Message from Polaris owner--I should have bought a 400ex sooner!!
#21
There is a drainage ditch in the pasture where I have a nice practice course set up. If I were to stop in the middle of that ditch with the 400ex I Will get stuck. The same would not occur with the Polaris. I use this to my advantage when racing. I have stopped many times near the end of a mud hole causing the 2wd quads behind me to get stuck. Advantage 4x4.
My buddy with a modded Banshee makes it thru all kinds of mud holes as long as he keeps up his momentum. Who went to the Ironman in Crawfordsville IN this past fall? Remember the river crossing? Remember what the far bank near the bridge looked like? It was slippery, steep, rutted and had roots. Guys that kept up the momentum made it. My buddy said he got cut off, lost his momentum and it took him 10 minutes to finally get out. Next time he made it with ease. I never had a problem and never used 4x4.
I'm not implying that those that like 4x4 are wrong. It just doesn't seem to give me much of an advantage. Light weight and excellent handling/suspension seem to do more for me.
Paul
My buddy with a modded Banshee makes it thru all kinds of mud holes as long as he keeps up his momentum. Who went to the Ironman in Crawfordsville IN this past fall? Remember the river crossing? Remember what the far bank near the bridge looked like? It was slippery, steep, rutted and had roots. Guys that kept up the momentum made it. My buddy said he got cut off, lost his momentum and it took him 10 minutes to finally get out. Next time he made it with ease. I never had a problem and never used 4x4.
I'm not implying that those that like 4x4 are wrong. It just doesn't seem to give me much of an advantage. Light weight and excellent handling/suspension seem to do more for me.
Paul
#22
Where we go momentum will not stay with you long.Even the 4wds pulling the trailers full of camping gear have to stop in the middle of a deep muddy section and throw the 2wd that is stuck a rope after it,s momentum goes bye bye and pull him the rest of the way to the other side.On the lakes right now the is 1 ft of slush that will stop me dead if the quad is in 2wd and the lake is 7 miles wide can the 2wd keep the momentum up for that long? No I would say seven feet would be lucky.The sporty 2wds are king of the race track but leave the deep long mud section and long twisty slippery steep hill to the 4x4s.
Two Warriors riding around a stuck 4wd in the Mud? Come on guy give it up.
Two Warriors riding around a stuck 4wd in the Mud? Come on guy give it up.
#23
The trails we ride on just have to many sections that will make it the end of the line for a 2wd no matter what his momentum,it is the same with pickup trucks it is the differance of night and day where a 4x4 will go compared to a 2wd. Right now there is tons of snow every where and the 4wd quads are having a hard time but the 2wd are parked since late fall and can,t come out until spring because walking would be easier.
Even out of the 2wds, a utility such as a 2wd Rancher or Big bear models with it,s 25" rear tires and higher ground clearance would go more places than a low to the ground and 22" tires of a sport quad can,let alone the 4wd models.
Even out of the 2wds, a utility such as a 2wd Rancher or Big bear models with it,s 25" rear tires and higher ground clearance would go more places than a low to the ground and 22" tires of a sport quad can,let alone the 4wd models.
#24
A good friend of mine raced sport ATV's for several years,he challenged several guys on 4x4 quads to a hill climb competition.The field included Scramblers,Sportsmansn,Foremans and Grizzley's,He was riding his 1987 Honda 250R.He really made all of these guys really look bad.Not only did he out climb them all,there was one really steep hill that only he could make it up.Only one guy on a Scrambler would try and he flipped over.
#25
This reminds me of a good story.......My girlfriends mother was looking for a new car, and the Subaru dealer told her that the all-wheel-drive wagons could go any where a 4X4 could......the next day I gave her a ride over, and I asked if he would care to make a wager about what he said, but when we went outside he saw my 84 F-150 sittin' pretty on 44-inch swampers, he changed his mind
#26
#27
You got to remember that he liked the fact that the 400EX jumper and wheeled better than the Polaris. The 400EX (I have one) is a sport quad and is not designed as much for mudding like a 4X4. I own a 400EX and have been seriously been thinking about a Rubicon or the new 650 Kawi (If if get one it will be the Honda because of the great trans)because some of my buds are big into mudding where the 400 will get burried. Anyway it all depends on what type of riding you are doing. To be honest, if I could only have one quad to be sport and mud my choice would be the Yamaha Wolverine.