I need a quad mainly to haul wood. I have heard a lot that irs squats down really bad when hauling. On the other hand I have had people tell me that it doesn't matter-irs or straight axle??????? With irs, can you tighten the suspension with the pre load settings, and does it help? I have looked at the Honda Rubicon 500, Suzuki King Quad 700, and the Yamaha Grizzly 660. I always leaned toward the honda and then started looking at the suzuki and really liked it, which brings up the irs vs. sa. I will be doing a little trail riding and use for hunting, but about 70% for wood hauling. It can get muddy where I am at too. I am also trying to stay in the $6000 range. Any input on the quads I have mentioned or any others would help. Thanks

 

Does an IRS squat when you put a "lot" of weight on the rear end. You bet it does. BUT, if your trailer is built and loaded correctly you should not have to worry about either.
With an IRS the load go on the suspension. With a straight axle the load goes to the axle. Either will work if loaded properly.
If you like a soft ride, the IRS is the only way to go. If that does not matter to you then I would go with the straight axle because there is less parts to worry about.

 

There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but I have to say that the IRS machines I have ridden were very disappointing in off-camber situations. The low side would dip so low that it really got scary at times....and when you are on a large top heavy 600, 700, or 800 pound machine, a rollover is no picnic!

An SRA machine is certainly going to be great for a work quad, so you have to decide whether you want to give up that SRA stability, for a sometimes more comfy ride when you are out on the trail.

 

get a bruteforce 650 straight axle
there fast, twin cyclinder, good looks, and they come at the price of a 500cc machine

 

No look at a green sportsman 500. $5999.99

 

at my dealer you can get a brute force 650i with IRS for that much

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: mattmo

at my dealer you can get a brute force 650i with IRS for that much</end quote></div>

exactly

 

I know on a Sportsman if you are haveing problems withe the rear suspension squat there is a aftermarket bar that will connect the rear susspension and tie it together to prevent it from squating under load. I am just not shure of the make of that bar but I do believe Rockymountainatv sells them!

My choice would be for IRS as well!

 

I've had both IRS and SRA machines and in my opinion the SRA is best for what your needs. That narrows down the field a bit. I AM NOT a Honda fan due to a bad Rubicon however I would recommend a Honda Foreman. Keep away from the complicated transmissions and stay with the standard if you can. SRA + manual= less parts to go bad. I know I'll get some flack over this reply and I even ride a KING but for his application I don't think it would be best.
Buck

 

If the trailer is loaded <u>properly</u> there isn't much tongue weight at all, and it will squat so little you might not even notice it. If you want to put even more weight on the tongue, there are a few different suspension lock-outs for IRS that will stop it from squatting AT ALL. <u>ZERO SQUAT</u>.

The 2008 Sportsman X2 700 EFI, X2 800 EFI, and 800 EFI Touring, are all rated at 1,500 pounds towing capacity. And 2,067 pounds if the trailer has brakes on it. That's 817 pounds more towing capacity than the 2009 650, 650i, or 700i Brute Force. The 2008 Sportsman 800 EFI is rated at 1,500 pounds. And 1,913 if the trailer has brakes on it. I believe the rated towing capacity is higher on these 4 Sportsmans than any other ATVs.