I'm considering buying a '99 400 Xplorer and was wondering if anyone has had difficulty with the chain drive and lack of ground clearance in the rear. Particularly in mud, swamps or crawling over rocks and logs and such. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

 

i have a 2000 xplorer this is a primo machine ,i have 3200 swamp miles on it ,i broke one chain and that was when climbing rocks but as a rule the guard on the sprocket will protect chain in most situations,.you will love the way you can run this machine in low range in tight trails ,you can run it upto 30 mph. and be able to get lots of air and wheelies off of the hills

 

I have a 96 400 Sportsman(about the same)and it is great in mud and swamping even going over trees.But with my mud tires it s not that hot on rocks.

 

My old man has a '98 Xplorer 400, and I have taken that thing to the moon and back. The chain holds up well, normal maintenance and it will last a long time. The clearance is actually really high, cause you always know you will have 9" The independant travel on the sportsmans can be less if they are moving right along and using up travel. Throw some moderate tredded mud/trail tires, maybe add a winch. Without a winch, I have seen 500 HO's get burried in a mudhole, and then rode right next to them on the Xplorer and got through before they even got their tow rope out. They gave me a nasty look that only put a smile on my face [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]! It's a great quad, very reliable, plenty powerfull, and low maintenance.