Good reply! I mostly would be doing some fast trail-riding, limited mudding,
no doubt a lot of varmint hunting, and the occasional poker/dice run. I have
been caught on very steep/muddy hills on some poker runs and was telling the
dealer about that and asked if the Brute would be too "tipsy" when power was
applied. He said it's fine a long as you don't whack it too hard but then he
went on about how the machine can pull wheels just blasting on flat ground.
I do like power, like most people, and have ridden several Polaris 500s
which were pretty decent on take off. The Polaris did have a really
comfortable ride too. The only other 4x4 I have ridden was a Honda Foreman
but that thing pounded the piss outta me within a few miles so I gave it
back to the owner and got back on my EX. This was several years ago so I
wonder if Honda has improved the ride a little on their newer models. I like
their sport machines a lot so that's why I was leaning more towards a Rincon
680 but if what you say about the Honda 4x4 is true then I will probably not
bother going that route as some of those poker runs have some pretty rough
stuff to get through, but it's nothing a winch couldn't handle I guess,
should one be needed. Oh well, it's gonna be awhile before I figure out what
I'm gonna get, but the deal I got offered on the Brute was pretty good so
maybe I'll have to test drive one before I dive into another new quad
payment again. Maybe I will look into a Polaris, they're numbers always
dominate on every poker run I've ever been on so they must be doing
something right. Maybe I'll hit the lotto and just by everything out there,
problem solved!
"zerowick"
adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:45abdc9d$0$18842$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...> I am full of pointers! and other things according to some...
>
> very, very rarely does a machine come out of the box with too much power.
> IMO, there is no such thing as too much power. the dealer made that
comment
> in an attemp to sell the machine on its strong engine. he wasn't thinking
> about steep ascending rocky trails and the potential for disaster all that
> power can create on those types of trails. as said over and over,
different
> strokes for different folks. if you are more of a "Honda type" don't
forget
> that NO HONDA ATV COMES WITH 4WD, so if you are into hairy terrain where
> momentum cannot be generated, such as rock crawling, you don't want to be
> the "Honda type". to date, Honda "4WD" ATV's come with a
"torque-sensitive"
> front differential. this means you CANNOT lock in all four wheels for
> CONSTANT power at all four corners, what you do get is the POTENTIAL for
> power at all four, otherwise you get 3WD. in slow going rough terrain it
is
> not uncommon to see a Honda with one front tire with footing and the other
> in the air, guess which one is spinning... this is not a Honda bashing, I
> can only speculate, but Honda is probably still feeling the sting of its
> many legal battles associated with the early 3 Wheelers and may be worried
> about more of the same by offering a 4 Wheeler with a locking front diff,
a
> locking front diff does create steering difficulties. I ride a Polaris
> SP600 and the hardcore "crawlers" don't like them either because the AWD
> cannot be locked in. the rear tires of an AWD Polaris machine must slip
1/5
> of a turn for the fronts to engage, but the fronts ALWAYS spin together
> once engaged. myself, I have never noticed the fraction of a second it
> takes to have AWD, but I can see where the ability to lock in all four
> wheels yourself would be desirable. I don't want this to turn into a 4WD
> debate, that topic has been beat to death.
>
> moving on, you need to determine the type of terrain you will be riding on
> and what you will mostly be using the machine for, play, work, etc.
figure
> out how much power you want then buy something with even more power! look
> at the features of the machine, instrumentation, different brake
> configurations, transmission types, suspension travel, clearance. you can
> get all the specs online so once you prioritise your riding style and
> requirements you can usually narrow it down to a few machines. back in
'04
> when I was facing your dilemna I widdled it down to the SP600 and the
> Prairie 700. I knew I wasn't gonna be tearing up any difficult trails,
just
> playing around the yard, ranch, and blasting through fields. the Kawi
> seemed the better choice, faster and sportier, but the Polaris had much
more
> suspension and clearance, way more comfortable too. maintenance wise, the
> Kawi had two carbs to worry about and the transmission had more components
> including electronic intervention for engine braking which went in the
cons
> list for me. then I got the chance to sit on them side by side, done
deal.
> the Polaris was an F-250 and the Prairie an S-10 or Ranger, so to speak.
I
> liked the heft of the Polaris, the simple transmission and single brake
> lever.
>
> IMO, the Kawasaki trans with the servo motor for engine braking is the
> weakest of the Auto transmissions, the Suzuki set up with the "wet clutch"
> is a very durable design and the belt is always tight, the Yamaha set up
is
> similar and also praised. the Polaris design is basically a snowmobile
> trans with mechanical clutching to maintain belt tension for engine
braking,
> I have never had any trouble with mine and have put many hours on the
> machine towing very heavy loads of well over 1000 lbs. have only smelled
> the belt a few times when trying to pull something that wouldn't budge and
> trying not to slip the tires. the Honda torque converter trans is a great
> idea, I have only heard complaints about the lack of crawling gearing,
maybe
> a reduction system would help in the future. liquid or air cooled?
that's
> easy, liquid. carb or EFI? not so easy, don't know if the bugs are out
> yet, if they are then it's EFI! suspension? tough one. SRA has few
moving
> parts but also much less ground clearance and articulation for rough
> terrain. brakes? discs all around for sure, the Japanese use the
motocycle
> configuration I think and Cat and Polaris have the one lever on the right
> that controls all four. appearance, seat of the pants feel, handlebar
> relation to seat, chassis size for transport purposes in a truck bed or
> trailer, stock tires, underbelly protection, lighting set up and quality,
> storage compartments, load/towing capacity, just so much to think about.
>
> lots to think about and consider, plenty of opinions and pointers to weed
> through also. whatever you do, DON'T LISTEN TO ANYTHING THE DEALER HAS TO
> SAY! sure, you have to put up with them in order to go check the machines
> out in person, just don't take any of their advise. you are best off to
do
> your homework and go in smarter than they are, it's not hard, believe me,
> then you can ask them questions that they can't answer and it doesn't take
> too many for them to leave you alone.
>
> good luck!
>
>
