The 2002 release of the Grizzly 660 brought a whole new bear out of hibernation. Backed by a new motor, fully independent suspension and looks that could frighten small children, the improved Grizzly was ready to take on the competition. This all looked good on paper, and strapped in the back of my truck, but how would this new and improved Grizzly fair in our Rocky Mountain test grounds? We headed out to the high country - Grizzly Country.

First Impression

It only takes about 30 seconds to get a first impression of an ATV after you've punched the throttle. You are either half-nodding to yourself or catching bugs in your teeth from the big smile. After a slight hesitation on the throttle I was grinning ear to ear after about five seconds. The power is good on the low end and gets better as it hits into mid and high range. I have to admit, though, that I expected more on the low end. All of our testers and talking with others who have the new Grizzly agree that Yamaha needs to get more aggressive on the low end and let the Raptor-bread engine loose. Sitting on the seat everything feels good, but one thing you do notice is the big front end. The front plastic and fenders are tall and give a lot of clearance on the front tires - kind of like a jacked-up truck. This is good for mud coverage and looks, but it takes some getting used to since I like to see a little bit of the front end and tires when going over obstacles. Our fire-red test machine was clean and tight with a noticeable effort going into weight reduction. Many things were composite plastic where you would normally find metal or aluminum. For example, the floorboards and skid plate are plastic, but we found no weakness in this design and felt the improved weight loss made up for increased performance and agility. The Grizzly 660 weighs in at around 600 pounds dry which is still a hefty machine and right in line with the Kawasaki Prairie 650, but much improved over the Sherman tank we call the Polaris Sportsman 700 that weighs over 700 pounds. Due to the great power and agility of the Grizzly you don't feel how big this machine really is and once you give yourself a few minutes in the saddle, your confidence builds and you feel you can tackle anything the trail throws at you.

Let's Ride!

Many people ask just how much faster are these new 650 class big-bore ATVs compared with the 500s? Let's just say that any of these big-bore sport utility machines, Grizzly included, will smoke any stock 500 out on the market today. With the Grizzly, it is more than just wanting to go faster, and once you put a leg over one, you will know what I mean. The Grizzly is fun to ride and will give most of you more power and performance than you will ever need or want. There is plenty there to break loose and pitch it in the corners and enough punch to slightly lift the front end and glide over any bumps and ruts that attempt to hold you back. If you push it, it will keep going, and blasting down fire roads is a blast. One of the biggest improvements on the new Grizzly is the fully independent front and rear suspension. Yamaha got it right when it included a rear independent suspension similar to what you would find only on a Polaris ATV until this last year. The suspension looks simple and straightforward and works. When you get into the nasty stuff of rocks, ruts and bumps, the suspension soaks them up with style and will extend your ride time. On some of our longer test runs, many of us were looking forward to our turn on the Grizzly and enjoy the plush ride that it offers.

One thing the Grizzly is good at is hill climbing and there are two reasons why. The first is that you have plenty of torque to get you up the hill and the suspension soaks up the rough stuff that might cause you to slow down and lose your momentum before making it to the top. Secondly is that whatever goes up must come down. Usually you don't realize how nasty the hill was that you went up until it is time to come down. With Yamaha's exclusive Ultramatic automatic transmission you don't have to worry any more about coming down those steep hills. The engine braking is awesome on the Grizzly and provides good control with very minimal skidding that has caused us all to sweat it out in the past. An example of this was when another rider who came along with us on one of our test runs was a little nervous about one of the hills we had to descend. He was riding an older Polaris model that didn't have engine braking and knew all to well that 'free-wheeling' feeling going down those steep hills. We put him on the Grizzly and gave him the thumbs up. He was down in no time and had a big smile on his face.

It Can't Be All Good

It won't take long before you know how much we liked the Grizzly 660. Not too many things are perfect, however, and the Grizzly is no exception. The overall package is very impressive but we need to touch on a few things that kind of made us scratch our head. When buying a high-performance quad, you expect to be treated like you know what you are doing. If you are a beginner or novice quad rider then this machine is not for you. But if you are longing for more power, more performance and you know what you are doing this is the level for you. With this said, we feel there are a few limitations. There is no convenient parking break on the left-hand break lever, forcing you to engage the shift lever into park mode to secure it from rolling. There is a regulation on how fast you can go in four-wheel lock mode, but when you first engage into four-wheel lock mode you see why. The four-wheel lock mode is rough and very hard to control. Granted, you only need fully locking front wheels in limited circumstances, but felt Yamaha could tone it down a little and make it more rideable and useable. We like the setup of the three-step push-button On-Command 2WD, 4WD, 4WD (locking differential), but the lock limits when you can really use it.

One of our biggest concerns is the lack of an override button to engage full power in reverse mode. We quickly found this out when I descended down a steep gully and by the time my front tires were swallowed up and lodged in the crevice it was too late. It was muddy and slick and I figured going in reverse would be the only way out. "This would be a good opportunity to test out the four-wheel lock system and do some digging", I thought to myself. I was wrong. As I engaged in reverse and full-lock mode (I was already in four-wheel drive limited-slip mode) I punched the throttle expecting some serious mud to fly. The motor spit out some lame grunts and I went no where - I couldn't even generate enough RPM to spin the tires. Needless to say I was stuck and had to do some serious body English to get out by going forward and straight up, but the Grizzly got me out.

Conclusion

All in all, Yamaha has put together a great overall package. It is not quite as fast and torquey as the Kawasaki Prairie 650, but it is a close second. It has the smooth ride of the Polaris Sportsman, but is much lighter and nimbler. By having a good engine, good suspension, good looks and feel, Yamaha didn't leave anything major out that would keep this from falling behind in the race for King of Quads. Yes, there are a few issues we would like Yamaha to look at, but nothing that would prevent us from heading down to the local dealer and hoping they still had one in stock.

Rider Notes

Specs

Pros: Good overall power, suspension, engine braking and ergonomics, complete overall package

Cons: No reverse engine override, no parking brake lever, brakes a little soft, full lock needs work

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