IRS + Sport= Corvette

 

Polaris CANT Make a Sport quad. Sport quads with IRS is the stupidest thing I have ever heard, no matter what metal they use it will still be heavier then a solid axle. As for the guy that thinks a sport quad with an IRS is a corvette, what would he know? He bought an artic cat, prob. one of the most cheaply engineered quad out there.
Quads with IRS are all boats, look at Polaris' and the Artic Cat 300.
They're HOGS.

 

Well, after that post, how is anyone going to take you seriously?
First off, the IRS on the SP does add weight, but that is not the cause of the overly heavy SP. The fact that Polaris uses mild steel in the frame is what causes that.
Second, I doubt that any quad is cheaply engineered these days. They would not last more then a few years if they were. And AC has been around for more then a couple now.
Third, why can't Polaris make a sport quad? Is this your opinion, or do you know for a fact that they have feeble minded engineers at Polaris industries? Ones that would not know the first thing about it. I highly doubt that, considering that they make some of the best snowmobiles. But wait, Polaris has a machine called the Sport 400! Now, lets see, put 2 and 2 together, and AH HA! It must be a sport machine.
Yes, it is not a high performance machine, but it is a sport, and it does handle trails and other mild conditions very well. Which, in my opinion, is what a sport quad is made for.

 

IRS can be put on a sport quad and have good handiling and ride. almost all high end luxury and sport cars have IRS. they use ANTI-SWAY BARS to keep them from haveing lots of body roll. the new ford excape has IRS, and so will the 2002 ford explorer. Irs keeps the wheels from "communicating" with each other. if u take a corner hard with solid axel machine the inside wheel will tend to lift a bit. this is because the weight has shifted. with IRS the inside wheel remains in contact with the ground with more pressure because its not "connected" to the other wheel. IRS also has much less unsprung weight, witch helps handeling and ride. If IRS was not any good then i think u would not see it in indycars or other applications.

later
jon

 

For those that are saying comparing IRS on sport cars and ATVs is not relevant, try this. Ivan "Iron Man" Stewart has IRS on his S.C.O.R.E. truck, as do many of the other racers in that sport. Also, many of the off road race buggies have IRS. And what about the AM General Hummer? This is suppose to be one of the ultimate off road vehicles. But yet it too has IRS! Maybe the Hummer is not a race vehicle, but there is a team that races the Humvee in S.C.O.R.E..

 

Speaking of cheaply engineered quads Rancher4x4ESLuvr you have the nerve to talk about Artic Cat when honda has only got on the band wagon recently and added water cooling that other bike makers have been doing for years. The Rancher you are driveing isn't exactly state of the art, Artic cat engineers do have enough sense to add a 2 to 4 wheel drive switch, disc brakes, semi independant suspension to there line up, I just can't believe somebody who is rideing an atv that hasn't been changed in 10 years can talk about another quads engineering...Oh yes I forgot they did improve the 3 wheel drive system now supposedly the 3rd wheel pulling is the one on the ground...big deal its still only 3 wheels pulling why don't Honda come out with a real 4 wheel drive system if they are so state of the art...I didn't write this post to get a lot of Honda riders mad but he had no right saying what he did about Artic Cat when Honda can't even add a 2 to 4 wheel drive switch to there line up along with there pretty new decals that is...

 

Lurch: First of all, ask most army hummer drivers and they will be the first person to tell you that the IRS on the Hummers(and jeeps) made them death traps. OF course they no nothing. Secondly the single best off-road company Jeep doesn't have one IRS SUV out there. I might remind you also that oh MR. Iron man wasn't beating old MR. Evans JEEP Comanche in the micky thompson circuit to often either. So what's your point. You don't have one any more than i do. They both have their stong points and weak points. OH, and how many off road magazines or Jamborees do you go to that feature mostly IRS off roaders? Yeah, just what i thought.

Mr. Atving: I agree AC are good machines, but the Rancher and Honda are not behind the times as you might think. But if you feel they are then by all means rip on them. Because as you do so, those old 80 3wheelers will still be going when that Liquid cooled 500 is long dead. Liquid cooling is great, but adds more things to go wrong also. I still dont get where Honda is behind the times either. BELTLESS AUTO TRANNY, PUSH BUTTON SHIFT, SIDE MOUNTED ENGINE, INTIGRATED FOOTPEGS, LCD SCREEN 2nd to none, and the most reliable quads out there. OF course their newest models have to prove themselves I agree. But Polaris hasn't really come up with much other than IRS (which others can do, but are not choosing to I asure you) and true 4 wheel drive. But what is to say Honda people LIKE fulltime 4x4, and the ease of steering that come with it. I am NOT saying Polaris sucks here, I am just saying if I had different needs and likes then YES i would own a SP500 no doubt. But Honda feels other needs to. I just am tired of people saying out dated HONDA is, they say the same thing about JEEP, yet jeeps remain the most popular, and used 4x4 in the world. NOW that is wierd!!!!

 

"wait, Polaris has a machine called the Sport 400! Now, lets see, put 2 and 2 together, and AH HA! It must be a sport machine."

I can name my Dog 'kitty', train him to catch mice, and even feed him cat food, but that doesn't make him a cat.

 

Your right, what was I thinking. The Sport 400 must be a utility machine. I'll just go throw a plow on it right away before it snows.

There are basically 4 catagories of ATVs.
High Performance
Sport
Sport Utility
Utility

What do you consider the Sport 400 as? I am just curious.

 

Actually for a ultility quad my SP handles great. The IRS is awesome , not sure if it would work for sport quads?