From mountain camping to rocky desert trails, it even saw some sand action. This is a utility quad with enough horsepower to easily transport any rider and their gear, but with handling and balance that allows the lightest rider to control it with ease. (Yes, you can even pull enough power to pop a wheelie!) The differences between the 2002 model and the new 2003 are:
 Rider 1 - Experience Level:
Intermediate (Pattie). What am I looking for in a quad?
Everything I found on the Prairie. Simple controls, jump-on-and-go.
As with most medium and large-sized utilities, this quad feels like
you are "driving" it. If you are used to a sport quad of any type,
you will immediately notice that you don't sit with your knees
tucked up like a jockey. The Prairie has positioned the large gas tank well, so there is no unnatural wide angle to the knees. I don't need to pop a wheelie on a 600# quad, but I do want it to have considerable acceleration and top speed. I easily got it up to 58 mph, into the wind (on a closed track, etc etc); factory specs say it is capable of faster speeds and we've heard reports that it will, but that was as much as I could squeeze out of it, and was certainly fast enough for 99% of the applications it's intended for. After several riding days where the vehicle choices included the Prairie, a stock Z400, or a very-modified Raptor, I found myself repeatedly preferring the Prairie. The only time I felt out-matched by the trail was on sections with deep whoops - the suspension works well, but there's only so much it can do. You just have to be glad you have a very comfortable seat and non-grip foot areas. I will say that in whoops at fairly fast speeds, I found it very well balanced (didn't try to nose-in like the heavier Bombardier Quest 650) and the rear end never tried to come around when the bouncing took over (like I experienced on the Yamaha Grizzly) - it tracked straight ahead, and I felt very confident and secure on the Prairie. Overall - I love this quad. If I had to buy one myself, honestly though, I'd pick up the Prairie 360. The smaller, lighter version is a better match for my size, and though you lose horsepower and carrying capacity, it is more sporty and versatile for our personal varying riding demands. The Prairie 650 feels a lot more
powerful than the new Honda Rincon 650. The Kawasaki engine braking
system works beautifully. It doesn't kick in when you are backing
off at speed like some of the other big bores - it kicks in below 5
MPH which is where you really need it on steep declines.
The Prairie 650 makes a fun rock crawler and the
locking front differential works well when you need that extra
traction. (I do think the Prairie 360
is a
little easier to maneuver than its big brother on advanced rock
crawling type obstacles.)
What don't I like about
it?
The stock Dunlop tires. The front tires
cause the Prairie to be a little spongy in the front, sometimes
feeling like it is diving when taking corners at speed. Luckily
this can be easily taken care of with the many aftermarket tire
options available. Are you a hunter? You have to check out the
Prairie 650 in CAMO - very nice. This machine can be a sport
machine or a work horse. Rider 5- Experience Level: Advanced (Todd)
For three days during the 2002 Rocky Mountain ATV Jamboree I was
able to put the Prairie 650 through a wide variety of terrain and
trail types, from straight sand flats to steep, freshly cut
mountain switchbacks. Throughout all these rides the Prairie
performed at the head of the pack in both performance and rider
comfort.
Compared to several other utility quads I've had a chance to
ride, the 600+ lb weight felt lighter than it actually was, when sliding through
turns on the flats and airing it out on the few jumps we managed to find. The
suspension was plush and landings were very smooth - nicer in fact than on my
sport quad with stock shocks. Throughout a mostly flat ride with wide straight-aways, the Prairie was able
to accelerate past the other utility quads in the pack and reached a brisk top
speed of over 60mph, as indicated on the digital speedometer.
Not knowing the range that 4.5 gallon tank would provide, the first day's ride got a little tentative after the trip was extended and 85 miles were indicated on the odometer. Although the fuel indictor dropped to below the last marker, the low fuel warning light never came on. The Prairie never complained and made it back to town for a refuel, ready for the more technical ride the next day. The trail ride the second day was the first chance I had to try out the electronically-activated 2WD/4WD switch. With no need to stop and manually lock a differential, the Prairie provided the ease and comfort of being able to use 4WD during any short technical areas. Throughout the day however, the Prairie proved it very rarely actually needed the 4WD mode as it effortlessly climbed steep switchbacks and crawled through mud holes. Kawasaki indicates on the technical specifications that the Prairie includes electronically controlled engine braking. This performed very well, and no matter what the speed - during either mountain descents or on flat runs, the Prairie would slow itself down without over-revving the engine or causing jerky stops. I found that the majority of the time I wasn't even using the manual brakes, instead letting the Prairie do the work through the EBS. Overall the Prairie is an excellent utility quad and one I'd definitely recommend to any rider. It has proven to be a great performer on the utility side and a sporty ride when you get the chance to open it up in the flats. Kawasaki definitely has a winner with the Prairie 650! A trip back to the Dealer and
the problem was correctly found to be a bad engine brake actuator
module. Easy fix, part in stock, covered under warranty.
Kawasaki Motors Corp.,
U.S.A. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OffRoadDotCom
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