bckmtr149
I tried out the BB, Rancher, Eiger, and a Bayou. All good machines, but I bought the Cat. None of them could beat the 375 features and price. The one thing that 375 isn't is, fast, but that wasn't something I was looking for. Hope this helps

Mwy

 

Explain that asset to me grizrock!!! Unless you drive around in 2WD what diff does independent brakes make!! 4WD, right, that means front & rear are driven together, you can't brake front without rear also being braked thru the drivetrain, or vise versa duh !!!!

 

The bear, cat & eigor are all good bikes but at diff things. If your into spirited sport riding, I'd say eigor might be the way to go. I believe the bear might be best work bike around the farm if it has h/l ranges. Both of these lose to the cat when it come to off-road performance because cats long travel semi-ind sus keeps 4 wheels on the ground for far better traction.

 

srx6,
Having choices are, in my experience, always better then not! I can think of many times that I attacked a hill that was just a little too steep and long to get to the top. Having the ability to use only my front brakes allowed me to lean forward and inch my way back down without rolling over backwards. The same is true of going down very steep hills. Being able to use the rear brakes mainly with some limited assistance front the front seems to inspire a lot more confidence. At least thats been my experience.

Rick

 

I side with GrizzRick - independant breaking is better (and safer) on hills.

 

I believe it is what you get use to. I had Honda and Yamaha before with the split brakes. But I really like the single lever system. I ride a lot of steep hills and before when trying to back down the hill the front brakes would just slide because they had no weight on the front tires. same way going down steep hills and trying to use the rear brake. I seldom use brakes going down hills if you have low enough gearing just let the enging braking hold you back. Just make sure you have it in 4 wheel drive or you will just slide down.
But like I said it is more of a preference. I wouldn't let either stop me from buying the quad that I liked the best. However I wouldn't buy one with drum brakes over disc if both quads were fairly equal. Just too much maintainence for me.
I like the 375 but some of the others are good choices too. Honda Rancher for all the aftermarket parts. Eiger, I have heard this is a very sporty quad. Big bear, I can't realy think of anything it has that the others don't. The 375 for the ride and stability, and it is hard to match feature for feature. I would look at dealers and see which one I liked the best, I'm not talking about price but service.
I would recomend you go ride all that you think you may like and pick the one that is best for your needs.

 

Andy Bassman has a good point about the rear end. I'm really starting to think that a fully enclosed rear axle is a necessity.
I've had my Yamaha for 2 1/2 years, and the axle bearing is gone now for the second time. The bearing in the differential is the only one that goes, and the one on the end of the axel housing is still perfect. This, of course, is because there is much more stress on a bearing that is at least 18 inches from the wheel, due to the increased torsional loads.
I don't mind changing bearing at all, but we ave a ride planned for tomorrow morning, and I didn't notice that the bearing was gone until just after the shop had closed this evening. So now I'm down until Saturday because of Good Friday.

 

I repeat what I said before: if your in 4WD & you apply brakes to the rear you ARE in effect applying brakes also to the front because in 4WD the front & rear axles ARE CONNECTED thru the diff. You cannot apply brakes to one end only!! Try it on a slippery surface, lock the fronts & see if the rear wheels don't also skid! That makes independent braking redundant.

 

What sxr6 is saying is true.

We've beat this Braking horse to death. Let move on folks!

EtherNut

 

Don't forget your dog...Low range 1st is perfect for you riding and him walking.