The weather in the area was typical for Washington
State with overcast skies and mild temperatures
in the 50-60 degree range, which was perfect
for the type of riding we would be doing and
rain that had fallen the day before, would help
to keep dust to a minimum.
| |
|
| The
Capitol State Forest does have some wide
open trail sections, since the trees are
harvested on a rotation cycle, and with
over 166 miles of trails, it is great
that there were plenty of signs along
the trails for navigation through the
thick forest sections |
 |
|
The Grizzly
450 features a new sealed wet brake
system with a 3 point mounting system,
which provides effortless braking that
should last the lifetime of the Grizzly
|
One of the most notable features of the Grizzly
450 EPS is its new one piece frame with a triangular
mounting system that has been redesigned to be
10 % lighter than the previous 2010 model, even
with the addition of the EPS system, and still
maintains great handling.
Yamaha has made many improvements to the Grizzly
line, including electronic power steering, but
one of the big improvements we liked was the
redesigned wet seal brake. Yamaha’s wet
brake system now includes three mounting points
for more stability and rigidity, and since it
is sealed, it keeps the braking system protected
from external elements. The wet brake system
also offers improved braking and causes less
brake wear as when force is applied to the Pinion
gear, the force is amplified through the gear
ratio, which uses less pressure, to provide
the same level of braking on lesser systems,
thus causing less heat, and in turn, less wear,
which should allow it to last for life of ATV.
 |
|
The Grizzly
450 fenders offer great protection from
the elements & the foot peg &
floorboard provide for a secure foot
hold, but the brake pedal is raised
too high above the footpeg for easy
access
|
While out on our ride we found that the brakes
worked extremely well. The unit stopped without
a lot of effort either by use of the hand or foot
brake. We did notice the foot brake was mounted
a little high up, but the hand brake was very
comfortdable to use and did not require a lot
of effort to get the machine to stop.
The Ultramatic CVT transmission works amazingly
well with the belt system and centrifugal clutch
allowing for great engine braking, which we
found to be very beneficial on steeper hills.
Instead of hitting the brakes hard and having
the tires lock up and skid, the engine braking
gradually slowed us to a manageable pace and
maintained a constant speed.
 |
|
The Grizzly
450 features 10.8" of ground clearance
& with a narrow width of 43"
it was able to climb over every obstacle
we encountered on the trails with ease
including some large rocks & logs
|
The ground clearance on the Yamaha Grizzly 450
EPS is excellent. Tower Trail, one of the many
hills at Capitol Forest, is a 500-1000 foot ascent
with lots of big rocks along the way. The Grizzly
450 EPS made it over all obstacles extremely well.
While with most machines, if you were to encounter
an obstacle on a hill, you would have to back
up and get a good run at it, but with the differential
lock, that is easily engaged by the push of a
button, the Grizzly was able to climb over anything
that was put in front of it. We do have to advise
that the differential lock does have a top speed
of 15mph, but that seems more than adequate for
any conditions that the diff lock would need to
be employed.
