First off I love my Honda so far and am glad I made the choice, but whats stopping them from making their quads 4X4 and not 3X4. Maybe I dont understand how it all works but I thinks thats a little silly, is there an advantage of some sort? Does it help you out in that it can give traction to either tire? Whats the deal here???

Thanks guys

 

It makes turning a pain in the butt.

 

You make a good point, but the system they have on the current models works very well, too. But they should at least ad a diff lock lever to them. Honda is starting to come around, like adding selectable 2 or 4 wheel drive on some models, maybe we will see some changes for 2005 models ( I hope).

 

Honda has (to their credit) favored simplicity, and a commitment to keep weight below 600 lbs. I look at some manufacturers that have loaded down their 700+ lb machines with all kinds of "features", and it just makes me cringe!

 

"Honda is starting to come around, like adding selectable 2 or 4 wheel drive on some models" any idea what these models are? I am pretty sure mine isnt one of them... 2004 foreman S 450, maybe ill get lucky.

 

I know what you mean. I'm not dissin Hondas, but they could deffenatly benifit from at least a front diff. lock. I have seen my friends Hondas struggle with some high spots, rock drop offs, etc. that the sportsman just cruised over. The " On- Demand AWD" of Polaris works great. Like I said I'm not tryin to diss Honda quads, they are great bikes, but they could use true 4x4.

 

yeah polaris 4x4 is pretty dang good. my friend has a scrambler 400 4x4 and he can go right up hills and through mud that i would never. but i have never seen a honda 4x4 so i cant say how they do.

 

Once a while, I see where someone drives off the hard packed snow trail and into the deeper, softer snow. I couldn't help to think to myself: how do these fools get themselves stuck like that? They must be driving like nuts. Well, one day I started to drive across the path to position myself to take a picture. Oops! There I went down into the soft snow. I can say from experience that my Foreman is 4 wheel drive. I spun myself back out on the trail. All four tires were spinning like crazy. The left front tire sat a little lower than the right. So I think the left tire was spinning a little faster than the right but the right was still spinning pretty fast.

I haven't been in a situation where I'd actually need a locking diff. Maybe in some really thick muck or something. I don't think that it is completely accurate to say that my Foreman is a 3 wheel drive.

 

Now you have me curious. Has anyone ever been in a situation where one front tire is spinning and the other tire is sitting dead still? (On a 2002 or newer Foreman 450) Honestly. - I'm just curious. If so, what was the situation in which you were stuck? Also were the tires turned?

 

I have not seen it on a foreman, but I have seen it on a Rancher more than once. One example, my friend and I were riding a pretty rough (rocky)trail. I had already gone through this mudhole that had a steep rock bank on the far side, which made it a pretty hard obstical. To top this off, the bank dropped off half way, so one front tire would come up on the bank while the other was in mid air. I made it out ok, and turned to watch my friend on his 2003 Rancher 4x4. He did fine till his right front tire made it to the top of the rock bank and the left was just hanging in the air. With his back tires slipping in the mud, and his left spinning in mid air, the right tire just sat on top of the bank. Finally, he hooked up and made it on out. This is just one example I can think of. I don't know if the Rancher and Foreman have the exact same 4x4 system, but I assumed they did.