The Rincon has an uncanny knack for providing a plush, controlled ride, no matter the terrain. The Honda's other forte is its very well-mannered and responsive steering, no doubt aided by the shock damping. With the strongest-feeling and most-responsive brakes in the class, the Honda rider could focus more on shifting the trans up and down in ESP mode to try and keep the anemic motor in its powerband, or could ride in Auto and just wish the motor had more beans. If this thing had more power, it would be a serious threat.
Big. Everything about the Polaris 800 is big, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. In the case of the motor, the strength of the components and its wide, stable stance, it's all good. The downside is that the Polaris is fairly porky, not that you'd notice often while riding it. High-speed handling is slightly vague and prone to sliding, especially with the rear brakes so eager to lock up on loose surfaces. As I harped on the 700 EFI for (March '05), the lack of individual brake controls and some sort of input to the front differential really chaps my hide and holds the Polaris to second (the big price tag doesn't help).
When we saw the specs of the Suzuki KingQuad, I wasn't convinced it was going to blow away the competition, and it doesn't. In fact, I would say the King has an incredibly tenuous grasp on first place. It's not that the Zook overwhelms any of these other machines in any category, because it doesn't-in any. As with an all-around gymnast, the KingQuad does do the best job of trying to keep up with the class leaders in different areas while not losing sight of overall functionality. With a moderately low center of gravity, good power delivery and excellent controls and ergonomics, the Suzuki allows its rider to get the most out of its decent handling and fairly well-damped chassis. In such a close competition, it's not just what the KingQuad does right that helped it squeak out the win, it was also aided by how little its quirks distracted from the riding experience.
Adam Campbell-Photo God (Pro Racer)I give my top pick to the Sportsman. It has good all-around power, and it's plush! For such a big quad, it has a good turning radius and is very comfortable for all-day riding. I loved the rims and tires but wish they would offer separated braking. The deciding ride was when the Brute Force died and I had to ride double with Canavan all the way back through some really gnarly terrain. Even loaded down like that it had all the power we needed, clawed for traction everywhere and was super-stable.
Barely getting edged out for first place, Honda's Rincon has great ergonomics, excellent suspension and very good-looking styling. It may not have the motor of the others, but its composed nature allowed me to go faster than I could on almost any other machine.
Suzuki's KingQuad is a good compromise between some of the better traits of many of the machines in the test. The motor had good power and acceleration, the suspension was fairly compliant until pushed harder then was a little too soft for my liking, and I started to bottom it out. The low cg meant the quad handled well without as much tippiness as the Kawasaki or the Yamaha, though the front end felt as if it wanted to tuck under during heavy braking.
Yamaha's Grizzly was a great machine when it came out, but the world has kept advancing in the meantime and time has stood still for the Grizz. I wasn't particularly fond of the ergos, which never seemed to suit my frame during either aggressive or relaxed riding. There weren't many traits that let the Grizzly stand out in this competitive crowd.
Awesome power! OK, now that I've stated the obvious, I wish Kawasaki had paid more attention to the details of its big-bore machine. The underpinnings look cheap and seem frail. With only a bit more power on tap, this machine really made me pine for a Prairie 700.