Wolverine 450 4×4 Durability Test
- Updated: November 8, 2006
For those who believe that getting out and enjoying the fun of ATVing is a year round sport, but don’t want to deal with 600+ pound ATV, Yamaha proudly offers you the Wolverine 450 and we give it the nod of long term approval.
Back in 1995 when Yamaha released their Wolverine 350, they were looking to close the gap between the sport and utility market. Their ’95 Wolverine handled better, offered good usable power and didn’t weight as much as other ATVs in the 4×4 utility ranks. The Wolverine 350, along with the Polaris Scrambler 400, sent a wake up call to all of the manufacturers. In the utility ranks, suspension travel increased, motors displacement grew each year and handling became more important among the work horse quads.
Recognizing that their machine was falling behind the times, Yamaha decided to start from scratch with the Wolverine and released an all new Wolverine 450. Even with his racing history, ATVScene’s head honcho, John Pellan, couldn’t stop talking about how much fun he had while riding the Wolverine on the challenging trails of the Mark Twain National Forest where he first rode the machine. A one day ride was one thing, but when a typical ATV buyer runs down to his local dealer and plops down $6k for a new ATV, they usually have to live with their purchase for years to come. JP and the other media guys rode the machine for one warm day, but we wanted to see how the Wolverine performed after an entire year. Our objective in this feature article is to determine what type of rider the Wolverine is best suited for and what kind of reliability issues might pop up during a year’s worth of use.
If we decide to hop up a Wolverine, we won’t toss the stock Maxxis tires. The low profile Maxxis meats gave us a sporty ride, while their tall widely spaced knobs got us through some nasty situations most of the time without even having to engage four wheel drive.
Photo by: Jeff Kardas. The mighty little Wolverine isn’t afraid to get wet. A high placed air intake, easy access belt drive drain plug and a large capacity high mounted aluminum radiator help its water traversing habits well.
Four Seasons
Our Wolverine was ridden throughout the entire season. During the summer months, for the most part, we used the Wolverine as a chase quad while we were out doing photo shoots. For the rest of the year, the Wolvy was commonly used by our editors on those weekends when it was too wet to ride our high-performance machines. With the Wolverine awaiting us in the garage, the Ohio weather had no role in our quad-riding-cravings.
When we first rode this machine, we noticed a slight bit of hesitation accelerating from a dead stop. This can be attributed to the Wolverine’s CVT transmission. Less experienced riders, or riders not accustomed to riding machines with a gear box and manual shift may not even notice the hesitation. In the slick Winter months, this hesitation actually works to the machine’s advantage however.
The CVT’s smooth engagement makes it easier to climb slick inclines from a dead stops without spinning the tires. The CVT in the Wolverine 450 isn’t maximized for drag racing, instead it is set up for maximum ride-ability out on the trail.
Adding to the machine’s ride-ability is its super smooth 421cc motor borrowed from Yamaha’s Kodiak 450. This motor builds revs smoothly with a seamless power curve. With no hit in the power and no manual clutch, the Wolverine makes the most of the worst trail conditions. . In wet conditions or in loose terrain, the Wolverine has enough power to throw it sideways with ease. On drier days the machine’s super sticky Maxxis tires made breaking the rear end loose a little more difficult. We had the most fun on the Wolverine when conditions were less than perfect.
During Ohio’s wet season, the Wolverine 450 was a blast to pitch sideways through the trees like a full on sport machine. At times like these, we felt as if we could beat Bill Ballance with the mighty little 4×4.
Something the 450 has that the Wolverine 350 didn’t was the ability to switch between two and four wheel drive. With the extremely versatile Maxxis tires, we rarely used four wheel drive unless we were going through a deep creek, mud hole or climbing a steep slick hillside. With the advantage of Yamaha’s push button four wheel drive, we could simply engage the 4wd system for these tougher trail obstacles and quickly revert back to two wheel drive where we could pitch the machine sideways through the turns.
We give Yamaha a lot of credit for the way this machine handles. Compared to most utility machines of the same displacement, the Wolverine is extremely stable. This is due in part to Yamaha’s preload adjustable sport tuned suspension, and the machine’s low profile 23 inch rear Maxxis tires. If conditions are slick enough to break the rear end loose, the Wolverine is a blast to slide around the trails, pitching it sideways in every turn like a full on sport quad. In drier conditions, the machine feels stable with less tire roll than typical stock ATVs of this nature. If you did happen to high side a little the Wolverine’s good stability and relaxed steering made correcting the situation relatively easy.
The Wolverine’s brakes have good power, but lack feeling. Fortunately, Yamaha’s engine braking system is so good at low RPMs that you can rely on it to do a lot of the braking work for you on long gradual decants.
Accidental two wheeling is easy to correct thanks to the machine’s good stability and easy going steering manners.
Steering is good, but hot dogging it into turns may result in some pushing. In short, the machine’s handling is pretty well balanced for its intended audience.Don’t get us wrong, relaxed steering doesn’t mean the Wolverine is unresponsive, it just means that it doesn’t react like a YFZ when you turn the bars. For beginners or casual trail riding, this is a good thing. Steering is precise at low to medium trail speeds, but if you drive it too hard into a corner, there is a slight tendency for the front end to push. Aggressive riders learn to brake harder into turns than push the throttle to the stop on exit. Newer riders may actually be better off as the slight push helps keep you from turning too quickly at too high a rate of speed – which could result in a quick and violent rollover.
With its sport tuned suspension and low profile tires, the Wolverine is a bit harsher over some trail obstacles than some of the mid-bore utilities with their taller tires and suspension tuned for a more casual pace. Take the Wolverine to a well used trail system where there are braking bumps and whooped out sections, and you will appreciate the sport tuned suspension and much lighter Wolverine. When the opportunity presents itself to take flight on the Wolverine, feel free to let it rip. As long as you stay within three feet or so of the ground the Wolverine’s suspension will soak it up without bottoming harshly. The faster you ride the Wolverine, the more it outshines its utility cousins.
Another thing adding to the Wolverine’s sporty feel is its lack of weight. As we mentioned in our first article, the Wolverine borrows its chassis from the all-utility Bruin 350 and its motor from the all-utility Kodiak 450. For comparison, the Wolverine is obviously more powerful than the Bruin 350 and weighs 20lbs less. Compared to the Kodiak450 the Wolverine weighs a whopping 75lbs less.
When it comes to stopping, the Wolverine’s engine braking system is great! We are still amazed at how much the compression braking helps you on long decants. As long as the hill didn’t get too steep, we would sometimes just let the engine braking do all of the work. Letting off the throttle at speed, the motor’s engine braking was less pronounced – allowing us to coast without feeling like someone had thrown out the anchor. On the flipside, the Wolverine’s brakes are just okay. While they seem to have enough power, the brakes feel a bit spongy. This made us feel a bit nervous on extremely steep decants. The other thing about the machine’s brakes was the horrible rear brake squeak. It can get down right annoying, especially at low speeds.
Riders of all sizes will feel at home on the Wolverine. Ergonomics are spacious without having that “big truck” feeling of an open class utility machine.
Who is the Wolverine built for?
The Wolverine is ideal for the rider who is considering purchasing a mid bore utility machine to go trail riding. If you’re the guy or gal that wants a machine with some ability to sport ride through any terrain, then the Wolverine is for you. If you are considering a 300EX or a Raptor 350, don’t plan on doing a lot of jumping but want something that can make quick of the occasional mud hole or creek crossing, then don’t leave the Wolverine out of your buying equation. If you aren’t worried about keeping up with your sport quad buddies in the wide open spaces, you would rather pass them on a slick rocky hill climb, then the Wolverine is for you. If you are just getting involved in ATVing and want a versatile trail machine that is easy to learn on with enough fun built in to keep you entertained for years to come, the Wolverine is for you. If you are a sport rider looking for a second quad for romps in the woods during the wet season, trust us, you will have a lot of fun on Yamaha’s Wolverine 450.
Who isn’t this quad ideal for?
If you are hoping that the Wolverine 450 is like a YFZ450 with four wheel drive, forget about it. This machine was built to be extremely reliable and easy to ride. It will out run the Bruin and Kodiak, (now known as the Grizzly 350 Auto and Grizzly 450 Auto respectively), but it will not outrun 350cc sport machine in anything less demanding than a swamp. If the swamp is where you want to do most of you riding, than the Wolverine is most likely not the machine for you. Hard-core mud riders tend to switch to tall tires with huge lugs. These heavy tires are much harder to turn over in the mud than the stock sport utility tires found on the Wolverine. If mud bogging and big tires are your thing, you would be better off on something like Yamaha’s Grizzly 700. If you cruise trails just looking for the most extreme things to launch your machine off of, than you should go back to looking at a two wheel drive sport quad like the Raptor 350 or 700.
Experienced riders don’t have to be afraid to get a few feet of air on the Wolverine 450. You may be surprised how well it handles a whooped out trail. All the while, beginners will appreciate the machine’s manageable, yet abdicate, power and confidence-inspiring-handling.
They were the very worst of times for many ATVers. But with good mud protection and the versatility of four wheel drive, late February days in Ohio are now the best of times with a Wolverine 450 in the garage. Do we really have to give this thing back?
How did it hold up?
Okay on to the moral of our story. How did the machine hold up to our abuse?
The Wolverine proved to be pretty darn reliable. Out test unit was one of the machines that was used at the Yamaha press intro ride, so it wasn’t brand new when we received it. There were some scratches on top of the plastic in front of the machine’s digital dash, so we know that the machine had been rolled previous to our receiving it. However, there were no signs of any damage caused by the tip over.
Whether it was related to the accident at the intro or not, we can not say for sure, but after several months the digital gauges failed to work. We ordered a new unit from Yamaha and had it installed and working within twenty minutes. The brakes continue to squeak in spite of us cleaning the rear brakes thoroughly, so we have to continue to live with the annoyance.
Other than the slight problems noted above, the Wolverine more than lived up to our abuse and we’re pleased to report that we’re impressed as we were during that first ride. Overall the machine is very tough and should last for years of normal trail use. At no point did we manage to bend or break any chassis parts on the machine, a real testament to its durability. We have a feeling that in ten years, we will still see plenty of 2006 Wolverines out on the trail.
