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ATVriders.com
Test Rider, Roy Bloodworth, throwing
up some dust on the Grizzly 550 during
the test ride
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Once I got that out of my system, I calmed down
and treated it like a 4x4. The fire roads were
a blast and it was very easy to pitch sideways
and hit the throttle and slide through the corners.
Also we had gone up and down several thousand
feet in elevation during the ride and never noticed
any change in performance. That is due to the
YFI (Yamaha Fuel Injection). It worked just like
it was suppose to. When we got to the rocky area,
I had requested, at first I thought what was I
thinking? After giving it a once over, I picked
a line, dropped it into low, locked the dif, and
hit it. I wish someone had got it on video. I
went up the hill through the rocks like nothing.
I turned around unlocked the dif and went down.
The next trip up I didn’t lock-in the
differential and I picked a much harder line,
and up I went. This time it was a little more
difficult. I had to get on the power pretty
hard a couple times to get up a couple big rock
faces but still had power to spare, and I did
it without locking the front axle. After playing
on the rocks a while and having a blast trying
to get stuck, it was time to head back for lunch.
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| The
San Bernardino National Forest test ride
location provided a great mixture of obstacles
for testing the Grizzly 550 from water,
rocks, hill climbs, and hill climbs, which
allowed Roy Bloodworth to get a real feel
on how well the Grizzly would perform
in nearly every riding situation, and
he was really impressed at how well the
Grizzly crawled through the rocks and
through rutted trails. The Wide Arch A-Arms
provided additional ground clearance and
the engine provided plenty of torque for
negotiating the obstacles with ease especially
with handlebar mounted “On-Command”
push button 2wd/4wd/diff lock available
for quickly engaging the differential
lock or 4wd for maneuvering over more
technical terrain
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On the ride back I reflected on how well it
did on the rocks. Plenty of ground clearance
it never got hung up and power to climb everything
I threw at it. As we descended some pretty steep
trails I rarely used the brakes due to the great
engine braking available on the Grizzly. As
soon as you let off the throttle you could feel
the engine slowing you down, even on long steep
grades. As we arrived back to camp it was food
on! I devoured my share plus anything left alone…
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The
EPS (Electric Power Steering) on the Yamaha
Grizzly 550 made a huge difference on
the trails as it helps absorb the handlebar
kick back from roots, rocks, and stumps
that the front tires bounce off while
going down the trail, which reduces rider
fatigue and also improves overall handling |
After lunch everyone wanted to head to the
lake, so we regrouped and headed out. These
were different trails than we had been on in
the morning. We had seen a lot of off camber
descents and rain rutted inclines. We definitely
put the new Grizzly 550 through some good rough
test. After about a 3 hour ride down to the
lake and back, 31 miles round trip. I was still
feeling good. I wanted more but it was time
to go back to the Hotel and gorge myself on
food and drinks, again! All that night, I couldn’t
help thinking to myself and out loud at how
well the new Grizzly 550 performed, and I was
amazed at how much of difference the EPS made
in handling and reduced arm fatigue after several
hours of riding. I never had any problems navigating
trails, rocks or ruts and after a full day of
riding the Grizzly550 4x4 utility quad, and
I could still use my arms and that nice plush
seat didn’t hurt either!
In the end, I would have to say Yamaha has once
again hit the mark with its Grizzly 550, and
all the extra features from EPS down to the
Gull designed arms and new CV boot material
show the extra mile Yamaha went in the development
of the Grizzly 550, and we give it a big thumbs
up.
