Zorro,

I like your sarcasm. If I only had the time I would be on my way. I really think you underestimate the Wolverine. I could buy a bigger wheeler, but why would I when I really like what I am riding. I have no problem whatsoever holding my own riding around with big bore quads. The only place you would be faster than me is in the long straight stretches and acceleration, but on trails you are gonna need to slow down more than me on corners with your hog. In the mud I think I would drive circles around ya, just do to the fact that you have stock tires(unless you just aren't telling us about other tires) and I have aggressive mud tires on a much much lighter machine.

I personally would take great handing and some power over lots of power and poor handling any day.

All I know you might be an experienced rider, but I doubt it do to your selection in atv's. I just think experienced riders like machines they can control, instead on machines that control them.

If you ever make it to northern MN, let me know. I would be happy to take you out riding and show you the area. I have nothing personal against you, but I just like to say it how I see it.

 

I do think that yamaha will come out with a big boy quad to keep up with polairs and kawi. If not they arent any better then honda. Im sure the only thing that he ment is to jsut wait to see what they come out with. Not bashing the grizz. They are a good dependable atv. I ride with 20 people and we all have diff quads. There is many things that one stands out in and it will lack in another part. Grizz is lacking the power and speed at the moment. Polaris well........ Its a polaris, heavy and $$$ who wants to spend another $1000 on 15 more cc. All around I picked kawi for thier best of bolth worlds approach. You get the speed of a sport. And it will still pull and haul anythign I want to put behind it. Just stay true to what you believe in. Unless you want to be proven wrong, hop on a brute and "Let the good times rool"

 

Very, Very Dependable- No problems with 100 miles on it.
Best 4x4 System Available- 4wd Low/High and Diff. Lock
Huge Amounts of HP (you can NEVER have too much)- Doesn't seem to be suffering from low HP![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Capable of Treading Deep Water- Air Filter etc. is very high for a stock set up w/o snorkeling.
Descending Steep Grades- Engine Braking makes it a nice controlled descent!
Climbing Steep Grades (without the front end trying to come up)- No Problems here.
Sand Friendly (dried lake bed)- Lots of sand on the dirt roads but the lakes never dry out!
Comfortable Ride- One of the most comfortable you will find with a Big Comfy seat and IRS![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

It's good to be the King!

BigDozer66

 

Ok I'm sorry I didn't mean to come on so hard. Everybody thinks different when it comes to ATVs, thats why we have choices. Good day...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Dirtydude, I think you are missing a significant point here:

My wife will never be a high performance trail rider. She just likes to get out. She will never get the highest gain out of a split brake system. Quite the contrary, she will get into trouble. There are many people like her. We don't race anyone. We stop along the trail every 1/2 hour to takes pictures and enjoy the view.

Also, I didn't pick a Polaris because I am a newbie as you seem to imply:

I picked my Quads because they have the highest suspension travel in their class (smooth ride); auto trans (simplicity), single handle braking (simplicity and safety), disc brakes all the way around (safety); steel braided brake lines; (safety) wide, long dimensions (stability); highest ground clearance in their class (less likely to center hang). Larger tires than most sports quads (traction and smooth ride); concentric chain drive (longevity of chain); strut front suspension (durability) and last but not least one of the less expensive quads.

It is your choice to pick your own ride for the type of riding you do. However, I tend to view a machine not as a "newbie" machine versus a "non-newbie" machine, but rather what the machine is made for and its characteristics.

As far as the discussion of racing a Wolverine with a Sportsman. It doesn't seem that the quality or usefulness of Polaris should be measured by its acceleration, its top speed or its high speed cornering. This machine has a high center of gravity, a huge ground clearance and an independent rear suspension. I think that most people would agree that in general this quad was not made to slid around corners as you would a sports quad or even something like a Wolverine that has a solid rear axle and low center of gravity.

MNWolverine01; maybe you/your dad just bought the wrong machine for yourselves. If you crave performance maybe you need to look at a good sports quad. A DS650, Predator or Raptor should pretty much destroy either the Polaris or the Wolverine in handling, acceleration and top speed.

The first time I went out on my quad, I pulled a 4x4 rancher out of wheel deep mud. I didn't get stuck in the mud... But then again, I didn't go in the mud. I could see that any quad would high center in the mud and never get out because jeeps and trucks had created ruts. Sometimes, it makes more sense to know what you are going into and what the limitations of your machine is. Can I now say that my Trailblazer is better than a Rancher? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

On the single lever braking vs seperate front and rear brake lever issue ...

ONLY Polaris uses an "On Demand" 4x4 system that does not solidly connect the front and rear axles together when in 4-wheel drive. On any other ATV made it does not really matter if you apply just the front brake, or just the rear brake, when you are in 4-wheel drive, because all four wheels are going to slow down equally when either brake is applied. So if someone is bright enough to shift into 4-wheel drive when they should be in 4-wheel drive, such as on a very steep downhill, then they will do just fine, irregardless of which brake lever they use. A Polaris 4x4 ATV on the other hand REQUIRES single lever braking, because the 4x4 system does not solidly connect the front and rear axles. If you applied just the rear brakes on a Polaris 4x4 ATV only the rear wheels would be slowed down, and if you applied just the front brakes then only the front wheels would be slowed down. And in extreme terrain that would be even more dangerous than single lever braking is.

Some of the reason for single lever braking on a Polaris may be because it is easier for a new rider, but I'm pretty sure that is not the only reason. A good part of the reason Polaris uses single lever braking is because of their "On Demand" 4x4 system, which really requires them to use it.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if they come out with a bigger Grizzly. They finally got all the issues fixed on the Grizzly (like the gas boiling issue - it is NO MORE). So, since they got it right, why not change everything and start with the problems again... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

OuterLimit, you make an excellent point about split braking on locked AWD systems. However, by the same reasoning you also must be suggesting that all rear wheel drive quads should have single hand braking because they also provide no front wheel braking! If it is dangerous for a Polaris, it must be dangerous for all rear wheel drives. Also, could you explain to me why single hand braking is dangerous? I might believe braking might be less optimal in certain cases, but more dangerous? Another point, if the front of a AWD quad has a free wheeling differential in it and you apply the front brakes and lock one wheel, the other front wheel will actually speed up because the rear end and engine would drive it. Talk about getting in a pickle!! I am not sure there is any one best system. They all will have their advantages and disadvantages in different situations and with different riders. The key is to know how your quad will respond in a particular situation.

I would think that going down a steep hill for an AWD Polaris, a split braking system could be better because you could use the engine braking in the back and apply the front brakes to brake the front wheels. For a single hand brake in the same situation: One way would be to put it in neutral and use only brakes. The second way is to apply slight throttle and brake simultaneously. The third way is to go very slow, apply no throttle and use the slight rear engine braking and single hand braking. In any case, for the AWD Polaris, the key is to not allow the rear wheels to slide on a steep hill. This can only be accomplished by braking the front wheels using the single hand brakes.

My wife and I were in a particularly hard trail system. We went up a well worn steep incline that had a root protruding half way across the trail from the left side. We were crawing up the hill. When I hit the root, I instinctively leaned forward and left as the quad went more vertical and gave it more throttle when my rear tire hit the root to go over it. My wife did mostly the same, her front tire made it ok; however, when her left rear tire hit the root it threw her to the right. She instantly hit the hand brake and braced her right leg to prevent her and the quad from rolling to the right. She ended up standing next to the quad holding the hand brake. She set the brake and sat down visably shaken. In this situation, she could never have simultaneously held a front hand brake and a foot brake (right foot). A single front hand brake would never have held the quad on such a steep hill. There is no doubt in my mind the quad (and possibly my wife) would have ended up at the bottom of the hill in a bad way without the single hand brake. I relate this story because it showed to me in a very clear way another benefit of the single hand brake.

 

Bryce,
I don't think a system that requires you to apply throttle going downhill is an optimal set up. And I have been in the same situation your wife was in with my former Sportsman 500 HO, except for exactly the opposite as your wife. In my case I was on the wrong side of the ATV to reach the single brake lever, and it would have sure been nice to have a brake lever on the side I was on, because I rolled the ATV and ended up busting up the headlight pod, brake master cylinder, both racks, and popping the bead off of a tire. So it just depends on the situation. I prefer the split braking system I grew up with racing dirt bikes, and the single lever braking on the three different Polaris ATVs we have owned always felt "awkward" to me. I thought about buying an Arctic Cat 650i one time, but the test ride and it's single lever braking talked me out of it.

 

OuterLimit. I definitely have to agree with you about applying throttle while going down hill. It seems counter productive. And you make a good point about your 500. I am sure we could hear many horror stories and miraculous saves from both sides of the isle concerning one braking system or the other. I too grew up on bikes, but mostly steet bikes. But then again, it has been a few years since I have ridden. On the other hand, since I ride snowmobiles, the single hand brake feels natural. I see my natural progression of quads to go in the Sport Quad direction as opposed to the utility quads. In which case I will find few choices in the braking system. My wife; however, will probably never leave the auto trans/single hand brake quad. Maybe, someday in the future, we will have anti-lock braking systems. LOL That would only cause a new debate: the merits of ABS versus non-ABS. Have a great day OuterLimit. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]