You have a valid question, I have a friend who has a 2006 Bomb 800 outlander max. I was leading the group up a long and very steep hill, I was waiting at the top for them to come up and my other 2 friends showed up next. I asked them where the Bomb was because he was behind me. They said they past him because he was pulled over to the sideand that he told them that his machine front tires were coming up about two feet of the ground and that he was backing down to make another run. When he finally showed up I could not believe what I saw, He had his wife humped over the front rack and bumper. When he finally arrived at the top I asked him why his wife was riding on the front bumper. He said that the front end was coming up about 2 feet off the ground and he spun out because he was running on two tires. I said bull, I told him that he has a two up machine with a longer wheel base and that should not happen especially when our machines are alot shorter in length. I could not believe it but he kept insisting thats what was happening. He was traveling the same speed as us the only thing different was that he had his wife with him however the max was built for taking two passengers. Don't get me wrong I like Bombardier and still do but I thought that was very strange that his machine was so light on the front end. I too heard they were light on the front end but this was unreal. Also I have two other friends that own Bombs and they have not complained about there tires coming up on steep hills so maybe on the two u machines like the max the weight distribution is more to the back with two people on it compared to the single rider outlanders.
He was quite pissed at the ordeal. I hope this answers your question but like the other posts to your question there are alot of factors to consider. My friend likes his bomb though but he said it was a scary ride up that mountain.

 

I am sure under certain situations that the front end will come up on any quad. I do lots of steep stuff...I have NEVER seen it happen on mine.

 

kawiyowee,

I think the front end lifts on the polaris because even when in awd only the rear wheels are doing the work. Unless the trail is wet or slippery the front end will tend to lift before the rear wheels slip and lock the diff. Another place where this is a problem is when trying to go over a large object such as a fallen tree. I'm not talking a huge trunk either. When you come up to it (definately if you have to stop and shift to low to get over) It takes a good amount of throttle to get the rear wheels to spin and lock in the front, and you better be careful if you are on an incline because its like when the diff locks it is an immediate leap over whatever is in front of you. If going uphill at the same time it will wheelie even if you do not want it to. Sometimes this can be dangerous for a not experienced rider.

 

If anyone has ever followed a sportsman on the trail, you can see allot of squat or scrub going on with the back suspension. I think with the soft suspention that gives the Popo that great ride, it also allows for addition unwanted weight transfer to the back of the machine on steep inclines.

 

So this fella on the outty max.. Whats his wife weigh 300 lbs? Im thinkin before some people get them selves into these situations of technical hill climbing they should learn how to ride.. and understand their mochine.. and especially before goin out and doing any technical chit while 2 up. that just seems like unneccesary endangerment.

 

I agree, sounds like he does'nt really know what he is doing -- I don't think it's any fault of the machine, and yes I have one and ride two up all of the time.

 

I ride two up all the time also and my wife is NOT petite. I've been up & down some STEEP mountain trails in Arizona and NEVER had a problem with the front end coming up. The Max is more stable then a single seat quad and my fellow riders are amazed how well it handles steep hills.

From the story posted above, it sounded like an inexperienced rider that did not know how to use his machine. He probably was not in 4 wheel drive and had to 'gun' it to make it up. With BRP/Can-AMs superior rear suspension, he probably got better traction then the others, causing him to wheelie, which is a result of power & traction, not a light front end.

I have a BRP 800 Max. If I want to wheelie, I would have no problem. Not because the front end is light, but because I have so much power available if I wanted to use it. The power comes on smooth and is very controllable, so you won't wheelie by accident, unless you don't know how to ride.


But, if you want a HEAVY front end, get a Polaris, they ar the HEAVIEST Quad and I doubt you will have wheelie issues with a Polaris, due to having less power. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]


Having a quad that will wheelie when needed has gotten me out of some nasty situations. Sometimes you NEED the front end to come up to aviod an obstacle or crashing.

 

This steep hill is a mountain and it is steep, no quad made can climb it in two wheel drive. If you don't have 4 wheel drive your not climbing it period end of story. And some 4x4 don't make it up if you don't pick the right line, you just spin out and pray it doesn't slide back on you.It is all rock the size of soft ***** and it is steep, your spinning all fours going up and if your not on the ball your skidding down and gaining speed with the brakes on. You have to be on the ball going down this monsterwith engine braking and feathering your brakes. After that episode I told them we will go back a different route. This mountain has taken a few ATV's to the junkyard. I like Bombs and like I said before it could be him not knowing how to ride, but he said he was leaning over the handle bars while he was climbing up. This is his story not mine, and like I said in my post I have friends with the outys and they have not had any problem with there machines coming up. I laughed when the one guy posted that his wife must weigh 300lbs. I would say 250lbs maybe. The Polaris had no problems and the Honda almost spun out because he was loosing power and had to shift into 1st gear and the Suzuki had no problems.

 

I just said that cuz if my brother is driving and im sitting on the back rack facing backwards in 2wd it will wheelie up hills [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] So i figure 200 lbs back a lil farther is close to the equivilant of 300 in the 2 up [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Maybe im a sissy when it comes to what i think is steep [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] but i doubt it. Id give your hill a try on my sporty just cuz you said its 4x4 only [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] long as my tires are on the ground I'll make it if there is deep ruts.. Well bust out your winch please [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

The hill can't be that steep if a Honda can make it up. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

Heck with no locking front diff and no low range, the Hondas can't go on a lot of the more extreme trails in Az. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]