So, I took the 700XX out for its maiden voyage on Sunday morning. My first complaint really has nothing to do with the quad, but I just had to vent. I HATE THUMB THROTTLES!!! I really do not understand how people can ride with these damn things. I felt like I had never ridden before. I will NOT ride again until I can get a twist for it. Alright, I feel better now.
I know the first thing everyone wants to know is, is it fast? Here is my little disclaimer before I answer that. Both of my 450R’s are full race quads. Everything has been done to them, so to me, any “stock” quad is less then impressive. Same is true for the 700XX. The thing runs really good, but it is WAY corked up from the factory. That big motor needs to breathe, and with the airbox lid on and the stock exhaust, it needs ALOT more air. That being said, if you drag raced against any other stock quads, I think a 450 based quad would win, just because the 700 revs a little slower, but I do think it would be pretty close. The motor is really torquey though; I was amazed out how low I could lug it and not have to downshift. I really like the EFI, great throttle response and it really ran well.
I already have a Power Commander on order and will be ordering a pipe today, and I have read that these items totally change the engine, so I will report back after those mods are done.
I went out to the same riding area on Saturday and Sunday, Saturday with my 450R race quad and Sunday on the 700. I have a training loop that I ride around (maybe 15 miles?) that I took both quads around. I was 5 minutes slower on the 700XX then the 450R. (Some of that was the damn thumb throttle; it messed up my timing big time.)
The rear suspension of the 700XX is really nice, I was really impressed in the uneven rough stuff, areas where you’re right and left sides are not hitting the same things. A few of those type of areas I was going just as fast on the stock suspended 700 as I do on my full aftermarket suspended 450R. There is also one area that is really rocky that while riding the 450 I have to zig and zag to avoid getting the rear suspension hung up on rocks. Did not even worry about it on the 700, just went straight through!
The front shock setup though is horrible; it feels that there is no rebound dampening at all, the quad would just bounce through stuff. It really hurt in the whoops; I had to go much slower then the 450, as I did not have any faith in the front suspension. I never found the limits of the rear suspension, but that is because I found the limits of the front way sooner.
The only time I really felt the weight of the quad was in the whoops also, at no other time did I feel like I was riding a quad that weighs over 500 pounds. The area I went to does have some small sand dunes that is another area that the weight was felt, but it was not to bad.
Quad does feel top heavy, but I think that has more to do with the ride height. I run my 450’s at about 9.5” frame to ground, stock the 700 is almost 11”! There is also no way to lower it either because it comes from the factory with the preload fully backed off on the shocks. I think if the quad could be lowered an inch or so, it would greatly improve the handling.
So, that is my review. I think the quad has LOTS of potential, but it needs some motor and suspension mods to get there. (As far as I am concerned, ALL quads need some type of mods to get the job done.) If you are a really aggressive rider who has to beat all your buddies to the end of the trail, the 450R would probably be a better quad. If you are sometimes aggressive and are looking for a more comfortable ride, the 700XX may be for you. I also think that if you are looking for a decent duner, it may also be a good choice, but not if you leave it stock, I think some engine mods would need to be done to get some more power out of it to make up for the weight in the sand. If you go to the dunes and just like to shoot the hill all day, I would not even consider the 700, just not going to be competitive against lighter 450 based quads.
