The Grizzly 700 has gotten such rave reviews its hard to find anyone with anything negative to say about it, but the one thing I have seen are some complaints that the front end has a tendency to push when riding aggressively around turns.

Is this because of Yamaha's unique wide-arc A arm design for this machine, or is it more likely the result of the cheesy stock tires that come standard on it? If it's the latter, would swapping to a better tire like a Mudlite help correct this?

 

I have a 700 sportsman. I also have trouble in turns when getting aggresive. I am going to try a taller rim with a shorter sidewall. To elliminate tire roll. This should help. If not Iv'e got a new set of cool rim's & tires.-lol-

 

there are post on here check out the Articat page on how to make your machine handle better ,some of it has to do with tire pressure ,and preload on the shocks ,

 

When my Grizzly 700 was stock it did not push in turns. After changing to Terracross tires it did. The problem with the Terracross tires on my Grizzly is that I decided to use the size for the rear tire (25x10x12) at all four corners, instead of using the normal front tire size (25x8x12). The extra wide tires in front help protect the rims from rocks, but they actually hurt cornering performance because they are too wide and tend to push instead of bite in and turn. My wife's Grizzly 700 with 27" XTRs doesn't push in turns because it has better tires.

Also keep in mind that some people may have adjusted their spring preload and negatively affected cornering. If front preload is increased more than rear preload the front end will not settle in and bite as well in turns.

DV

 

go to the Articat page and it's the first post .

 

I used the info from the AC post as a baseline and it made a huge difference in my Kodiak. I went to 8lbs on front tires 6 on rear and set all springs to the second softest setting.

 

A couple possible things... First, a big machine like that is not going to carve a corner like a sport machine. You didn't say if you were in 4x4 or 2x4 mode. When you are in 4x4 mode, you will get a lot more push in the corners. Secondly, teh larger teh machine, the more you have to shift your weight over the front end to get them to turn. You add speed to this, and it makes it even worse. It also depends on the type of terrain you are riding in. Sand obviously will act different than loam etc.
Tire pressures are critical as well....

And lastly, your question on tires. That is a hard one to answer. It could contribute, but I doubt it is the root problem. Yamaha has made a pretty good choice on an all terrain tire. They are not excellent in mud, or sand, or hard ground etc, but they are a good compromise. You really need to optimise your tire cloices to the terrain you are going to ride if you are a perfemance kind of guy. The stock units are acceptable under most conditions for the average person, but push the performance envelope and you may find better performance is available in the aftermarket. It all depends on how hard you ride and whether you feel you need that little extra you will get with the different tire choices.