I have several Polarises and LOVE the system. I hve NEVER had a problem and have A LOT of miles on them. One machine an 04 hasabout 6900 miles and has NEVER had a problem and they are hard miles. I hope they NEVER change the system. I do like the new ADC system on the deluxe modeles and had it put on my 07 limited. Love it! There is NO better system out there period! I hve rode them all owned them all and will be a polaris owner until they change the system or sombody comes out with something better and they are all way behind at this time...

 

its simple, they all break some times. some of us have had good luck w/ ours and wouldnt trade it for other brands. but i will say of all of the bikes ive ridden with the polaris is the one to least get stuck or it gets out more by it self then being toward out. just my 2 cents.

 

I agree that the Polaris AWD system is great. I like it better than most others, however there is that down hill flaw. I fixed this on my 04 700 by putting the split brake system on it from HPD. With the brakes split you can desend the steapest hills with out worry. Let the EBS do it's thing and feather the front brakes.

 

i have a 2000 sportsman 500 with 5000 miles on it and i like the 4wd drive system and never have a problem with it. but i do like the kawaski system the best of all atv's.

 

Out of the 5 Sportsmans that have been in our group, not one has had a front end problem. My 04 would engage the fronts a little if doing high speed doughnuts.

 

Isnt there a similar post in the Polaris forums picking apart the Can-Am Visko Lock?

 

I ride a Polaris every day and I find the AWD system ok but annoying. I can feel the slip as it engages. It is really noticeable as I am picking my way though slippery woods trails and logs and situations like that. It doesn't necessarily cause a performance problem but I do find it annoying. After living with it for a while I think I prefer a standard locking front differential. I definitely prefer a standard system for descending hills. I really don't like the 2 wheel engine braking. The people I've talked to aren't thrilled with the new 4 wheel system on the high end Sportsmans either. I haven't rode the new active decent control models enough to really give it a work out on steep trails but all I can say so far is that it is better than it was. The old models were downright frightening to ride on steep hills.

As far as the Can-Am visco-lok as much as Can-Am would like to tout it as the end all - it isn't. The more I rode it the more I realized it. It works ok but having to constantly spin the front wheels to lock the front differential makes for a problematic ride. It has its good points. It is an excellent mode for a lot of riding situations. However, there are far too many situations like slow speed trail riding through the woods where you are crossing logs or you are negotiating very rough terrain you simply can't be winding up the front differential over and over to lock the front differential. It can be downright dangerous sometimes. Can-Am desperately needs to have an over ride switch to allow the rider to manually lock the front differential. Other than that the Can-Am is a truly outstanding machine. The front differential cripples it. For my purposes anyway.

 

I think Can-Am made the Visko Lock for high speed operation, hense the high speed Can-Am ATVs.

 

I really do not get this having trouble getting down a hill thing with Polaris. If the engine braking for the back wheels are not enough for the situation ,than use the brakes! they will slow or lock the front wheels, what ever you like. I rode a 97 SP500 for years and it had "NO" EBS whats so ever, but at the squeeze of a single leaver it would work all brakes at once and bring you down a hill at what ever speed or pace you what to. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

TLC. For most down hill situations the Polaris single lever brakes and rear wheel engine braking do work adequately. But in extreme situations with very steep and loose conditions the trip down is just easier and safer with a positive front end engine braking system especially for riders with less experience. Using the Polaris single lever brakes often will lock up wheels which requires constant correction. Even the Honda Ranchers with a simple limited slip front diff do a much better job of safely getting down the worst down hills than any Polaris.