I posted this on the Polaris forum also. I would like to hear from anybody with experience driving the new Grizz 700. Read the post and tell me if the new power steering is as good as I've read in the magazines.


Hi guys, I've been reading this forum for a while, but this is my first post. I was wondering if any of you feel like the polaris atv's have a greater amount of bump steer than other brands?
I have been riding for about a year now, and have noticed what I think is a large amount of handle bar jerking when you hit roots or rocks (not boulders or anything excessively large).
This weekend I was riding with two friends, I was bringing up the rear. My 2 friends went up a slightly steep hill with no problem (one has a 97 suzuki lt4wd 250, the other a Can-Am 800 max). I started up the hill which made a slight turn at the top, and hit a small stump about 4 inches high with the left front tire. The handle bar jerked extremely hard hitting me in the stomach which caused my other hand to jab the throttle. Next thing I know I'm on the ground the 700 is on its side and my right arm is pined under the front tire. Luckily my friends did not go to far before they realized I was not with them came back and lifted the atv off of my arm. I was unharmed other than a few scratches and a bruised ego. This really scared the S@#! out of me and I rode only about ten more minutes before calling it a day. Am I the only one that thinks the bump steer is excessive? My friends hit the same root and could not believe what happend to me. I was not going too fast and was paying attention to my driving. Thanks in advance for your opinions!!

 

Unfortunately, I've only ridden the new 700 around the dealership. (they don't have the one I want in yet) so my response will be limited...

The powersteering for the griz doesn't give you power all the way from say inline, to full left or full right. Instead, it's designed to give you that first few inches of steering in either direction to assist in that 0 to 5mph accelleration just to get you pointed in the right direction to help get out of the "stuff" or around something. It should greatly assist the "bump steering" when hitting say that stump you talked about. However, if for some reason the stump catches the tire just right and forces the tire out of that "cushion" of where the power steering stops assisting, you could potentially have the same results you had. What I don't know, is if it is setup to control that "jerking" of the handlebars/wheels when put in that situation, by restricting the speed at which the handle bars can turn full left or full right in dif-lock 4wd... Maybe someone that owns one will be able to help better answer that question...

hope this helps...

 

The Grizzly 700 has less bump steer than any other utility ATV I have ridden, which is most of them. I can't say there is no bump steer at all, but it is certainly minimal. At high speeds the power steering won't completely eliminate the impact due to a split second delay before it dampens the impact out. And when you are completely stopped the power steering doesn't help too much, being as I think it only adds assist when the ATV is moving at least a little. So when rock crawling and needing to do a twelve point turn in order to turn around with the locker engaged, you still have to put some effort into steering. The power steering is nice, and it does work, but even it isn't perfect.

 

DesertViper, So far how do you like your 700 Grizz? Any 1st year issues you've heard about or experienced?

I have ridden a few other atv's and have never experienced the amount of handle bar jerking I feel with my Polaris 700. I read an article at atvscene about the new Grizz, and they make out like the eps is the most amazing thing since sliced bread. If you have seen the article, I would be interested if you agree with there points and if not how have your experiences have been different. I hate to ask so much of you, but so few actually have seat time on the new Grizz. I am seriously considering trading my Polaris for the new 07 grizzly.
Here is the link to the article.

http://www.atvscene.com/machines/yamaha/grizzly-07.html

Thanks for your help!!

 

Interesting article. Thanks for the link. It is pretty much like he says, but his description is more flowery than I would describe it. It is true that it adds no assist when sitting still (like on my 12 point turn example). And it is true that assist, and therefore dampening effect, decreases at higher speeds. At 40 to 50 mph speeds I had to get used to it, because there is a split second delay before the power steering damps out the impact, and I would react on my own by the time the power steering reacted, and I tended to over react, just like people do when they fall asleep driving, and drift off the road, but not anywhere nearly as bad. Within a few hours I had quit over reacting though, because all I needed to do was relax a little bit, and put more faith in the Grizzly. I do not agree that the power steering is better than a steering dampener at dampening out impacts. We have a Precision steering dampener on our YFZ 450 that is adjustable seperately for low speed and high speed dampening. And we have power steering on our Grizzly 700. No contest which one does the best job of dampening out high speed hits. You can tag a big rock wide open on the YFZ and it doesn't even flinch. And since the high speed dampening is turned up, but not the low speed dampening, it steers with essentially the same effort as stock. The Grizzly 700 would certainly be alot better at preventing the problem you had with your 700 than other utility ATVs would be though.

 

Thanks DesertViper

I also think the fact that the new 700 is about 160 pounds lighter than my sportsman would make a huge difference in the way it handles. I'm 5'10" and about 175lbs, and sometimes my sportsman can be a real bear to handle. Plus if I ever flip again, I would rather have a 600lb machine to worry about rather than a 760 lb monster.

Any problems with your Grizzly, and how is yamaha when it comes to warranty work?

 

DesertViper, Have you had a chance to top out your griz yet and does it have alot of power?

 

Proper tire pressure is also part of the equation.

 

Street track & Trail has 2 grizzly 700's camo.....no buyers yet... sticker at $8399

 

It tops out at 64 mph, and has enough power. Warranty on Yamaha's is as good as any brand, and better than Polaris or Honda in my experience. I have had no problems so far with the 700, at 400 miles and counting.