My buddies Grizzly will climb sand dunes no problem and it is running stock tires.
Just wont get you to the top as fast as a sport quad but it will get you there.

 

Yeah, 4x4's in sand is fun!! When i went to pismo in the summer there was a bombadier 4x4 (not sure how big), a grizzly, Z400 (pipe, jets, carb, 110 octane).. I really enjoyed riding the grizzly more than any thing, put it in 4x4 and i could make it up any hill.. just get a small run on it.. i liked that the suspension was SOOO smooth.

 

My Dad has a 400 Kodiak and it's only problem is that it beats you to death through the dune trails at higher speeds! It will ( slowly ) go up anything you point it at, however, and he has gotten me unstuck more than a few times. Have any of you "utility duners" tried any suspension mods? When ridden like a sport quad, are the larger machines..grizzly, prarie, etc. that much better than the Kodiak? Dad wants something that isn't so exhausting to ride when we go to Little Sahara. Extra power would be nice, but better suspension is the primary concern.

 

Yes the IRS makes a world of difference and the stronger machines do much better in the sand.... YOu will find that the sand sucks alot of power out of any motor. There is no replacement for displacement..

 

Does anybody have any Wolverine at the dunes experiences they care to share? That's one of the bikes I'm now considering....

 

My little brother used to have a Wolverine, before he got his DS. It was well suspended, and it's light weight made it much nimbler than Dad's big Kodiak. However, I have to agree with many of the magazines that keep asking for a Wolverine 400. It was great on the sand trails, but didn't have the oats to make it up some of the larger dunes, and Dad could slightly outrun him on the flats.