3TV,
How do you like the new Yamaha 450 Kodiak in comparsion to the Prarie? Other than the much more powerful engine how would you compare them?
Thanks

 

I would never buy another kodiak now that they went back to REAR drum brakes. Yamahas drum brakes are useless and you might as well take them off and save the weight.

 

Mar the Kodiak has disc brakes.

 

Well to decide you have to look at what kind of riding you are going to be doing. the prarie is a sportier quad with the v-twin engine and the swing-arm suspension in the rear. the grizz is more of a deep woods/work machine because of the IRS, which makes for a smoother ride. keep in mind the prarie does not come standard with a rear hitch. I started to ask the same question a year ago. six months later i decided on the grizz because it fitted my riding style better.
just my observation but it seems that the prarie had more problems in the early going, i'm not shure where they stand now.
On a side note i think the quest is too overpriced, that is why i never concidered them.

 

I never stop when I put my Grizzly in 4x4. You only have to stop when you engage the locker.

 

New for 2003 Yamaha Kodiak ultramatic 400 and 450 have a nice big DRUM brake on the back. Go to your dealer and look. The web page has it as disk in the written but in the specs it also says drum.

Yamaha drum brakes are paperweights. Just for that reason i would not buy one. I cant stand a machine with sub par brakes.

 

3tv which one do you like better, your 650 Prairie or your 450 Kodiak?

 

After riding our 650 for a few hours last Saturday I would have to agree. I bought the 650 for my wife. It has the stability she needs. She didnt let me ride it any Sunday.

 

Hey Mar, straight from the yamaha web site:
Large-diameter ventilated hydraulic front and solid rear disc brakes deliver tremendous stopping power in a variety of conditions.

I can't believe that you would buy a quad based stricktly on the brakes, or on any one feature for that matter. seems like it would be hard to find the perfect quad that had no flaws at all. do you own a quad?

 

Sorry. The 450 remains disk but the 400 ultra is fully sealed drum.

There are three things I look at when buying a quad. Engine, Brakes, Suspention. And in that order.

Brakes are more importent then anything. Ever climb a hill and loose your engine only to roll backwards.

But its not only that. You obvousily never had a yamaha with rear drums. HAHAHA. POS.

Im talking about my 1996 kodiak, 2000 Grissly. And yes I also have a 2002 Grissly 660 with disk and had a 2000 kodiak with disk which needed replacment every day but worked when they were good.