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By geezer99
Well, I bought the Axis 500 sold at Lowes for $8999 a couple days ago. This post will be about my impressions as I use, fix, and abuse the machine. I will add to the post as I gain experience with it.
Thanks to other posters on this site warning of new machines with loose hardware, one of my first actions was to crawl all over it checking fluids and connections. Zirks were all freshly greased, fluids in engine, and gear boxes were up to level. One of the little gas struts that help lift the bed to dump was dangling with only one end connected, and the other strut had not been fully tightened.
Here are some things I don't like:
The rear gearbox does not have a differential in it. It is essentially a solid axle. Tight turns on lawn will leave tracks, and turns are not as tight on pavement. In my case this won't matter much, but if you plan to use it on a lawn, this will create tracks on turns.
To check engine oil you need to remove both front seats and a plastic cover. This according to the manual. I'm pretty sure it can be checked with that stuff in place, either from under or above, but that remains to be seen.
I am not used to a CVT transmission. I am used to a clutch and multiple gears. This one requires giving it plenty of gas out of the hole and then backing off to get it to shift up. I'm sure I will get used to it, but I'd like to be able to take off quietly if I want to.
The doors have bungie cords to act as springs to close them. I removed the driver door so I would not need to fight the constant pressure to close. Problem solved. I will leave the passenger door as is. Gotta keep the grandkids safe.
The status display is hard to read if the sun is on it.
Here is some stuff I like:
I was concerned about there being enough torque to slowly climb a steep hill. There is. I will elaborate more on this when I've had it on my steeper trails.
The display has dedicated lights to indicate status of gear position, low oil pressure, over temp, and a bunch of other stuff. This helps a beginner with feedback that an action taken was successful.
The sparsity of knobs on the tires dig in well on most surfaces. I bet they wear out fast on pavement.
The tilt bed has a tail gate that is easy to operate. Much like early Japan pickups.
Steering is responsive and little slack. Remains to be seen how long to get loose since the u-joints are operating at quite sharp angles.
Seats are pretty nice. Will be interesting to see how long it will take me to poke a screw driver though them.
Seat belts are included to hold grand kids in. Won't go over 5 mph if both aren't buckled. Yeah, it works to buckle them empty. Doing this leaves the belt high on back, so you don't have to sit on it.
Hauling it home, my trailer wheel wells were too close together to clear the tires of the UTV. This required driving it off center a bit, with one set of tires inside the wells and one side driving over the wheel well. Creeping over the one well required climbing a 10 inch vertical well. The ability to lock the front axle differential kept both front wheels pulling as I drove the one side up and over the wheel well. The guys at Lowes were impressed. They won't touch any but an unobstructed flat trailer loading.
As I gain more experience I will add to this topic,
tom
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By DarkRider
Hey Everybody,
I am always curious about any ATVs I haven't tried yet. I'll probably be in the market for something different soon, currently looking to sell my 05 Brute Force 750. I decided to note my favorite features of any 4x4 ATV and compile them into a list. These are all models I've had in the past, the King Quad 300 and Brute Force 750 are my current models. I'll most likely consolidate to one.
Really just wanted to get some ideas on what other people have owned in a similar range, and maybe get ideas for my idea quad (used). So far, I keep finding myself back at the 05 Yamaha Kodiak 450 or Grizzly 450. Not sure exactly what years they made which, but they seem pretty similar.
Some of the features I tend to like best (aside from durability and reliability)
Engine braking (good for hill descent) Park gear (the regular parking brakes always seem to be finicky) Mid sized engine for better fuel efficiency (Seems that anything 500 or above really starts to guzzle gas, and they fit better on narrower trails) IRS (more comfortable ride) Diff Lock (can't live without it) **Side note: I know Durability and Reliability might seem like they'd be the same, but the way I am defining them is:
Durability is how long I can go without something breaking. OR how often things break with seeming not much of a good reason. Reliability is about the on-trail experience of having everything work properly as designed (i.e. Starting up and being able to get going without much issue, the 4wd drive engages without quirks, I can park it on a hill when needing to help someone else without worrying it'll roll away, etc) My Brute Force 750 is a perfect example of why Durability and Reliability were rated so differently. With durability, I really never felt like I've had anything break on the thing that was really from riding it. Which is great in that regard. But all of the things i've had to fix on it seem more so in it's design. The infamous KEBC code on the dash that refused to go away even after completely cleaning and lubing the KEBC and confirming it functions properly. Hard starting issues. 4WD requires you to roll about 10 to 15 feet to engage, so if you get stuck in 2WD, you're in a pickle. The infamous bus connector that goes bad and stops your charging system from working. I've worked through all of these, but these are all things I'd consider reliability issues that happen really at no fault of mine as I ride it pretty gently. Writing up this list has actually put a lot into perspective for me. The King Quad 300 really is a superb quad. The inclusion of the Super Low range provides stellar engine braking down pretty much any hill you can think of, it seems like it's unmatched. It has great gas mileage, and it's been dead reliable despite being a 1994. It's got 4x4 AND Diff lock, and the semi automatic transmission also help with not letting the quad get out of control down a hill. Plus it's more fun to me and gives me a bit more to do while riding. The biggest annoyance so far has been the parking brake. No matter how much I adjust it, it just doesn't seem stay adjusted after some time. I believe this might just be flawed on these models. Also, parts availability is not the greatest on these since they don't make anything newer with any similar parts. Front axles are quite expensive, rear drive shafts go for $400 to $500 brand new, etc.
And that's where the Park gear on Yamaha's Ultramatic eliminates that issue. That's where I keep landing on the older Grizzly or Kodiak 450s. They have a park gear, IRS and Diff lock, a lot of power and they're super fun to ride (got to test one). But I'd be giving up fuel efficiency and the Super Low range. The Ultramatics still have good engine braking, but still not comparable to the Super Low on Suzuki.
With ALL that said, curious about what other people out there have had and enjoyed, and I'm just looking to get some ideas of what other smaller/mid sized quads are out there with similar features. I don't really know anything about Honda, Suzuki, or Arctic Cat models from the mid 2000's.
Curious to hear other perspectives!
Make Model Year Parking (gear/brake) Engine Braking Fuel Efficiency (mpg) IRS Diff Lock Durability (1-5) Reliability (1-5) Overall Rank (1-5) Suzuki King Quad 300 1994 Brake Super Low range 20 Yes Yes 4 4 4 Honda Rancher 350ES 2002 Brake (none?) 17.5 No No 5 5 4 Kawasaki Brute Force 750 2005 Brake KEBC Module 12.5 Yes Yes 4 2 3 Yamaha Grizzly 660 2006 Gear Ultramatic 12.5 Yes Yes 5 5 3 Yamaha Wolverine 450 2009 Gear Ultramatic 17.5 No No 4 5 3 Polaris Scrambler 4x4 4-Stroke 2002 Brake (none?) 14 No AWD 2 4 1 Polaris Sportsman 500 4x4 2000 Brake (none?) 15 Yes AWD 2 4 1 -
By ButchM
Hisun 700 EFI. Replaced TMAP sensor had broken off . Fuel pump pressure 41psi. The only way I can keep it running (and runs fine) is to close off fuel return line.
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By Callaway
I am trying to diagnose a no spark issue with my 02 Big Bear 400 and I am really hoping it is not a CDI. I have done the test on the stator and I believe that is faulty. I ordered a new aftermarket one from a the jungle website and it tested bad right out of the box so I am waiting for a different one to arrive from an ATV parts supplier. I started looking out of curiosity at CDI units and it seems if it is for a big bear you are SOL. Kodiaks, no problem. Big Bear. No such luck.
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