Just a question.. I know IRS has a lot of advantages...Especially in rocks etc and slow speed. Everyone is scambling to convert over to it.. but I have heard horror stories about machines flipping, and loss of load capability. Any truth to that? Do you have to change your riding style to compensate for the IRS? Is this something I should be looking into?

 

ye aive heard that its more tippy too

 

Yeah, that is what I heard too... I was all set to go get one when they first came out, but then I started noticing my dealer had several coming in to his service department every week that someone had rolled. Many of the guys crashing had upgraded from a sport machine to the Ute, and they found out you can't throw them around like a sport machine. They get such great traction that they don't like to slide.. they flip... Side hills were especially challenging too.

Then I started hearing about load capability on them going away too... So maybe I am a little paranoid now.... I intend to use mine mainly for trail riding, but occasionally, it will have to perform around the home place too... so I want to make sure I don't lose anything... Since I have a nearly new Ute in my shed already that has a conventional straight axle, the new one will be for the Mrs... and I don't want to put her in any undue danger.. Took me too long to find this one... and after 30 years and 3 children, I have kind of grown attached to her... At least she is used to my crazy ways...

I am sure they (IRS QUADS) perform great in certain terrain.. but the old girl comes first...Wouldn't know what to do without her....
Anyone with a Grizzly or a Kodiak with first hand information?

 

ye aim looking int o buying a mid ute (450 or lower) with 4wd im lookin at the foreman 450 kodiak 450 eiger 400 and rancher 400 or 350 and prairie 360

 

Yeah, I was actually going to buy a new Kodiak a couple years ago, and went down to the dealer with my checkbook. When I got there, he had a huge discount on the Honda Rubicon's going on, I couldn't pass it up. Saved $1200 off retail. Now, here we are 2 years later, and Honda has finally put disk brakes on their latest version... But since then they have put IRS on the Kodiak too. So now I am looking at the rancher AT for my wife.

 

not a kodiak 450 lol i meant a kodiak 400 [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] lol

 

Polaris made a video to demonstrate how IRS was the safer way to go. They showed a solid axle quad going down rail road ties on one side of the quad and the faster they went the more they lost control - to the point of the quad bouncing up and twisting 90 degress and nearly rolling. The Polaris IRS was shown just flying down the same track and there wasn't any loss of control. It was impressive to watch - made me a believer.

In regards to load capacity - I would suggest that I'm in the top 5 % of over loaded quads. I've put over load spring on both my Polaris 500 and my Cat TRV 500. We just weighed the Cat - 980 pounds empty. The heavy springs eliminated the roll-out in turns. I can actually square them off if its muddy. Couldn't do that with the factory springs. See my pics herein.

As far as flipping? I'd refer back to the Polaris video.

 

Where can we see this video?

 

I watched at the Polaris dealer in 2001 where I bought my Sportsman 500. Might have to ask around some. It also had a ATV pull segment describing the 4 wheel drive - comparing to Honda etc. and it had a ground clearence segment.

 

Yes but... That was a manufacturer advertisement video... so I would expect it to highlight the IRS. I mean how many times do you go down a railroad track?

What I am referring to is real world results, where you walk into a dealer's service department and find 6 or 8 new IRS equipped machines in for repairs from a rollover. Not sure what sort of big hills you have in MN, but when they get going out here in PA, or WV, NC etc, they can find some pretty steep side hills to dump it on.

I believe the point is that driving a machine equipped with IRS requires a change in riding style unique to it's capabilities. As for weight capabilities, you have beefed up your machine, so I am not sure it is a valid comparison. I am concerned about squat. I've seen machines squat 2 to 3 inches when a rider mounts the machine. That equals ground clearance and effects handling. If you put a 300 pound deer on the back rack, you add even more dip in the back. I have to believe this action has to alter the handling characteristics even more.

Perhaps what is needed is an adjustable air shock or something to compensate for the additional weight. You have it already on cruiser and touring motorcycles for use when a passenger climbs aboard, why not an ATV version... sounds like an opportunity to market something different if the manufacturers are listening.

Don't get me wrong.. I am not criticizing the IRS suspensions... I find them intrigueing... but for the average guy working out in their fields hauling a bale of hay or pulling a trailer on a regular basis.. I wonder if the solid axle has an advantage over the IRS in a heavy load environment. I don't think anyone will argue that IRS has distinct advantages in minimal traction situations... under most conditions, but you have to respect that additional traction too. One thing to consider is when hooking a trailer to a solid axle machine, the weight is transferred directly to the axle and tires. But with an IRS machine, the weight is transferred to the entire chassis/suspension..Which in turn unloads the front end. Not sure if that is good or bad.. just different. Have to leave that up to guys that have IRS machines to weigh in on for sure... I suspect that they could get squirrelly.

I compare the handling deal to when the first radial tires were introduced... People would put a set on, and we had to tell them to be very carefull the first couple of times they turned a corner, because if they yanked the wheel like they were used to doing with biased ply tires, they would end up hitting the inside curb because the tires had so much more bite. The same is true with the IRS systems as far as I can see... they have so much more side bite that riders need to adjust their styles to adapt to it.