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GET COMFY, THEN ROCK
Now lets have a seat and get comfortable ... if you’re not a whole lot bigger than six feet. This isn’t to say a huge guy can’t ride them - he might just feel a little cramped. The Suzuki and Kawasaki will fit the larger rider, the Yamaha is for a smaller rider and the Honda is in the middle.
Size differences aside for the moment, all four quads have nicely proportioned layouts. The seats are comfortable without being too pillowy. None of these quads use tall ape-hanger bars or ridiculous seat heights. These machines aren’t the fastest you can buy, but they are designed for aggressive riding styles: stand up on the pegs for rough terrain and jumps, hang off the seat and work the bars in radical turns. Fun stuff!
California’s Hungry Valley off-road area in the mountains an hour north of Los Angeles provided plenty of variety. There are many high-speed sand washes and fast trails in desert-like terrain with small scrub. But we also found some very tight, high-bermed trails winding through rocky tree-lined ravines and creek beds.
We found that all the quads produce smooth, controllable power. Throttle response is quick and carburetion is spot on. Do the two fastest quads, the Suzuki and Kawasaki, have too much motor or chassis for the tightest trails? Not at all. All testers preferred the power delivery of these two machines and the gear ratios are well spaced. We found ourselves in too high of a gear, these two quads still pulled it.
On the trails, the Honda’s motor is our second favorite. The Yamaha had a harder time pulling the largest riders, particularly up steep hills at this elevation. For smaller and less aggressive riders, the power is excellent and the two-valve motor has a surprisingly beefy sound.
For overall handling manners the Suzuki and Kawasaki, again, get the nod and the updated front shocks play a huge part. They’re plush yet responsive and predictable. These quads are much faster through the whoops than the Honda or Yamaha. Cornering is precise, body roll is minimal and the machines will powerslide with a blip of the throttle.
The only real surprise with these two clones was that the Kawasaki shocks, with the same stock settings as the Suzuki, felt just a tad softer. We thought we were onto something really weird until, in talking with both companies, we discovered that the Kawasaki had five more hours of break-in time on it. By the way, after that period, shock performance stays very consistent.
We expected the handling of the Honda to be closer to the Suzuki/Kawasaki, but we got another surprise. In the words of one tester, "They’re not even close." The suspension just isn’t as responsive, it’s rougher for aggressive riding and the machine feels dated. On the plus side, steering precision is good (as it is on all four machines), sliding is very predictable, wheelies are easy and, with a half-inch shorter wheelbase than the Suzuki/Kawasaki, the Honda is very nimble in tight quarters. Braking power is excellent.
The Yamaha plays catch up to the other three quads when we ride aggressively because it was not designed for that style of riding. In turns, there is more sway, the rear end (with Banshee tires) is too loose and the shocks aren’t as responsive. However, the ride is plush and when the machine is pushed to its limits, things stay somewhat predictable. The Yamaha’s smaller size makes it very agile in tight quarters, the front end is light and the brakes work well. It’s a huge improvement over its predecessor, the Warrior.
BEING THE BEST THEY CAN BE
Does the slower machine that doesn’t handle as well come in last? Not necessarily. Our larger and faster test riders all agreed that, if they were newcomers to sport ATVing and smaller in stature, they would pick the Yamaha over the other three. Two of our testers think the Yamaha has the best styling in the bunch and, with a price tag a whopping $800 less than the competition, it’s absolutely the best value.
The Honda, on the other hand, is priced the same as the Kawasaki and Suzuki. Let’s see - compared to them it’s an older design, it doesn’t have liquid cooling, it’s not as fast and it doesn’t handle rough terrain as well. True, the Honda is a quality machine, but so are the Kawasaki and Suzuki - our overwhelming favorites for the fastest, best-handling quads in this shootout. ATVS
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