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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 Sporpo
Have a 2018 Sportsman 850 SP with factory 26x10x14 rears and 26x8x14 fronts, and it is now time to replace them. So, is it reasonable to replace all four to now be the same size of 26x9x14? Replace with radials, of course, and at least 6 ply rated. And, can a 27" tire fit on the factory wheels? Thanks for any replys...i know this has been hashed and rehashed so many times, so thanks for all replys, and, yes, this bike has had a literal ton of cash put into it just to get it running again, and still needs some tinkering, but it will be a work bike, it is not a pleasure/recreational bike like it was intended to be... LOL
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By Derek4518511
Mid 80's 340 artic cat is going into a go cart just for fun i bought a new cdi unit the original plug was cut off when I got it. there is 5 wires 2 yellow, a red a white and a brown my new cdi has 5 also a lt/green a blk/wht abrwn, a black a blu/grn is there a wiring diagram I can use for reference or which wires go where a y help would be greatly appreciated jated. BTY I'm Derek and new to this forum I am actually trying to help a friend with project and learn a little in the process
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By KeysPropertyGuy
I feel credible information is important; and I personally have friends and family all over this country that share the same passion for Side by Side Adventures that I do. This article is for all of you and the " Newbee's " like myself that are just entering the SXS Market, and don't know which way to turn when it comes to fixing belt/clutch issues upon upgrading your tires on your Side by Side to handle a particular situation such as mud and swamp riding, that put high torque on your drivetrain.
In my case it is my 2021 Polaris RZR XP 1000 Premium that I just purchased. This is the product I will be speaking specifically about. This is a VERY expensive process make no mistake about it! I have over $2,500 in useless STM Powersports clutch parts, for my application and another $2,000 plus in tires and rims that I can't use, DON'T BE THIS GUY!
First, giving credit where due, Dustin (Tech at STM Powersports) was very willing and responsive when trying to make his companies product fix my issue. For those of you who are not interested in all the details. Their clutches are not designed to handle heavy mud and swamp applications period, and can't be tuned, as they advertise, to work, in my opinion. I personally have over a hundred hours of hands on testing to back that statement up. Upon further investigation, STM Powersports seems to be a snowmobile clutch manufacture out of Michigan that has morphed into building SXS clutches that apparently work on snowmobiles and sand dune SXS racing applications, they say. Can't see them being any different with other manufactures either as all that use a belt run on the same principle, but I can only speak for my Polaris Application.
My Problem- When upgrading my tire from the stock 30" tire to a 30" Aqua Torque Sand Mud Tire ( totally bad as* tire FYI ) that was EXACTLY what I needed for my mud, sand, and swamp riding here in Florida, I started burning up belts every 9 to 29 miles, which made no sense at all, so than began my research.
Solution (so I was told) - I need a " Performance Clutch " that is adjustable so that I can tune it for my particular situation/application. Made Sense, and I am mechanically inclined, being in the mechanical field over 30 years, so I thought it would be fun and I could get to learn something new at the same time. Always good to keep learning.
My Goal - To save just one person who reads this a whole lot of money, time, and aggravation. I have spent well over a 100 hrs of personal tuning and testing with guidance from Dustin from STM PowerSports, watching all their tuning video's, and using some common sense once I understood the principle of how the clutch functioned, and what adjustments effected speed, rpm, etc. etc. etc. to no resolve.
My Process - Doing some quick " Google " research " apparently I should of done a hell of a lot more, I was guided to Vivid Racing who sold me this STM PowerSports mess. They apparently are one of STM PowerSports product distributors. When I ordered this product I was EXTREMELY detailed on what I needed due to my current riding conditions, the exact make, year, and model of my Kart, my weight, and the weight, make, and size of the tire I was replacing my stock tires with. The sales rep confirmed my needs, and assured me that a STM PowerSports Clutch was what I needed, to the tune of over $2,500. As soon as I started having issues though, my Vivid Racing sales rep could not be reached anymore, would never return any of my calls, and apparently after a week of this, no longer worked there, ie I was S.O.L.
Pulling out my parts packaging I was able to find the # of the manufacture and found Dustin, a Technical Support Advisor for the Company, that also raced SXS. Any of you that want the real detailed information on the exact tuning that was done and detailed information for your own knowledge, please leave me your # and I would be happy to share all of that with you.
To make a long story a little shorter, after over a month and a half of phone calls to STM PowerSports, changing clutch weights and position on the clutch arms, primary and secondary clutch springs, and doing test runs after every single adjustment and still smokin my belts; Dustin at STM Powersports was convinced there was something wrong with my 2021 Polaris RZR XP 1000 Premium. Even though it was brand new and only had 279 miles on it at the time.
He said the transmission had to be out of alignment with the motor or something had to be binding in the transmission or drive-train. Taking his advise, and that out of the equation, I spent over $300 on a professional motor transmission alignment tool, only to re confirm that everything was spot on. I again followed his directions on his " Binding Drive-Train theory and jacked everything off the ground ( another $150 in jackstands ) just to find out that everything spun freely, nothing was binding, and nothing seemed out of order there either.
I also need to add, that during this testing " Process " I had gone thru 7 belts at approx $150 bucks a piece. I had previously installed a Razorback Belt Temp Sensor on my Kart so with every adjustment I could watch my belt temps and compare everything. The only thing I didn't know at the time (and guess it is kind of relative to your riding area, and temperature of where you are riding) is that normal temps are anywhere between 130 and 180 when really pushing it, on average for my Kart when it is running right. What I can tell you is, when it's not, at 250 Degrees your belt starts so de-laminate, 260 pieces come off, and 275 it blows up into a thousand pieces like popcorn. With this STM PowerSports clutch I could not drive down a hard packed sand road with my kart in 2 wheel low or high 4 wheel low or high for more then 9 miles before the belt temps would start hitting 250, so something was wrong; and all through this process it was never the STM Powersports Clutch, it was my 2021 Polaris RZR XP 1000 Premium.
Even after all my testing, per his direction, Dustin from STM PowerSports was still convinced it was my Kart, and not his companies product. He advised me to put all my stock parts back on, run it another time, and then get back to him.
I again agreed, but told him that the whole reason that I purchased his companies product in the first place, was that I didn't want to run my stock tires and I already knew that my stock clutch set up can't handle my new tires for some reason??? or I wouldn't have spent over $2,500 dollars buying a new STM Powersports clutch from his company. I did as he requested and here are the results.
Conclusion - My concern, I was leaving to do some serious riding on the Hatfield McCoy Trail System in West Virginia the following week. I was now praying to God that something would give! I was out of time to test his theories that were obviously just guesses at this point. My 2021 Polaris RZR XP 1000 Premium can't keep a drive-belt on it that can last 19 miles, at times, say nothing of the hundreds of miles that I was looking forward to be driving in West Virginia.
I stripped off all STM Powersports Clutch parts, put on yet another new drive-belt, installed my stock clutches an tires, and took it for one last test run at River Ranch before loading it in the trailer to head to West Virginia. As I didn't have much time and honestly at this point, I was ready to call everything off. With all the original stock set up back on, I put it to the test, with my fingers and toes crossed (translates to praying my butt off) I put the hammer down for my last afternoon of testing I had left.
I hit every mud hole, water hole, river, and small lake that I could find. If you have ever been to River Ranch in Florida you will know I didn't have to look far. I clocked ten miles, interesting, 20 miles, getting nervous now, 30 miles, it's going to blow any time now for sure, 40 miles???, now i'm kinda dumb founded! At 49 miles the belt temps were still only running 167 degrees tops, which I never had seen before. As everything was already paid and ready for West Virginia, I said the worst that could happen, is I would have to rent a Kart for the week and listen to more bashing from my friends.
Now for the BIG test. To the Appalachian Mountains where there are some real mountains and challenging situations, for real!
Results - In 6 Days I put on an additional 649 Miles, hard miles on my 2021 Polaris RZR XP 1000 Premium " just one belt " that already had 49 miles on it when I started, with not a lick of problems. The belt temperature never hit 200 degrees even after long crazy hill climbs. So, if your wondering why I am calling this product " BS " for the type of riding conditions I purchased it for, well all I can tell you is, it isn't my driving style, or an issue with my New Polaris RZR XP 1000 Premium, or the belt that I was consistently running (which Dustin Recommended I run). In my opinion it's with a STM PowerSports, a Michigan Company that is " Marketing " and " Selling " a clutch product that they have not done any proper R & D on for the application they sold it to me for, or are Marketing/Selling it to everyone else who also has Mud/Swamp riding needs. They have no problem taking your money, and your stuck with it once you purchase it, just so ya know.
To my friends an all the Newbee's like me out there, I wish I could finish this article with a solution for y'all, but for now I am out of money, time, and patience to go through this process again. I have heard rumors that Duraclutch was designed by guys that are Mud Boggers and do swap riding as well as R&D their product for this application??? If there is anyone out there that reads this and has found a " Tested " solution to my problem I would love to hear about it. The Aqua Torque Tires I purchased are an truly amazing product, they apparently just weigh more then the stock tires and STM Powersports has no business selling their product to people that mud and swamp ride in" high torque " situations. They should be letting the public know that OR " Man UP " and spend the time, money, and do the right thing, and test an develop a product that actually works for the application they are selling it for, Before they sell it. They seem to have no problem bragging that their product is made in America, while my Chinese Stock Polaris Clutch clearly out preforms their product for stock application needs, and a quarter of the cost!
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By rebeltaz
I've got an 03 Prairie 360 4x4 that needs a left front ball joint and knuckle assembly. On the diagram (from PartShark - https://www.partshark.com/oemparts/a/kaw/50a852a0f870021a9c423c20/suspension ) they show the ball joint as a part of the knuckle assembly, extending down into the lower a-arm and held on with a nut. On the four wheeler I have, the ball joint is pressed into the lower a-arm and extends upwards into the knuckle assembly and is held in place with a bolt going horizontally, clamping the ball joint in place.
Any idea on why the diagram is different and how I can find the actual parts I need?
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