what type of 4 wheeler to buy

[norriscathy]

Dad is a big John Deere man - so he is pretty insistent on it being green - does anyone have an opinion of the green version?

We had a JD 6 wheeler. I'm nothing but a JD man but this was the biggest piece of junk I've ever seen. Great for the first 12 months then the spark plugs would foul out ever couple of weeks. JD dealer finally told me the Kawasaki engine was a lawn mower engine designed to be run wide opeb and was not suitable for slow, creeping speeds.

Norris

I know the solution to the fouling plugs and it's simple. adjust the valves. After about 6 months we had one cylinder that fouled plugs awful, to the point that the engine wouldn;t start. Put in a new plug and it ran great. Pulled it down one day and adjusted the valves. That was 3 years ago and haven;t had a fouled plug since. Interestingthat the Kawasaki is a lawn mower engine since they don;t make lawnmowers.

dun

Went to two different JD dealers on at least 4 occassioons each and they couldn't fix it. All they did was replace the spark plugs. ALL JD lawn mowers have Kawasaki engines.

Norris

 

[dun]

Went to two different JD dealers on at least 4 occassioons each and they couldn't fix it. All they did was replace the spark plugs. ALL JD lawn mowers have Kawasaki engines.

Norris

Ad just them yourself. The local Kawasaki dealer did the same thing, replaced the plugs. That was what I had been doing to no avail. They did adjust the carburator, that didn;t help either. Got it back, two weeks later the plugs fouled so I got a shop manual and adjusted the valves. On the 2 cylinder it's a real pain inthe butt becaue you have to half tear the engine apart to be able to see the timing makr you need to adjust them, but it sure has made a difference, as in no problems since I adjusted them.

dun

 

[norriscathy]

Norris - The first couple of years of the 660 were made with solid covers on the engine, below the fuel tank. This created an overheating problem. The later years have been using a louvered cover, lets engine breathe better. I don't know what year yours is, but if its the earlier model, it may be worthwhile to replace those solid covers with the louvered type. Otherwise, what do you think of the 660? I was thinking of replacing the kodiak with one when (if) it ever dies.

cfpinz

I have one of the earlier models and had the covers changed under a factory recall. Stll overheated! I was told the louvered covers were to stop the gas from boiling in the carb and had nothing to do with overheating. We actually cooked the oil in the crankcase, afer a couple of week the oil would look like tar. Finally had them install a $600 radiator system from Hi Lifter that solved the problem. All of my sending units are still cooked but the new radiator seems to have done the job. The 660 Rhino has an oil cooler and the Grizzley does not; think that is the major problem. We use our machine pretty hard on the farm, towing 1000# feed buggies, etc. Never had a problem out of the Kodiak; thought an extra couple of hundred cc's would help. Boy was I wrong! Now having electrical problems, had to have the voltage regulator replaced, gagues don't work, impossible to start sometimes, EXTREMELY cold natured machine, has to go to the shop for one problem or another every four or five months! Still using Kodiak (which has an oil cooler) every day with no problems.

Not a happy camper with 660 Grizzley, I sure wouldn't buy another one!

Norris

 

[cfpinz]

Norris - Thanks for the honest opinion, you may have saved me some money in the future. Out of curiosity, just how hot is it in Texas? Is your Kodiak an automatic? Mine is the older 5 speed. There's been a couple times when more power would have been nice, but it gets the job done.

The Mule/ATV types would be handy, but wouldn't do very well in the mountains around here. It's tight on my little Kodiak in a lot of places.

cfpinz

 

[norriscathy]

Norris - Thanks for the honest opinion, you may have saved me some money in the future. Out of curiosity, just how hot is it in Texas? Is your Kodiak an automatic? Mine is the older 5 speed. There's been a couple times when more power would have been nice, but it gets the job done.

The Mule/ATV types would be handy, but wouldn't do very well in the mountains around here. It's tight on my little Kodiak in a lot of places.

cfpinz

It can get pretty hot here, but East Teaxas really has the same climate as middle Alabama or Mississippi. My Kodiak is also a "foot shifter" with a high and low range. Excellent machine! If I had it to do over again I get another Kodiak.

Norris