo with winch (camo option is 300 bucks retail) >>

Your dealer is in the neighborhood of what I paid. I added the following options to my camo '06 450 (dealer had a few hundred $$$ off list sitting on the floor with a $5950.00 tag on it bone stock:
1. 4 year extended Y.E.S. Yamaha warrenty $700.00 (dealer knocked $100.00 off list)
2. rear carrier extension $73.00 ($12.00 off)
3. Warn 2.5 kit with roller fairleads (unit will arrive next week. Dealer offered free installation, but I'm too far away now; will do it myself) $339.00. Considering the rollers are extra, I thought that was a fair price.
4. Yamaha front bash plate for $93.00 (I'll probably return it, and buy aftermarket protection later)
5.Freight, dealer prep and doc fees totaled $424.00 This was quite a bit lower than the starting point where the tag showed $860.00 for these 3 items.
6. Then of course was the sales tax, 8.5% here in SF, CA. Total OTD a bit more than $8000.00

Yea, a lot of dough, and I'm sure I could have pushed a bit further on the prices, but I get to a point where I feel the deal is decent, the dealer made some money, I saved some money, and after 3 rides in the snow today on this machine (Works Great! better than expected) I couldn't be happier. I'm not a fan of extended warrenties, but bought this one so I would never need it. If I skipped the warrenty, the quad would break for sure next summer when I really need it. The warrenty keeps it from breaking is my thinking. ;-) Plus, it's REAL easy to sell something with a transferrabe warrenty attached
Larry

P.S. Squeege, you got a great deal! Is there tax where you live?