Well after much deliberation, I had previously decided that when I could afford it, I'd head on down to my local honda dealership and get a new Rin. However, I didn't expect that in my never-ending quest to surround myself with quad pix, info, videos, etc. I would come across something that would turn that idea upside down.

Well yes, I am thinking about a 660 griz. I know the 700 is out, I know it has fuel injection and power steering... but theres still some appeal to the 660. After going back to my archives of years worth of magazines, I find several articles talking about the new griz 660. At the time, it seems that it was one of the most exciting machines the testers had ever ridden. They praised its torquey engine, comfortable ergos, sporty handling and undeniable 4x4 abilities. It seems however, that over the years, before the 700 was released and the 660 was faced with ever improving competition, it fell behind and began drawing criticism for its minor lack of comparitive power, uncomposed suspension and tippy feeling in off cambers.

Now of course, the mags are raving about the new 700, and I will admit that on paper, it is certainly a superior machine in almost all aspects. But, there's 3 things that make the 660 a great machine in my eyes.

1. It has a great motor, though detuned, it is still the 660 found in the raptor, with which I have lots of personal experience.. Though the new 700 is of course dramatically more powerful, I might suggest that the fact that the 660 has a carb will make it somewhat easier to service, or adress problems personally without having to take it to the shop, and the FI system most likely has balanced the power and torque curves, making it a smoother machine. What if I want a monster? What if I want that power to come on strong up top like the 660 should? Though more powerful on paper, is the 700's power as exciting as the 660's is?

2. The looks. I'm just not sold yet on the 700. It is a better machine on paper, but theres a definate appeal to the looks of the old boy. The new 700 might grow on me, many things have in the past, but I'm kind of a sucker for childhood obsessions. I loved banshees from the first time I saw one, now I have one. Same with the gixxer. Now the new griz is still a griz, but its not the one I fell in love with. (yes im too young to be interested in the original 600).

3. The simplicity. The new griz boasts new gadgets and gismos, but does that really make it a better machine? The old griz was more than enough at the time it was introduced, why do I need EFI? Why do I need EPS? Honestly since I'm not all that interested in those for application, they just serve as more potential problems. And of course being that the 700 is in its first year of production, those problems are more likely to arise now than ever. The old griz has had all the bugs worked out.

Main point, why would I need anything more? The 660 was and is a great machine, so why listen to the magazines try to sell me the newest, most expensive machines when theres such a great alternative? Oh and 4. Money. It's not the most important thing in the world. I would gladly pay more to get the superior machine so that I can keep it for years and years without regrets that I bought the 660 when for only $1k more I could have had a far better machine. So my main question to you is, what's so great about the 700?

 

The 660 is a great machine as long as you don't spend a lot of time going slow on it. The main reason for this that with extended periods of slow driving is where you can have boiling gas / vapor lock issues with it. However this has not been a problem for me (with my '02 660 that I've had since new) since nearly all of my trail riding is fast enough to avoid this problem. The only time I've seen it is when I do a lot of log dragging (from the woods to my firewood processing area). I used to have this problem when I used it to pull a mower for hours at a time too. Other than that, it's a great all purpose trail machine. On the 700 the fuel storage tank has been relocated away from the main heat source (it's under the seat now instead of wrapped around the engine), which also lowers the center of gravity of the machine so that problem has been eliminated.

Now enter the 700. If you have any friends that have one, beg for a ride on it. Just about every person that has ridden mine almost immediately start laughing when they start out because the EPS becomes apparent right away. Where EPS really shines is on a rough trail, steering is a breeze plus there is some steering dampening effect as well. This feature will result in less rider fatigue especially if you like brisk trail riding. I haven't seen much of an advantage with the EFI so far, I haven't been on enough long distance rides to see if the fuel economy is noticably improved, nor have I been to where there are significant elevation changes yet (but all of that will be coming down the road). The 700 just feels lighter on it's feet (it's not, but it just feels that way) and it definitely has better high speed handling manners than the 660 does (this includes cornering and shock absorption when landing after flying off something like an erosion hump jump.

Since I have both I can say I definitely prefer the 700 and to me it's worth the extra price...

 

Well like I said, I will admit the 700 is a better bike, so of course I'll still be considering it. I do wonder what happened with the handling characteristics of the 660 after adding the c-series wheels and dirt devils.. Also, I have heard that the EPS can be detrimental to handling in certain types of terrain (snow, ice, sand). Have you had the 700 in any of those conditions? Although I have the banshee for the dunes, I could see myself taking the griz to the dunes once or twice, just to ride with friends on less dune-friendly machines. And of course I'm dying to get out in the snow with a good 4x4, the last thing I want is for the steering to be excessively loose or keeping me from getting necessary feedback to read the terrain.

 

I added C-Series wheels with Dirt Devil tires to my 660 very early on, but I also took off my anti-sway bar at the same time. So any handling advantage the wheels / tires gained were counter-acted by removing the anti-sway bar. However removing the bar gives me better rear suspension articulation (great for the rough stuff) and I preferred that advantage over better high speed handling characteristics (I had other machines for going faster).

So far I have not tinkered with my 700 other than changing wheels and tires and adjusting the FI parameter from the pod (i.e. the anti-sway bar is still in place), but the suspension works better on the 700 (absorbs shock better and is less prone to bottoming out when compared to the 660. The quality (smoothness of the ride) is a little better on the 700 too.

Now I haven't had the 700 in deep snow yet, just snow that was a few inches deep. I can say that I noticed no ill effects associated with the EPS (from slow up to around 40+ MPH). It was very easy to do donuts in the snow too. As for ice, I'll find out this weekend!...

 

I own an 02 Griz and before I bought my 07 700, I owned an 06 660... I think they're a great machine... I think the body roll is a lil exaggerated on the older models... Yeah it's there... but some people make it out to be horrible... When you toss some bigger aftermarket tires it's really not much of an issue at all... (I personally wouldn't go bigger than 27" tires without putting on an aftermarket exhaust) It's a very reliable quad, and has plenty of power to get you thru the thick stuff... (be sure to wire up the reverse rev-limiter override mod to give you plenty of power when trying to back out of a hole)

Bottom line... because of all of it's features, I would take the 660 over several other brand's Fuel Injected quads...
That of course is just my opinion, based off of my experiences with the other brands...

 

Thanks Hebs, sounds like it's still a decent machine. If I remember right, the 660 has preload adjustable suspension.. Would it noticably improve the stability if I maxxed it out all around? I would gladly sacrifice a bit of ride softness for turning stability. I really doubt I'll end up doing much modding. In a way that's why I think the 660 would be good for me, cause I'm sure I wont even push that bike to it's limits, let alone the 700. At some point I'm sure I'll end up putting on some more agressive tires, but I'll probably stick to 26's.

 

Suspension/Front Independent double wishbone, 7.1? travel w/5-way preload adjustment

Suspension/Rear Independent double wishbone, 9.5? travel w/5-way preload adjustment

Yeah... you can stiffen it up some...

 

I also stiffened up my sus. on my 04 Griz to the max. I weigh 270 now and I like the way it handles , I did the exhaust ,jet kit , and air filter , and 27 and 26 ' tires. well I ended up putting it all back to stock and the modded version was a little stronger but not worth all the $$$ I still have the 26" tires on it The thing is a beast in stock form really no need to mod.It is a great quad, not as strong on acceleration as the 02 Prairie I had but the same top speed. I dont really know that I have ever had a problem with the boiling gas, but I have heard of the prob. I did have charging probs, and replaced a stator. ok now for the most part I have enjoyed my Griz and the 1850 mi.s that I have rode it.I feel it has the best clutch set up of any brand, you have to start the belt on fire to actually burn it up. HA!!! GOOD LUCK IN YOUR DECISION.

 

I bought a new 660 Grizzly in 2005 after riding a friends 04 model one day on a rough and rocky trail. I sold the Hondas and went straight to the Yamaha dealer. Due to a bad back, I couldnt ride but about 30 to 40 hard miles in a day on the Hondas. The Grizzly I have taken to Coal Creek Tennessee and road over a hundred miles in two days. I ride hard and love the technical stuff. The Griz 660 is awesome. I run the after market mag wheels and larger tires and have had no problems with tipping over, and I ride stupid lots of times! I dont like to be outdone even though I am now 50 years old, the grizzly makes me ride better due to the excellent handling, great power bone stock, and unbelievable 4wd capabilities. The only mod I have made is to raise the needle in the carb one notch. When in Tennessee I had problems with boiling the fuel in the carb as you often hear about. After raising the needle one notch, no jet changes at all, I have experienced better bottom end power and no more problems at all. I have about 700 hard miles on it and love it more and more everytime I get to ride.

 

Tough question. I absolutely LOVE my 660. The looks, the power, everything. I can't get it stuck, especially with the new MudLites I just put on it. I was looking for something smaller when I came across my 660, and now glad I bought it. But I've been reading alot about the 700, especially before it came out. Everyone was very leery about buying a 1st year model with the new changes to it. Now that it's out, all you hear is how great it is, and how other manufacturers will probably follow suit with their models in the next few years. Sounds like Yamaha got it right the first time. I'd say go with the 700, although you won't go wrong with the 660 either. Good luck!