After reading several threads there seems to be many members with great knowledge and insight so here is an issue I have been struggling with:
Being old, fat, and suffering from major back problems I thought I would purchase a used Sportsman 500 to allow me a few more years of hunting. What I wasn't expecting was the fun! Now I can visit places I used to go in my youth.

As I ride with friends here in western pa and incur short steep inclines I notice my sportsman seems to be more susceptiple to flipping over than the RZR or the Kawasaki mid size. I really thought it was my imagination or lack of experiance but the other riders notice it as well. I'm thinking perhaps the softer suspension and the torque are partly to blame. In addition, I would like to be able to take my wife to some of these destinations on occasion and have been considering purchasing a RZR or a 2 up. I like the idea of the 2-up as stepping up and over is easier on my back than stepping in...and I like the handlebars. Anyway:

Will a 2-up and its longer wheelbase be more flip resistant than a standard wheelbase atv? If so, is it worth the loss of manueverability? Will I be able take the steep inclines with a passenger or is riding 2-up more for green trails?


I would appreciate any thoughts! Thanks much

 

I have Polaris' Sportsman X2 500 and I can tell you first hand that the longer wheelbase is much better going up and down hills than a 1 up machine. I've gone up some steep hills and the longer wheelbase helps it to stay planted. It is no more or less stable side to side than a 1 up is but front to back is tons more stable. I also bought heavy duty springs for the front and it is even more stable now. The X2 has a 400 lb. rated rear that keeps the rear from sagging too much and the heavy duty springs I put on the front have equaled the quad off much better than the front stock setup. I've only had one spot where I couldn't get the quad through because of the extra length. I went between two trees and there was a second set of trees the same width apart but just barely longer than my quad. I had to go up a hill and around. It turns out I had accidently gone on a motocross trail where the trailhead sign was missing. Otherwise, I've gone everywhere that my friends' 1 up machines have gone. I use the dump bed on my X2 more than having a passenger (it converts between the dump bed and passenger seat in about 10 seconds) but can tell you I've gone almost everywhere I went single riding with a passenger.

 

I have taken my Suzuki 2wd quad runner and now my 2wd quad racer up things that the 4x4 thinks twice about....The big key to hill climbing and decending is your center of gravity..when going up or down a hill you can stand on the pegs or sit in the seat it makes no difference (I do Both) the thing to do is tuck your knees into the tank and move your body wieght forward on the bike to keep the center of gravity on the front end as you go up a hill and move your body wieght back to keep the center of gravity on the rear axle when going down the hill. Practice a little at a time until you get the movement down..I'm 6-04 and 285lbs and i can run circles around people smaller and lighter than myself.. Your 500cc should do ya just fine mine is a Suzuki LTR450 Quad Racer..I tell you the truth brother when I say its not always about the bike and how much engine you got, its about the rider who controls it..work with it more gaining your confidence with the bike as you get used to it and you will find that the bike will talk to you as you drive it to let you know what to do and when.. I race in the desert so I solo ride every chance I get so trust me I had to learn how to listen to my bike talking to me as i run hell bent through the sand. Whatever you do don't push yourself past your limitations take your time and the experience will come to you in good time then man oh man let the fun begin. Last wisdom I can give is every time you ride you must challange yourself to do something your not real comfy with..That my friend is how you learn and gain experience and the confidence you need to master your bike..

BTW: Don't ride two up until you master taking care of yourself. two up in Cali is a big no no on a normal atv so I never have a passenger. two up on steep hills is a major issue the driver and passenger must act as one or yes you will flip the bike most rickity tick..

 

I agree with sandhog to an extent. Some of it does have to do with rider skill. But I must argue with the fact that a sport machine and a utility 4x4 are two different animals. A sportsman for example sits much higher than a sporty thus creating a higher center of gravity regardless how you lean. If you think this is false here's an example. My brother-n-laws raptor 660 was always a little tippy stock, after just a 3" drop in suspension it's a totally different machine. Takes more power to pull the front wheels and more stable in hard banking. Hmmm why is this? Because of a lower center of gravity. Another example would be my 325 magnum vs. my sportsman 500. The magnum is the same size frame and close in weight but sits about 3" shorter than the sportsman. Clearly the sp500 has about twice the power and it is much easier lift the front end at will compared to the magnum which only wishes it could. When climbing a steep hill I feel more confident on the magnum because it sits lower and does'nt have the power to pull the front up as easily. One more point and I'll shut up. If you take a pickup truck up a very steep grade and jeep up the same grade which would be more prone to flip back first. The jeep would because the weight is more centrally located over the axels vs a pickup which is more spread out. The same principles will apply to a 1up machine vs. a 2up machine which has a longer wheel base. And the bigger the tires and more lift you put on the machine, equals an even higher center of gravity and a higher probability of flipping or rolling over.

 

Actually my Quad racer is the pretty close to the overall size of most 4x4 UTV one up vehicles its just a 2wd version. I have 12 inches of front ground clearance under the center point (frame) at the "A" arms with another 10 inches of tire travel before the shocks ground out. The rear axle of my bike has 10 inches of ground clearance under the differental skid plate with at least another four inches before the shock grounds out. The width outside to outside of my front tires is about 4 feet wide and the rear tires extend that width another 4 inches overall. Overall length is right around 6+/- foot mark. I ramp the bike onto a 5x8 utility trailer and it takes every bit of the trailer to carry it safely.

I can run my quad on an 80ft long high bank (three foot tall bank) oval dirt track in flat out first gear just as easy as taking it up, over and then down rock strewn 45+ degree goat paths including the 24 inch near vertical parts on the hillside. Soft sand dunes in second gear without breaking the pace is no sweat at all, In the flat desert I can take the bike into third gear and pass dirt bikes and the larger UTV vehicles as they struggle through soft sand and on the dirt roads fourth gear keeps me up with the dirt bikes I ride with when the mood strikes me with an extra up gear to spare, the only thing that has kept me from fifth gear on a dirt road is the front tires start to float in the gravel in high fourth gear. My Quads mechanical ability and stability rests directly on regulare maintenance, the Racing wide track stance of the Racing Quad suspension and the matched set of "hole shot" desert racing tires that now rest on the bead locked desert racing rims and a re-enforced off road racing handle bar which adds about two inches in width and about an inch and a half in height over the factory bar.

Yup your exactly right and I conceed the point that the undisputed rule is that pound for pound the 4x4 UTV is bigger, wider and longer with a higher center of gravity than most "SPORT" Quads; however, I'm not on a Suzuki LTZ "SPORT" Quad, I'm on the Suzuki LTR 450 Quad RACER with the Desert racing rims and tires all the way around, no matter how you slice it the modifications makes it a totally different breed of bike over an un-modified factory bike taken from show room to dirt with no further modification.

Yup your exactly right the 4x4 UTV is a beast to turn and thats why I refused to buy one.

As a Federal Game Warden in Alaska my ATV of choice when I was on dry ground was the a 1980's vintage unmodified Suzuki LT230, it had factory front and rear carry racks, it carried my .338 rem mag on the front rack, survival kits and everything else one would need to survive in Alaska.Boy was it top heavy and I have forgot how many times when I was not paying attention I used to get stuck in tight turns and end up hitting a Pine or Alder sapling which resulted in the tipping it up onto it's back rack to land me head over tea kettle over a 20mm ammo can onto the ground laughing. Never once did it let me down or get stuck on me unless I did something really stupid to cause it. I used to drive it around the hunters on their big expensive 4x4 UTV when it was up to its skid plates in the mud and going no where.

Your exactly right the 4x4 UTV has its specific uses for hunters and all those who plow snow and such or want a family truckster touring ATV vehicle which acts like a jeep but cannot afford the jeep then the UTV 4x4 ATV in one up or two up variations, or for that matter all the other muti seat UTV styled vehicles are just what your looking for.

I have always advocated and will continue to advocate the name brand of the machine you ride, the actual type of machine you choose to ride and the cc of the engine in the machine you ride is your choice and only limited by how much money are you willing to spend and then the ultimate limitation is down and dirty the riders ability to safely navigate the machine they are riding. If you have never ridden any sort of ATV or UTV is is not advisable to get the biggest baddest machine you can find, that results in someone getting hurt or worse killing themselves or someone else. what any rider likes, needs or wants is not what I like or in my case wanted..I no longer live in Alaska or the midwest or for that matter drive anywhere where the snow lasts more than a day if we are lucky so my choice is something that will take me through the very dry ground of the Mojave Desert where we live and ride and not slogging up and down the Mountain logging trails and through the mountain road mud holes.

Only in my opinion the true ability of the machine is only limited by the driving abilities and experience of the driver