2021 Yamaha Kodiak 450 EPS SE | 1 Year Review! 

Have the exact machine and love it....this thing is a work horse that sips gas and is easy to maintain as far as 4wheelers go. I also have a Can-Am Outlander 570 which is sportier but is a pain in the ass to maintain and is a bit quirky with some odd belt noise. Haven't had a problem with either but both are under a 1000 mi. I'd buy the same thing again today....I use ours the same way you do, work/play but am not a mudder and don't abuse them. Added hand guards, an LED light bar, phone mount, rear trunk and removable rifle rack. Thanks for the video.

Ive got a 2019 model and not had any problems with it. Im like you i look after mine. Best quad on the market here in Australia

I just bought the exact machine, with 250 miles on it. This will be for my gal to ride. It will be the little sister to my 2021 Grizzly XTR I have owned about three dozen atv’s and in my opinion Yamaha has the one lung market all wrapped up!

Great video dude. Nice job 🇨🇦

I had a 2003 years ago and I have a 2022 coming next week, yay me!

I have a 1994 Kodiak with over 5000 miles on it and never had to take it back to a dealer yet . The only thing I had to replace is the front boots, rear wheel bearing. I had to rebuild the carburetor. The front brakes need rebuild. I used it to pull hay wagon out of the Fields. Everything around my small farm. Also my son beat the crap Out of it. With over 5,000 mile on it, it still runs & shifts grate.The older models with the automatic five speeds that you had to shift w/H-L range. I still use it today. I’m sold on Yamaha !!!

Was waiting for a 450. 700 Grizzly showed up and I scooped that up instead. Couldn't be happier that I got the 700.

I'm on my second 400 series 4wheeler and power has never been an issue w/ a 400cc plus motor. Im 260 pounds and they will toss me off the seat in a second.

My 2018 kodiak 450 that has been brutally beaten for 3k miles never had a oil change air filter or any service been in mud clay water rolled over road driving rocks towing a 16ft trailer that has 3 commercial lawn mowers on it absolutely brutal abuse slamming in gear revving the crap out of it and has never broke. So as long as you don’t get a lemon they are solid.

2022 EPS -SE owner here Overall its a legit machine However I have a couple operational gripes about it.. -The rear brake Its slow to apply And slower to release -The lack of a parking brake, forces extra shifting -The "marine" connectors for the warn winch are NOT sealed

I want one. Last ATV I owned was the 2004 Honda Rancher AT (400 4x4). Turned out it was the least powerful of the 400 class at like 13hp and the Hondamatic transmission died at 8,000 miles so I no longer trust Hondamatics. I changed my oil religiously too.

So I am between this model the Kodiak 450 and the bigger brother the 700 both seem like amazing machines and Yamaha has a very reliable name, I have owned 4wheelers before and I have had my fair share of problems but it seems to me Yamaha has been the most reliable brand so far. I had a Polaris 500 4x4 that didn’t impress me too much then I went and got a Yamaha warrior 350 with reverse. The Yamaha was always reliable even tho it was a sportier 2wd model and manual I still made it through the trails with the big dog 4x4’s. I mainly want a utility one now because I have come to the conclusion that I need it for work and play. I am tired of shoveling my driveway 😅 I need an actual good machine that I can use for both work and play. Like I said I am just not sure what to get as far as power wise 450 or 700, I did hear that the 700’s are torque monsters and that’s kind of what I am leaning towards due to I do plan on plowing with it but I have people telling me that the 450 is good too so I am really not sure 🤔 if you have any feedback on that I would appreciate it! Thanks!

My brother bought one exactly like yours and loves it. I inherited a 2006 Arctic Cat 400 4wd with 400 miles and in mint condition. I hate it. Something is always breaking on it and the last repair cost $1100. Watched your video and then contacted the nearest Yamaha dealer to buy a 2024 Kodiak 450 EPS SE.

I have this machine also, the floorboards are not very strong. Casual riding on the forest trails the reinforcement webbing catches sticks kicked up by the front tires and breaks the floorboards, I have several holes in mine where sticks have punched through so I bought aluminum skid plates for the running boards from Ricochet Offroad. There have also been several fuel pump failures, the fuse fails. So far mine has been OK in 600 miles but I purchased a replacement from Quantum Fuel systems to have on hand when it fails. Hate to be stuck out in the boonies, carry extra fuses just in case.

Put a plywood on the rear rack rest to bring other ppl along wjth you on the ride wont hurt your rear end or jolt your spine or rock your hips out of alignment

Nice viddy

I also have one mine is 2020 about 1200miles

Where did you get the back basket?

I have the same machine I bought it Late august 2020 took it out did some light trail riding about 12 miles worth. Sometime later we went on a trail ride and the machine started overheating and would die out. I had to tow my 16 year old daughter about 15 to 18 miles back to camp. I called Yamaha and they said take it to your dealer and they could not duplicate the machine to overheat. They said to video tape it over heating so I did but it did nothing for them because all they can hear is the fan. There has been a lot of back and forth between. Took it to the them again because there was a new service manager so he wanted to give it a go at it. Again they were unable to duplicate the problem of overheating to takes place at the dealership because there’s not a lot of room to overheat. This all started taking place with less than 50 miles on it and now I have 151 miles altogether not very many miles for it to overheat out of the factory maybe the radiator needs to be purged.