can someone explain if one is better then the other or does it matter?
thanks

 

on an air cooled engine on the cylinders and on the head there are fins . the heat spreads into thses fins and then when the air flows by them it cools it. on a loiquid cooled engine water is circulated around the cyinder and head to cool it. liquid cooled are mainy found in high performance quads. but is also fouind in alot of ther utility quads. you can go through creecks and all that with out worring about cracking the cylinder. ( two exstremes cause rapid expansion or contration) but with air cooled you dont have to worry about a radiater or your water level. but it makes the engine run cooler.


hope this helps you

 

As the engine overheats, performance suffers. Overheating is less likely in a water cooled.

 

air cooled engines get hot quick if u ride slow and the piston expands and hits the cyclinder which is called scuffing that isn't very good for the engine

 

So, air cooled engines need looser tolerances than water cooled, so when that piston expands from the heat it has some extra room.

 

Water cooled engines are more complex and can (but not necessarily will) take more maintenance. However, they tend to last longer, because the engine is kept at a constant temp - no heating up/cooling down every time you get on the gas, so parts don't expand/contract as much.

On a practical level - water cooled quads seem to cost a little bit more. They are a little quieter, and on a hot day, a lot cooler. I went from a 350 Big Bear (air cooled) to a Cat 500 (water cooled). I noticed on hot days the Cat didn't roast my legs the way the Bear did.