The Kawasaki 2000 National ATV Club Tour crossed the land last year, visiting ATV clubs to:
1) Encourage responsible, safe, ATVing activity and public image projection, and
2) Showcase Kawasaki's new baby: the Prairie 650, their new V-twin-powered ATV.
Kawasaki bypassed ATV magazine editors, taking the new machine directly to ATV riders, before production and public release.
Since then, Kawasaki held a "press introduction," also exhibiting their new flagship quad at the Cochranton, PA, Poker Run this April, where photographer Steve Harkins captured the images in this article.

ENGINE. Not a "warmed-over" motorcycle mill; 90-degree V-twin; 633 cc; twin single overhead camshafts; 8 valves; 35 % more torque claimed than its nearest competitor. Twin 32-mm Keihin DOWNDRAFT constant-velocity carbs; more on that, later. Spin-on, accessible, oil filter.
FRAME. Although the external dimensions approach those of the Prairie 400, the design is novel; even a quad of this displacement meets a design weight maximum of 606 pounds.

Instead of a fuel tank between the seat and the steering head, we find: air intake/plenum chamber (air box). The 4.8 gallon fuel tank sits below and behind the seat, providing a lower center of gravity.. Silencing intake baffles behind the "fake" tank cover plastic lead to a flat foam air filter (washable) encased in plastic, held by four metal clips. Beneath the filter, two vertical-axis velocity stacks appear, eager to feed the twin Keihin 32mm CV downdraft carburetors. Breather hoses for the carburetor slide chambers protrude into the bottom of the air box.

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Two drain holes permit any fluid temporarily intruding into the plenum chamber to drain (the engine obviously appears capable of "swimability" up to the level of the top of the velocity stacks on a continuous basis; it could survive temporarily with water washed over the top of the "tank," if allowed to drain shortly thereafter).
Claimed ground clearance is, well, considerable--since ground clearance is measured in so many different ways; I won't go there-the suspension is REALLY cushy; actual ground clearance ought to be measured with a typical rider weight aboard.

The beast has full floorboards, a wraparound mud guard all around the plastic fenders, but no "mud flaps;" A waterproof storage compartment area under the seat offers access through an oval-shaped hole at the seat/rack junction area; no towbar on the prototype (probably and add-on accessory to lower production overall weight figures).
The prototype Prairie 650 had steel racks front and rear with "composite" (plastic) flat interior load-bearing surfaces.

 

TRANSMISSION/DRIVETRAIN. Some unique new wrinkles arise in the Prairie 650's entirely new model, dual-range, belt-driven, continuously-variable transmission (CVT). This robust system uses four friction buttons in the drive clutch (instead of the three found in the 400/300 cc Prairies), maintaining a more consistent attitude between the two sheaves, providing smoother operation. A wider operating range is claimed from the unit, despite its more compact size and lighter weight than previous CVT's.

Does the new machine enjoy engine compression braking? Not exactly, HOWEVER: A totally independent, singularly separate, electrically-operated, speed-sensing brake acts on the drive belt to slow the quad down when the throttle is dropped to idle and the wheels are turning (e.g., when descending hills or even just slowing down after a straight-and-level run). This system is called the "Kawasaki Engine Brake Control (KEBC)." A 2WD/4WD selector is available; a rev limiter override switch permits digging out in reverse, if necessary. Simple levers control the drive modes and reverse.

Anyone ever stuck, with one front wheel spinning helplessly with a conventional front differential, will appreciate the Prairie 650's rider-controlled locking front end ("Front Differential Control," meaningful when in 4WD). At any speed, in any range or gear, the rider may lock the front end by squeezing a left-hand lever on the handlebars. This lever manually engages the clutch pack in the front end, connecting the two front axles, preventing the runaway wheelspin of differential action when one front wheel loses traction.

SUSPENSION. Independent McPherson struts up front, swingarm rear, with adjustable damping and pre-loading; piggy-back reservoir; 7.0 in. front travel; 7.3 in. rear travel. When I asked the Tour Coordinator Jerry Hinds why not a swing-axle rear, stability, simplicity, lower weight [Editor's Note: See Sidebar] and lower cost were offered as explanations, with the assertion the lower center of gravity and overall chassis design of the Prairie 650 worked well with the swingarm.

In the rubber department, 25X8-12 front and 25X10-12 rear tires support this machine; production models will feature aluminum wheels (the prototype used steel rims).

INSTRUMENTATION. "Military-style" LED graphics display speedometer, odometer, twin trip meters, clock and hour meter functions.

SUMMARY: The Prairie 650 overcomes my objections to other models by totally sealing the rear brake and providing off-throttle braking from an automatic transmission; further, this new machine answers some of my prayers in providing a rider-controlled locking front end. I look forward to riding one, experiencing all that torque and testing that suspension. Production is scheduled to begin soon projected release to customers is the first half of 2001;

Clearly, Kawasaki at long last unleashed its engineers on the ATV side of the house, permitting them to design and build a quad from the ground up, taking enthusiasts' "druthers" to heart. Kawasaki may have a winner here.

Price will be comparable to other large-displacement utility or sport/utility ATV's (around $ 7000 MSRP).