First Look 2007 Yamaha Grizzly 700
New 2007 Yamaha Grizzly 700 with FI and EPS
The long wait is over. The “no disclose” date is over and I can finally tell someone about this new ATV from Yamaha. I had the opportunity to attend a Yamaha invite held in Montana at the Paws Up resort. I was able to be one of the first to ride this new ATV, but have had to wait until today to be able to disclose anything about it. My original guess was right on. However, Yamaha did have a new feature up their sleeve that I would have never guessed. The new ATV for 2007 is the Yamaha Grizzly 700 EFI. Yes, that is right, it now has fuel injection. However, on the stickers, Yamaha is just using the “FI” for fuel injection instead of EFI for electronic fuel injection (even though it is).
I will give you a quick rundown for now. I will be posting more photos and maybe a video clip in the next while. However, my full feature review of the new Grizzly 700 will be in an upcoming issue of Hunting Illustrated and after I get some more ride time on it. I had one full day of riding the new Grizzly 700 in Montana and put about 60 miles on it. Let’s get to the good stuff of what is new. I know I have missed something but here are some of the main things:
What’s New
- bumped up to a 686cc engine (now called a 700)
- included fuel injection (improved performance, cold starting, high altitude riding)
- improved suspension front and rear
- added more padding to the seat (it is very soft and comfortable)
- moved gas tank under seat and centered for lower center of gravity
- air filter has been moved up to where the gas tank was originally with improved design
- improved tires
- motor and transmission has been beefed up to handle the bigger engine and power
- brakes have been improved, especially the rear brakes (big improvement here)
- battery has been moved to the front under the plastic for easy connection to winch, etc.
- bigger and brighter head lights
- front A-arms have been widened to allow more width on the ground clearance
- rack system has been changed. Still has the powder-coated racks, but they can be unbolted and switched out for cargo boxes, etc. Instead of tying down your box, just unbolt rack and bolt on custom fit box and other Yamaha accessories.
- redesigned plastic and stickers all around
- we were riding full-production ATVs, so dealers should have these fairly soon
- available colors are green, red, blue and also a Realtree camo version
- MSRP is looking around $7,900 U.S. (don’t quote me on this)
- A big surprise feature never before seen on an ATV…EPS (keep reading)
How’s the Ride
First impression is very positive. A good increase in power but nothing that is going to blow your socks off. Power is very strong from start to finish. Yamaha claims to have given both the high and low range a slightly higher RPM for smoother riding. I felt there were two weak points on the older Grizzly, the soft brakes and gushy suspension that tended to roll a bit in corners. There are good improvements in these areas. The brakes are much improved and the suspension is very smooth and more controlled in corners.
Yamaha put a lot of effort in making the 2007 Grizzly 700 all-new. Not just a change in engine displacement and throw in some EFI, this ATV has a ton of new features and refinements that really show Yamaha has done their homework. There is much more to say, but am giving just a short review at this time. So what is the new feature that Yamaha included on the new Grizzly 700? What is EPS? It stands for ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING (EPS). That’s right. They put power steering on a quad. Does it work? Yes it does. There are two areas where I really saw the benefit of EPS. We were riding in an area with a lot of small tree stumps. The EPS really helped on bump steer, especially at higher speeds. The second and most noticeable area is when the ATV is in four-wheel drive, with differential lock engaged. Before, the Grizzly 660 was a bear to handle in diff-lock and speeds had to be kept to a minimum. The EPS totally helps on the “pop-steering” and manages to control the aggressive front tires in a way that makes using diff-lock more usable and safe. I was able to push and hold in the override button and go over 40 mph while in diff-lock. Those of you who know what I am talking about will be hard-pressed to believe that.
This photo taken of a Grizzly 700 cutout shows the
new power steering (EPS) component (red circle)
Yamaha has put together a very solid ATV. It is the not the biggest or fastest, but having an ATV that is packed with features and comfort and still being just over 600 pounds is quite impressive. I can’t wait to get my leg over another one shortly to do more testing and really see if my first impressions will hold up and how it compares to the competition. Yamaha is not interested at this time to be the biggest, but focusing more on refinement on a complete package. In their presentation to us they gave the basic sales figures of the big-bore ATVs (ATVs bigger than 500cc). Even though there is interest in the big 800cc motors, the majority of sales are coming from the 700 class ATVs. Right now the Grizzly 660 has been the best selling big bore ATV out there. I think with these improvements and the added FI and EPS, the Grizzly 700 will continue this reign.
I have some more photos and I actually took some video with my digital camera that I will try and get posted that will give you a full scan of the new ATV. I will do this in another post. Much more will be seen in a future article in Hunting Illustrated.
David King
Editor
Hunting Illustrated Magazine
UPDATE: Here is a link to the new post with the video clip on the new Yamaha ATV
147 comments June 25th, 2006
