We were out running some the east Texas draws with my brother in law who has a Beta trials bike (yeah...the one with no seat). I don't proclaim to be the best off roader but we were having some fun with it. I came to a draw with a steep side covered with pine needles. Very slippery. I can't remember if I shifted to diff lock or not (I've made the change where I can shift into diff lock in any range). Anyway I started up the hill, standing, leaning forward, etc and I got to a point where my skill was topped out. I started to back down the hill very slowly using the front brake. Near the bottom there was a steep shelf. I remember seeing my back wheel lock up and then here she comes. Sorta like slow-mo. Since I was going so slow it didn't even feel like the front end was coming over. I end up on my back with the atv standing straight up. I'm not sure if it was balanced on the racks I've added but I gave the usual atv seat kick to keep it off of me. The atv ended up on it's side. No damage to either of us. I got on and went to some smaller hills and did a replay (and to sort of get back on the horse..) The front brake when applied was locking all 4 wheels. I've never noticed this before. My old deer lease had some really nice climbing hills and I never experienced this. Maybe this hill was a lot steeper. Don't know.

Anyone else experience this with a 4x4. The KQ is a decent hill climber but maybe it has some limitations. With the weight being low and in the back, maybe the front end is a bit lighter than I think.

On a more fun note I trucked through some exhaust pipe high water. What fun. It got a little deeper near the end and the bottom was a bit softer than I thought. I just locked the diff, put it in low range second and kept the same speed. The engine was under a load the whole way and I saw why after. Just under the surface was that green algea seaweed looking stuff. It coated the underside. So it must have been like pushing a piece of plywood through the water. It took about 20 minutes to clear the stuff from the engine screen, oil cooler and drivetrain.

Rob

 

Since the transfer case is locked together in 4WD any application of brake affcets all wheels!

 

I've flipped my KQ in exactly the same way. Since the KQ is down on speed and fast hillclimbing power but has tons of slow crawling power, it's tempting to believe that it can climb up almost any slope. Unfortunately, some steep grades need the momentum of the bike to keep it going up and over.

Mine flipped completely over once and once did the stand up on it's rack trick. I'll tell you this, once you've had a 600 pound quad drop on top of you, you remember it.

Jaybee

 

Totally agree with jaybeecon55. There are many hillclimbs I can make on my Raptor and 400ex that cannot be done on the Kodiak 4X4. If the hill is too steep, then the Kodiaks weight becomes a huge factor because it can't get enough traction and can't keep enough momentum to keep it pushed against the hill as you climb.

I was climbing once on the Kodiak and stood it straight up when it caught some unexpected traction with the rear tires. The Kodiak then turned sideways while still straight up and down. I fell off and did a sliding superman head first down the hill. The Kodiak got a good rolling tumble before it hit me on my leg just behind and above the the knee. I jumped up and thought I was okay only to pass out about 30 seconds later from the internal bleeding in my leg. Poor girlfriend didn't know what to do and didn't know how to get out of the woods we were in. I really learned my lesson about riding in pairs. You really need 3 people - one to stay with the injured person and one to go get help. It was amazing to wake up, convince her I wasn't leaving without the quad, and watch her push it back upright and get it down that hill.

/NotuRaptor