I went riding on my Scrambler 4x4 today on some frozen waterholes. All 4 wheels were spinning and doing what they were designed to do.

Some of the holes had two inches of ice on them and gave way under the weight of the quad. If it were not for the exceptional 4x4 system, I would have never made it up and out! It was amazing! Huge ice chunks flyin' all over amidst the mud... darn best "ice-breaker" I have ever owned!

 

so if you had a traxter and you felt like doing some donuts or playing around you would flip because all time 4 wheel drive

p.s. my polaris will take own a traxter any day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

the wheels slip not even an inch before they kick in you will not lose any traction i promise

 

You have not seen any post for making a Polaris full time 4wd because most people bought them in the first place because you can switch them to 2wd for better handling. Suzuki.Traxter and Polaris make the ony true 4wd system right now but Suzuki's locker system which is as true 4wd as you can get is only controllable a very slow speeds.I like any company that understands 4 wheel will pull better than 3 will.

 

Inorder for the 4wd for the Polaris to engage the rear wheels must spin 1/5 of a turn.

If you ride in the mud then the Polaris 4wd system can't be beat. Although, this is MY opinion the Polaris is not the best in EVERY situation probably explains why I own Honda's.

If you can wait a few months & want a TRUE 4wd system, that locks check out the new Kawasaki. I hope they deliver what they promise. If they do, the Prairie 650 will be in my garage.

 

Im sorry, but you Fonda guys dont know what you are talking about. NOTHING will touch a Polaris on the trails, that is why I own a Polaris. Sure your 400ex, yada, yada, will beat me on the track, but I don't care! PUT IT THIS WAY, if YOU want the best bike out on the trails,on the hills, and in the mud, DO YOURSELF A BIG FAVOR AND GET A POLARIS!
The 4wd system is exceptional. When I'm blasting up a hill, I can feel the power going to the front end. My Polaris buddies I ride with are always the first ones to try the snowdrifts, ice and mud cause they know they can make it through. One part we ride in has a decent size ravine. It's really steep and it's in a clearing, so it always has a huge snowdrift at the top when it snows. If it wasn't for us clearing a path through, the whole other half of our land would have been impassable.
The 4wd DOES NOT need to be full time, it is way more effective than any Honda as it is right now. I'm sorry for starting an argument, but it's all I hear all the time from the Honda guys that ride near me. "I don't like that, that's why I own a Honda, bla, bla boo hoo!" Then again, I agree with everyone, that Honda DOES make a really durable and tough machine. But on the trails, they are like owning a Yugo to me.

 

A good way to do it would be adding another electrical gizmo to switch from "normal 4x4" (when the rear wheels spin before engaging) and "hardcore rock crawling 4x4" (all 4 wheels spin at the same speed). There has to be a way to "shortcut" the sensor of the rear wheels, like he was always saying "wheels are spinning". I don't really know about it, so this is more a thought than a "how-to". But if the sensing of the rear wheels slippage is electric then there is a way to shortcut it (and get what you want).
Like everyone else said, I wouldn't recommend you to replace the normal 4x4 with your always 4x4...handling will be more than poor, and you might damge stuff inside.

 

Zorro: Sorry, it wouldn't work.
To oversimplify things, the Polaris 4wd system works this way. Each front hub has a 'ratchet' in it (for lack of a better term). When engaged, electricity locks in the 'ratchet' The wheel can spin faster than the axle when needed, like cornering, but not slower, when the rear wheels spin. This is why a Polaris only has 2 wheel engine braking (the only drawback I can think of with their 4wd system). It takes about 1/4 to 1/8 turn of the rear wheels to engage the 'ratchet' the first time, after that, as soon as the rear wheels slip, the front grab (unless you shut off the 4wd, then it has to sort of re-set itself). Hard - wiring the 4wd would be the same as driving with the 4wd switch on all the time.
The 'ratchet' also works when in reverse if you hold the override button down.

 

Farmr123, instead of the ratchet concept, how about something like this,... each wheel hub has a 1 way clutch inside it that engages when the rear tires start to spin fster and disengage when they regain traction. This also works in reverse which got me to look into my manual as to how its built and to your comment as to 2 wheel engine braking. I think that if you had a good enough rear brake (since the engine/tranny cant break good enough) to lock up the rear tires going down hill at 10 MPH or so, with the 4 wheel drive switch on, the fronts would lock also. Just like they do when the backs go faster then the fronts But only opposite. If you could get the rear tires to go slower then the fronts, I think the front hubs would also lock. unfortunately the rear brake only, can barely lock just the rear tires up let alone the extra drag of the fronts if they were to lock also. Maybe one of us could try this on some ice next time were out riding this winter. just get the quad moving 15 mph or so with the 4WD switch on and step on the rear brake only and get it the rear tires to lock up and watch the fronts to see if they lock? I think they will. Any takers? I will try it the next time Im out and its slippery enough. Anybody else have any comments on this? GJ

 

Have done it before. Was booking along about 35 to 40 down a graveled road when a deer jumped out in front of me. I grabbed the brake lever & stomped the foot brake. I 'feathered' the handle so I could steer, but held the rear solid. The other guys with me all agreed the rear wheels were locked for at least 50 feet, but the front never really stopped turning. After it was all over, I noticed I had the 4wd switch engaged.

I looked at the hub diagram, too, and it seems to me that it will lock the wheel to the shaft in the direction the shaft is turning (when the coil is energized) but won't lock the shaft to the wheel, if the wheel is turning & the shaft isn't.
Look at the parts carefully. The shaft turning will rotate the cams, pushing the rollers outward, grabbing on the hub. If the hub is spinning & not the shaft, there is nothing to 'grab' unless the spring around the rollers would be broken.