i just thought i would share some weights with yall, these are mostly"wet-weights" as posted by manufacturers on there websites... the 250cc's are around 450#. but the 400cc mechines are MUCH heavier(rancher being lightest in class). but the 500cc+ mechines(exept polaris) hault at about 625ish#. i simply have a hard time seeing why the heck the midsized mechines are so damb heavey!!! especially since many mid-cc ATV's are on mid-sized frames...only 60#s diffirence between midsized n fullsize mechine???


bayou 250, 425#
prarie, 605#
bf750, 652#
recon, 439#
rancher420, 547#
rancher 420at, 623#
foreman 500, 620#
rubicon, 630#
rincon, 648#
bb250, 476#
griz350(SRA), 568#
griz350(IRS), 606#
bb400, 628#
griz550, 648#
griz700, 648#
sportsman400, 589#
sportsman500, hold on to your socks-731#!!!
sportsman800, 770#
xp550, 784#
xp850, 784#

NOTE: rancher at and rincon have a whole 25# diffirence!!! but you are takeing into concideration the extra tranny weight

 

i just do not see any reason why these ATV's are so heavy! i mean there isnt that much more between a mid-sized and a full-sized ATV exapt cc size and frame size

 

i think alot has to do with what type of material was used in construction... are the wheels steel or aluminum are the a arms steel/aluminum. In some machines ie the rancher the wheels and a arms are all steel making the manufacturing process cheaper so the retail of the machine is thus cheaper.. And i'm not sure on this someone correct me if i am wrong but the rincon i believe has aluminum a arms or partial aluminum a arms and i think aluminum rims. Something elso to consider is that even though the cc is larger the physical size of the motor may not be. The motor may be the same physcical size with just a larger cylinder thus the motor size isn't going to make the machine heavier if anything it could make it a little lighter not much if any but again. Just my two cents any other thoughts i would love to hear them or if you know something else i don't or see something wrong with my theories please correct me i'm here to learn right along with everyone else. I do altho get tired of hearing about people complain about the weight of the utility quads all the time... if you want something super light agile and fast buy a sport quad not a utility!

 

i thought about the cc diffirence; more space inside the engine with using slightly more material to create it. but you are not saveing 100lbs or more with rims alone. i mean if you say they use 20% fewer materials between a midsized n full size ATV, then why dont the #'s reflect that reduction?

look at the grizzly550 and 700. same weight? i could see that if the only diffirence was cylinder size. same amount of aluminum, just mechined with a larger jug.

 

which is what i believe the 550 actually is.... is it not... everything else is comparable i think the only real difference is cc's and cost. The 550 is just a smaller bored machine the stroke is identical to the 700 the injection is identical (the only difference being the 700 has a larger injector) the plastics the racks the towing cap everything is identical its just aimed at a group that wants something a touch cheaper but still want power but maybe don't want the fuel consuming big bore.

 

The Rancher is physically smaller than most machines in it's class.

The Foreman frame is as large as the Rincon and most any other large machine. Also the Foreman has steel wheels, where the Rubicon and Rincon have alloy.

Also, in a work oriented quad, low weight probably isn't as high on the list of priorities as reliability/durability and price. If you are towing, dragging or plowing some extra weight isn't a bad thing.

Some of the Polaris machines are way heavier than most everything in their CC class, but they have a very planted feel at maximum speed, and I think the weight might have something to do with that.

That said, I think there will be more of a market for sporty 4x4 machines that lean more to the recreational side, where lighter weight makes for snappier handling and smaller stress loads when landing jumps and stuff.

 

From a PoPo's owner point of view I can tell you the weight helps alot in situations where you want to get to the bottom of a mudhole or snow covered trail. Of course that works against you when you hit that kind of mud that is too thick to get to the bottom and too thin to support your quad. I can feel the differance (obviously) between having a sport machine like the Kawasaki Lakota I had and the X2. I don't jump the bigger machines like I did the smaller ones. The Polaris frame is one of the heaviest duty frames on the market. At least with the Sportsman X2 it comes with a full metal skid plate. It's not a decoration! I've gone over rocks, logs, downed trees, deep holes, and more. A good skid plate comes in handy. So, for me, I'm willing to have the extra weight to have a quad that can take the abuse. Other than some trail rash on my plastic this quad has taken everything I've forced it to go through and over.

 

I was at a dealer a couple months ago and they were testing their new drop scale, and a new Polaris 850xp was a whopping 808 pounds right off the showroom floor.....

To equal it they put a KFX450 and a Quad Racer 450 and BOTH together weighed in at 811 ........

 

griz350(SRA), 568#
griz350(IRS), 606# about 40#s for the IRS, and the Rancher 420 is a SRA while the Rancher 420AT has a differnt trans it also has IRS. I also was talking to a dealer mech and he said that that the Griz 700 and 550 are the same machine exept the bore and stroke

 

Another factor is the horsepower to weight ratio. If you have a powerful enough engine the weight isn't as much of an issue. I can get the X2 which, with winch, tops out over 800 lbs. up to about 55 or so if I have a good 1/4 mile to get it up to speed. The X2 is also 48" wide so cornering isn't much of a problem for me. But, again, the HP/weight ratio is a really good number for comparison.