I'm considering buying a Polaris SP500 HO over the 600 and 700 because of price and proven reliability. I have one question though. I'm told that the Polaris Sportsman machines only have rear wheel engine braking, even when locked in 4WD. Is this true? If so, I can see real problems when trying to descend steep hills without having to rely on the brakes.

Inquiring minds what to know. Thanks.

 

I have heard many people say that its a problem......................then I've heard others say that its not a problem once you get used to it. I have never owned a sportsman, but I do know that I liked to ride my grizzly around alot in 2wd. I tackled many long steep slippery downhills in 2wd without any problems. I would just go back and forth between applying a little throttle and the front brakes. I never got the bottom of a hill and was like "man, I sure with that I would have done that in 4wd!". I sure wouldn't let that be a deciding factor in whether or not to buy a sportsman.

 

linuxman,

you're right, but i don't see where is the problem... the way that the 4wd works on polaris atv's, the front wheels are never engage if the back wheel are not spinning at least 1/8 of a full circle. that always put the bike on 2wd mode when compressing. but if you need to have more breaking... you just have to use the 4 wheels handle break.

from my point of view, it's always better to only have the back wheels breaking when going down hill... unless you are in soft sand... then you use the breaks.


my opinion !!

 

Whenever someone tries my Sportsman 500HO they admit they love the engine braking compared to their ATV, especially in steep hills. Last week I had to tow a trailer with a broken ATV out of the mountains and I could descend steep hills with almost no braking (in low). It's a great feature in rough country.

 

There is a lot of confusion and miss-information on the way the Polaris front hubs work. There is no differential as we all know, but the way the hubs work is more like a ratchet than anything else. The ratcheting allows the hub to spin ahead of the axle, and allows either wheel to go faster than the rear wheels, like when going around a corner. The "reverse override" button reverses the ratchet, just like a socket wrench, so it works in reverse, and when braking going forward. This is the trick many Polaris riders use for going downhill. By putting the machine in reverse and holding the reverse override button, then shifting into forward before a major descent, you have fooled the mechanism into thinking it is in reverse, making the front hubs work backwards and achieving 4-wheel engine braking. I would think this could be accomplished by some sort of special switch, which would give you 4-wheel engine braking, but only 2-wheel drive, and it would be a bitch to steer, as the longer route taken by the front wheels in a turn would
fight you like a full lock 4x4.
.. The Polaris system works very well as it is. A "downhill engine braking" switch could be rigged, maybe even by slightly modifying the reverse override switch. Using the brakes themselves in addition to the rear wheel engine braking works pretty well though. I find myself using the rear foot brake for additional rear braking on tricky downhills, so additional front braking is maybe not what we need anyway. If the rear wheels are sliding but the front wheels are rolling, you still have control, if all 4 wheels are sliding you got nothing. Feathering the brakes and keeping the rear wheels from coming around on you is up to the driver, and the hill.....
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fourlix,

i agree with you on the ratchet thing... but if your back wheel are not spinning the ratchet is not even on...

put your atv on some blocks.... you'll see that when the back wheels are not moving, your front wheels are totaly free.

i always knew ( or thought maybe ) that the override/reverse button was just a safety to not pass over the handles if you happen to start it on revers gear.

tell me if you are 100% sure of what you say, cause that means i'm wrong.


thanks

 

Another question has come to mind. In reverse, do the Polarises have 4WD?

 

In reverse, the Polaris units have 4WD (thats 4 - not 3) when you press the override button. I believe this button is dual purpose - engaging 4WD circuit as well as allowing it to rev past governor. This button is easily accessible on the handle and becomes natural quickly.

 

The Polaris dealer in Las Cruces, New Mexico, "The Power Center" has a really cool set up right on the showroom counter. It is a Polaris hub, cutaway, hooked up to a switch and a battery powered motor. It shows precisely, electrically and mechanically, how the Polaris hub works. As soon as power is switched to the hub by the 4wd switch, and the axle starts rotating, the roller bearing ratchets are thrust outward to engage the hub. Yet you can easily spin the hub ahead. Hit the reverse button and it engages the opposite direction. There is no input from any rear wheels, it is the axle itself, which is geared directly to the rear wheels anyway, which determines engagement. As long as there is rotation, and the 4wd switch is on, the ratchet will engage, and stay engaged until the 4wd switch is turned off or movement stops.

 

Yes it is only rear wheel, but the engine braking is to go good that if I go down a steep grade I have to keep in high as not to not tear up the trail and kick up alot of big rocks. If I leave in low it creeps down the steepest grades but it really tears up the trail then you have to fix the trail or the local hikers will complain to the authorities and before yoy know it your trails will be closed to ATV's and it will be all your fault. So if you don't want this to happen you just get Polaris 500,6 or 700 Twin and RIDE WTH PRIDE PRIDE BROTHER . In other words it has excellent engine braking.