sxr6,
Your right about the 4WD system stopping all wheels regardless of weather you apply front or rear. But there is enough lash in the system that I can grab the front brake without locking the rear wheels and flipping over backwards. However, if I step on the rear brake only, it can lock the rear wheels and send you tumbling before the front wheels can take up the slack in the drive train and slow your decent. Or at least thats been my experience.

Rick

 

On the single lever braking issue:
The single brake lever on my Polaris is a problem on steep hills for several reasons. Since the 4wd doesn't kick in till you get wheelspin, engine braking is only on the rear wheels. Add to that the fact that most of your weight is shifted to the front going downhill, and now consider that you can't change the front/back braking bias. What you get is the back wheels locking up and sliding out of control. Since the front wheels are holding you, the back end wants to pass the front.
Has anyone experienced this with the AC automatics, or is there good enough engine braking with their belt drive system?
If the front and rear are mechanically connected, but the front diff isn't locked, do you get 3-wheel engine braking? Do you ever notice it pulling to one side when the engine is braking you on steep hills etc ?

 

YukonRon,
I talked about Polaris Sportsman 500 /400 for 2001.
I do not like 2 cycles,however I have to admit ,they might be attractive for some people.
I would not argue, that there are better machine then Polaris on the market, but unfortunately, I did not find them.The Sportsman is heavy quad and the steering is not easy.But that is the only complain I have.
I've read so much negative stuff about Polaris over the years,but my own experience is opposite.
I abused it/Sportsman 500/ big time,I flipped it few times,I burned 2 belts /my fault/I got stuck in the mud many many times,I was absolutely careless. I failed,the machine keeps running and running.
I changed all black plastic/broken and it is gone again,speedo sensor,broken,head lamp plastic,light bulb,A arm,CV boot,tires and front rims all broken thanks to my "care". I do not talk about a regular maintenance/ brakes, fluids,
grease/. I have 2500 miles on it, but as I said very abused miles. I do not need to buy a new machine at all...... as I thought originally.I am happy with mine. I'll keep it.....! Maybe I was just lucky,see for how long.

Joe

 

I've only noticed this on Polarises. This is cause the front and rear wheels are only linked by the brakes, not the drivetrain. When the brakes are hit most of your weight goes to the fronts, but the rear braking power doesn't change. So, it locks up the rears and since the fronts are not connected by the drivetrain, not the fronts.

This is what makes it want to come around.

This doesn't happen on an Arctic Cat in 4wd cause the rear wheels cani't lock up unless the fronts do and since the fronts have so much weight on them they rarely lock up.

 

When I do use compression brakin it never goes where I don't point it unless the down grade is steep and VERY slippery making my tires slide.

 

colt77:
Sounds like you beat up on your machine pretty bad. I'm sure the new Polaris machines are built way better than my old one. Would you still trust it to go way back in the wilderness by yourself and always get you home? I always have with mine, even at -40 C in winter. (I always carry tools and survival gear though - never had a problem I couldn't fix).Starting to lose that trust now though.

Thanks Boner for the good word on the AC engine braking. Its as I suspected since I have only heard good things about this machine.