We were thinking we could do something clever with the Latin name of Yamaha’s new Grizzly ATV but when we saw one of the Latin words was Horribilis, well, we knew that wasn’t going to work.
The 2016 Yamaha Grizzly is far from Horribilis.
In fact, it’s the complete opposite. It’s powerful, spirited and plenty fun on the trail.
The media intro where we got to test drive the Grizzly was actually a 2-for-1 deal; we got to ride the new Kodiak as well. More on the Kodiak in a later issue.
From all appearances—and seat-of-the-pants experience—Yamaha worked over its Grizzly for 2016 to keep it the (Yamaha claims) “No. 1 selling big bore” in the industry. Yamaha bumped up the power, gave the Grizzly some new styling, improved the creature comforts, i.e., more storage and better seat, etc., and gave it some new skin.
In other words, Yamaha made a pretty darn good ATV that much better.
“Horribilis?” Not so much.
After our one-day ride on the Grizzly at Windrock Park in Oliver Springs, TN, we were impressed with the Grizzly’s capabilities and what we were able to experience on the seat of that ATV.
From that day of riding, of all the Grizzly’s new features and carry-over features from previous models (namely the On-Command 4WD system and Ultramatic Transmission) there are three features—a mix of new and existing—that really stood out.
Electric Power Steering (EPS) – Interestingly enough, EPS wasn’t very high on Yamaha’s long list of features when company officials introduced the Grizzly. It was mentioned and discussed, but it wasn’t very close to the top, which is where we would have put it.
Quite simply, EPS saved (figuratively) our life on the Windrock trails, especially Trail 16, which is listed as a “black diamond” trail by Windrock Park officials. In fact, the riding at Windrock is very typical of East Coast trails: thick woods meaning lots of roots crossing the trails, countless rocks and boulders, mud, dust, then more mud and even more mud and numerous puddles. Some of those semi-truck sized puddles are like glaciers that never melt—these puddles never seem to dry up. There are tight trails, ledges, wide-open trails and plenty of water bars.
The Grizzly ate it all up. Honestly, we probably would have lasted five miles on the nastiest and gnarliest sections of Trail 16 without EPS. The Grizzly absorbed some jarring hits on roots, rocks
and other obstacles that, without EPS, would have ripped the handlebars out of our hands. Okay, maybe we would have lasted longer than five miles, but we are sure the fun factor would have been rock bottom without EPS. The Grizzly’s EPS does an excellent job of minimizing “negative feedback,” which dampens the jarring or shock when you ride over (or hit) a rock or root or whatever that would be transferred through the handlebars to the rider.
Because of where we rode, EPS might be our favorite feature on the Grizzly. Had the conditions or terrain been different, we might pick a different feature, but on the Windrock trails we experienced, EPS rocked the rocks.
The EPS delivers the right amount of assist depending on several factors, including the speed of the vehicle, the On-Command selection and steering torque. Pat Biolsi, who works as a test rider at Yamaha and has a lot of input into the vehicles and knows the Grizzly inside and out, defined what “torque sensitive” means when it comes to the EPS system. “The more you turn the handlebars, the more input the system puts into assist.” He also pointed out that includes the speed at which you turn the handlebars.
DOHC 708cc Engine – Yes, this is the same engine that is found in Yamaha’s new Wolverine so we’re familiar with how it works and responds to driver input. And yes, Yamaha coaxed 6 percent more power and 9 percent more torque out of this four-stroke before it was dropped into the new Grizzly chassis, but here is the difference between the engine being in the Wolverine R-Spec EPS and in the Grizzly: 619 lbs. That is the wet weight difference between the Wolverine and Grizzly. So the Grizzly is carrying a whole lot less weight and, thus, feels very sporty and powerful.
How could it not feel more powerful when it’s powering 600 plus fewer pounds around the mountains?
For the record, the 708cc engine is slightly bigger than the previous Grizzly’s 686cc displacement, which helps account for at least some of the horsepower increase. A longer air intake system (from 60mm on the previous Grizzly to 200mm on the 2016 version) also helps as more air is able to feed the engine. The air cleaner volume has increased from 6.9L to 7.2L.
To help get all that extra bit of power to the tires, there is a new CVT setting on the 2016 Grizzly. More specifically, the clutch weights were changed from 21 grams to 18 grams, which provides a higher rpm and quicker response.
During our seat-of-the-pants testing in Tennessee we found the Grizzly to respond fairly quickly to the squeeze of the throttle. It wasn’t quite arm-stretching power but it definitely wasn’t a gradual, milk toast response either. We would say throttle response and the resulting power output were closer to arm-stretching than the other end of the spectrum. There was definitely enough power for everything we experienced at Windrock. And it was fun to open it up when we got to some wide open stretches of trail.
As impressive as the horsepower was, it was the torque we really appreciated at Windrock. We were impressed with how that torque pulled the Grizzly over big rocks and other obstacles.
According to Yamaha officials, the longer air intake track is better for the bottom end of the powerband, i.e., more air equals more power. We were on the low- to mid-range of the powerband for most of the day due to the rocks and terrain so we know how well that bump in power and torque really helped.
Drivetrain – We’re going to fudge a little on this one and include lots of components and features that really add to the Grizzly experience. First, the Ultramatic transmission flat-out works and is smooth in all conditions. We like that, even though the Grizzly is an ATV and the gear shifter and gauges and all that are really not very far apart from each other, we liked how the gear selected shows up on the gauge (the gauge itself is new and is easy to see and read). It is easy to shift gears as well.
The On-Command 4WD system is equally easy to use. Push a button on the right handlebar to switch from 2WD to 4WD and/or slide a little covering to the side to engage diff lock. You can switch from 2 to 4WD on the fly, which was handy at Windrock.
We really were glad for the all-wheel engine braking as there were plenty of descents where it was needed. To get the all-wheel engine braking, the vehicle needs to be in diff lock. If you’re in 2WD, then the rear wheels have engine braking and if you’re in limited slip, it basically goes to three wheels. And, although we didn’t really test this feature, the Grizzly also has all-wheel reverse traction.
Maxxis Tires – Yes, we know this is No. 4 on a three-item list, but we were very impressed with the new 26-inch Maxxis tires. They held up under some brutally tough conditions. We were honestly surprised no one in our group got a flat. The rocks were that sharp and
would have taken a toll on lesser tires, especially the sidewalls. This is the first year Yamaha has used 26-inch tires on any of its off-road vehicles and the bigger tires are one of the reasons the company went to lower gearing. The tires also increase ground clearance of the Grizzly by 13mm (about a half-inch) and give the vehicle more precise steering.
While those four areas of the Grizzly really stuck out to us, you can’t overlook many of the other features, such as the new, thicker and longer seat (60mm or 2.36 inches), additional storage, a new handlebar light that moves with the handlebars, arced lower A-arms for better clearance over obstacles and full length skid plate (and we can only imagine what that looked like after riding at Windrock).
So is there anything about the 2016 Grizzly that gives credence to its Latin name? If we were being really picky we could point out that while the additional storage space is appreciated (the gas tank was moved so there is now a fairly large storage spot right in front of the rider), there were a couple of issues we noticed. One is that the storage space right in front of the driver is right over the engine and whatever you put in there gets more than warm.
We found out that if you like cold or cool water, that’s not the spot. You could practically make hot chocolate with the water after it sat in the storage space for any length of time. So put stuff in that storage spot you don’t mind getting warm, such as a hat. Second, the latch on the rear storage spot needs bolstering. It was kind of weak, which we pointed out to Yamaha officials and we’re sure will be fixed in production.
We told you it was kind of picky.
You know it’s a pretty darn good ATV when all you can pick on is the storage space.
We came away from the ride in Tennessee with a new appreciation for the Grizzly and how fun an ATV really can be.
If you want a little more bling or want to stand out more with your ATV, Yamaha offers Special Edition (SE) and Limited Edition (LE) models of the Grizzly. The SE Carbon Metallic Grizzly boasts all of the great features of the standard model plus painted plastics, special graphics, machined aluminum wheels and a 2-inch receiver hitch rated to haul 1,322 lbs. The Crimson Metallic painted Limited Edition (LE) model also features painted plastics, special graphics and new machined aluminum wheels, plus a removable fairing with windscreen, heated grips, thumb warmer and heated seat.
The Grizzly comes in Yamaha Blue, Hunter Green, Red and Realtree Xtra camo. MSRP starts at $8,899 for non-EPS and $9,699 for EPS models. The SE model’s MSRP is $10,299 and the LE’s MSRP is $10,899.
