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Showing posts with label test. Show all posts
Showing posts with label test. Show all posts

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Yamaha Grizzly 700 Off-Road Trail Review: 2007-2008-Everything ATV UTV Reviews

Hang On!  We just finished our test of a 2007 Grizzly 700.  Back in the year this quad debuted power steering on a ATV was a new concept and Yamaha pioneered a system that just plain worked.  The 700 engine began phasing out the older 660 Grizzly engine, offered more displacement and the addition of fuel injection.

The 2007-2008 Grizzly 700 models are identical and minor system updates continued through 2015 until the release of the new Grizzly 700 in 2016.  During our test we found the 2007 Grizzly 700 to be a solid performer, even years after it's launch.  We pushed the Grizzly hard throughout our test and it performed better than some of the newer larger makes and models we've recently tested.

The 700 Grizzly stands out in the following areas.
 - Overall Comfort
- Suspension
- Belt Drive (Ultramatic)

Comfort is a area that encompasses many good characteristics on Grizzly 700.  When you first sit down on the Grizzly we noticed the seat is memory foam soft, much like the Polaris quads.  The handlebars sit up nice and tall, myself at more than six foot tall, I was able to sit upright, not leaned forward.  The power steering on the Grizzly 700 is just awesome, easy to steer and no harsh feed back through the handlebars in the rough stuff.

The Independent Suspension on the Grizzly 700 is plush and at the same time just stiff enough to allow for more advanced riders to get technical.  The arching a-arms allow for massive ground clearance and moderate jumps are soaked up effortlessly by the long travel.  Similar to the 750 King Quad, the harder you push the Grizzly the smoother and more predictable it gets.

The Ultramatic fully automatic CVT belt driven transmission is electric smooth.  A big factor in the smooth delivery is a wet clutch setup that engages the primary clutch.  Engine braking is near perfection, is not overly felt when slowing down, but you can tell it's there without throwing you forward.

Another notable mention is the Grizzly 700 engine.  The engine is a single cylinder and puts out good strong power, especially once you get it moving.  It really pulled strong once we got it moving, but lacks the punch of a twin cylinder from a dead stop.  We found it pulled through the power band quicker than some of the other single cylinder big bore quads, but was not as smooth running.  With more than a 5 gallon fuel capacity the Grizzly 700 will get much better fuel mileage on a single fill up versus the twins cylinders.

Over-all the 700 Grizzly is a major contender in the used big bore market and they appear to hold their value better than some of the competition.   Below is the specs for the 2007-2008 Grizzly 700 and Everything ATV UTV Reviews test video:


Engine Type  Single-Cylinder
Cylinders  1
Engine Stroke  4-Stroke
Cooling  Liquid / Air
Valves  4
Valves Per Cylinder  4
Valve Configuration  SOHC
Bore (mm/in)  102 / 4.02
Stroke (mm/in)  84 / 3.31
Displacement (cc/ci)  686 / 41.9
Compression Ratio  9.2:1
Starter  Electric
Fuel Requirements  Regular
Fuel Type  Gas
Carburetion Brand  Mikuni
Fuel Injector  Yes
Fuel Injector Size (mm)  44
Carburetor  No
Carburetion Type  Fuel Injected
Speed Governor  No
Transmission:  
Transmission Type  Continuously Variable (CVT)
Primary Drive (Front Wheel)  Shaft
Primary Drive (Engine / Transmission)  Belt
Reverse  Yes
Transmission Brand  UltraMatic™
Hi / Low Range  Yes
Wheels & Tires:  
Wheels Composition  Aluminum
Front Tire Diameter (in)  25
Rear Tire Diameter (in)  25
Chromed  No
Tire Brand  Dunlop®
Front Tire Width  8
Front Wheel Diameter  12
Rear Tire Width  10
Rear Wheel Diameter  12
Front Tire (Full Spec)  Dunlop® AT25 x 8 - 12
Rear Tire (Full Spec)  Dunlop® AT25 x 10 - 12
Brakes:  
Front Brake Type  Dual Hydraulic Disc
Rear Brake Type  Dual Hydraulic Disc
Engine Braking  Standard
Suspension:  
Front Suspension Type  Independent Double Wishbone
Front Travel (in/mm)  7.1 / 180.3
Front Adjustable Fork Pre-Load  Yes
Front Adjustable Rebound Damping  No
Front Central Suspension Strut  No
Steering Damper  No
Front Stabilizer Bar  No
Rear Suspension Type  Independent Double Wishbone
Rear Travel (in/mm)  9.5 / 241.3
Rear Adjustable Shock / Spring Pre-Load  Yes
Rear Adjustable Rebound Damping  No
Number Rear Shock Absorbers  2
Rear Suspension Material  Steel
Rear Stabilizer Bar  No
Air Adjustable  No
Steering:  
Steering Type  Manual
Steering Control  Handlebar
Technical Specifications:  
Length (ft)  6.78
Width (in/mm)  46.5 / 1181.1
Height (in/mm)  48.8 / 1239.5
Wheelbase (in/mm)  49.2 / 1249.7
Turning Radius (ft)  10.5
Ground Clearance (in/mm)  11.8 / 299.7
Length (ft/ft)  6
Length (ft/in)  9
Dry Weight (lbs/kg)  600 / 272.2
Towing Capacity (lbs/kgs)  1212 / 549.8
Fuel Capacity (gal/l)  5.3 / 20.1
Engine Displacement to Weight (cc)  1.14
Seats:  
Seat Type  One-Piece
Adjustable  No
Seat Material  Vinyl
Seat Location  Driver
Folding  No
Seat Height (in/mm)  35.6 / 904.2
Number Of Seats  1
Exterior:  
Frame  Steel
Body Material  Plastic
Floor Board Location  Driver
Hand Grips  Standard
Foot Peg Location  Driver
Brush Guard  Yes
Radiator Guard  No
CV Boot Cover  Yes
Front Fender  Standard
Rear Fender  Standard
Handlebars  Standard
Front Bumper  Standard
Bash Plate (Front/Rear)  Yes / Yes
Full Length Skid Plate  Yes
Instrumentation:  
Digital Instrumentation  Standard
Clock  Standard
Trip Odometer  Standard
Speedometer  Standard
Hour Meter  Standard
Temperature Warning Type  Light
Fuel Level Warning Type  Gauge

Monday, March 28, 2016

SPORTSMAN 800 Off-Road Trail Review

Recently we tested the 800 Sportsman by Polaris.  The Sportsman 800 last production year was in 2014 and the 800 twin cylinder monster was replaced by the ProStar Series of power plants.  There are many good Sportsman 800's floating around in the used market place and they may be the most underrated ATV we've tested.

I'll start this review by debunking my own dated perspective of Polaris ATV's coming into this review.  Back in the 90's we rode with several Polaris ATV's.  This was a time when Polaris was just coming into the Kentucky market place and they were still getting the bugs worked out.  During those years we witnessed many of those early Polaris ATV's breaking down frequently on the trail.  Engines coming apart, CVT belt issues and other drive line failure was fairly routine.  Not only that, but heard stories of the dealership not being able to fix certain failures and ultimately leaving owners with a oversized paper weight.

Those were the early days of the Polaris ATV's and since then it's obvious they have came a long, long way in performance and reliability.  Certainly have been impressed at the build quality and common sense engineering of our Sportsman 800 test ATV.  As with any quad we test there are areas that really impress us at Everything ATV UTV Reviews.
  • Engine
  • Suspension
  • 4wd System
Engine: The 800 twin cylinder power plant comes to life hassle free with help from the fuel injection system.  Once started it sounds okay, but not like a V-Twin Brute Force or Can-Am.  The engine does however deliver quick acceleration and ample torque to raise the front end at will and power through and over the toughest terrain.  The 800 Sportsman will not leave you wanting more power and if you can go wide open throttle for more than eight seconds you must be on the highway.


Suspension:  The 800 Sportsman is one of the most comfortable smoothest riding quads we've tested.  The seat is soft and similar to laying down on a memory foam mattress, but never bottoms out.  The Sportsman 800 has massive ground clearance and fully independent suspension at all four corners with big time wheel travel.  Simply put the Sportsman has one of the smoothest and trail capable suspension setups in the business.

4wd System:  Polaris refers to their 4wd system as AWD or All Wheel Drive.  They call it this because their 4x4 system actually delivers true four wheel lockup.  No limited slip action at the front differential where only one tire spins.  The system is simple and requires only a flip of the handle bar mounted switch to engage.  The Sportsman 800 we tested rarely had to be switched into AWD just due to its ability to power through and over obstacles with the 800 twin cylinder engine and tremendous ground clearance.

With all the capability of the Sportsman 800 there was one feature that would take some getting used to.  The single lever braking handle on our Sportsman test quad worked great and it is simple to slow the quad, but it's not what we're accustom to.  Some more seat time on the atv would undoubtedly make the feature more comfortable for folks like us who are accustomed to the independent front-rear braking handles on other atv's.

  • Other notable mentions on the Sportsman 800 would be ease of maintenance, ample storage compartments, tough front valence, winch pre-wiring and a built in rear receiver hitch.
In conclusion, the Sportsman 800 really delivers a great package and is nothing like the pioneering Polaris ATV's.  If you're looking for a used ATV that has all the right ingredients the Sportsman 800 is certainly one to consider. -Everything ATV UTV Reviews

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Polaris Ranger 800 Popping and Sqeeking Noise in Front End Suspension: How to check Ball Joints

So you're Polaris Ranger is well broke in and while trail riding you begin hearing the popping, squeaking and just irritating noise coming from the front end. Recently we replaced all four ball joints on a Ranger 800 Crew, uppers and lower ball-joints.  To check your ball-joints raise the front end of the Ranger with a jack.  With the pressure no off all the joints you can simply grab the tire and check for movement.  This video demonstrates how to check the ball-joints on a Polaris Ranger.  We were able to successfully change all the joints with basic tools that included: hammer, socket, snap ring pliers, hand held MAP gas torch and a lot of banging around.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

GBC Afterburn ATV Tire Review, Watch them in action!

The Afterburn atv tire is a 6 ply Radial sold by GBC and manufactured in Indonesia.  GBC has been making off-road ATV tires for many years now and hits include the long standing Dirt Devil.  Watch Our Video Review.  Recently we had the opportunity to really push the limits of the Afterburn tire mounted on a solid rear axle Brute Force 650.  Once mounted and trail riding you'll quickly discover that these tires ride very comfortably, much smoother than some of the biased constructed tires we've tested in the past.  Climbing hills with the Afterburn is effortless, they grip well and allow just a bit of spin out so you can keep in the throttle.  One can easily spin around in a doughnut if the situation allows and come back into traction as you release the throttle.  They handle moderate jumps well and land predictably.  Rocks and hard pack are where these tires really shine and chew up the terrain without effort.  They also handle well at high speeds and braking is predictable.  We are big fans of the all around atv tire and these perform about as well as anything we've tested, including the Bighorn 2.0 by Maxxis.  In conclusion we'd say the Afterburn ATV Tire is an incredible choice for a ATV Tire if you're looking for something that is just an all around performer with incredible ride quality.

The Afterburn from GBC Tires is an extraordinarily performing radial ATV tire with unmatched traction on mixed and hard packed terrain.
The semi-aggressive directional tread design promotes superior straight line control and high speed cornering capability.
The lugs are widely spaced to promote traction and cleanout in wet conditions. The 6-ply construction and reinforced carcass design ensure a smooth ride and predictable steering, whether on hard-pack or mixed terrain.
- See more at: http://www.atvtiresbarn.com/gbc-afterburn-atv-tires.html#sthash.ozKmSeiY.dpuf
The Afterburn from GBC Tires is an extraordinarily performing radial ATV tire with unmatched traction on mixed and hard packed terrain.
The semi-aggressive directional tread design promotes superior straight line control and high speed cornering capability.
The lugs are widely spaced to promote traction and cleanout in wet conditions. The 6-ply construction and reinforced carcass design ensure a smooth ride and predictable steering, whether on hard-pack or mixed terrain.
- See more at: http://www.atvtiresbarn.com/gbc-afterburn-atv-tires.html#sthash.ozKmSeiY.dpuf