#4 Yamaha Grizzly 660

A slick digital display shows drive mode: 2WD, 4WD or differential lock.

The full-length plastic skids that swathe the bottom of the Grizzly are designed to slide over obstacles better than metal does.

Not just this one but both lightbulbs fell out on our first day of riding in the mountains.

When the Grizzly was introduced in 1998 as a 600cc machine, the top was blown right off the displacement wars of the time. Since then, the Grizzly has been beefed up another 60cc--and it's barely in the big-bore hunt. This sporty competitor received very few complaints from the testers; it just got outclassed in one way or another. A big issue was price; at $7099, it's one of the more expensive quads here.

Things started well for the Grizzly on the chilly South Carolina day. The tight woods trails had the plush machine in its element. The bumpy, hard, root-infested track through wooded backcountry was soaked up by the plush suspension; the Grizzly was second only to the Rincon in dealing with the ripply, jarring course.

On the tricky downhills, the Grizzly was without equal. The Yamaha's progressive, four-wheel engine-braking had no peer for putting exactly the right amount of brake into a descent. Uphills were similarly satisfying as the front suspension would soak step-up obstacles without any urges to send the front skyward, making for unequaled confidence. Power delivery from the big single is of the responsive, snarling variety. It leaps ahead when goosed. Not the best thing for a novice, but in this company it was appreciated for lightening the front end when the situation dictated it.

The only complaint we mustered was in regard to its annoying habit of following ruts a little too closely. Not a big deal in most cases, but in side-hill situations an uphill wheel sometimes left the ground.

Playing around on the grass track uncovered another weakness of the Grizzly. While there was one tester who really liked the responsive motor and tranny while flat tracking it, most found this bear's propensity for unloading the suspension mid-corner to be a bit frightening.

Happier times were had by the 660 in the mountains. Its downhill prowess was appreciated even more when the elevations got loftier. Its uphill cunning was equally enjoyed, its ability to float over modest vertical obstacles even more critical. Yet on the loose rocks of these big hillclimbs, the easy-steering front end seemed disconnected from the ground. Steering, while never particularly precise, was more vague than ever: Full-lock turns were sometimes necessary to guide the wayward quad back into line in places others just needed a slight input. Twice the Grizzly swapped ends on a steep climb when negotiating a switchback. It was never very dangerous but still unnerving.

Testers were split on the Grizzly's fighter-plane-styled front differential lock; some liked the trick factor of flipping the safety off the switch, while others were distracted and annoyed when they had to take the time to flip it over in an already hairy situation.

A minority of the testers found the Yamaha deflected off obstacles just as badly as the Cat 500. While it would fall in line easily enough with its light steering effort, this skittishness still bothered these testers. As noticed in the woods testing, off-cambers were not the Grizzly's forte. Going over an uneven obstacle while relatively flat was just dandy, but skew the ground at an angle and the suspension seemed "confused" and the rider needed to work to keep the machine from heading off downhill.

The Yamaha 660 still is a nice machine. When all the testers rave about the motor of the Prairie, the handling of the Rincon and the price of the Vinson, this very capable machine gets lost in the superlatives. A recurring theme among the testers was how light and neutral it felt in the really hairy stuff, a quad that, in most cases, you could ride like an extension of yourself. Its small failings in some areas were the difference in this showdown.

+ Killer suspension, handling
+ Best belt transmission
- Vague, inaccurate steering
- Lost both headlights
= Overall competence lost in a sea of overachievers