The New King Quads w/ Power Steering!

[AlaskaCub]

Well its the story of my life , buy something new, and something newer better comes out shortly thereafter. The new 750 King Quad and 500 King Quad both with Power steering. Truly it appears that the PS is the only change on the 750 but the new 500 will be an interesting intro to the mid bore market. Here it is...

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/LTA750XPK9


And the new 500


http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/LTA500XPZK9

 

[Lakay93]

I think the Kingquad 500 is pretty much a Vinson with I.R.S and powersteering.Oh and the Fuel injection. But the engine is the same they both got 493cc.

 

[alaskankid13]

good or bad?

good or bad?

could this be a bad thing such as with the grizzly 700 with power sterring made it seem more shakey than the kingquad withoutor was this just the type of wheeler?could this cause more problems or a fault it the engine??probably not, but curious to see what this does for the kingquads. I know how ya feel alaskacub about when you buy something and soon they come out with it better or cheaper. really sucks, power sterring or not still a great machine.

 

[Snyd]

Watch the swap and sell for King Quad with extras for sale !!

Seriously though, I know what you mean. The wife and I bought a quad in 02 for both us to ride double and then they came out with the Rhino.

 

[LuJon]

Watch the swap and sell for King Quad with extras for sale !!

Seriously though, I know what you mean. The wife and I bought a quad in 02 for both us to ride double and then they came out with the Rhino.

Now that is funny!! Of course I have been known to buy a thing or two only to sell it a short time later for a loss....

 

[AlaskaCub]

Ohhhhhhh no, I am not selling mine!....grin

The EPS was cool, but it isn't even close to that cool!

 

[AKMuddy]

I wonder how Suzuki and Polaris will do in the Power Steering market? I mean, Yamaha can't hardly keep Grizzly 700s with EPS in stock but Honda has EPS and no-one really talks about them and I have not talked to anyone that has bought the Honda version yet. What gives??? I am sure Suzuki and Polaris will do better just because they will advertise a little better than Honda. Honda seems to still be living off their reputation from 20 years ago. They are a good bike but they seem to be giving up market share to all the other brands.

On a side note...Performance Yamaha of Wasilla told me they are probably not even going to order a Grizzly 700 without EPS next year. You could still get them to order one on a special order basis but they will probably not stock them on their own.

EPS has changed the ATV industry...I will never own another quad without power steering. I love my Grizzly 700!

 

[hunt_ak]

Well that seals the deal. This looks like my next bike!!.....but who knows when that'll be

 

[AkHunter45]

What most people don't understand about Honda is that they are built for utility/farm work, so there's no need for the frivilous upgrades. They have the leading atv sales manufacturer in the world and have been for quite some time. Trust me, I want them to change some things on their Foreman models but I'm just a small voice in a big market but I am not alone. We were at the Honda shop in Palmer and they had hardly any atv's available, no Rubicon's and I think 1 Foreman and the rest were Ranchers, maybe 3-4 and that was it. They are also dropping the Polaris line of atv's as well, not sure if they are going to carry another brand or just stick with Honda.

 

[AlaskaCub]

There is definately a downside to the power steering in these quads, and that is that the units costs about $1400 to replace if it breaks, and I have news for you.......there have been ones that have broken. Even here in Fairbanks they have replaced the EPS units in several. So make sure your prepared for that or bought an extended warranty of some type to protect your investment.

 

[dansvan]

After speaking with a Honda rep. in town about the new Rancher420 with EPS, IRS, and electric shift - He said Honda tests it's new designs and ideas for a min. of 4 years before release. In the field. So it appears Honda is always behind the curve but they value their reputation as the "never break" brand over the latest whatzit. I commented on how there was no Rincon on the showroom floor and a salesman standing there said they sell them very quickly. The EPS on the Honda turns into a steering dampner at higher speeds, reducing twitchiness and the shock of hitting a boulder or stump. Don't know what "higher speeds" means though. It seems that the majority of the online forums are all geared to the super deep mud with snorkles and speaker tube crowd. Honda clearly isn't going after that small but highly visable segment. So where are all the Hondas? Don't know, but they still sell a ton of them. Just ramblings from a conversation had while checking on bars for my ride.

 

[AlaskaCub]

You are correct Honda has catered to a certain group (Farmers and Ranchers) for a very long time where as some of the other makes have realized the demand for quote on quote a machine designed for more "Hard Core Riding/ Mudding". Things like ground clearance and fully independent suspension, true 4wd (meaning locked diffs) isn't real critical for dragging stuff around a flat land farm or ranch, but when you are riding in untamed land the more versatile a 4wd quad is , is never a hinderance. I would say that we up here in Alaska push these things to the max pretty consistantly. Not many places in the lower 48 that a guy can put a quad through what an Alaskan will in a week long moose hunt in the mountains. We got it all, deep mud, swamp, hazardous water crossings, steep hill climbs, rock and then of course trails, all along potentially hauling a trailer full of meat or gear it challenges a quad to the max!

 

[loknlod]

Power steering/Honda

Power steering/Honda

I'll chime in and speak for Honda Power Steering. I have an '08 Foreman that I use mostly for pulling and hauling. I have had machines without power steering and I won't go back. I had to give my credit card number to a dealer over the phone just so they wouldn't sell it before I got there! I really like this machine, it does what I need it to do.

Has Honda replaced some power steering units? Yes, they were recalled for a possible defect in the casting process. Had nothing to do with the power steering itself. Mine has been replaced under the recall and I had no problems prior to the repair. Everything can have problems but I can say that I am happy with my decision to buy this machine.

 

[AkHunter45]

I rode a new 09 Yamaha 550 Grizz with the EPS a little while back and have admit that I liked it and would love to have it on my current rig. If I ever go to another machine it will have the EPS, IRS, and hopefully diff lock. A lot of people say that there isn't a need for EPS but until you have ridden one you just don't know. I hate having the handlebars jarred out of my hands when I unexpectedly hit a rock or rut and the EPS is the cure for that.

 

[AlaskaCub]

There are other cures for that AKhunter, both Elka and Precision Racing make steering stabilizers that essentially do the same thing, they arent powered electrically and they arent $1400 to replace. They use them on most racing quads where the jitteryness of the EPS would not work under higher speeds. I have one ordered and will be installing it shortly and the primary reason I am doing it is because this bike of mine has lots of power, and accelerating to a pretty rapid trot happens very fast and I dont want to come off a turn, romp on it and be doing 45 mph in a 100 ft only to wack something with a tire causing the bars to go to full lock on me. Am thinking I will appreciate it at some point. Heres a link to these stabilizers, they arent cheap either but they are less than a 1/3 the cost of a replacement EPS unit, and a lot cheaper than doctor bills! They install in less than 30 minutes with ease and are serviceable. The forum ATV Frontier has a great write up on it from a fellow Alaskan that put one on his Can Am 800, you have to be a member to login and see the review, but here it is. Silver Tip griz, who is also a member there and a fellow Alaskan who probably has the most modded Yamaha Grizzly in this state has ridden that bike and I talked about this Steering Damper with him and he said if they made one for his 660 Griz , he would have one with no questions asked, it makes that much of a difference.

http://atvfrontier.com/MReviews/op=show/rid=113.html

Here are links to the companies that currently make the highest quality steering Dampers for quads.

http://www.precision-rp.com/

http://www.elkasuspension.com/products/atvsteeringdampers.html

 

[AkHunter45]

The entire power steering assmebly runs $611 plus shipping and for just the motor it is $122 plus shipping, not even close to $1400. That's for a Honda.

 

[AlaskaCub]

Dont know anything about Honda's EPS, just know what it cost for a Grizzly. Just thought I'd add that from the homework I did on the EPS on the Grizzly it appears that water getting in the vent has been the biggest problem, it then does one of two things, it either corrodes the brushes and takes out the motor, which of course doesn't happen overnight but after the 6 month warranty expires and the other is our neighbors to the east (Canadians) have reported that water gets in the motor from the vent and then freezes on down the road after being outside in the cold. The scary part is that there have been guys who's EPS went out and the steering locked up! Losing your power steering is one thing, losing your steering period....thats a whole nuther story. These issues obviously are not hapening to all EPS Grizzly machines but it is happening, and the fella in Canada who was quoted $1700 to replace the EPS that locked up on him on a 7 month old machine twasnt a happy camper I assure you.

 

[AkHunter45]

Well the Yamaha isn't $1400 but it's close, $1139 plus shipping. I guess if I decide to go with EPS i'll have to go with a Honda, that's way to much money for a EPS assembly.

 

[AlaskaCub]

Well the Yamaha isn't $1400 but it's close, $1139 plus shipping..

+ Install for most guys right?

 

[AkHunter45]

For most i'd have to say yes, but not me.