[GRIZZLYWIZARD]

2009 Yamaha Grizzly 550

Well the long awaited 550 that we were all wandering about is finally here. The Yamaha Grizzly 550!

Here is what Yamaha has to say about the 2009 Grizzly 550.

"The 500CC class has a new leader, with a fully featured package based on it's best selling bigger brother, the Grizzly 700 FI. With a new 558cc powerplant, Electric Power Steering, fully automatic Ultramatic transmission, On-command 2wd/4wd with Diff. lock, independent rear Suspension, digital meter, disk brakes, and more."

Here are some pictures of the new 550.



Here is the Special Edition Grizzly 550




Here are the 550 Grizzly Specs.

MSRP* $7,799 (Steel Blue) Available from August 2008
$7,799 (Black Metalic) Available from August 2008
$7,799 (Hunter Green) Available from August 2008
$8,199 (Realtree® AP HD® Camouflage) Available from July 2008
Engine
Type 558cc, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled single; SOHC, 4 valves
Bore x Stroke 92.0 x 84.0mm
Compression Ratio 9.3:1
Carburetion Yamaha Fuel Injection (YFI), 40mm
Ignition TCI, 32-bit ECU
Starting System Electric
Transmission Yamaha Ultramatic® V-belt with all-wheel engine braking/H, L, N, R, P
Drive Train Yamaha On-Command® pushbutton; 3-way locking differential; 2WD, 4WD, locked 4WD; shaft drive
Chassis
Suspension/Front Independent double wishbone; 5-way preload adjustment, 7.1-in travel
Suspension/Rear Independent double wishbone; 5-way preload adjustment, 9.5-in travel
Brakes/Front Dual hydraulic disc
Brakes/Rear Dual hydraulic disc
Tires/Front AT25 x 8-12
Tires/Rear AT25 x 10-12
Dimensions
L x W x H 81.3 x 46.5 x 48.8 in
Seat Height 35.6 in
Wheelbase 49.2 in
Turning Radius 126 in
Ground Clearance 11.8 in
Fuel Capacity 5.3 gal
Dry Weight 600 lb
Rack Capacity 99 lb Fr./187 lb Rr.
Towing Capacity 1322 lb
Other
Instrumentation Digital LCD multifunction display; speedometer, odometer, dual tripmeter, hourmeter, clock, fuel gauge and gear position
Lighting Dual 35W Halogen multi-reflector headlights & 21W/5W brakelight
Warranty 6 Month (Limited Factory Warranty)

And yes they make models with and without EPS.

For more information you can visit the Yamaha Outdoors Website.

 

[Koko]

Nice! What's not to like!

 

[GRIZZLYWIZARD]

The biggest problem I see with it right now is price. On average it looks like it will be only $800 - $1000 cheaper than the 700 Grizzly. All other specs are identical to the 700.

 

[Koko]

I just recently chatted with a guy who thought the $400 dollars it cost between the base 700 and power steering 700 was a lot. I think the price difference is not going to hurt them at all IMO. I'm willing to bet a lot of people rather use that extra $800 to put a pipe, tires, fuel controller and filter on their 550 and beat up on the stock 700's all day. ;;t;;

 

[GRIZZLYWIZARD]

I just recently chatted with a guy who thought the $400 dollars it cost between the base 700 and power steering 700 was a lot. I think the price difference is not going to hurt them at all IMO. I'm willing to bet a lot of people rather use that extra $800 to put a pipe, tires, fuel controller and filter on their 550 and beat up on the stock 700's all day. ;;t;;

Very true. However the larger bikes usually yield more resale value. As well as the extra factory options like EPS.

 

[3TV]

My wife had said she would like to have one of these 550s if it had been the same size as the Grizzly 450. But when we saw that it had the exact same specs as the Grizzly 700 she said "whats the point?" Its the same size, same weight, same bulk, same features, ... but less power, and for a minimal decrease in price.

I'm still waiting for Yamaha to step up to the plate and build something that will compete with the Renegade 800.

3TV

 

[GRIZZLYWIZARD]

I'm still waiting for Yamaha to step up to the plate and build something that will compete with the Renegade 800.

3TV

I am with you on that one. Keep that Renegade in the tight trails and it will have a hard time keeping with the Grizzly. If you let the Gade in the open, it will most likely be gone.

 

[captjack]

It takes some thought to understand the logic behind this bike. There is a market for a larger engine on the 700 platform, all though I think it is a very limited market and may not be worth the production cost. Understanding the mindset of Yamaha when they designed the 700 is simple. They set out to manufacture the best "all around" utility ATV. I feel they accomplished that with the 700 efi /eps.
This line of thinking with the 550 could only suggest that they saw an award winning design in the 700 and decided to build off of that success. It does have some merit in theory. why not try and capture the mid size ATV market with the proven design of the 700. What I think was overlooked in this decision was the mid size ATV rider feels more comfortable on a mid size ATV and not a toned down full size ATV. The 700 is only a little bit heavier (10lbs)then the 450,but it feels much larger when riding. This was not taken into consideration. I feel they miscalculated the need for the smaller platform. Im sure that after a few years of weak sales, this 550 line will be discontinued.
Another thought is that the engineers may not have been able to fit the 550 engine and eps into the 450 platform with out a total redesign. This would explain the 700 platform being used as cost of production is always a concern.

 

[BATTLEGUN]

Bottom line for me is I think they can keep that 550 Single for that price. Now if they would have had a VTwin, I might see it. I wasn't following this really close, so it took me by complete suprise. Captjack hit some really good points there and enlightned me a bit, but I still say they want too much for it.

Now what would have taken the market by storm is that V Twin I just mentioned or even a big brother for the YFZ450. Hmm, somebody better do something fast to keep up with KTM in the sport quad scene.

As always, JMHO.

 

[captjack]

I did not fully address the cost issue in my post. My opinion is that it is over priced for its position in the line up. I imagine this will be reflected in sales.

The V-twin would be a nice bike. With the success of the 700 eps it would not make sense for Yamaha to put a bigger engine in the 700 platform, as a total redesign would be necessary. There was a lot of engineering that went into the 700 to make it "balanced." I often hear complaints about other ATV's from their owners. If it had power steering, if it had better engine braking, if it had more ground clearance etc etc. The 700 was designed to be the best "all around" utility. It is by far, compared to any other ATV in its class. There have been several owners of the 700 griz that have sold and purchased other brands seeking more power. Not withstanding the new found power, most of them have posted that they miss having the griz. Again I feel this is because of the "balanced" design that Yamaha has achieved in this model.

My 700 has enough power to do what ever I ask it do to, is comfortable enough to ride all day long with very little effort and is extremely reliable. I could not ask for a better ATV for my needs. There are a hand full of owners that want more power, but over all, of all the grizzlies sold, this number would be a small percent. I have read in several publications that the 700 griz has the best overall owner satisfaction of any other ATV in its class. With the exception of better OE tires most owners feel they have purchased the perfect bike for their needs and do not feel the need to change the bike in any way. When a manufacture receives this kind of feed back from its owners, it would be hard pressed to make any major changes. Like the saying goes "you cant please everybody all the time" but Yamaha sure has please a lot with this machine.

When I think about it from Yamaha's point of view it makes sense. I have modified mine in ways to make it perfect for "me." I guess thats why we have all the aftermarket companies producing products for us.

 

[BATTLEGUN]

I couldn't agree with you more Captjack, and a very well written, informative, and thoughtful post. Another thing we have yet to see on these new 550s is the performance. While the 700 is everything you just mentioned, this new little 700 (haha) will have to prove its worth not only to those who know what the 700 is capable of, but what the machine in which it replaced is capable of (660). Minus the Power Steering and the 20cc's the 660 is going to be tough shoes to fill in the means of reliability and power. Anyway, I'm not happy, but I guess I'm just not much on the idea they went down instead of up.

 

[Koko]

Sales will dictate whether this is a succes or not. I think you are all reading into it too much...

Let's see.

Honda Rincon 700 - $7849
Honda Rubicon 500 - $7349

The Rubicon sells great yet is only $500 less than Rincon

Brute Force 750 - $7799
Brute Force 650 - $7099

The 650 sells great yet it is only $700 less than the 750.

King Quad 750 - $7599

King Quad 450 - $6599

Here's a $1000 dollar difference. Makes sense price wise. Sells great but gives up a 100cc's to the Yamaha Grizzly 550

I think their pricing is right in line with what the rest of the industry is doing.

 

[BATTLEGUN]

Sales will dictate whether this is a succes or not. I think you are all reading into it too much...

Let's see.

Honda Rincon 700 - $7849
Honda Rubicon 500 - $7349

The Rubicon sells great yet is only $500 less than Rincon

Brute Force 750 - $7799
Brute Force 650 - $7099

The 650 sells great yet it is only $700 less than the 750.

King Quad 750 - $7599

King Quad 450 - $6599

Here's a $1000 dollar difference. Makes sense price wise. Sells great but gives up a 100cc's to the Yamaha Grizzly 550

I think their pricing is right in line with what the rest of the industry is doing.

Good research Koko and it brings a good point.