Looking to buy an ATV in the very near future. I like the Prairie and I like the Grizz, but the Polaris intrigues me!!

One thing I don't like is the single brake lever. Should I be concerned about this???? My property has both uphill and downhill trails. Do I have an advantage or disadvantage with the Polaris 500 HO?? Most other ATV's have seperate front and back brakes!!

Thanks in advance for the input!!

 

I ride hard and I ride fast!!!
I own both the 650P and 400 scrambler, and have owned 500 HO Polaris, '95 polaris 400L, 400Prarie.

I still Like The Single Brake Lever The Best !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

When you get stuck on steep hill the Polaris stops. The Kawie slowly slides backwards while your bailing off to save you life, standing beside the quad. + if you want, on the polaris you can use the foot brake only for rear wheels. But there is no need to. Single Brake Lever all the way.

The Polaris 500 is more utility. You can trail ride it play it, but when you race it or dune it you'll hate it.
The Kaw 650P has more Power, Power, pulling, flying, riding, racing, duning, what ever, just more power and to me a lot funner to ride !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I miss the Polaris 500, should of kept it and not bought the kaw 400 Prairie. Hated the 400 P so bad I sold it Last week. Now want 700 Kaw or another 400 Scrambler....................

 

I agree I liked the single lever. It`s hard to convert back now that I have the Prairie.

Too bad the rear brake on the Prairie is cable operated or I would convert it over to the Polaris single lever.

 

It is just like a car. You have the one lever, like the brake pedal, that activates all 4 wheels. The foot brake is like the parking brake on your car in that is only grabs on the rear wheels. So basically, you use the hand lever for 99% of your braking needs, and can use the foot pedal anytime you don't want the front to grab (going down a steep hill, for example, or to kick the rear end out sideways on a gravel trail sliding a corner). Some people don't like the idea of one brake lever for the whole machine, they say they prefer seperate levers for front & rear, and they are sitting on a full-time 4wd machine that applies braking force to all 4 wheels through the drivetrain no matter what brake they use!
Personally, I wouldn't worry about it, I for one like the single lever braking.
However, if you decide you don't like it, there is a kit you can get, so only the rear brakes activate with the brake lever that is there, and includes a lever for the right side handlebar, and the brake lines needed to connect to the front brakes.

Farmr

 

I'm with you Farmer123, There might be a place for independent braking on a 2wd bike but on a 4wd ?? What's the point?? You can't stop rear wheels or front wheelss only when in 4wd anyway & a single lever is much handier.

 

Heck, all we have is the 2wd models and I wouldnt have it any other way. I am used to it even on the race bike.Bubba

 

After having my quad land on top of me because I couldn't hit just my front brakes, I bought a split brake kit for my Scrambler. I was going up a steep small hill and lost momentum. when I hit my brakes, the quad flipped backwards on top of me. I didn't liked the single lever braking from the time I bought it. I would much rather have the brakes that my father's Prairie has.

 

I love the single brake lever:
1) Its simple
2) When I had MC's I used the hand brake more
3) I was showing a friend whos confined to a wheel chair and he was impressed and said he was considering trading his Kawi for this reason.

 

fearsys,
Are you sure a front brake would have prevented that roll? Just wondering.

Raced a friend of mines Grizzly back and forth across a field several times. When we switched machines I nearly ate a tree because out of habit I only grabbed the left lever. The other thing I noticed, and this is more of a traction thing, is the Grizzly would just not stop (even after I realized there was another brake lever). The Rawhides on my 700 haul that thing to a stop in no time, and the Grizzly with its lame tires just wanted to slide and slide and slide on the wet grass. I would estimate that from even at 40 mph, the Grizzly took about another 30-40 feet to get stopped. So, there is more to traction than just being able to go thru mud; stopping safely is another point.

 

Hey, clearly the main advantage of having one brake lever is that you have a free hand to scratch with.