Im not realy a Polaris fan but as long as there the only ones with IRS ,true 4wd and selectabe 2 or 4wd I have no choice but Polaris I need these things I do not care how much more maintenance is involved.

 

I've yet to see a differential front or rear end work like a charm. I don't think there is no way to really get one to switch from a spinning tire to one thats getting traction without having a computer, or electronic type of device measuring torque on the tires the whole time, then switch the tires side to side to get the best traction. There will always be that one tire spinning quicker than the other because of the clutches in the front end, and the only way to fix it is get a locker or a postive traction front end.

Drum brakes and Disc brakes on a four-wheeler such as the rancher wouldn't make that big a difference anyway. The drum brakes are more reliable, and last longer, and have good stopping power, they are and old and reliable design. Disc brakes are better for something thats gonna require quicker stops from greater speeds, and be able to get rid of heat more quickly. So I think that on the utility quads the drum brakes are just fine, but not pratical for the high performance quads were disc brakes were be better used.

One more thing, I have a honda fourtrax 300 4x4, you know the ones with the crappy front ends in this discussion, and I can tell you that both front tires will spin long as the tires are pointing straight, I've seen it on ice, in the mud, on dry land, and on the rocks. Its just depends on the conditions and the rider I suppose, because I know I've been in the mud plenty of times before and had just one tire turning and needing more, so just letting everyone thats in doubt know that both tires will spin.