Does anybody make one?

I made the mistake of letting my girlfriend pick out her own fourwheeler, the deal was if I put it in my name, she would make the payments...so she picked out a cheaper machine (06 bruin 350 4x4) so her payments would be lower, instead of the grizz 700 that I wanted her to get...well, to make a long story short, I have pretty much paid for the entire thing, and now its my work atv that she rarely rides.

Instead of trading it in and taking a big loss, I want to do a little more work to it so I can take it in some mud, and have a better rounded machine.

So does anybody make a front locker for it? The open diff just doesnt cut it when you get in some deep stuff. I was also thinking about adding a clutch kit so it has some better low end power, right now off idle, it is a dog...Im not worried about loosing some top end because I only use it for work, and my girl doesnt need to go that fast. I would also like to add a set of larger ITP mudlight tires, and I dont know if it has enough guts to spin them with the stock auto trans.

So can anybody give me some recomendations for a selectable front locker, and a clutch kit for an 06 bruin 350 if there is one out there?

Thanks,
Kyle

 

So nobody knows of anything for the bruin?

 

I have the bruin...... Haven't really had that much problems in the mud to be honest with you. Of course a locker would help. I run 25" mudlite xl's and yes I did notice a slight powerloss.

I agree with you the quad does not seem to have a whole lot of ball$, but it gets a lil better the longer you have it and break it in. I can go plenty fast for the trails we have in New England (seldom can you go over 40, and if you do, you'll be breaking really quick!! )

EPI makes a good clutch kit from what I hear. As far as the locker I don't think you will be able to get one unless you start spending some serious money. The only shot I think you have at a locker is to start comparing the bruins front diff to the kodiak or big bear and see if there is any similarities. Maybe detroit gearless locker?

 

I dont know if it was the angle that the machine was on so it was starving the carb or what, but I had the *** end burried in some pretty thick mud and I was trying to bog out of it....It didnt even have the guts to spin the tires. It didnt stall out or anything, but it didnt have enough power to pull out of it, I had to have a friend help me pull it out (that was before the winch). I cant even get the front end off the ground....Im sure the heavy winch on the front, plus my 245 lb *** on it doesnt help, but even when I stand on the back rack, it wont pull up from a stop or a roll. I know if I add some larger tires, it will only get worse.

As far as the locker, I probably wouldnt need it for 99% of my riding...but it sucks to not have it when you do need it. I will ask around a little more about big bear and kodiak front diffs.

Thanks for the help.

 

no problem, I don't think you will ever get it to lift the front end. I can't on mine either. I'm a little lighter then you, but not much. 215lbs...
Looking back I wish I bought something a little bigger just because...its not like this quad can't perform well, its just not spectacular.

Good luck with finding the mods your looking for and post up your results.
The day my bruin is paid off I'm getting the next big bore (I don't want to trade in, will never get what I deserve, and when its paid for, who can't use an extra quad ? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] )


edit: haha I was just checkign google for a locker and this is on the front page already..wow

 

Yeah, I searched a little but couldnt find anything on google...I guess I can start comparing part numbers of the front diff between the grizz or kodiak.
I wish I would have just went with the grizz 700 in the first place, my buddy has one and its a monster stock....65+mph, locker, power steering, and a seat like a lazy-boy recliner. I made the mistake of letting my girl pick out the bruin because her payments would be lower, even though I knew that I would end up paying for it...I should have just pushed for the larger machine.

I asked about trading the bruin in, but they wouldnt give me half of what its worth. I guess I can just keep this one for working around the house, and pick up another later for mudding like you were saying...but with 3 already, I need a larger garage first.

 

yeah the grizz 700 is nice. I wish I did some reasearch before I bought..walked into a dealer on new years eve 05 said what do you have for cheap 4x4's ..showed me the bruin and I'd assume a foreman or rancher and I picked the bruin..he should of talked me into something more..

It's been a great machine to learn on though. I toss it around like a rag doll now, cant wait to get my hands on 700+cc in a few years.

 

I just found one of each on Ebay (bruin front diff, and kodiak locking front diff).....they look totally different. It would probably be possible to make it work, but without being able to weld, and not enough spare time...I wont be doing it any time soon.


I did just find a special edition grizz 700 on ebay with very low miles for $6500 right now, but Im sure it will be around 10k before the auction is over.

 

Im bringing this back up because I just saw that the new grizzly 350 IRS has an available front locker. As far as I know, it is the same quad as the bruin 350 + the new front plastics, IRS, and the lockable diff, and obviously the new name....Im going to do a little digging around to see if it uses the same front diff as the bruin, just with the selectable locker, or if its a totally new piece. If it will be a direct swap, I will definitely do this mod to my bruin.

 

let us know!