my buddy and i just bought 2 sportsman 400 ho he is worried about the 4x4 on demand and will it wait to long for him to get traction in the mud. He thinks it will affect his hill climbing as well as mud bogging. Can someone answer this. Can or will the 4x4 stay engaged at all times or is it only when the rear wheels start to slip. Also how much of a delay till the 4x4 option kicks in. When put in 4x4 is it true 4x4? or do you have to wait for the wheels to start slipping before it kicks in? Bottom Line is it possible to engage the 4x4 manually rather then Auto detect. Thanks Shawn

Welcome to the site there medic. Tell your buddy not to worry, just ride. It only takes less than 5 degrees of rear wheel spin to lock in the front wheels. We ride the rocks out here on Colorado and the only problem is when the rock gets steep enough that you stand it up on one rear wheel. Hill climbs in the loose dirt does not seem to be much problem either. His bigger concern should be the tires. If he is going to bang rocks, he better think of some tough tires that don't require plugs after each trip. The good part about plugs is that they improve your traction.

It takes liturally (sP) less then a 1 sec to determine slippage and engage and will stay engage untill all 4wheels have traction. Yes its all 4wheels, not 3 then 4, but all 4 spinning. and its not the rears that have to spin, even it the front stop rotating (while the AWD is engaged) it will engage all 4.