question on yamaha

hatchet jack · Post by **hatchet jack** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:08 am

i am looking at a( 2003 yamaha 650 grizzly with 650 miles on it 4 wheel drive , winch , auto tm, has a blind with it,,,,$3000.00 are they good or bad is the money right.

need your advise & input,dont know anything about a yamaha

hatchet jack

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:41 am

Here is a picture of our ATV's prior to a two day ride in the mountains of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. Mine is the Honda Rubicon on the far right, the one with the treestand holder still attached. (I take it off before we start riding so I don't hang it up in some tight places.) The other three belong to my three hunting partners.

Sometimes there are as many as fifty riders who hook up on the trails. It is like an ATV festival. You get to see it all. Every make, and every model. And you get to see them in action, not just on a showroom floor. I have watched a ton of Grizzly's in action.

Everyone is going to have their favorite, just like everyone is going to have their favorite car, outboard motor, crossbow, etc... etc.... From what I have seen in severe use situations, the 650 Grizzly is a great machine. It has great power and the winch and auto add to its value. (Not everyone wants a blind) The 650 miles is low. But remember, all miles on ATV's are not the same. The miles we put on ours when we ride the mountains are hard miles. When I use my Honda for hunting, they are really easy miles. So miles are not always a good indication of condition.

When we ride in the mountains, the Honda's are the clear cut preferred bike. The locals all use them and say they just hold up better then the others. The next choice seems to be the Suzuki's followed closely by the Kawasaki's, the Prairie to be exact. Yamaha is next and bringing up last place by a wide margin is the Polaris. There are others thrown into the mix like Artic Cat (one of my partners has one as you can see on the trailer). Now all you Polaris owners out there please don't flame me, as you can see, the trailer also holds a couple of Polaris bikes. It just seems to us that they require a little more attention then the other bikes and have more problems.

To tell you the truth, I think they are all really good and the difference in all the bikes is slight. The price on that Grizzly is a fair price if the condition is really good. I suspect it is as it comes with a blind and was probably primarily used for hunting. Those are easy hours as I mentioned above. If memory serves, does not the 03 Grizzly also have an hour meter. See how many hours it took to acquire those miles.

Good luck with it if everything works out. It is a big bike with just tons of power.

hatchet jack · Post by **hatchet jack** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:57 am

i have a rancher we hunt on all the time who has 2 hondas 1992 1 has 7000 miles & 1 has 13000 miles & they still run good .

h.j.

bj · Post by bj » Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:14 am

i had a 2004 and sold it after a year or so...if you're going to do a lot of trail riding, the steering is such that it will yank your arms right out of their sockets...i hit a hole one day, and smacked my finger a good one...the new 700 with the power steering is just what they needed to do with this bike - it smoothes the whole machine out...if you're looking at back roads and a work machine, it will pull anything...just remember to hang onto the bars on the back trails...the carb. engine in these machines can be a b--ch to start...if you use the bike regularily, no problem...if it sits for a week or so, be prepared to spend some time getting it going...

just my 02 cents...

Wayne....

kitty kat · Post by **kitty kat** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:30 am

I would say the Yamaha was a good buy . The comments about how those miles were put on are very good. It only takes the last few hundred feet to make a good atv into a pile of junk. I think what makes a good atv is the dealer. A real good dealer will look after your machine and keep it in tip top shape. A poor dealer couldn't keep anything running. I belong to an atv club in the area and we have nearly every make and model. There are likes and dislikes and a lot of ribbing about other makes. I personally have an Arctic Cat 400 automatic. I have the best and don't worry about the rest.

Have fun with the atv's and ride with care. Injuries and memories last a long time.

buckeye · Post by **buckeye** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:21 pm

Sounds like a real good deal. Quad is 5 years old and only 650 miles on it. I have owned Yamahas for 8 years now and love them. Never had a problem. Bought a 2008 Grizzly 660 in July and what a quad. The independant suspension is unbelievable. Lots of power. Warning though. The 660 seems to use quite a bit more gas than my old 400 Big Bear.

Here is the new toy:

and with our home made two xbow/gun holder:

hawg hunter · Post by **hawg hunter** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:09 pm

If you don.t want that atv I.ll will buy it sight unseen for that amount of money. IMHO Yamaha and Honda are the best.

hatchet jack · Post by **hatchet jack** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:16 am

hey thanks a bunch for the info,really apreciate the information i screw up i waited too long, but i know now.

h j