Has Yamaha made any design changes for the 2003 Grizzly to address some of the issues that owner's have mentioned on these forum?
.
1. Boiling Gas?
2. Water entering belt housing easily? (I've seen this myself)
3. Stalling/sputtering issue in water?

I don't know the nature of these issues that others have mentioned since I don't own a Grizzly. I am considering a 2003 Grizzly or a 2003 Sportsman 500 as a second quad due to the fact that they have IRS and I want the smoother ride. From what I understand the Grizzly will give me the power I'm accustomed to with my Prairie 650. The Sportsman 500 has adequate power also although not as much as the Grizzly (the fact that it has less power is an issue for me). I don't want the sp700 for many reasons. I am concerned about the narrow rear track of the Grizzly. Have you guys found it stable for the riding you do?

"IF" the issues above are valid for the Grizzly then Yamaha Must address them.
Has Yamaha made changes to address the above issues?

Thanks for your help and information.

 

as far as i know there has not been many design changes. as far at the boiling gas issue goes that is only a problem when working your machine at very low speeds on a moderately hot day. when i take my grizz log skidding i just take the two side panels off to allow for heat dissipation(takes 10 seconds). however they did put a larger radiator on to help with this "problem". and for the water issues i have never had any besides the sputtering, i put some di-electric grerase on the spark plug and have not had any problems since.

P.S. good call on not getting the 700, i know a dozen people who owned them and traded them in for a grizz.

 

I read somewhere that they didn't have any "design changes" per-say for the 2003, but I did read that they added more insulation under the tank to reduce the boiling gas situation. They also beefed up the floorboards on the 2003. I have not had any problems with mine yet, but I haven't ridden when it has been really hot out.

Lsnake68I, you said that they added a larger radiator. Do you mean that the 2003 has a larger radiator than the 2002? If so where did you find this out? Thanks.

 

Thanks for the responses.

3tv,
Was it boring because it lacked power compared to the Grizzly, or was there another reason?

Thanks.

 

Thanks for the responses guys.
It seems like the boiling gas issue was taken care of by the addition of a heat shield by Yamaha on the late 2002's and all 2003's.
The sputtering in water seems like it was from steam coming off the engine when going through water. In what way was the steam causing sputtering?

What about the reports of water entering the belt housing easily. I've seen this myself. Has this been addressed?

I seen reports on this forum of rims bending easily. Are the rims weaker than they should be?

Are there any current design issues with the Grizzly that I haven't mentioned?

Thanks for your help.

 

jefffoxsr, the steam causes the Grizzly's engine to sputter by temporarily affecting the fuel/air ratio as it rises and is ingested into the intake. Once the steam is gone, the fuel/air ration returns to normal, and so does the engines performance.

As far as water in the belt housing, I have know idea about this, as I haven't seen it, and have only read a couple of complaints about it. If you take any of them deep enough you will get water in there.

As far as the Rim's on the Grizzly, in the last shoot out between the Grizzly 660, the Prairie 650, and the Rincin 650, they said that the Grizzly's rims were very strong and well made which is more than they said about the other two, so I'm not for sure where you heard otherwise. You can bend a steel rim if you hit it hard enough on the rocks.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but you can tear any quad up if you try hard enough, or if you just plain abuse it. All the top quads will have something or another to worry about, so just pick the one that appeals to you the most, you won't regret it, no matter which one it is.

 

Thanks Area 51

 

jefffoxer, I was wondering why you would consider a sportsman 500 and not an 700? The 700 and the 660 are a closer comparison. I agree with 3TV that the 500 is boring I mean the ride is great but when you hit the thorttle nothing happens. This is not the case with the 700, other than the water pump cover that Polaris has fixed I love the machine. I do think I would like the Grizzly also, maybe trade my 500 for a new Grizzly[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I might have to wait awhile for that. I love the looks of the Grizzly and I have always had good luck with Yamaha products I wish they would follow polaris and put some decient stock tiries on it .

 

The reason I'm considering the 500 over the 700 is based on the many posts I've read about 700 bugs.
I've read posts on this forum of people who had the 500, sold it and bought the 700, then sold the 700 to buy another 500.
Other present 700 owners have said on this forum that they wished they had stayed with the 500.
I don't know all the rational behind their statements and actions, but I have to take them somewhat seriously. I get the impression that Polaris has worked out most of the bugs on the 500. This gives me some confidence. Probably in a few years it will be the same for the 700.
Thanks

 

hey jeff,
the changes i have heard of, streight from yamaha's service rep is...
rejetted to solve the sputtering issue some have had. this does work, couse once i rejetted, no more sputtering.
went from universal joing on the front driveshaft, to a c.v. style main front shaft? why, i'll never know, lol.
the axles are differant on all 4 tires, differant part no. and all. dont know if its wider, or narrower.
heat shields wrapping the gas tank, and fuel line.
havent heard of a larger radiator, but who knows.
floorboard supports, witch work much better.
the best think you can due to the grizzly, right after the purchace, is a side panel mod. yamaha actually has a design template for anyone to trace and cut. this allows heat, and steam to excape.
next would be tires. i like my stockers for hard pack riding, but i also have titan's for the mud, lol.
the engine and suspencion on the griz is vary well done. the plastic is fairly strong, but flexes alot.
if you do deside to buy a grizzly, i'l recommend a dealer for ya, and tell ya a story about a dealer that would surly keep ya away!!!
as for the riding. i have itp rims, witch have an offset of 4 inch compared to stock. big differance!!! the stock rims are pritty good, and the stability is sure footed with the adjustable suspencion.
i still say the grizzly is no dought the best all around 4x4 quad made. it might not have a v twin, but it offers the bast all around performance out there. just my opinion though, so noone bite my head off, lol
good luck!!!