Grizzly vs Grizzly - Elka Suspension Test, Drag Race & Trail Ride 

Hey !! Cant beat Yamaha ! they build a quality bike ! if you do the maintenance she will last ya ! those 660's were a beast !

My first ATV was Yamaha's Grizzly 600!!! Air and Oil cooled, it was the first ''BIG BORE'' ATV on the market. Sold it at 30,000 k's and she ran like a top.

Hey man ! thats awesome ! what is the XTR stand for? they add some more stuff on? and yeah man I really do believe the 700 Grizz is one of the best all around machines out there, not the most powerful or fastest but Pound for Pound it's one of the best ---- THE BEST Belt drive system, not even close. Lots of low end grunt for trail riding. Good ground clearance w/ curved a-arms. A Great 4X4 system with real locking diff (No VISCO Lock or AWD bull Sh*t). thats just to name a few.

Not exactly sure what it stands for, I think it's extreme terrain and then the R . I should have said XT-R . It has a factory installed warn winch, 27" Zilla's , special paint and colour matched wheels. Prewired for a Yamaha gps . And power steering of course. I went the back way to Martin Head today and it works awesome. That's the trail you have the video of with your buddy.

Hey man, yeah thats a great trail back into Martin head (High/Low Tide trails) and I love the power steering, its great ! deffinitly dont NEED it on an ATV but now that I have it... I dont think I can go without lol

I will for sure !! I just ordered my EHS Tuner, plan on doing the AIS delete and remove the sway bar. thanks !!

I took the sway bar off of my 660 a couple weeks after I bought it. That was late July 2001. This many years later, its currently hanging on the wall in the garage. The only times I've had it back on in the last 19yrs was if I was riding doubles a lot.

Hey man ! thanks so much ! yes Evan is really lucky to have all that land with those awesome trails. im jealous haha

Hey man ! this is definitely the best type of riding, the land, woods and rivers there was amazing ! I love Sussex, it's beautiful !!

Hey man! yeah for sure, I took mine off and I'll never go back !

Oh yeah, it was the best !! beauty spot !

Hey buddy ! thanks !! and you're right, its a beautiful area ! I talked to Evan and he's cool with me camping there sometime.

Hey Buddy !! Oh man it's such a beautiful piece of land ! and Evan knows it like the back of his hand haha I actually ended up removing my rear sway bar, I love it ! I don't notice any difference when riding at speed yet, but I love it for my slower trail rides.

Hey ! thanks for all that info, I will consider it when im looking to buy some Elkas, I dont think I will anytime soon, but I'll remember this comment. thanks !

@@Maritimer If I ever make it out that way, we can go riding! Being in BC though, that would be a heck of a trip!!! Love your vids, much better skillset than I have. Keep up the great work! PS if I had to choose between Elkas and tracks, I would get tracks first. Then the Elkas after :) BTW if you get tracks, Camso/Camoplast T4s all the way

Hey man ! thanks for all that info, not hard to tell you know what youre talkin' about from experience (OR you are totally full of Shit ! hahaha jk) yeah I agree with ya, stage 2 is probably all you would need for regular trail riding, maybe if you did some super agressive/fast riding with like a Renegade/scrambler type machine or something, then jump up tp stage 3, but stage 2 is probably all most of us would need. thanks again for the info ! I appreciate it.

thanks my man ! I love getting out riding and making videos, glad you like them !

Oh I know eh ! I ned to plan a few camping trips there ! Im sure Wendell will love it !

@@Maritimer you ever watch any of Joe Robinet's bush craft stuff on RU-vid?

@@ElevationATV Yeah man for sure ! He's one of my favourites ! I've been Subb'd to him for Years.... he had under 100k subs when I first started watching. He actually Subscribes to my channel, which is awesome ! haha

@@Maritimer nice! I actually just found his videos and have been watching like crazy, really good content and totally up my alley. Thought of you as well, figured you should know about him if you hadn't already.

Hey buddy !! Oh right on, its a beauty spot eh? I was really jealous while driving through checking it all out. glad you liked the video !

Ted Peters spend that old money you have tucked away , can’t spend it all on tattoos lol

@@SCOTIAN_ Need to find a way to afford both, lol.

Ted Peters hahaha this is true

Hey Ted ! I just ordered a EHS tuner ! haha so I'll make a video on installing that, I was looking at the air box things but I might look more online and see if I can improve mine. Saying that, I haven't had any dust in my air box at all... not sure why. I cant get the exhaust, I really dont like the loud pipes on 4 strokes, now give me a 2 stroke with a pipe sounds Saweeeeeeeet ! haha If you can afford the shocks they are worth it for sure. Also my Sway bar is coming off ASAP.

Maritimer get the pipe it’s probably it that loud, listen to mainville atv kodiak that exhaust ....it’s loud . Your you can’t handle all that power 🤔🤣

I agree with ya, the sway bar removed makes all the difference. You could notice the Elkas on the bigger bumps and stuff though, no bottoming out, good rebound.

HAHA Exactly ! they are pricy but man they are nice ! maybe someday..... haha

Hey man ! Oh I was SUPER jealous of his land, it was beyond beautiful ! and yeah the Elkas are amazing, I remember Arctic Cat had them stock on their SXS for a while.... your FOX shocks are great too ! but probably not quite as good as the Elkas eh? I know I'd love to have a set of FOX's on my Grizzly.

I thought the Elka would be an upgrade untill I tried them. After several rides, I put the fox shocks back on and the Elkas have been sitting in a cabinet in the garage for the last few years. Elka is definitely over rated. The build quality is good, but they are just off the shelf shocks, and they’re customer service is terrible.

hii

@@shawnsetlich1169 I agree. I regretted buying them for my kawi. They say they set them up according to your specs, but that's a croc a shit.

Hey Shane - thanks man, glad you liked it ! I hope you get them and love them ! they are a great pair of shocks ! Also sounds like you have a Bad Ass bike !

@@Maritimer my neighbour mids bikes as a hobby, He builds them up over a few years, sells them and starts again. It's a 2013 XMR 1000 with $15k of upgrades and dynoed at 127 hp. It's a beast and I got it for $12k with 800 km on it. I'm a bigger guy and the air shocks at garbage. I have been wanting Elkas but minimal for got video reviews, your was the best I have seen. I am from Edmonton so do lots of skeg and mud trails locally and go to the mountains a lot and nothing it can't get thru. Keep up the good work.

Ohhhh that's right some of the Can Am models have air suspension... I forgot about that, maybe Elkas will be perfect for ya ! Man your neighbour sounds like a nice guy... buys a $20k bike, puts $15k into it then sells it to yoU ! hahaha Great deal! lol Oh Nice i'm up in Edmunston for work sometimes ! Im actually in Grand Falls/Plaster Rock area this week coming. Beautiful up there! I love it !

hahahaha yeah I dont ride like that too often, especially with Ol' Wendell on board haha But I love to rip up trails like that from time to time.

Hey buddy !!! Few wheelies never hurt anyone haha and yeah Evan climbed a few hills tat day that I chose to avoid haha I hear ya man, 2k is a lot of money ! I know I won't be getting a pair, I like my stock ride now, I am going to remove the sway bar and I just ordered my EHS tuner. I noticed his bike seemed to have better throttle response, and ran cooler than mine. YES man I was super jealous that his family owned all that land, I'd never leave if I owned that, it's my goal to own a big chunk of land like that someday. Man thats WILD, but Sask is WAAAAAAY bigger than NS or NB haha but man it be awesome to have tat much land ! I did add an external mic set up ! I bought a "Purple Panda" set up off of Amazon, came with everything I needed, works great too ! You should check it out, and it's not too expensive. I'll pos the link: www.amazon.ca/Purple-Panda-Microphone-Mount-10771328/dp/B01MSKI46R/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=purple+panda+mic&qid=1571698794&sr=8-2

@@Maritimer Thanx for the link bud! Which GoPro do you have & did you have to buy a "GoPro mic adapter" as suggested in the Purple Panda description? I've been using an external mic for years, but they wear out, so I'm always looking. Plus, viewers constantly ask me about my set-up, so it's good to have some info for them whenever I can. The Tuner made that big of a difference eh?

I just have the Hero 3 black edition and yes I bought the gopro mic adaptor, it might even be a gopro knock off one, I cant remember now. Yeah I'm really happy with this Purple Panda set, has everything ya need plus sounds good. I Don't know if it's justme, or maybe it's the cooler weather but I find my Battery wears out faster in my GoPro with my Mic attached... maybe it's just me, I dono. yeah the tuner is really just to make the bike not run so lean (the 708cc Grizzlies run lean to pass emissions, so they run a bit hot) the tuner just makes the bike run how it should from factory. I'll also do the AIS delete mod (the AIS just pumps air from my air box into the exhaust, it's also for emissions but it also causes a lot of popping or "back firing" on deceleration.

@@Maritimer My mic doesn't effect the battery life in my GoPro Hero3+. Not sure if that makes u feel any better or not, but just thought I'd mention it - lol

I was just wondering if he can wheelie with the elka shocks just as easy as the stock shocks? I had a shock blow out on mine. So i need to invest some serious money. So the elka shocks are worth it being that i need to replace them anyways? And can i get the front end up just as easy as the stock shocks? Any help is good help here. Lol. Thanks

Hey man ! thank's a lot !! and I agree with you, for the price, the Grizzly should come with some more options, the shocks would be nice AND every ATV should come with a winch. thanks again !

hahaha I ordered my EHS Tuner and my sway bar is coming off for sure ! his bike felt super stable, not tippy at all.

How much did the tuner set you back? Mines a 2019 so back to the Yamaha 686 motor. My friend also put a shim in his clutch which gives him a little more low end hp. I'm hesitant to do too much until my warranty is done lol

Hey man ! We'll you picked twi great bikes and cant go wrong with either one, they both will out live you haha super solid reliable machines. Im guessing the King Quad was more powerful and you said the Honda was smoother? I cant say anything bad about KQ or the Rincon, it's all what you like best. I hope you get one of them and get out on the trails !

Really? I’m surprised the Honda rode softer. I’ve owned one for years and the ride is one of the reasons I bought something else.

@@therider6926 did you have a 2017 or up Rubicon with independent suspension?

thanks buddy !!!

Hey !! Oh yea they are beauty shocks ! I wish I could justify spending that kind of cash on them, maybe someday haha

hi, i'm looking to get some shocks, maybe Elka Stage 3 for my Max850. Where do you see biggest improvements over stocks? I do little bit of trails but mostly hunting in rough muddy trails, slow crawling ditches not so much speed. Your opinion..? Trying to justify spending $2000

Hey buddy ! thanks a lot ! I was chatting with ya in IG. it would be good to get out for a ride.

Hey Pat ! thanks a lot man !

@@Maritimer you bet bro u ever get a set of elkas

Hey Mark ! haha I think that would be my xmas and bday gifts for the rest of my life lol to be honest; the wife and I don't do big Christmas presents, we do maybe a few small gifts and for birthdays we usually just go to dinner, It's such a money grab all of these Holidays, all that matters is Family really. BUT Maybe I'll hint to her that I want some Elkas HAHA

Hey ! yeah man it is a beauty spot, I was really jealous haha my dream is to own a bunch of land like that. I felt like the EHS tuner gave a little better throttle response and obviously made the motor run cooler. I just ordered my Tuner haha

Hey John ! Yeah man Evan is super lucky to have all that land and with some amazing trails on them.

thanks buddy !!

Hey man ! thanks ! and Lucky you ! those XTR's look great ! love that colour scheme !

Thanks buddy !

Hey buddy ! I Said the same thing until I drove my buddies, and it was still very very stable, I Dont do much logging roads ripping at 100km/hr, Im mostly trail riding and I think i'll be removing my sway bar for sure !

thanks buddy !

I agree with ya man, I cant see myself getting a pair unless I ran into some extra cash haha but even then... I don't mind the stock ride.

Hey Mike ! thanks so much ! I see you've been watching a lot of videos lately, thanks so much !

Hey man ! Where in NB are you moving too? glad you found my videos ! Something against Hondas ?!?!?! haha Hell No ! I love Honda !! I was looking at the 680 Rincon and the 750 King Quad when I was buying a new ATV in 2017. I also own a Honda Africa Twin adventure motorcycle and a Honda Lawn Mower ! hahaha the Rincon is a nice bike but I wanted something with a little more pep in it's step, little more sporty. Honda needs to upgrade that bike big time, if you drive a Rincon then a Grizzly you'll notice a difference. I will say I loved the ride of the Rincon, seemed to be much smoother.

@@Maritimer Why did you choose the Grizz over the King Quad ?

Hey buddy ! yeah I wish I owned that land haha its beautiful ! and the Elkas are a bit too rich for my blood, I'l lstick with the stock suspension for now lol

Thanks man ! glad you liked it !

Hey !!! We'll I have stock suspension and honestly I find it to be good, I never have any issues with it limiting my riding at all. If I were you, I'd rock the stock suspension for a while, see if you like/dont like it, and if you end up not liking it, then maybe upgrade.

thanks man !

Hey ! Yeah they are an awesome shock for sure ! I'd love to get a set someday.

@@Maritimer I can't wait to run them this year with the tracks on!!!

Tracks and Elkas ?!? you're making me jealous ! haha

@@Maritimer Well,you do have the newer machine :) Bought mine new in 2014. Tracks are wonderful, just finished re-bearing them for the 2019 season. Pretty great in the snow and mud, and awesome when plowing. Well worth the $$$ if you don't have or don't need a sled :)

Hey buddy ! I Love my Big Horn 1.0's they are amazing in the trails, rocks, snow, sand, mud, hard pac, I'd say they are the best or one of the best all around tires going. Now there are some that say they aren't the best in Deep Mud.... I dont really go in deep mud so... no bother to me. if you plan on riding in some deeper mud then maybe the Zillas would be better. They are also good as a trail tire and are better in deeper mud and im told are amazing in the snow. I cant see them being as smooth on the trail as the BH though. Honourable mentions could be the Dirt Commanders, ITP Blackwater Evo's, Kenda Bear claw HTR. I had Dirt Devil 2's before and I liked those. I also had Swamp Lites and they have the nick name "Plug Lites" for a reason, allthough they were good in snow and soft stuff, they sucked on hard stuff and easily punctured. Id also stay away from the Big Horn 2.0's they are lighter but they dont last as long and aren't as tough of a tire as the original 1.0's. just my opinion.

Hey ! Yep those ol 450's are a great machine, super reliable ! they have basically a lot of the same stuff the grizzly has with only 450cc motor, so even less change you will break anything haha Top speed on the Grizzly on a flat is usually around 110km/hr or like 63mph. I'm glad you like your 450 and hope it lasts forever which is very well could haha but I'd take a Grizzly 700 anyday over a 450 but that's just my opinion, I love the seating, handlebars, and not that I care too much about power but the 700 for sure has more low and end top end. My brother used to have the 400 Kodiak and it was a great machine.

Hey man ! thanks for checking out my video ! We'll you're a bigger guy and you have experience riding off road with dirt bikes so I think if you go under 500cc it might be a bit boring for you, depending on your riding style. I Cant say enough good things about the Grizzly 700, I love it ! The perfect trail machine, lots of power, low end grunt for slow trails, Decent top speed of around 110km or like 65mph. Good ground clearance with curved a-arms stock, smooth ride, best belt drive in the game (no comparison, 10 year belt warranty!) one of the best 4X4 systems too with real locking front differential, plus Yamaha quality and reliability. Although I haven't has an issue with my 708 motor that Yamaha contracted Subaru to build them from years 2016-18 I'd probably try to keep away from them, a lot of people have had an issue with smoking on cold start... Yamaha has a recall on them now (top end rebuild). Yamaha went back to their own 686cc motor that they put in the grizzly from 2008-2015 then from 2019+ it's a tougher motor than the 708 and I dont notice much power difference in the two. so if you can find a used 2015 Grizzly, do that. and if you do get a 708 motor maybe stay away from the 1st year 2016, try to go with 2017-18. they seem to be less problematic. Now other bikes I'd look at; 1) Honda Rincon 680 will be close in price, very reliable and smooth but hasn't changed much and is not as sporty as the Grizzly. 2)Suzuki King Quad 750 is a great machine too, they haven't changed in a long time but are really reliable and a tough machine for sure ! (this was my 2nd choice next to my Grizz) If you have a smaller budget, the Yamaha Kodiak 700 is a nice machine, with pretty much all the same options as the Grizzly but a little more oriented towards work over sport. The Honda Rubicon/Forman 500 or the new 520 are really nice and have some great reviews, they won't blow your hair back in the sport department but reliability and quality is very high ! Kawasaki builds pretty reliable and powerful machines and they are usually cheaper than Yamaha and Honda.. so maybe check out the Brute Force 750. I don't know too much about the smaller Can Am or Polaris machines. Im not a huge Arctic Cat fan.... (just my opinion) I guess it comes down to Needs vs Wants, Your riding style and your budget...

Maritimer that’s the most legit response ever! Thank you. I can’t wait to get one. I miss riding dirt bikes but it’s time for something new haha. Thanks again. I subscribed yesterday!

thanks buddy. yeah I started riding dirt bikes ! Kawasaki KDX 80. loved that little 2 stroke haha thank you !

Hey Alex ! thanks for checking out the video. Honestly I don't think the stage 4's are a MUST but they would be better than the stage 3's b/c your able to adjust the REBOUND of the shock. Most stock suspension is set up for a 180-200lb rider so if you add an extra 110lb or if you have a heavy girl maybe 160lb then it will affect how the shocks handle bumps and cornering for sure. Or maybe you ride a Polaris which I find their suspension to be very soft, if you add the extra rider your bike squats a lot, and your back end will hit on more stuff your riding over. My grizzly is stock suspension and I don't have any issues with my girl on back, she's only like 110lb though, I just know not to drive crazy and if there are any steep hills I will get her to get off.... the Grizzly tends to pop the front up easily and very easy with someone on back. Sorry about the long response haha

Makes sense. Thanks for the reply. I’ve got a grizzly also. I think the stage threes would be a nice upgrade for it

Hey Ryan, I'm not 100% sure to be honest. but in my optionion with the Grizzly's I dont see why someone would pay the extra for any of those models, almost every Grizzly comes with a winch (Here in Canada) and usually the first thing people change on there ATV is Rims and Tires... so really you're paying for the Graphics/Paint/Colour, and some coloured shock springs on the SE.... in my mind it's not worth the extra $$ unless you Really like/Want the different colors. just my opinion thought, Id price up a regular Grizzly like mine then add rims/tires compared to one of the SE or XTR models....

I agree with ya buddy, I don't find the stock ride bad on my ATV so I don't bother with the after market shocks.

Hey ! I got mine direct from EHS, it's the only place to get the EHS tuner I believe. store.ehsracing.com/ehsracing_efi_fuel_controllers.html

I want to get a grizzly and would like to know as well👍🏻

Hey buddy ! We'll you are driving an ATV that weighs as much as a small tank, so you will need a higher PSI to keep them tires from rolling over LOL !!! jk buds, I think I need to remove my sway bar for sure ! I loved how it handled without it. The EHS tuner is really just to make the bike run less lean, in turn making it run cooler, not really for performance. but now I need to get mine faster than Evans haha

Maritimer mine ran hot as well , killed to birds with one stone dyno tune with. Power commander 5 😂. It is a tank but a well oiled machine haha. That rips dirt roads at 105km and rides like sitting on your coach . Ha

Hey Tracy ! yes he put the stage 4's on the back b/c they have a rebound adjustment which the stage 3's don't have. rebound is the speed that your shocks go back to normal after being compressed. so you can adjust those for the terrain, style of riding or maybe you have a passenger on back.

Why wouldn't you want the stage 4's f&r then?

@@traceyhewes95 Probably price. But you can get cheaper Elka Legacy Plus shocks that have rebound adjusters, at least for sport quads.

Hey ! I'm not familiar with them, I've only ever had Super Winch and Warn. Sorry.

Hey ! I'd hope there aren't any Jeeps on my buddies land haha

thats definitely true ! haha that will be my excuse lol

LOL You Gotta compare apples to apples man, and your YZ250 is snow compared to my Honda Africa Twin 1000..... ATV is slower for sure ! slower ride but WAY smoother, can carry gear on the racks, 4X4, and your not tired at the end of a day of riding like you would be on a dirt bike. Would you race a Chev truck vs a Corvette too ?? lol I grew up riding dirt bikes too, KX80 I loved that bike haha