For several years Yamaha has had quite a few different sized ATVs in their line up. Just when we thought that they had it pretty well covered they sent us an invitation to ride their all-new Grizzly 550 FI 4x4.
Let’s admit it, in this day and age with the cost of living going up as we speak, price is a big influence when it comes to larger purchases such as an ATV. It’s with this concern that Yamaha introduced their new Grizzly 550 FI – that and to fill the only void in their already impressive line-up. The new Grizzly has all the same impressive features of its big brother the Grizzly 700 FI, but with a a smaller price tag. It’s even available with the killer optional feature that its older brother has -- electronic power steering, which will reflect the final cost of your ATV.
Yamaha invited us out to Lake Arrowhead, CA. to take on the trails and climb the mountainous terrain. So I packed my bags and headed to the scenic southern California mountain range. Once I arrived the Yamaha crew introduced us to all of the great features that the new Grizzly 550 FI has to offer. Of the list of impressive features I was most impressed with the opportunity for power steering, a revolutionary feature first introduced by Yamaha. I have to admit I was also pretty impressed with the cool digital dash display for fuel management and the ability to check my speed with just a glance.
Since it was pretty warm, even for the Southern California Mountains, the storage compartment on the right front fender was great for storing small bottles of water while out on the hot and dusty trails. Another feature worth mentioning is the bend in the lower A-arms. As most sport ATV riders know, Yamaha was the first to release an ATV with a bent lower A-arm (gull wing) on the YFZ450. Now with another industry first Yamaha introduces a lower A-arm with a totally different look for a totally different use. Now that the A-arm’s bend goes up they achieve more ground clearance over a wider area. With the Grizzly 550 utilizing the same chassis as the 700 makes this beast just as well behaved and just as durable.