The test course was 20 miles around, of mostly highly used OHV trail. This meant a good dose of whooped-out trail along with sandy sections, rock gardens and, ultimately, hard-packed ridge trails with chuck holes, chatter bumps and tight, twisty switchbacks. Besides a large hillclimb test, we added an especially nasty, boulder-strewn dry-rock bed for a timed test section. With these large utility units, we weren't interested in how fast we could do a lap, so much as how comfortably and controlled we could do the lap. A 600-plus-pound utility ATV isn't designed to be a race unit, and we didn't test them that way. My main partner for testing was Pat McGuire, who is the AMS tire specialist for Parts Unlimited. He is an accomplished ATV rider presently racing a four-wheeler in Wisconsin, and his knowledge of tires, traction and general 4WD handling was a big help in the test. Our plan was to take two units out at the same time, ride for 20 minutes or so, then switch and ride again. We did this all the way around the loop to get immediate comparisons of the two units and then wrote down specific notes at the end of the loop. We rode the others in similar fashion, and then rearranged the mix to compare the units that weren't originally ridden together. In all, we rode six laps in daylight and three at night. The night-riding is fun, but lighting is such an important factor that it generally overshadows the testing data. In addition, we recorded my times through the rocky, dry test section on all ATVs to measure their relative rock-crawling abilities. We also took comments from other testers and staff members.
Kawasaki Brute Force 650 4x4iThe only carbureted engine of the group, the 633cc V-twin engine nonetheless produced a lot of power, especially bottom torque. It started and ran perfectly at 3000 or so feet of the test area and didn't seem to be at any disadvantage for not being EFI equipped. The power delivery, however, lived up to the machine's namesake. With very aggressive power off the bottom, smooth control in the rocky test section was difficult, especially when combined with the chassis setup. The power also seemed to go a little flat on top, most likely due to the altitude, but overall it had more than enough. I personally have a 2000 Prairie 650 that I use for making trail, grooming my motocross track and plowing snow. That older unit has MacPherson strut fronts and solid rear axle suspension, still available on the non-4x4i units, and very heavy steering with huge amounts of feedback through the handlebar. It is not fun to go fast on but is a solid, reliable trail work machine.
Surprisingly, this independently suspended version felt little different from my old Prairie, with a remarkably similar steering effort. If any unit needs power steering, this is the one. In addition, it fights the bar a lot in 4WD , making 4WD useful only for going slow. The suspension settings also weren't very good in the whoops, beating us up with a very rough ride and requiring a stand-up riding style most of the time. In turns, the unit requires a lot of body English to remain stable. The engine-braking-system is very aggressive and for most testers, provided too much braking on deceleration. On the hard-packed slippery downhills in 2WD, shutting the throttle resulted in the rear wheels skidding from too much engine-braking. On the good side, the CVT transmission is very easy to shift and, in fact, would be excellent for plowing snow as it is easy to go from forward to reverse. At $7099, the Brute Force is the second cheapest unit, with lots of power and a good transmission, but the steering effort, feedback and overly aggressive engine-braking made it the least favorite of the testers.