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750 KQ=best machine?

15K views 40 replies 15 participants last post by  MUDDINMIKE 
#1 ·
I've been watching some ATV Television shows lately and was quite surprised that the host of the show prefers the 750 KQ Suzuki over any other bike. He has lots of machines in his garage but the KQ is always the one he takes on his long trail ride shows. He loves it. When asked about Can Am's, he said they were nice bikes but not as well designed as the KQ.
I've owned four Suzuki's in my life but never a KQ model so I don't know too much about them. Are they really that good? Better trail bike than the Can AM?
 
#2 ·
Maybe he's paid more by Suzuki to say that?

Opinions vary, but anyone can say their machine( or their preffered machine) is the best trail machine out there.

Nothing against Suzuki's, they are good machines, but i prefer my Can-am. Not just because i own one, but i wouldn't be on my second one if i didn't think they were the best.
 
#8 ·
He claims to be "non-sponsored" by any brand and I might just believe that because he does always give the good and the bad news about each bike he's testing.

His "bad news" about the Can Am was that it lacked a "real locker", had single lever brakes, the foot brake had no feeling to it, and they (the 800r G1) run very warm. The KQ has none of those problems and is thousands less $$. I couldn't argue with him there but I told him that they have doubled the radiator size for the 1000 and G2's!
 
#3 ·
Nice looking ride but single cylinder and no power would keep me away. I have seen one in all my travels in the last 3 years, not a big seller around here.


 
#4 · (Edited)
I've been watching some ATV Television shows lately and was quite surprised that the host of the show prefers the 750 KQ Suzuki over any other bike. He has lots of machines in his garage but the KQ is always the one he takes on his long trail ride shows. He loves it. When asked about Can Am's, he said they were nice bikes but not as well designed as the KQ.
I've owned four Suzuki's in my life but never a KQ model so I don't know too much about them. Are they really that good? Better trail bike than the Can AM?
All I have to say is BRING IT! trail, no-trail, up hill, sideways, in the air, in the mud, on the rocks and on the quarter mile! I say line up that Scrapazuki and we'll see who's machine is better. lol:aniwheeler6:

The suzuki does have a softer suspension making the slower riding much smoother. for one I find this affects the ground clearance too much because when you hit the throttle the back end squats right down and also affect your handling and the bike also tends to nose dive under heavy braking and cornering. I like the stiffer Can-Am suspension myself.
 
#5 ·
If you watch some past ATVtv episodes, Doug states that he has had the hardest time in getting ca-ams to evaluate, with Suzuki being the easiest.

Suzuki makes a nice ATV, but the ones in my club are modified heavily, suspension, ecu, clutch, regulator, tps, and the typical misc mods.
 
#7 ·
No offence but if he WANTS to ride the KQ the most, Can Am might think he would hurt himself on the 1000, heh heh heh.
 
#9 ·
I love my outlander......but I have always heard when it comes to a single cylinder utility quad, suzuki has the best one out there. In fact I hear those 750's run pretty damn good for a 1 lunger!
 
#10 · (Edited)
I have a 2009 Outtie 800R XT, but still have my first ride a 2008 KQ 450. Suzuki in my estimation is one of the most underated ATV manufacturers out there.

When you actually compare features versus cost I think they may have all of them beat as "Best Value" out there. The reliability seems good as well. For a trail riding, comfortable machine they are tough to beat?

Now this doesn't mean they are the best ATV out there, as you have to match the machine to the rider's wish list. If they made a twin cylnder rotax powered monster like CanAm my purchase decision may have taken longer than 5 minutes............lol

**and to boot they are sort of manufactured in the US, well assembled anyway................**
 
#11 ·
Prsonally not a fan of them at all. My bro ha an 09 and while it was fairly reliable, driving it was another story. At the time I had an 09 grizzly and both of us way preferred the grizz to the kq. And the suspension on it wasn't that soft either, I though it was quite rough, no give in the rea at all. It was the front that would flop all over.
 
#13 ·
That's interesting. The host of the show said that the KQ was basically the same bike as the Grizz but with a smoother, taller-geared engine that ran at slightly less RPM throughout and thus saved a little more gas. I, on the other hand, have a friend who just bought a 700 Griz with power steering and I thought it rode really nice and was geared really well too. But I haven't ridden the KQ to compare to.
 
#12 ·
They probably are a really nice ATV, however, they are all nice as of late (With the exception of the Chinese ones, lol). I just think a single cylinder should stay in the 500 class. Yes, they are good, but I'm all set with the KQ and the simplicity of it. The dealers up here in NH still have 09's in the showroom. One of the salesman told me that they can't give them away at cost. LOL
 
#19 ·
So far no ATV is a 10.

I've owned Honda, Polaris, can-am, Yamaha, and have had an opportunity to ride many of our local club members' rides, which includes every brand except kymco. Yes have used a Qlink brand.

The weakness of the can-am are well overshadowed by its strengths. I would rate the models as follows:

400-500: 5
650-800: 6
Xt models: 7
Xxc and xmr: 8

Mod the clutch, cool the engine, strengthen frame and after market suspension: 9
To make it a 10, new a arms to adjust camber & caster, 4 wheel front and back separately controlled brakes, new ecu, and for a bonus a way to manually lock dif

Kq base would be about a 6, tweak out at 8, with the single lung being the bottleneck
I would rate my grizzly slightly less 5.8 to 7.8, with primary differentiator being the grizzly having much softer metal frame than the kq
 
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#20 ·
I did give an 09 Suki 750 KQ with EPS a try a couple years ago, I owned it about 6 months total, put maybe 500-800 miles on it before I sold it. By comparison it probably is one of the better single cyl models out there.
But by general comparison to Can-am or Polaris its technology is a little behind the curve.

Suki sales were way off and if not mistake they pretty much took about a year off from building quads, to allow dealers to try and sell off what they had.

Some of the reasons I sold mine were lacking comfort by comparison, power was sub par compared to my other twin powered machines of similar and less displacement. Tall and just not all that stable in off camber situation, I never rolled it, just always felt on verge of rolling it when comparied to my Can-am or Polaris quads.

If I were to recomend a machine in this price class, with similar horse power numbers to the 750 KQ, with more features, and great value, I would say look at a Can-am 500 XT. I am not saying that because I am in a Can-am forum either, I recomend that same model in Polaris forums as well.

The Outlander 500XT is a Very solid value, still has a V-twin, has very stable handeling, ultra smooth ride, way smoother then the KQ, I believe the Can-am 500 puts off a little less heat then some of the larger bore versions. with less vibration do to the very well balanced V-twin. The hp I believe is still slightly greater then the suki 750's hp numbers. I believe price is also very comprable.

I know many people just look at the CCs pictured on the sticker, but in reality that is not a good measure of a machines real world performance. Take the Artice cat 1000 it made less power then the Can-am 800 and Polaris 850s. Then there is the Honda Rincon 700(680cc) it performs like many others on the markets 400-450cc class machines.

If ultimate power is not the ultimate quest, my top value pic on the market is the Can-am 500XT.

If max comfort is the top prioity then my pic is the Polaris 850 Sportsman.

If ultimate power is the top priority then my pic is simply the Outlander 1000.

None of the Japan mfgs seem to understand stabilty, comfort, power and modern ATV conviences the way Can-am and Polaris do.

I have owned or at least rode all the top models from all the major mfgs and the Japan brands just don't seem to be on par with the North American brands.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I did give an 09 Suki 750 KQ with EPS a try a couple years ago, I owned it about 6 months total, put maybe 500-800 miles on it before I sold it. By comparison it probably is one of the better single cyl models out there.
But by general comparison to Can-am or Polaris its technology is a little behind the curve.

Suki sales were way off and if not mistake they pretty much took about a year off from building quads, to allow dealers to try and sell off what they had.

Some of the reasons I sold mine were lacking comfort by comparison, power was sub par compared to my other twin powered machines of similar and less displacement. Tall and just not all that stable in off camber situation, I never rolled it, just always felt on verge of rolling it when comparied to my Can-am or Polaris quads.

If I were to recomend a machine in this price class, with similar horse power numbers to the 750 KQ, with more features, and great value, I would say look at a Can-am 500 XT. I am not saying that because I am in a Can-am forum either, I recomend that same model in Polaris forums as well.

The Outlander 500XT is a Very solid value, still has a V-twin, has very stable handeling, ultra smooth ride, way smoother then the KQ, I believe the Can-am 500 puts off a little less heat then some of the larger bore versions. with less vibration do to the very well balanced V-twin. The hp I believe is still slightly greater then the suki 750's hp numbers. I believe price is also very comprable.

I know many people just look at the CCs pictured on the sticker, but in reality that is not a good measure of a machines real world performance. Take the Artice cat 1000 it made less power then the Can-am 800 and Polaris 850s. Then there is the Honda Rincon 700(680cc) it performs like many others on the markets 400-450cc class machines.

If ultimate power is not the ultimate quest, my top value pic on the market is the Can-am 500XT.

If max comfort is the top prioity then my pic is the Polaris 850 Sportsman.

If ultimate power is the top priority then my pic is simply the Outlander 1000.

None of the Japan mfgs seem to understand stabilty, comfort, power and modern ATV conviences the way Can-am and Polaris do.

I have owned or at least rode all the top models from all the major mfgs and the Japan brands just don't seem to be on par with the North American brands.

Thanks cc1999. Very useful information. I like to hear both sides of the story.
I have to admit that the Outtie 1000 really appealed (appeals) to me from the standpoint that I've always ridden bikes on the "low end" of the power scale trying to save weight, gas, tires, etc. so I thought it would be kinda fun jumping up to the other end of the spectrum for a change. I'm also getting tired of getting tired feet because I usually ride standing up to avoid pissing blood the next day from the solid rear axle over the nasty stuff (lots of it 'round here). So I went studying all the pros and cons of the different rear ends out there and it became clear pretty quickly that the trailing arm independent rear was the best because it combined the "cush" of double a arm independent with the "anti-squish and roll" of the swing arm solid axle.
So the Outtie 1000 comes out and has the power and ride I'm looking for. The question is will those things overshadow the fact that it's a fat, heavy pig with bad brakes and some fit and finish issues? If it does, the extra coin it costs will be water under the bridge because I'd be riding what makes me happy.:th_smiliethumbsup:
 
#23 ·
The question is will those things overshadow the fact that it's a fat, heavy pig with bad brakes and some fit and finish issues?
Oh Oh, run for cover I see an ass whoppin comin on.....lol:th_smilieroflmao:The "latest and greatest" boys can get a little testy!
 
#24 ·
Thanks cc1999. Very useful information. I like to hear both sides of the story.
I have to admit that the Outtie 1000 really appealed (appeals) to me from the standpoint that I've always ridden bikes on the "low end" of the power scale trying to save weight, gas, tires, etc. so I thought it would be kinda fun jumping up to the other end of the spectrum for a change. I'm also getting tired of getting tired feet because I usually ride standing up to avoid pissing blood the next day from the solid rear axle over the nasty stuff (lots of it 'round here). So I went studying all the pros and cons of the different rear ends out there and it became clear pretty quickly that the trailing arm independent rear was the best because it combined the "cush" of double a arm independent with the "anti-squish and roll" of the swing arm solid axle.
So the Outtie 1000 comes out and has the power and ride I'm looking for. The question is will those things overshadow the fact that it's a fat, heavy pig with bad brakes and some fit and finish issues? If it does, the extra coin it costs will be water under the bridge because I'd be riding what makes me happy.:th_smiliethumbsup:[/QUOTE]

I feel your pain lol. I used to take my ktm everywhere...dunes to 11k feet and suffered everywhere but the dunes. For a sra quad it rides really well but not good enough.

I took my dads KQ 700 a few times with my brother, he rides a 420 Rancher, and he had just as much power to climb and would pull away from me going up the trail on some hills. Im not impressed with 700 KQ. Scary SOB going downhill. I had to throttle hard in several spots to keep the back end from passin the front were the rancher went on down with no problems at all. The ride is smooth but the handling sucks at anything over 15-20 on the trails or mountain roads. My Outlander is leaps and bounds better than the 700KQ in all aspects. I really like the rancher. Its easier to manuver through tight spots and can be manhandled way easier than my Outty if the need arises, but doesnt give me near the grin :thumbsmilie: :smilietwocents:
 
#31 ·
Im not impressed with 700 KQ. Scary SOB going downhill. I had to throttle hard in several spots to keep the back end from passin the front were the rancher went on down with no problems at all. The ride is smooth but the handling sucks at anything over 15-20 on the trails or mountain roads. :smilietwocents:

That's also good to know.
Yesterday, I got to ride a brand spanking new Yamaha Grizz 700 fi ps up a pretty steep mountain road. Unfortunately, it wasn't in stock condition so I could make a straight comparison with the KQ. It had big Dirt Devil mud track tires on it (bias ply?) that were not radials and it had been lifted. But even with those things going against it, the big Grizz felt like a competent machine. Had plenty of power for the trail I was on and it stopped on a dime. So when I got home I looked up the spec sheets and was quite surprised that somebody would say the Grizz and KQ are really similar bikes. According to the factory specs, they're not. The Grizz has 4 disc brakes and the KQ has a Prairie type sealed rear. The KQ is also longer, wider, and the seat height is higher. It also has a longer wheelbase, is a bit heavier, and has less ground clearance. And the Grizz has a bigger gas tank which is a huge plus for my type of riding!

So I think the KQ might be crossed off my list in favor of the Grizz if I decide to go with a "smaller" machine than the Outtie.:th_smiliepullhair:
 
#25 ·
To suggest that a Suzuki KQ or a Grizz is a superior ATV than a CanAm is a pretty far stretch in most peoples minds.

Now if you look at the difference in price (not MSRP alone) but what they sell for I believe a case could be made that other manufacturers offer better value.............not a better ATV but perhaps better value than CanAm?

The latest, greatest, most powerful and most expensive is not always the best value?

:smilietwocents:
 
#27 ·
I have searched Craigslist for hours and hours. The Can-Am's that come on are nearly the same price as a leftover. I have seen that Can-Am is the only brand that keeps their value. Well, for some reason, I noticed Grizzly did as well. The Brute's, Sportsman's, and King Quad's are cheap on there. :smilietwocents:
 
#37 ·
the way i see it Hondas are more of a work/utility quad while the Can Am's are more of a performance quad. it's like comparing a pick up to a sports car.
 
#40 ·
I have own both suzuki 750kq and 800r can am

Each quad have pros ans cons

Suzuki pros : button 4wd lock, easier to work on then can am, friction clutch, less belt wear,stock all stainless steel exhaust froom header to muffler, wet brake

Cons, cant take 30 in tire without a lift, rear suspension pick up everything from a mud hole with you, fuel tank vent open to air without filter, lag from take off to 4000rpm, less ground clearance

Can am pros : power, 30in fit stock, more ground clearance

Cons : front suspension fail within 1000km, tranny vent, fuel tank vent, easier to spot/smoke belt, visco lock ( qe is better), harder to work on, rear brake suck

I love both bike, properly buy another can am for the power.
 
#41 ·
I traded my 08 King for my Outty. I was tired of always wishin it had more power and better handling. No mater what mod I did , it just wasn't enough.
 
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