I am looking at a 95 Magnum 425 4x4 for my wife. The concern I have is with the chain driven 4x4. How do they hold up? Do the chains ever derail? I fear that it may some day, tearing her leg up or something like that.

I was thinking of a trailblazer but figure this one has 4x4 if she ever needs it. The 425cc is close enough to mine that she should be able to climb some of the easy to moderate hills I ride up and keep up with me on the trails. The motor seems very similar to my Scrambler 500, just smaller cc's.


You experience would be appreciated.

 

i am def no fan of polaris's, i have never owned one but i work on quads for people over the summer while i am home from college so i have fixed more than a couple, but to be honest with you i have never seen a problem with the chain drive 4X4(my neighbor has a 96 scrambler 400 that has chain drive 4X4 and it has been really beat on hard and i have replaced just about everything but the front chain and sprockets. I replaced the rear sprocket and chain a couple summers ago. I personally dont' like the chain drive design on a 4X4 machine, but as much as i hate to say it, it seems to hold up fine. good luck.

 

Scramblerman

I own a 98 Magnum 4x4 with the chain drive. I have never had a problem with it. The only drawback to the chain system is the extra maintenance. You have to remove a cover to get the the side chain to lube it. Kind of a pain at first, but once you learn the trick, it is not that bad. Also, the adjustment procedure is a pain, but I have only had to adjust it once in 4 years.

 

The chains are a big pain in the butt....but when they are adjusted they are great.The only time i have thrown a chain i hit a rock and broke it.One thing to think about is that the 425 is a heavy machine.My wife rides both of mine but after alog ride they hurt her back and arms.This could be that she dont ride that much.

 

I have a 97 425 mag and have never had any problems with the chan drive. I have replaced them 1 time and the maint is a little aggrevating but other than that I have no problems. The only time i had a problem with the chain was when I would bottom out the suspension and the rear chain would jump off, no problem to fix but it could be a little irritating. I took it to the shop and the mechanic said my problem was the old chain, even though I had kept it maintained, was not flexing enough. After he installed a new rear chain I have had no more problems and this machine is really used in for hunting and it goes everywhere.