The newfound power of the...
The newfound power of the KingQuad 750AXi made blasting out of corners a load of adrenaline-filled fun.
The lighting on the 750AXi is getting better every year, and with the two huge beamers in the stock location and one additional in between the bar, there should be no reason to not see the deer stand on those early morning rides to deer camp. The digital instrumentation located in the center of the handlebar is easy to read. This digital dash gives you all kinds of information including speed, gearing, odometer and tripmeters. It also gives you the fuel level and lets you know when you're in 2WD, 4WD or full differential lock. This is great stuff to have on the trail, especially on long excursions.
The Ride
The real question is, Is the new KingQuad just a great-looking machine, or does it live up to its name as the King? Well, read on! Piloting the new KingQuad was a breeze and we were quite impressed. Even in the harsh, cold temperatures of northern Georgia, which reached 17 degrees during the morning hours, it easily cranked and barked to life thanks to a great-performing fuel-injection system. Cranking in cold weather, that's the beauty of fuel injection, along with a crisp and responsive throttle, of course. Also, while riding the new KQ, I noticed how easy it was to steer. Even though I prefer an easy-steering quad, it seemed a bit too twitchy for my taste, especially when reaching higher speeds. It almost seemed as if the KingQuad could benefit from some sort of stabilizer mounted on the front of the machine. Now, put this quad in four-wheel-drive and the steering gets a bit heavier, and even heavier when four-wheel diff-lock is engaged. The extra drives locked in makes the KingQuad extremely difficult to steer, but those drives have their purpose, and general trail riding on the King isn't the time to use them.
The motor definitely has that extra bump in the low to midrange that Suzuki had promised for 2008. The power on this 750 is quite impressive and can even bring out the sport rider in you if that fulfills your needs. It's easy to lift the front tires from the ground when necessary or crawl up gnarly steep hills. In fact, we tackled some very ferocious terrains and felt that this new motor handled them with great ease. It has much better power than its previous models, and the extra cc really helped step the KQ up to a whole new level in engine performance.
The suspension is satisfactory but seems to be a bit soft for the weight of the machine even in the highest settings. This was the area of the KingQuad that probably let us down the most. When cornering, the front end has a bad tendency to roll, which kept us on our toes at all times. And when catching even a small amount of air with it, you can bet that the front shocks will fully compress and bottom out. And with the soft suspension setup, it often felt a little tipsy as you rolled through off-cambered terrains. We feel that the KQ could more than likely benefit from stiffer springs for extra stability and handling of the machine.
Bringing the KQ to a stop quickly and efficiently seemed to be a struggle at times, mainly when we were on hardpacked dry dirt. We think maybe the tires didn't get the type of traction needed on those drier terrains. But once the ground had a little moisture in it, the quad stopped with much more authority. We love the sealed brake in the rear and welcome any technology that keeps us out of the shop and on the trail.
The seating is very comfortable and well padded. The traditional T-shaped seat for which Suzuki is famous has just the right padding to make you want to sit on down and ride all day. The serrated gripper pegs also worked well as they easily grabbed and held my feet in place. And the large floorboards kept the mud off of my legs and feet all day long. The holes in the floorboards work effectively allowing mud, water and any other particles to fall back to the ground.