Hello All,
I joined this club about 6 months ago when I bought XX and this is my first post. I've been on about 4 rides so far and figured I'd share my impressions of the quad after 1/2 a season of riding.
I live in Mass but do all my riding in the mountains of western Maine. So most of my riding experience is on rocky, rutted, and muddy trails. I'm pretty much a weekend warrior with no real interest in competing.
Now before I get into it. I just want to say that I love this quad. I bought after I got bored with my 400ex and because my 30 year old back couldn't take the abuse of SRA anymore. I was really nervous about buying this thing because all of the bad reviews (which do hold water in my opinion) but positives of this quad definitely out-weigh the negatives, at least for the type of riding that I do.
The Positives:
- The ground clearance is amazing for a sport quad. I never get stuck. I've taken this thing through old grown-in skidder trails, swamps, rivers, and deep ruts. It just keeps going.
- Unbeatable comfort. The ergonomics are great and the smooth ride of the IRS makes all day rides easy. I have gone out on a 10-hour day ride, came back to camp for burgers, beers, and gas, only to head right back out for a night ride. NEVER could I have done that on my 400ex.
- It's fast. I've read that some people are disappointed with the power but as far as I'm concerned it's got perfect amount for the woods. Any more and I'd probably be dead right now (read on for explanation). I have never found myself in a situation where the power wasn't there when I needed it.
The Negatives:
- Turning sux. Right now I'm running the stock suspension (which is talked about in plenty of other posts) and I finding it difficult to remember to throw the extra weight around to prevent myself from going on two wheels in tight corners. I know that other people say that they got used to it after a day but I haven't been able to. Instead I've find myself taking corners at slower speeds than I used to. Not sure if I just need more practice but as soon as I save the $ I'm throwing on new suspension.
- Front suspension bottoms out way to easy. I haven't tried adjusting the pre-load on the front shocks yet and I am hoping that will help.
- It's heavy. Just try loading it into the bed of a pickup on your own. Not happening. Ramps are a must.
I figured I'd end this review with a little lesson on what not to do with your XX. On my second ride of the season (just after break-in) I was out on a trail probably going faster than I should of. Hell, I just broke the thing in and I wanted to see what it had. I came around a corner only to find a drainage ditch had been added to the trail over the winter. Now it wasn't that big of a ditch so I tried opening up the throttle to wheelie over it. Yeah...didn't happen. The front tires grazed the other side of the ditch, bottoming out the front suspension, and launched me over the handlebars at about 50mph. The bad news....I had a separated shoulder, fractured pelvis, and gash on my elbow down to the bone. The good news, the ATV landed on all 4's and didn't even have a scratch.
Now, I take the majority of the blame for this accident for riding stupid but I convinced that if I had hit that ditch on my 400ex I would have been able to recover. Unfortunately I learned about the extra weight and plush front suspension of the 700xx the hard way. Again, I'm an idiot for reckless riding...80% my fault, 20% suspension.
You have been warned.
Aside from that I have had two other great rides with this machine and have been very happy with my purchase.
Money
I joined this club about 6 months ago when I bought XX and this is my first post. I've been on about 4 rides so far and figured I'd share my impressions of the quad after 1/2 a season of riding.
I live in Mass but do all my riding in the mountains of western Maine. So most of my riding experience is on rocky, rutted, and muddy trails. I'm pretty much a weekend warrior with no real interest in competing.
Now before I get into it. I just want to say that I love this quad. I bought after I got bored with my 400ex and because my 30 year old back couldn't take the abuse of SRA anymore. I was really nervous about buying this thing because all of the bad reviews (which do hold water in my opinion) but positives of this quad definitely out-weigh the negatives, at least for the type of riding that I do.
The Positives:
- The ground clearance is amazing for a sport quad. I never get stuck. I've taken this thing through old grown-in skidder trails, swamps, rivers, and deep ruts. It just keeps going.
- Unbeatable comfort. The ergonomics are great and the smooth ride of the IRS makes all day rides easy. I have gone out on a 10-hour day ride, came back to camp for burgers, beers, and gas, only to head right back out for a night ride. NEVER could I have done that on my 400ex.
- It's fast. I've read that some people are disappointed with the power but as far as I'm concerned it's got perfect amount for the woods. Any more and I'd probably be dead right now (read on for explanation). I have never found myself in a situation where the power wasn't there when I needed it.
The Negatives:
- Turning sux. Right now I'm running the stock suspension (which is talked about in plenty of other posts) and I finding it difficult to remember to throw the extra weight around to prevent myself from going on two wheels in tight corners. I know that other people say that they got used to it after a day but I haven't been able to. Instead I've find myself taking corners at slower speeds than I used to. Not sure if I just need more practice but as soon as I save the $ I'm throwing on new suspension.
- Front suspension bottoms out way to easy. I haven't tried adjusting the pre-load on the front shocks yet and I am hoping that will help.
- It's heavy. Just try loading it into the bed of a pickup on your own. Not happening. Ramps are a must.
I figured I'd end this review with a little lesson on what not to do with your XX. On my second ride of the season (just after break-in) I was out on a trail probably going faster than I should of. Hell, I just broke the thing in and I wanted to see what it had. I came around a corner only to find a drainage ditch had been added to the trail over the winter. Now it wasn't that big of a ditch so I tried opening up the throttle to wheelie over it. Yeah...didn't happen. The front tires grazed the other side of the ditch, bottoming out the front suspension, and launched me over the handlebars at about 50mph. The bad news....I had a separated shoulder, fractured pelvis, and gash on my elbow down to the bone. The good news, the ATV landed on all 4's and didn't even have a scratch.
Now, I take the majority of the blame for this accident for riding stupid but I convinced that if I had hit that ditch on my 400ex I would have been able to recover. Unfortunately I learned about the extra weight and plush front suspension of the 700xx the hard way. Again, I'm an idiot for reckless riding...80% my fault, 20% suspension.
You have been warned.
Aside from that I have had two other great rides with this machine and have been very happy with my purchase.
Money