Im not positive about the new ones, the older ones had preloaded springs, belville washers, to give about a 30% bias. I was trying to find an exploded view of a stock differential on the web, but havent found one yet.
The artic cat 400 and 500 ( older ones) use the ratcheting cone type of differential, and that can have 50% bias, and is all mechanical, with nothing to wear out.
Just about all of the big utes can have after market diffs installed, if the stock ones arent to your liking. The detroit gearless, is one of the best choices, if you want a true locking differential.
I think an open differential referrs to any diff, which one side can be motionless, while the other spins. So diffs are either lockers or opens. The open type, has two types...speed sensing, or torque sensing. The speed sensing type, is the one wheel wonder type, we all know...the tire with the least traction gets the power.
The torque sensing type, transfers torque to the tire with traction, by up to a factor of 7. If one side can support 10 ft lbs of torque, then 70 can be on the other...but if one side has no torque, such as being up in the air, then 7 times zero is zero, and no torque will transferr. Not all of the torque type can transfer 7 times...the actual amount depends on the design.Both the honda and the bomb use torque sensing.
The sept 2000 issue of 4 wheel atv action, had an article on the differnet types of front diffs, offered in atvs.

 

Hey Specta. I think hondabuster pretty much nailed down everything. Only one point: an open differential is one with only spider gears. All others are either lockers or limited slip.
BryceGTX

 

I definately appreciate all the info. I understand the difference between open, limited-slip, and lockers. I have a detroit locker in the rear of my truck (installed it in 1987) and a Ford Trak-Lok in the front (installed in 1981).

I was just curious to what all the ATVs were using and how many or which ones use a "open" front differential (beside the older Hondas). If A front locker was really important to me, I would buy a new Rubicon and install a Detroit Gearless Locker. Probably too late to get a back issue of sept 2000 issue of 4 wheel atv action. Probably pretty good reading.

Again, thanks for all the info.

Great riding to everyone!!

 

True we have an 01 big bear and i've done it with that as well, but i find it works better on the rancher.

 

Specta, try the local library for that copy of 4 wheelatv action. Thats where I found it.

 

thanks again hondabuster.

I would like to see more manufactures use a viscous coupler like the Bomb uses. Pretty simple, easy steering, and very aggressive.

For what we do, ours works just fine.

 

Arctic Cat's 2005 400cc and up have a manual locking front diff. Bombardier Outlander, Traxter, and Traxter CVT have Visco-Lock which is an automatic locking front differential

 

I was thrilled to hear about AC's adding locking diffs to their 400's, the year AFTER I bought mine! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

 

That's the way it always seems to happen. You buy something and the next year they make upgrades you would've liked to have had on yours. At least they did'nt change the body on the 400's. The only other major change was the LCD instrument pod

 

Floating disc brakes were the other upgrade they added. I shoud know better than to reply at three in the morning!