i really ruined the conversation didn't I........i guess humor is not allowed on these sites...even though i DO like my rancher better than either of the above.

 

Folks, is it just me or is this drum vs disc brake topic wearing just a little thin (no pun intended). I am constantly amazed at how wired people will get over this topic.

For those of you who absolutely have to drive a quad equipped with disc brakes then by all means purchase a model that has them if you haven't already done so, but please refrain from trying to tell the rest of us who are satisfied with our drum brakes that they are no good.

I, too, must have one of those 1 in a million quads because between the Foreman and the Rancher I have logged over 3000 kms and I haven't experienced a brake failure yet. Yep, the rear drum on the Foreman used to leak ..... a bit. I would get a couple of tablespoons of water out of the drum after HOURS of use in the streams. And BTW, I just checked both bikes and I have lots of pad left on both of them.

I am not saying that drums are better than discs. Neither am I saying the opposite. Would a bike that I wanted having one sytem rather than the other deter me from purchasing it? No.... with all due respect to Bill.

Interesting enough 4-WHEEL ATVACTION did a shootout between the Expedition and the Foreman. Both bikes did well and were pretty evenly matched. However the test riders made the following comments with respect to the brakes "When zipping around, we prefer the Foreman's braking set-up. Although they are drum brakes they perform well due to a superior actuation system." "On flat ground, either set-up is fine...." Just goes to show that it is not just Honda owners that are comfortable with drum brakes. Yeah, yeah I know .... the magazine was biased towards Honda. Whatever.

I don't recall reading any posts in this forum where the author was complaining about their brakes not stopping them soon enough (either type). Ironically I do remember seeing posts complaining about disc pads wearing out quickly. Just an observation.

Now, having said all of this, if I had a choice I would probably take a bike with disc over the same bike with drums. Why? Because of the weight factor and the ease of maintenance, not because of performance. I am one of those folks who wants a light weight bike. It is for this same reason that I am not interested in IRS even though it offers a much, much cushier ride. It is just not worth the extra 100 pounds to me. Personal preference, that's all.

That about ends my diatribe so I'll climb down off my soapbox. Please remember that just by yelling (or in this case typing) louder does not necessarily make you right. In the end it is still only your opinion.


Temp

 

One reason they put disks on the sport quads is because they are much lighter than drums. Another reason is because in general, disks DO work better than drums in dry conditions. And since most people don't do much mud bogging or creek crossing in a sport machine, there isn't as much of a need for a sealed brake system.

Maybe your right, maybe my 300 4x4 is a one in a million (or maybe it's three in a million, because we have three of them, and they all work the same). Or maybe Honda just knows how to make good sealed drum brakes, and Yamaha drums suck? The Blaster drums are notoriously bad brakes, and from hearing your statement about the rear drum on your 4x4, it seems like the Yamaha drums are not that great.

My whole point is, don't assume the braking on a quad sucks just because it has drum brakes! It doesn't matter if they have disks, drums, or any other kind of braking; if it stops good, that's al I care about! And from my experience, drums can stop just as well, if not better than disks (unless they're on a Yamaha I guess ).

 

Well, that's not a very good way to compare the front and rear brakes. For one thing, the E-brake is fully cable operated, no power assist, so of course it will take more force on your part to do the braking. Second, the E-brake, on most vehicles, only operates one brake shoe on each drum, not both shoes like the normal braking system. Third, The E-brake only operates the rear brakes, while the brake pedal operated front AND rear brakes, so which one do you THINK is going to feel better?

However, you are correct in that the braking in most cars is biased toward the front brakes, and that most manufacturers are converting to full-disk systems (instead of the full-drum systems that were around 30 years ago, and the disk/drum setup on most vehicles today). The brakes on cars have a lot more work to do than the brakes on ATVs (most cars weigh 10x more than an ATV), and produce a lot more heat, which causes the brakes to fade. Disks dissipate heat much better than drums, so of course, they are switching over to disks.

Something to ponder on: What kind of brakes do you find on an 18 wheeler big-rig semi truck?

 

Nice post Tempest.

 

Cartman
Humor is fine,no one loves good humor than me!!! But with the touchyness of the "mine is better than yours" someones always waiting in the wings for statement like yours.This has been good informative post and just hate to see it end up the way so many before have.You are entitled to your opinion,and would surprize me if you didn't think yours was better than mine.Although we both know that you are wrong.(let me say now that was said in HUMOR)Just because it fits you and does what you want it to,don't mean it will do what I need done,is yours better than mine "NO" is yours as good as mine at least in your mind "YES" and thats all that counts.CM
Guess all this brake thing is over my head as it had nothing to do with my choice of quads.CM

 

i think the reason the atv action picked the hondas brakes over the polarises is because honda paid the mag to give them a good review (hehehe) but seriously, the seperate hand controlls make a huge difference in the feel of the brakes. the magazines arent used to 1 handed controll and like the old style better (as do most people). there is $.02 by turd. have a nice day.

 

I really like my new bike, but I do as much riding in the mountains as I do in the mud. The braking system on a Polaris can be dangerous. I was climbing the Landingstrip at Gilmer and all for tires began slipping and I had to lock the brakes. I was near the top which means it was over 100 feet to the bottom. If any of you know this hill, I was on the ridge. I tried to back down slowly and whenever, I hit the brakes, it would stand up on the rear wheels. I was leaning over the handlebars as far as possible and it wasn't helping. Due to the fact I couldn't just hit the front brakes and let the front wheels slide abd feather the back brakes, I was in a bad situation. I couldn't go backwards without flipping so I had to try my luck. I nailed the throttle and the bike was throwing rocks but managed to climb to the top. Anyway, I know the brake setup is convenient for the average rider, but for me I want the brakes seperate, therefore, I am going to plug the hydrolics going from the hand lever to the rear. Then I will have front brakes on the handlebars and rear on the floorboard.

By the way, HondaVamp flipped his Hondae down the Landingstrip. He is pretty skinned up and his bike needs about $2300+ worth of repairs at last I heard.

Greg

 

greg
You got to love that full 4x4,and AUTO how would you have liked trying to find another gear in that situation???? CM

 

I might be incorresct, but I think that is what happened to Hondavamp before his less than graceful decent.

I think the automatic really helps in serious hill climbing. When you take off up a hill going fast and you get to a technical part where you have to slow down, the torque is always there with no guessing. Standards are not a problem for me because I have been riding since the mid seventies, but I have seen many acidents when inexperienced riders accidently downshifted into neutral or down shifted and gave it to much gas.

Greg