I read every once in a while that someone has burned his belt because he did not have the quad in low range. The question is, why doesn't Polaris provide a larger range of gear ratios in the CVT belt system? Why bother with a two speed transmission? As an example, my snowmobile is capable of crawling quite slow say 5 mph up very steep hills, yet it can easily hit 100mph in the open. It has enough torque at standstill that it lifts the skis off the ground if I floor it. It seems that if Polaris provided a clutch system on the quads similar to the clutch system on sleds, they woul not need low range and they might be faster at the top end. What do you think?

 

Check out the size of the clutches on your sled compared to a quad. That's why they have more ratio. I suppose they could make room for bigger clutches but I think it's easier to use a two speed tranny on the models that warrant it.

 

A sled has a hell of a lot more horsepower, and as mentioned, bigger clutches. I don't think it would be easy to integrate them into an ATV - the space just isn't there.

 

Most sleds have a very high kick in on their clutches as well, espeically sport models. Utility atv's kick in just above idle, and you dont have 12k rpm to play with. Also, utility atvs are made for towing, hauling, and 4wd. This requires lots of low end torque. The sleds can go 5mph uphill, but start adding weight or a trailer and its a different story. The low range is there for low speed and utility situations, which you dont typically have with sleds.

 

Come ride with me in the mountains here in New Mexico and i'll show you what low range is for...

 

95Sport400 I know what you mean. So you guys basically think it is because of the size. That's pretty much what I wondered. But it seems that we could get more performance from a quad and at the same time chuck the two speed and solve the belt burning. Maddog, I couldn't agree with you more about the low speed torque and speed requirements of a quad, but imagine that you gear the quad to go 55 with snowmobile clutches instead of 110. You will get the stump pulling power of low range with no low range. The clutch can easily be setup to engage at at much lower speed. RPM range of snowmobile engines very rarely excede 8000 rpm (mine tops out at about 7500). However, many four strokes are capable of exceeding 10k (look at many bikes). Elkbow, I hear what you're saying. But if you had a CVT system with more range (translate to bigger sheaves), you might not need low range. Not only that, if you use an RER type engine, we can get rid if reverse.