2007 Kawasaki Brute Force 650

By Lance Schwartz
photos: Tom Simpson
video: Ron Henry / Jim Stack
test riders: Lance Schwartz and Jim Stack

On the left is Jim Stack’s 650i, on the right is our 650 test quad. From the side the similarities between these inbred buddies is pretty apparent. Before we dive head first into this article, it’s really important to clarify which Brute Force we’re talking about since Kawasaki currently produces three different models that share the same Brute Force title, the 650 4×4, 650 4x4i and the 750 4x4i.

The 650 4x4i and the 750 4x4i both have independent rear suspension, also known as IRS. The Brute Force 650 4×4, which is the particular Lime Green flavor of the Brute Force choice and the model that we are referring to in this ride test feature.

The rear end on this machine is identical to the old Prairie 650 and 700 models, and shares similarities with the KFX700. This tends to get a bit confusing for many folks, including those of us immersed in this industry. A good rule of thumb is, look for the “i” suffix when you are searching for an IRS model in the Kawasaki lineup. If there is no “i”, the machine comes equipped with a solid rear axle.

Déjà vu
The 2007 Kawasaki Brute Force 650 looks much sexier than its predecessor, the Kawasaki Prairie.When I first threw a leg over the 2007 Kawasaki Brute Force, I was overcome with déjà vu. It felt so familiar, I thought, “where have I ridden this quad before?” Then it hit me! This is a new and more attractive version of what may arguably be the most successful production 4×4 ever made. The Brute Force 650 is the now extinct Prairie’s sexier twin brother – sporting a more masculine appearance and a lower price tag than its DNA contributing Prairie brother.

Good news here, five years after the Prairie was introduced, this more attractive version is $400 less than the original Prairie 650’s price tag of $6999. Considering its big bore strength and genetic lineage, you can’t beat that MSRP of $6599 with a giant stick.

A front end comparison between ATV Scene’s Brute Force 650 4×4 and Team Kawasaki racer Jim Stack’s Brute Force 650 4x4i shows they both have similar facial features.

Out back, the differences between the Brute Force 650 and 650i are much more apparent!

Why Re-badge a Prairie?
In our opinion, the Kawasaki Prairie 650 and 700’s are responsible for making utility quads the enormous success they are today. Kawasaki was the first manufacturer with a vision to see the potential and marketability of performance sport/utility machines in our industry. Anyone questioning the big bore 4×4’s contributions to the sport should switch the channel from Jerry Springer to ESPN2 and watch the 4×4’s steal the show in the Quad Terrain Challenge.

The original Prairies were great machines, but, let’s face it, they weren’t the most stylish looking machines to show off at the dealership. Essentially, they were equivalent to the modern day use of the term “butterface”. Like a “butterface”, they had a great chassis but a less stellar and memorable grill. By updating the styling while still relying on the rock-solid construction of the Prairie bloodline, Kawasaki was able to produce a 650cc machine at a 500cc price point. To us, there is no better reason than this to re-badge the old Prairie. Plus, the new Brute Force is a lot easier on the eyes than the machine it replaces.

The Evil in our Evil Twin
Kawasaki’s notorious V-Twin has been produced in 650cc, 700cc, and 750cc flavors. These engines have been wrenched into machines manufactured by Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Arctic Cat over the past few years. This particular engine is a clone of the original Prairie 650 engine. Gear heads may notice minor differences between this and the mill in the 650i version. For the avid reader of any of the numerous ATV publications, we’re not sure we could say much more about this engine that hasn’t already been said.

The Brute Force 650 is fast, although I believe it is a click slower than the 650i. Wheelies, burnouts, mud runs, and work duties are all easily accomplished. Typically, this engine has the reputation for being incredibly reliable, even when subjected to minor engine mods. Plus, there are more options to increase the performance of this powerhouse than any other utility quad available. It is feasible to easily turn your 650cc into an 800cc monster with little effort and minimal cost by talking to engine builders like Mickey Dunlap at Four Stroke Tech, who has mastered hopping up this particular engine..

 

Suspension
As we mentioned, the rear end on our Brute Force is very sport-like. The solid rear axle makes this Brute Force a better slider than its more expensive IRS relatives. The rear shock handles most bumps and hard landings with ease. Although, on some extreme landings, I was able to find the limits of the rear shock. However, after reminding myself that this is a Utility machine, I almost feel bad complaining about it.

The front suspension is very plush. It handles all of the slow speed abuse with ease. Because of the excellent slow speed manners, the Brute Force gives up a little high-speed finesse and performance handling. The front end rolls pretty easily when pushed. Again, most people will never ride this machine as hard as we have and it shouldn’t be an issue. For those that want to eliminate this body roll a new set of tires and a set of front aftermarket shocks should do the trick.

 Brakes
The Brute Force 650 carries over the enclosed wet brake setup from the Prairie on the rear and hydraulic vented disks up front. The fronts work really well and gives excellent feel. The rear multi-disk wet brake system works pretty well and it has proven to be an excellent alternative to the normal disk or drum system. There is one thing that I always longed for with these wet-brakes though. They have very little pedal feel to provide back the rider.

Since the rear is cable operated, you don’t get much pedal feel feedback from your foot to the brake or vice-versa. To be fair, this same “dead pedal” feel is immediately noticeable on every quad equipped with the wet-brake system. With that said, I’m not trying to point out a weakness or suggest a design flaw. Instead, I’m suggesting that it is just the “nature of the beast”. If you ride in the slop, though, the convenience of the sealed system just can’t be beat and it is well worth the numb feeling of the rear brake.

 Transmission

Another carry over is the venerable Kawasaki CVT with High, Low, Neutral and Reverse. This Brute Force 650 has the typical Kawasaki drive line whine and the engine brake makes the same weird electrical motor sounds that all of the V-twin machines possess. But, this combination is bomb-proof and that point alone should never be overlooked. I’ve had the opportunity to race several different models of Kawasaki sport/utility machines with this transmission. With over 1,500+ race miles on each of the machines, they all still had the original belt in place. That’s impressive! Once you get used to the noises from the tranny, they become music to the ears.

Another point to note is that this transmission setup is always partnered with the Kawasaki V-twin. So, that means manufacturers like Suzuki and Arctic Cat, who’who have used this engine, have also used this transmission. Kawasaki’s reliability and versatility speaks for itself. Therefore, I give the transmission on our Brute Force two muddy thumbs up!

Tires
I believe the only negative point I can bring up about this Brute Force 650 are the tires. They are very soft, give little traction and puncture fairly easily. A machine with this much power should have a good set of tires to handle the power. In my opinion, the stockers fall short. I also believe that a lot of the body roll you feel when riding the machine is because of the poor stock tires. If you’ve ever ridden a Brute Force or a Prairie with Maxxis Bighorns, you can appreciate the difference those tires make in the handling and traction department.

Ergonomics, Cosmetics, and Aesthetics
Personally, I think the 2007 Brute Force 650 in the Team Green color is one of the coolest looking machines on the market. I think the new plastic makes the machine look way more trick than it did when it wore the Prairie badge. Plus, this new look has more attractive curves and bumps than an ATV Scene Girl.

The mud protection from the bulbous fenders is excellent. But, the protective fenders are more likely to catch on trees because of the added width. Additionally, the wide-body look makes it really hard to see the front tires without looking out around the fender. It takes a little while to get used to the tire placement within the fenders. I smashed a few rocks with the undercarriage because I misjudged where I thought the front tires were aiming. Again, this is a really small issue. With a little more seat time and maybe a more aggressive tire, this issue would likely be negligible. Better yet, if you ride like a more civilized person, you probably wouldn’t’t notice this issue at all.

The controls are nicely arranged and everything is easily accessible.

Assigning the Brute Some Chores
With our sport and racing background, you generally see us treating these machines like a sport quad. Although this is great for the consumer and makes for some awesome pictures, we thought it was important for us to “work” these test machines in addition to playing on them. So, our Brute Force was delivered a penance of weekend work duty as part of our evaluation. The Brute Force earned its keep and then some. It was used to aerate, de-thatch and lawn swept two acres of grass. I also used it to drag tree stumps out of the ground that my neighbor’s compact John Deere diesel couldn’t dig out. In short, the Brute Force 650 is certainly willing to work.

When you get stuck or the going gets tough, locking in the front differential makes short work of low traction areas. The differential lock also does a great job of helping to dig a pair of trenches in your two acres of lawn, courtesy of stuck tree stumps. I was able to tug several hundred pounds of dirt around and use it to transplant a large purple leaf plum tree. I guess the only thing that stood out as odd is that the Team Green machines probably look more at home dodging trees rather than hauling them. Either way, the Brute Force served as an awesome mule to do chores around the house.

Ridden Hard and Put Away Wet
To evaluate the sport portion of our Sport/Utility test, we decided to take the machine to Rausch Creek MotorSports Park in Eastern PA and turn some laps with factory Kawasaki utility lunatic Jim Stack. You might recognize the name Stack from one of two places. Either you’ve seen him on ESPN punishing Brute Force 650i’s like it’s his job. Or, you’ve the unfortunate opportunity of Stack shipping you some “Honda Shock Bolts” that his dog Jack Stack deposited in his back yard.

Stack and I went lap after lap with the 650 pitted against the 650i. With Stack’s heavy OMF wheels, TireBalls, and Maxxis tires, the 650i had much more weight to push. So, the lesser-powered 650 ran with Stack’s 650i pretty much everywhere. The solid axle on the 650 allowed me to corner with a little more confidence and it easily carved sharp enough corners to treat Stack to an infamous Rausch Creek Rock Shower or three.

We launched our machines off of anything that we could find, all the while drawing a large crowd of people, who tried to figure out what the two idiots on 600lb. lime green 4×4’s were doing on the motocross track. During our testing, the suspension on the 650 worked pretty well, bottoming on occasion. Stack was able to launch the 650i a little farther and land a little harder than my 650. I think this was due in part to the 650i being sprung better and also in part to Stack’s insatiable desire to destroy himself and machine. If I had to pick the situations where the 650 shines, it would be in cornering, stability, and the ease of riding more aggressively. The 650i excelled in comfortable landings, top speed, and the ability to handle situations that require more ground clearance. Both of the machines climb like hungry billy goats. The solid axle 650 will allow a less experienced rider to ride more aggressively without the fear of getting in trouble. The 650i works well too, but an inexperienced rider might not be willing to practice the massive amount of body English needed to keep it on four tires.

The solid rear axle gives the Brute Force 650 a very sporty feel.

.It’s a Kawasaki V-Twin Thing
Harleys and Jeeps come equipped with certain qualities that have established owner loyalty over the years and keep the returning customer coming back for more. Harley Davidsons have a tendency to spit, cough, sputter and the tranny clunks with every actuation of the gear shifter. Jeeps are loud, leak water like a sieve and ride like a bucking bronco. Because of these traits, you may have heard of the sayings, “It’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand”, or “Harley’s don’t leak oil, they mark their territory”. By now you’re probably thinking that I accidentally inserted the closing paragraph from another story into this one or that maybe I’ve sniffed too many fumes wrenching on our test machines in the garage. Although the latter may partially be true, it’s certainly not the case in this situation. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that every notable piece of machinery with a cult-like following has a trait that makes it infamous. These machines all have a strength, a weakness, something quirky or some type of unique engineering philosophy that makes it worthy of this notoriety. The Kawasaki Brute Force 650 4×4 comes from a super successful lineage of incredible V-Twin ATVs. The DNA it inherited from its family members has provided the proverbial genetic code of success. I always considered the Kawasaki Prairie as the “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, so to speak. The Brute Force 650 is now the “wolf in something hotter than sheep’s clothing”, if that isn’t too disturbing to imagine. I’m certainly a firm believer in not fixing something that isn’t broken. If, on top of that, you can sell the unbroken thing in a new pretty dress for $400 less than it sold for five years ago, that isn’t a bad deal at all.

Inbreeding
In most cases, inbreeding is a bad thing, unless you’re from West Virginia (joking) or you’re Amish (still joking…..maybe). One of the basic goals in life should be to nurture your family tree into sprouting as many branches as possible. Additionally, making sure that those branches grow in all different directions is a huge plus, from a genetics standpoint. In most cases, that advice would be a very safe bet, no matter where you’re from. However, it’s hard to argue that mating old Mother Prairie 650 with its stellar Brute Force 650i brother doesn’t produce a mechanical home run as an offspring. Frankly, I think it was a great idea to breed the Prairie with the Brute Force 650i, even if they are from the same branch of the big green Kawasaki family tree. Their similar genotype affords Kawasaki the ability to wrench their killer V-twin into yet another quad. In doing so, the new kid on the block turns out to be an excellent ATV with all the strength, reliability, and performance of its mother, and the striking good looks of its Brute Force 650 4x4i big brother/father. Once you get past the fact that this machine is the byproduct of an unspeakable inbreeding incident, you realize that the Brute Force 650 offers big bore performance at a 500cc price point, and this inbred creation just might be the best deal going.

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