The Largest Displacement and Most Powerful Engine Available in a Four-Wheel Drive ATV.An air cooled, 4-stroke, 4 valve, SOHC, single 595cc cylinder with counterbalancer, electric starter, back-up recoil starter and auto decompression is at the heart of this rig.Yamaha was concerned that most people couldn't pull start a 600cc engine. (With good reason!) So, they developed an all new auto-decompression system for easy recoil starter operation. From 0 to approximately 700 crankshaft RPM's, a simple, and reliable, exhaust valve decompression system allows a rather easy pull start of the monster 600cc engine. To extend reliability and durability, Yamaha enclosed the engine and the transmission as one fully sealed unit. The drive shafts run through the engine, rather than through the transfer housings, for increased reliability. This arrangement also aligns the angle of the drive shafts which increases the universal joint life. This design also provides for a lower center of gravity.
Push-Button, On-Command Four-Wheel Drive.
Switching the Grizzly from the 2-WD to 4-WD is easy with an On-Command push button control located on the right side hand grip. Yamaha recommends that the ATV is fully stopped before shifting from 2-WD to 4-WD (or vise versa) to prevent the ATV from spinning out of control when traveling at high rates of speed.