most of my riding is easy to moderate trails. rarely do i go above third gear. my son has a 99 350 bb and the gearing is alot different making it hard to keep the same speed on trails. never had an auto and wonder if they can pull / climb like my manual? the only thing that worries me on the bruin is there is no low range.

 

big bear for slow riding

 

I agree the BB would be lots better for trail ridng beacuse you can still get through lots of mudd and it is very dependable. I have heard lots of good things on BB's.

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: magnum308
hey edgerider, how is the steering on your 03 big bear? my 01 bb is full time 4x4 and steering is tough. wish i had a push button 4x4 .

hey...warn makes a unlocker for the bigbear...$260 on rockymountainatv.com and that would be alot cheaper than buying a whole new machine...thats what i plan to do

 

well i sold my 01 bb and bought an 04 kodiak 450 4x4 about six weeks ago. havent had it out yet but i got a good deal at pro cycle in missouri. thanks for the tip anyway. i might try that unlocker on my 99 350 big bear.

 

They are very different. For one the belt is always engaged in the pullys on a Yami. The polaris drive clutch opens at idle and the belt falls loose. The Yami is much smoother, because the belt doesnt have to go slack and then tighten up,...its always the right tension.Yami has much more effective engine braking, because the force comes thru the tappered faces of the pullys and on the polaris, the engine braking comes thru the cogs on the belt, riding on the cogs of the open pulley. The yamis engine braking is happening as soon as you go to closed throttle, and the polaris has to wait for the pully to open and the belt to fall and catch a cog.

 

as far as which is better, there isn't any real comparison. They are pretty much equal as far as capability. The kodiak has a softer suspension. The only real difference for this is manual vs. auto, and thats just preference.

I would take the big bear over the kodaik simply because it costs less.

 

Congrats on the purchase Magnum! I plan on keeping my BB and getting the 05 Kodiak 450 sometime within the next year. I just got to have that IRS!