actually lets stop and look at the big picture, There is no perfect quad, so a manufacturer can only make a machine to compete best in its class, lets take traxter, probably the best UTILITY Quad, perfect for someone wanting it for that, and a 400 ex, pure sport, you wouldnt plow snow with it, but you would jump it, so what yamaha did was try to please everyone, not the perfect utility or sport but just enough to be better than average in all catagories, Makingh it the most versitale quad out there in my opinion., I can haul with the big boys and keep up with the sport quads on the trails. I mean seriously it is one or the most well rounded fun machines there is and guess what its very well priced oh and remember horsepower isnt as important as tourque for 4x4s , remember everything need s to be comprimised, speed for power, power for speed, smooth ride for sturdiness, ever seen a real offroad jeeper, ever see independent suspension on the rubicon trail? nope, so I love my solid rear axle.

 

"ever seen a real offroad jeeper, ever see independent suspension on the rubicon trail?"

The last military jeep used by the US Armed Forces featured independent suspension all around. I believe the designation was M141.

I do not offer this information as an argument to your premise (although your premise remains somewhat unclear to me), except to say that high-mobility jeeps with fully independent suspensions once roamed, "Over hill, over dale," even over dusty trails, as those caissons went rolling along.

Tree Farmer

 

Tree farmer it is always nice to see you pop up.
But i think the point he was trying to make is that the real hardcore rock crawling jeeps dont use independent suspension. On a fullsize truck solid axles follow the trail (in slow crawling)much better then independent does. But for high speed like desert racing independent is way better. As for the Grizz its rear suspension has no side to side movment like a jeep, but it is more stable (at speed) and light weight then a setup like the Sp500 or the AC has.

 

Nicely put and don't forget the Grizz is in the top 5 catagory in both classes, utility and 4*4 sport.
You can work it and race it and both will be impressive and it will take you home everytime.
Ride on!

 

Good post. I like my "solid" axle Honda. The Polaris guys will disagree with you.

 

id agree to the point that solid axle is better than irs,but thats just my opinion or should i say my preference

 

Solid axles are better all around. Stronger, less moving parts to break, more dependable. And a hell of alot cheaper to lift!

 

I'm certain you're correct regarding Grizzjeeper's intended point Yama; certainly, civilian offroad jeepers use solid axles. However, the fully independently-suspended military jeep had extraordianry articulation and cross-country mobility characteristics. Then, why don't " hard-core" jeepers use this model, instead of the solid-axle versions? For one reason, these military jeeps were never sold to the civilian population in runnable condition. "De-milling," or de-militarizing these vehicles involved torching the frames.

I don't gainsay the performance of solid-axle off-road vehicles; however, I believe a vehicle's off-road capability is a function of its overall design, not one given design choice, like independent suspension or a solid axle. For example, while civilian jeeps have solid axles, front and rear, does any ATV have a solid front axle?

Tree Farmer

 

Did you also know that the military stopped production of the M141 due to the fact the it rolled much easier then the Jeep with the solid axles.

 

Have you noticed that all the truck makers have gone back to the solid front axle on their 3/4 ton and larger trucks. They are stronger and more dependable.