Just a little story for people who are in the process of buying a new machine...and trying to decide whether or not to get 2wd or 4wd....it all depends on what type of riding you will be doing, but if you are going to be riding in the following conditions, go with 4wd.....yesterday we went on a 100km bike run...absolutely perfect weather....we had rain in recent days and then a bitter cold spell....the snow (which is quite deep has frozen very hard and has made for good going on the 4-wheelers.....but you can't get the length of yourself in 2wd.....there were 4 of us...Honda Rancher, Honda 300, Yamaha Kodiak, and Yamaha Big Bear....all were 4wd, but the Kodiak could be switched from 4wd to 2wd....the snow was nothing but ice in some sections, but in general, the trail was roughed up a little to give some traction on the hills.....my buddy on his Kodiak did switch to 2wd at times just to see how far he could get..he could not climb any hills at all and would not be able to go most of the places we went if he used 2wd....sooooo, if you ride in areas where you get snow, and want to enjoy a perfect day of riding like we had yesterday, you won't do it on a 2wd.....just a thought.

 

Hi I agree I live in Arizona and have a Sportsman 500 and a Yamaha Grizzly alot of times i'm in 2 wheel drive but in the sticks God bless 4 wheel drive when you need it

 

I have a 1984 trx 200 with 2w-drive. I put 24 12.5 10 bear claws on thr rear and that machine is amazing. Has no power mind you, have to stay in low range most the time. But i have taken that machine every place that my friends 4x4's have gone.. Mud is a little bit tuff though.(needs more power)..
Now I have a 450 kodiak as well, with gators on it . I must say 4x4 is awesome to have so i guess i have the best of both worlds..lol

 

Before the winter I was thinking about getting a 400 sport quad. But then came the winter of 2003.
My Recon did really good on the snowmobile trails as long as I kept going. But if I had stopped in certain situations. I was done and turning around. It was easier going on the ice and crusty snow.
I'm glad the Recon only weighs 400 lbs. because if you get off the track you sink. Then your lifting it back on the trail. Also if there was a warm day with melting, it made the going hard. The Recon really made a great effort and hauled me many miles this winter. But because of those few times I had to turn around and the places I just didn't try to go. (Off Off Trail) Now, I'm considering a 400 4x4. By the way, the 4x4's also had their share of problems. Maybe because they thought they could go anywhere.
Deep snow has no favorites. It'll grab anything.