I am looking at buying a new 2015/2016 grizzly or brute force. I can't decide which one is best for me. I ride in alabama woods. It's mostly thick and muddy but there are alot of spots where you can acually hit 60mph. I'm trying to figure out which one is faster, can get through worse (or better) situations, climbing hills and most importantly RELIABILITY!! I'm interested in what yall have to say

 

They are going to be pretty equal in ability, both with pros and cons. The v twin makes more power and sounds much tougher. Some hate Kawasaki's diff lock lever. The Yam has the best cvt belt system in the industry, and has a better chance of being reliable. Kaw sealed rear brake will be less powerful but also less maintenance. I am sure there are a few more things...

I am a bit of a Yamaha fan boy, so I would lean towards the Grizzly

Sounds like you are buying new. You are going to have a blast on either of these. Just my opinion, but factor dealership into your equation as well. The more you need them, the better they have to be. Personally, once I roll that thing off the showroom floor I don't plan to bring my machines back unless for warranty work, but if you need help for anything more than an oil change, that service dept is extremely important.

 

X2 The Brute will launch a little bit faster but both are no slouches at all. The thing some don't like (me included) is Kawasaki's way of locking up the front end in 4wd. You have to hold on to a little yellow lever that's near the left brake handle to keep it engaged. It works but I've been in situations where it would be tough to hold on to it. Like when the left side of the quad is in a deep rut in snow or deep mud. In that situation where you want to stand on the right footwell to keep it from tipping it would be difficult at best to hold on to it. The Grizzly has an extra action to perform to lock in the front end. You move a lever and push a button to fully lock it. Once locked you can leave it like that until you don't need. No need to hold on. Guy on here that goes by Specta said there is a kit to lock that little yellow lever without you having to hold on to it on the Brute. If so, I'd personally give a slight nod to the Brute. Both are great quads.

 

Of note with the Grizzly... model year 15 has a 686CC motor and model year 16 is a redesign with a new 708CC motor.

 

The Brute will be a bit quicker but top speed is about the same. The new 708cc engine in the 2016 Grizzly should make it a pretty close race compared to the old 686cc engine. But if you can still find a 2015, expect to get a much better deal. I'm sure dealers are really trying to move them. The Brute used to be much faster on top end but in 2012 gearing was changed to give it more low end. That dropped the top end speed by a few mph but in a way it gives you some room to work with if you want to go with larger tires than stock and not really lose any power. I'd go with the Grizzly myself but I lean slightly toward Yamaha too. I believe Yamaha to be more reliable as well. If only Honda made something comparable.

 

A twin is smoother for high speed riding but even the 700 single will cruise at 60 easily.

Big thumpers have more low rpm bottom end torque.

 

60 would be pushing it a bit, for either of them. If you want to cruise at that speed, you better get a 1000cc machine. Yes, they can do that speed but only for short bursts, not for miles at a time. My rule of thumb is your cruising speed should be about 75% of max speed. So something that can go 67 mph(about the top speed of a Grizzly 700), I would estimate a comfortable crusing speed of about 50 mph. Anything above that should be limited to short distances.

 

My 500 cruises at 50 without working hard and could keep it up all day long, at 55 it gets screaming and would not like it for long periods of time.

I sure though thought a 700 can cruise at 60. Of course if you riding a road like the for miles at a time you might as well leave the ATV in the back of the truck and listen to music.

 

My 660 cruises easy up until about 50. That's about as hard as I would want to push it for any length of time. Even at that speed its relatively loud though, even with stock exhaust. The fastest I've even had it up to since the new belt is about 55 mph. That was more of a check to make sure the performance was still there. It had plenty left, I just don't want to stress the engine by running it wide open very often. I would guess it would go close to 65 with the new belt but it being a big single, it takes a long time to get there. Some of the places I ride require some pavement riding to get from one trail to another. Finding a good place to park the truck at a central staging area to minimize the amount of road riding is still a good idea though. Its more to get longer range out of the quad than anything. I can go much farther on a tank of gas in the truck than the Grizzly by a factor of about 5 at least. And anytime you ride on pavement, there is a degree of danger no matter how remote you are and how little traffic. My sense of awareness is very high the whole time. There's always some idiot who would try to claim they didn't see you. I turn the lights on as well, even in the daytime. It helps especially in shaded areas, it does get a bit dark at times. My dull and faded green plastic doesn't exactly reflect sunlight that well.

 

Cruising speed has a lot to do with gearing, and most offroad ATVs are geared for mid 70s max. Mid size and smaller are geared down even more than that. 50 mph is plenty for most anything on pavement imho. If you need to go faster maybe an adventure bike would be more suited. I would also recommend fitting some of the dot approved radials if road riding is going to be that important to your needs.