During the presentation they explained all
the features of the new Grizzly 550 including
the EPS, Arms, open gate style Shift lever,
thumb throttle, Air intake, low fuel tank and
of course the plush seat. All these are things
taken directly from the new Grizzly 700 which
was to be expected with a couple improvements,
like a wider thumb throttle and longer shift
arm which will also be on the 2008 Grizzly 700,
but what about the most important part, the
Grizzly 550 engine.
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| For
2009, the Grizzly 550 & 700 thumb
throttle has been reshaped for improved
feel & less fatigue |
Improved
left hand gate style shifter with new
ratio's for easier engagement & operation |
 |
New 558cc
Fuel Injected Engine, which is based
on the Grizzly 700 with the bore reduced
to 92mm and matched to a new cylinder
head with matched valve & combustion
chamber size
|
They started with the basic 700 and made some
design changes internally to make it the best
550 out there. Obviously different bore and
stroke to get it down to 558cc, then they changed
the valve sizes to go with the different displacement
and finally the intake or throttle body since
it is fuel injected. They went from a 44mm to
a 40mm to again match the displacement. According
to Travis and Pat, the all knowing Yamaha Guru’s
on the Grizzly, and they should be, they helped
design the new Grizzly, everything went together
perfect giving the Grizzly 550 the perfect power
range for its class.
The day started off with a great breakfast
overlooking the lake. Once again, I just barely
made breakfast. The bed was so comfortable.
Anyway, we then headed out to the ride area.
A couple years back this area was hit by some
of the worst fires in history and yet it was
hard tell. The area was beautiful and rebounding
quick. When we arrived all I wanted to do was
ride. They went over all the safety rules and
guidelines and made sure everyone was aware
of the dangers like rattle snakes. We filled
our packs with water and hit the trails.
I wanted to get right into it and find some
areas with big rocks or rain ruts or something.
Travis Hollins was our groups guide, and he
said the rocks were about a 40 minute ride,
which would give us some time to get to know
the Grizzly 550 before we tackled the rock garden.
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| The
Yamaha engineers took into account that
Utility ATVs are typically driven through
water, so they airbox on the Grizzly 550
is located where you typically find the
gas tank, which provides a high air intake
point to allow for deeper water crossing,
and the gas tank is located under the
seat, which is still easy to access for
fill-ups and its lower position provides
for a lower center of gravity for improved
handling
|
While on our way, we had a couple water crossing.
Not real deep but enough to see how well the
foot boards protected us from getting our feet
wet, but that was to be expected. As we got
more comfortable with the Grizzly 550 we pushed
a little harder checking out the power and the
suspension. I kept having to remind myself this
was a utility quad not a sport quad as I launched
it time and time again through the whooped out
trails. Except for the bounce from the tires,
the landings were plush. I did almost loose
it once in a long set of whoops when the rear
tried to bounce me over the bars, but this is
a 4x4 utility quad not my YFZ450.
