Ya we were up by Mastadon dome. Past Eagle summit back in a few miles. It was socked in and nasty the three days we were there. We basically hid behind a big rock for three days. It was pouring rain and the wind was blowing so hard you could stand behind a big rock and not get wet! We were getting ready to leave and six coes came running by. We could only see about 2 or 300 hundred yards also. We took two cows and went home.

 

I was happy with the limited slip in my old AC for about 6 months, and then I started finding places that it kept me out of. I made the locking differential a must when I decided to get a new quad. For most people, and 97% of riding its not needed, but its like a winch. Its always there when you do need it. I think everyone should offer it on their top end models though. It has certainly been a nice feature to have the past 6 months.

 

TextI find this quite interesting. I have rode with just one cat, and it would 3wheel worse than any other machine in our group.

Au contraire mon ami. Apparently there are no pre Grizzly 2002 in your group. (which are the worst)

Where do you newbies get all of this misinformation? I have seen Honda 450's Honda Ranchers, and All Arctic Cat 500s negotiate mud without problems. If you want the ultimate mud machine be prepared to trade off some other trail qualities.

The new Grizzly is allegic to water.

The new Kawasaki does not ride as well as a Polaris Magnum

The Honda 450 is not as fast as a Polaris

The Polaris has "true 4WD but it's weight puts it at a disadvantage to a Rancher with reasonably sized mud tires.

Hang around a local hole long enough and you will see what I mean.

The Honda 450s/Ranchers/AC500s will be going thru things with the proper tires that only the Polaris and the big dogs should. Strange but true.

This forum is not the last word in the real world. IMHO

 

Thor,

You appear to be a 'died-in-the-wool' Polaris rider. Thanks for commenting. I have a couple of questions for you . . . .

1. The statement is made that the new Grizzly 660 is alergic to water. What do you mean by that? That makes me 'sit up and listen', you've got my attention.

2. The statement is made that the Polaris is true 4-wheel drive. I didn't know that. I was always told that they had limited slip differentials on the front-end that would engage when the thumb switch was activated. So my question is: Does the front-end actually lock up or not? If so, how does Polaris eliminate the power-steer so often felt on other brands that do have the locking front end? My King Quad takes a gorilla to navigate when Locked up. I've ridden Polaris's while in 4-WD mode, they don't have that power-steer.

3. I have talked to many Polaris owners and ex-Polaris owners. I wonder if anyone knows what they have done to satisfy their problems with reliability? I know of one Polaris personally. It was a 2-stroke, 300cc. It rode great! It never had a problem with the engine or drive train. But it did experience all kinds of mechanical problems. . . And it did 3-wheel. Has Polaris fixed these problems?
In all honesty, Polaris has become a status symbol up here in Alaska. Only those with the 'dough' buy them.... and it's not a matter of initial cost, because any respectable machine is going to cost $7,000 up here, no matter what brand it is.
The only thing I can think of is that the Polaris machines have either become much better in recent years, or we just seem to get more than our share of 'lemons' up here. Obviously, you are having good success with your machine there in Minnesota.

4. I know of an older AC 500manual that belongs to a friend of mine. I must say it is an great machine in many respects. However, it has definitely decided to act up and 3-wheel at the most in-opportune times. I know because I have had to pull both that 500 and a Sportsman out of the same mud hole with my King Quad. (Boy oh boy, were those guys embarassed, getting pulled out of a mud-hole by a little Suzuki. Especially when I had to navigate right past them through the same hole to do it).

I'm not trying to 'flame' back at you. It is obvious you have ridden more than I have, I respect your opinion. I hope my questions are not offensive. But I asked about things I have seen, and then presented the facts I have observed to substantiate the question.

 

Hi ratman, my friend has a Polaris 335 and as far as the 4 wheel drive goes. when it is on you are in 2 wheel drive until the front tires spin like 20% or something like that then it locks up into true 4 wheel drive. i have riden it and when it is in 4 wheel drive it is easyer to stear than the king quad. i personally am not a polaris fan. just go to the polaris forum and see all the "help it is broke" posts there. also with my friends polaris the batt. went dead and the 4 wheel drive would not work because it is electric. the new ones might be different, i dont know. my friend has been happy with his, he is looking a getting a bigger model than the 335. they also give up allot of ground clearence when you have a load on the back because of the independent supension. i dont know how much ground clearence the 500i gives up when it has a load.

rac

 

Its been a very long time since I was called a newby!! Thanks, that make me feel a little younger!! The cat that I rode with was the worst I have seen at 3 wheeling. I do believe that if the guy riding it would have know how to lock it, things would have been different. Any other information that I have is from other owners of new i models. And they seem to agree that they 3 wheel often. Like I mentioned before, My Wolverine does not 3 wheel often. But it has a different style limited slip, and the longer I own it, the worse it seems to get. There again, I could replace the clutch dics and make it like it was when new. BUT, I really would like to have a new quad. (it has been quit a few years since my last new one!!) And I really like the looks, options, and price of the i's. Its just alot of the people that I have talked to have all mentioned it 3 wheeling more than some of the other quads they are around. Now if all of this makes me a newbe, than so be it, but I have been riding bikes and quads for the last 27 years!! (if anyone really cares)

 

Thor~



<< Where do you newbies get all of this misinformation?...The new Grizzly is allegic to water. >>



I have a new Grizzly, and it most certainly is not &quot;allergic&quot; to water. While I've never drowned it, (yet [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]) I have rode it in water up to the headlights too many times to count, and have never had any problems, or &quot;sputters&quot;. What I think you are referring to are peoples complaints about it &quot;sputtering&quot;. In every instance that I've checked people are locking the 4x4 either when they hit the water or while they are in the water and are always moving. There is a 3mph limiter when you lock your front end, and if you are going any faster than that, it sounds like your reverse limiter, in other words, it sputters, because the limiter is making the engine miss. I haven't heard of a way around that limiter, and honestly don't think I'll look for it. I believe that it's a smart thing to have, and most likely will make the front end last longer than if there was no limiter in that position. On the same topic, there's also a 22mph limiter while your front locker is engaged. I believe it's right in the manual, but I always ran up against that while playing in the water or deep snow. The same would apply to mud because a person is trying to get wheel speed in that instance, and it doesn't take long to hit that limiter when spinning. Fortunately there is a mod for that and it's a piece of cake.

Anyways, my only point is &quot;660 Grizzly's not liking water&quot; is a myth, brought on by folks who weren't aware of those particular limiters when they bought their quads.

And just for clarification, Polaris true 4X4 is &quot;on demand&quot; while the Grizzly's true 4X4 is &quot;on command&quot;...meaning you don't get to tell the polaris when it will be locked and stay locked, they system they use does that without rider input by the rear tires spinning so many revolutions more than the front and then locks the front. When the system senses that that is no longer the case it disngages the locked front, thusly on &quot;demand&quot;. (I do think you need to press the AWD button to engages this system, though...maybe any Polaris owners here that are reading this can correct me if I'm wrong) The Grizzly's, meanwhile, is in 2 wheel drive, until you push the 4X4 button, than it's in 4X3 (limited slip front end), and then if you want to lock the front, you press the diff lock button. It will stay in any stage until you tell it to change. Thusly, &quot;On Command&quot;.

SilverBear

 

The 3 wheeling you talked about on the Cat I believe was a 300. If this is the case the 300 uses a different front end then the400/500. The 300 uses a standard limited slip with clutches. This set-up in all machines provides a torque bias of 30%. In the design that the new Honda 350 and the bigger cats use they have no clutches in them. They use a system that works with ratcheting cones that provide a torque bias of 50%. So they still 3 wheel but not as bad. The ratcheting cone system is the best you can do until you move into a fully locked differential or a system like Polaris or Bombardier. In the case of the Polaris I am told that on step down hills they are useless as they are actually in 2 wheel drive and under most situations they will not engage thefront wheels. Where as in a conventional front end the front wheels are provideing some engine braking along with the rear.
Cheers Jim

 

Hello Ratman and the rest. Let me anwer your questions in order as we go along here. Great to converse with you and discuss our favorite hobby!!


&quot;You appear to be a 'died-in-the-wool' Polaris rider. Thanks for commenting. I have a couple of questions for you . . . .&quot;

In my family we have owned 2-Xplorers, 1 Sportsman 400, 1 sportsman 500, 1 Magnum, 1 450s, 1 450ES, 1 King Quad

&quot;1. The statement is made that the new Grizzly 660 is alergic to water. What do you mean by that?&quot;

The intake of the air vents for the transmission are too low and the Grizzly will ingest water and ruin the clutch if the water is too muddy. Speed into mudhole will also create steam which the engine will choke on. High RPM within the mudhole will cause the rpm limter to kick in and the tire rpm will not be high enough in locked 4wd to extract the Grizzly from the serious mud hole.


&quot;2. The statement is made that the Polaris is true 4-wheel drive. I didn't know that......&quot;

Yada yada yada,. Trust us it is, and it works.


3. I have talked to many Polaris owners and ex-Polaris owners. I wonder if anyone knows what they have done to satisfy their problems with reliability?

If you want the most beautiful woman at the ball/tavern you can rest assured that she is &quot;high maintenance.&quot;

There is no free lunch/woman or true 4wd without investment.

&quot;I know of one Polaris personally. It was a 2-stroke, 300cc. It rode great! It never had a problem with the engine or drive train.&quot;

You are right the 300s were very reliable.

&quot;In all honesty, Polaris has become a status symbol up here in Alaska. Only those with the 'dough' buy them....&quot;

So buy a Magnum. You will have a lot less problems than with a Sportsman.

......They are getting better. BTW my son sold his Sportsman I still have my Magnum

&quot;4. I know of an older AC 500manual that belongs to a friend of mine. I must say it is an great machine in many respects. However, it has definitely decided to act up and 3-wheel at the most in-opportune times.&quot;

Gee..... why don't they three wheel when I am watching them during mud bog competitions and at tractor pulls.

HMMMM. I am starting to think that you own a King Quad and are trying to justify not being in the right gear.....(just kidding)

&quot;I'm not trying to 'flame' back at you.&quot;

No flame taken nor intended.

I have watched Polaris 3 chain models chew up chains and the remainders of the contents of my wallet. I have seen Polaris Sportsman require maintenace on a monthly basis due to clutch creep and bad seals on the half shafts. etc. etc.

But... the ride was exemplary, the 4wd was awesome, and at the end of 125 miles per day my body felt great! Life is a trade-off.

The Hondas that we had were utterly reliable but only designed for someone under 30 years of age who wanted to ride less than 25 miles per day.

Our King Quad was also reliable, but the low torque engine always found us in the wrong gear at the most inoportune moment and resulted in us getting stuck while the Polarisis pulled right through the same hole because they were always in the right gear.

Everything has it's price. You and only can decide what you want to pay and when you want to pay it.

Bonne Chance Mon Ami

Buy a Canuck a Beer!

Thor


&lt; Where do you newbies get all of this misinformation?...The new Grizzly is allegic to water. &gt;&gt;



&quot;I have a new Grizzly, and it most certainly is not &quot;allergic&quot; to water. While I've never drowned it, (yet ) I have rode it in water up to the headlights too many times to count, and have never had any problems, or &quot;sputters&quot;.

When the water and mud is deep enough, the sputters will get you hopelessly bogged.

There are ways around the limiter if you will use the search engine on the forum.

&quot;Anyways, my only point is &quot;660 Grizzly's not liking water&quot; is a myth, brought on by folks who weren't aware of those particular limiters when they bought their quads.&quot;

Au contraire, It is not a myth. I saw it with about 20 other eyeballs in addition to mine. As the Grizz sputtered and bogged, another (then a mean spirited atver on guess what went out and drove circle around him) LITERALLY.

Anyway, (respectfully) I do not have the time to split &quot;Magazine Hairs&quot;, &quot;Buddy Said Hairs&quot;, and &quot;Haven't been there Hairs&quot; with proud owners of various machines.

I have stood beside too many mudholes in too many high atv traffic areas on too many weekends to be persuaded that Grizzlies are not allergic to water.

I have also constantly been amazed at how far the average Honda 450S will go through the tough mud hole with only 3wd and a set of marginal mud tires.

Don't mean to disagree nor be condescending. This has just been my experience. BTW 600 Grizzlies totally s....

 

Thor,

Thanks for your response, and the time you spent addressing the questions.

I appreciate your opinions and observations.

I think you have just convinced me not to buy a Polaris. Thank you.

I realize there are many who swear by them, yourself included. But any manufacturer whose products are so prone to 'high maintenance' leaves a lot to be desired. That's what R&amp;D is for, to get rid of the bugs in a design. If they can't find a way to solve these issues like other Manufacturers have, I personally am not going to buy one.
Contrast that record with the undeniable reputation of a Suzuki. Yes they are physically small, they have small engines, they can be slow, they have low ground clearance, and minimal wheel travel. But they also have a lower center of gravity than the Polaris. Once a body learns to ride one properly you are hardly ever in the wrong gear, and they will be out enjoying the Great Outdoors when the Polaris is at the shop getting it's 'high maintenance' cared for.

I know I wont buy an Arctic Cat now, too. After seeing that one 500Manual 3-wheel, and reading other posted messages in the AC forum, it is obvious that they will indeed 3-wheel.
I agree with another message on that subject; Locking Dif's are like winches, you can ussually get away without one. But when you need it, you need it.

Now Thor, I realize that you will probably disagree with these sentiments. I hope you do not take these comments as an attack on your position. But lets face it you were outspoken with your viewpoint also. I have voiced an opinion. We all know that opinions are worth only the air it takes to speak them. Yours and mine are included in that.