grizzly 660....first ride impression

[4punksdad]

well.........my buddy has an uncle who owns a bike shop in PA.........so I guess he gets good deals on yamahas :)

first he gets a raptor.........now a grizzly.

the thing looks awesome! silver flake paint job on the plastic.......tubular racks......IRS.......chrome wheels. good looking bike.

We were hitting some small hills in this abandoned shale pit when he offered to let me ride it. I didn't have to be asked twice. The thing seemed comfy but the bars were a little tall for my liking. Having no gears to shift, felt a little odd...........I was waiting for it to shift like a rubicon. The power was smooth. It didn't feel overly powerful, but it was smooth. I don't think I could ever get used to 4 wheel independent suspension. It seemed to roll in the corners & wanted to lean badly. Maybe a stiffer shock setting will correct that feeling. Also, the front end had a ton of 4x4 push in 4-wheel drive..........but in two wheel drive it seemed to be very quick steering. The controls are a little different.........but very easy to use. The shifter on the left side of the tank is not very smooth.

my ride was brief......its a VERY nice machine.......looks are the best part of it.....end result.........I think I would buy a rubicon first............the new honda 4x4 should be exciting.

[RideRed04]

It is not an IRS thing to roll in the corners. None of the sportsman 500's I have driven do it. It is a front shock thing.

[Tommy 17]

i think y it feels like it rolling is bc the sports man has a swey bar in the back and the grizzly don't( that i know of) i had a 1999 grizzly and all i can say was one piece of crap.

[RideRed04]

The 660 has a rear roll bar, but it isnt as good as the sportsman 500/700's.

[kc 300EX]

couldnt you just tighten up the front shocks to make them a little stiffer to get rid of this problem?

[4punksdad]

stiffer shock setting might help..........but it wasn't just the front end diving, it was the whole quad leaning. I could see it plain as day when I followed him across off camber terrain.

[coryatver]

I got a chance to ride one during the summer. Me and my ridding buddy (we are both 17) went to the national forest and we were riding around and we saw 3 brand new grizzlys riding around and they stoped and asked us to ride with them so we rode and stoped to eat and they feed us and they let us take there grizzleys for a spin! I think that is crazy i would never let some 17 year old kid I don't know take my brand new 7,000 dollor 4 wheeler for a ride. They were really nice people. Thats what ATVing is all about.

[MOFO]

Well, the two guys that we ride with that HAD Raptors have traded them in on the Grizzly now. One guy has had his for a few months now. My other buddy is picking his up tonight. All you have to do is stiffen up the rear shocks to get rid of that tippy feeling (note, that is only a feeling too). There is NO way you can get the complete feeling of a solid rear axle out of a IRS system. EVEN the Sportsman does do it some...

Overall, I agree...its one HELL of a machine for a 4x4. Should be fun this winter....running around with two guys on these machines (our private tow trucks..LOL!!) ;)


Eric

[RideRed04]

Oh, yeah, I totally agree on the body roll thing, I just think the sportsman 500's are a cut above the rest. Just rode one of the sportsman a while ago (was the first time in a while) and went for the clutch... (ever driven a sportsman? they stay pretty revved up all the time)... well, the breaks work pretty good on there... hehe:D :D

[MOFO]

Yep, actually a local rider (not part of our group) has a Sportsman 500HO (yellow). I got a chance to ride it one time up at our local bar (we live in hickville). Honestly, it reminds me of the Grizzly with less power. We'll just have to see how they turn out I guess. I'm also curious to see how the new 700 twin pars up against the Kawi and Yami big boys.

I do have to be honest and admit, I have a strong bias against Polaris...dont flame me, I'm just being honest. :)


Eric

[4punksdad]

here is a pic of the new polaris. he is the one up close on the left hooking the winch to his bike...........look at the snorkels on the polaris pulling him out!

[RideRed04]

The rear one is a yellow sportsman! lol, you can barely tell! We have a yellow one, and it matches the 400ex perfectly. You have to respect the mud ability of a sportsman!

[MOFO]

Alright! I gotta admit.....that is one badass Polaris! ;)

BTW, 3Punks, I noticed that Grizzly is the "special" model with the limited silver plastic. How does it look in person...do you think its going to hold up? Is that a coating on top of the plastic?



Eric

[4punksdad]

the fenders are black on the underside. the silver is a painted finish on the outside only. they look like they will not show scratches too bad, but I noticed the silver got totally rubbed off right down to the black. this happened where another bike chafed his while on the trailer.

[Warrioreater400ex]

i havent ridden the griz 660, but i test drove a kawi prairie 650 v-twin (dont ask me why the salesman asked a 15 year old to drive it) anyways it was pretty peppy for a utility, i could bring the back end around pretty quick... but the salesman was clueless, he was like, boy thatll whip your EX 400 (didnt even say the name right).. i didnt even respond i was bout to burst out laughin. but i dont think i could ever go back to a utility.

oh yeah by the way have any of yall looked at how much better built the IRS on the Rincon is vs that crappy lookin IRS on the grizz... i mean the rincons IRS looks awesome!