Exceptional machine

I recently purchased the yamaha big bear 400 irs. I have been nothing but pleased with its performance. I find it can easily surpass other quads in rough terrain and mud. (Especially with the option of servo activated posi lock 4x4.)The cage is a rough poly-coated steel frame,no plastic BS to break ...off and look ugly. I chose this quad over the grizzly because of its rugged design, and the ability to shift through gears with the tap of a toe - vs. a CVT that is less than ideal for the true use of an off road atv.I've found the high end could be faster, but i only have a couple hundred miles on it. I haven't really pushed 5th gear into the high rpms. This quad will do anything you ask it to, as long as your skill level can negotiate the situation. Turning radius is A+. I advise this atv for any riding enthusiast who still likes to feel in control of every aspect of their ride. Read Full Review

I love it

I had my Big Bear Since Mar 2010. it is very Durable, I take it off road and ocassionaly through mud. for leisure the family ride it around the neighborhood and haven't any problem. great ATV. Read Full Review

disappointed

I work on a dairy farm and we use one of these and a Honda TRX500FM. When we first got the bike a few things didn't work and a lot of stuff didn't fit properly. I was shocked with the lack of guards and protection. Riding in mud and dirt it just feed mud right onto the engine and your legs, this ca...uses it to get really hot.

Suspension: Comfortable but far to rolly, this bike just rolls around and corners worse than any other bike I have ever ridden, much, much worse. It feels very much like you are driving a boat.

Engine: Not enough low down power, you have to rev it to get anything out of it. We had a few out leaks in the first few weeks too, turns out the rocker cover wasn't screwed down enough at the factory. Oil would leak down and vaporise on the exhaust, smelt horrible.

Gearbox: How hard is it to make a good gearbox? I mean seriously. When you change up the gear lever usually sticks up leaving you in a false neutral and the engine revving it's nuts off. 2nd and 3rd gear are almost the same ratio, 5th isn't high enough and the bike is screaming by the time you get to 45km/h (25mph). You have to be going back wards to change out of reverse, it just jams in gear if you're not moving.

Electrics: Hour meter didn't work when we got it, speedo died after about 2 weeks, lights are insufficient to say the least. Needs a handle bar mounted light.

Off road ability: it's pretty capable off road, the girls can't steer it in 4WD, let alone with the diff lock on. It's aggressive tyres get it through most stuff.

Plastics: Well designed and quite strong, other designers should look here for inspiration.

Problems: It has an appetite for CV boots, they aren't protected by anything. The oil cooler is right out the front, completely unprotected. We had a stick go right through it, the new oil cooler is looking very bashed up now. The coil also died for no apparent reason.

Verdict: It's done about 2600kms/220 hours now, it's broken down so many times it's not funny, it's crap to ride, it's too low geared. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, you can do much better for the money. The hondas can do about 15'000kms with out an isuue, we had one that got to 31'000kms. This Yamaha is much worse than those Hondas in every way (apart from the plastics), cost more too.

Our bikes do about 12'000kms a year, they get treated pretty rough but do get taken care of mechanically. I don't think this Yamaha will make it for a year. It is very obviously designed with cost in mind. Read Full Review

carb crap

Look bought this thing in feb. 2010 and since then i have had nothing but problems with the carb. It stops up with the smallest molecules you know the ones that you can't see. it doesn't come with an inline fuel filter which might be the reason the carb messes up every 40 miles. You can't mod it wit...h out canceling the manufacture warranty from Yamaha that last six months from the date of purchase. Oh yeah don't let them bullsh*t you into paying another $4000.00 for a $6800.00 ATV, by purchasing there extended warranty. If you live in Jacksonville, north Carolina do not buy anything from britts motorsports they do not have yamaha certified technicans half the time to fix your stuff. Plus they do a job in about an hour & 1/2 and charge you four hours, at about $100.00 or more and hour. Sounds like a rip off huh. Their parts price are through the roof, you could buy the parts online or advance auto way cheaper including shipping. They only care about the commision they get. The more stuff that talk you into getting the more they take home. Hell they have gps locators for theft reason you could have installed for about $7000.00 more. Smith & Wesson stops theft for about .80 cents a slug, or lock it up in the garage. Britts will try to tell you will have to for repairs to factory defects within the 6month warranty they are full of it. Read Full Review