Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Power steering vs non

Last few days really been considering power steering on my quad... but at $750 for a kit I might just upgrade the whole damn thing. A 750 with PS would be nice. Reason being, some of the areas I hunt can be really rocky and a couple times have had the bars yanked out of my hands. Not often, but only a couple times. More importantly, last weekend my dumb ass rolled my damn quad down a hill, with me on it, due to a big root that I completely underestimated. I'd been through this spot quite a few times before, no issue, so didn't think too much of it, and maybe this time I just caught it right - or wrong. Wasn't going fast, wasn't playing around, just didn't think it would have that much force... but as I was going down this small ATV trail I saw it, didn't think too much of it, but damn! Right tire hit the root, kicked my wheels to the left, and didn't have any time or room to try and recover. Was thinking to myself is this really happening? Then had a few choice words in my mind, then ouch...ouch...ouch... where is my quad? As I was going down the hill I looked back up it to see it rolling side over side, then was thinking don't [bleep]!ing roll over me! But it did anyway. Luckily over me and not really on me. Good thing was a tree stopped it from going farther down the hill, and stopped it on its wheels. Hip landed on a fallen tree, damn [bleep] hurt pretty bad. Hobbled my way back up to the trail, cussed and tried to walk it off for a few minutes, then started pulling my winch rope up the hill to a tree, then eventually got back to my truck.

But what I've been wondering about is if power steering would have prevented it. I know slowing down to a crawl would have, but certainly didn't expect or anticipate the wheels to be kicked to the side like that and with no room or time, off I went.

Does power steering make that big of a difference from those who have had both?

Is plenty scratched up, but ordered some parts online and should straighten all back out. Just taking the rack off itself has the plastics almost all the way back to normal. Also ordered that piece that the winch is connected to since it is bent downward on its right side. $305 online, not bad considering it could have been much worse.

Taco,

I have a lot of experience with ATVs but minimal with Power Steering. I like it for rough trails
as you describe but most seem to shimmy at higher speeds.....FWIW

I picked up a power steering machine for my father a few yrs ago - 2009 Polaris Sportsman 550 EPS. The steering is spooky good. Makes me think something is broken when I get back on my atv after riding his. Most of the trails on our hunting lease are pretty rough and primitive (nothing like that pretty trail in the pic above), the power steering machine is much easier and less tiring. Tried it out on the road at up to 55 mph, was smooth and straight, no wobbles or vibration. The polaris power steering is automatically variable so reduces assist as speed increases. Definitely worth the $.

Are the PS systems between ATV's and UTV's similar enough to mention here? I have it in a RZR 800 and love it. I've never felt any shimmy below 45 which is as fast as I ever run it and seldom that high. I recently put on some very heavy tires. The reviews warned about poor handling with them because of the weight but with the PS, they handle great.

I will never again buy one without it.

Same here, the wife has power steering on her Rancher, wish I had it on my Rhino.

5 or 6 years ago I topped a hill on a mountain road going too fast and ran into a deep wash down the middle of the road. Before I could slow down, 1 front tire dropped in the wash. It rattled back and forth and jerked the bars out of my hands. Luckily I was able to get a foot on the rear brake and slow down enough to get control of the steering before it flipped me. PS would have kept the bars in my hands.
The moral: slow down, stupid, and get PS on the next one.

I would never own another without it. I had Yamaha 700 Grizzlies with it. It's SO worth every penny.

I have a 2003 Honda Rincon with no power steering and a 2015 Polaris Sportsman with power steering. Is power steering nice? Sure it is, but a year ago I noticed that the steering on my Rincon was much more difficult to handle than I remembered. Being an older quad, things dry out/wear out and that was the case with the Rincon. A trip to the dealer has its steering back to normal and while not power steering, it's quite good. They replaced the bushing where the steering rod mounts to the frame, installed new ball joints and aligned it for better steering response. I just now got back from a 20 mile back county ride on it and it is quite easy to handle.

Try checking out those areas on an older quad, it might just make you decide to keep it.

Kinda looks like a Honda you are riding. I'm not familiar with Hondas PS, but I am with Yamaha (Grizzly) and the kind of trails you are talking about, with lots of rocks and roots and stuff that whips the steering around is much improved with Power Steering. I sold my machines when I moved down to Idaho and am not familiar with the trails here, but I'm thinking PS is the way to go. As you get older it's more important, really makes a difference on your shoulders and elbows. A day on the trail can flat wear you out.

Same for me too, once you try it you'll never want to ride one without it.

We have it on the new Ranger that we bought for the ranch. I do like it but it takes some getting used to as it has kind of a "numb" feeling to it at first.

$305 and a bit of my time... got lucky

Found a 2016 750 EPS with 44 miles about 2.5 hours away for a pretty good deal. Have two neighbors interested in the 500 already.

Okay, EPS makes a huge difference. Was trying to go over things to see how it reacts. Takes far less effort to ride on rough roads and trails, I'm liking it.

If you're running anything but logging roads, EPS shines! I love the slow technical trail stuff and that's why I'll every buy another one without it.

To answer your question, no, power steering would not have prevented the bump steer you experienced when you hit that root. I ride a Yamaha 700 Grizzly EPS in the AZ desert during the winter and have experienced the same issue when hitting rocks. Power steering might help you avoid an obstacle, but it won't keep the handlebars from being jerked out of your hands if you hit the wrong thing at the wrong angle in the wrong place at the wrong time. If anything, power steering might make it worse, because the machine is easier to steer, and the PS boost doesn't care whether you are steering it with your hands on the bars or if a rock or log is trying to steer it for you down below. Having said that, I would not own a machine without power steering at this point. It is a wonderful feature on a quad.

Some of our desert roads involve climbing over rock piles at 2 mph. PS is great for that.

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This machine was still quite new when I was riding here. Crossing this boulder field, I was most of the way across before I realized I hadn't experienced any wrist pain at all. EPS is way nice on an ATV!

The rocks reminded me of a 'Cat I came across last weekend in a rough section. Thing was beyond broken down with a busted frame and axle. Just snapped. Him and his wife on it so doubt they were going fast

my ole '09 Rhino with 27" 14"s goes just fine w/o PS.........

IF.........I were in the market for a new SxS.........

PS may be looked at........quads in these parts are old school...........

I tend to get lazy in my RZR with PS. It has steel doors which I've padded so I have a good arm rest. I find myself one handing it on things where I should use both.

I have a really disgusting picture of my hand that I won't post from hitting a stump with my mule while I was going probably too fast and looking behind me to see which way the log I was dragging was going. It jerked the wheel, jerked the suicide knob out of my hand, and the suicide knob bracket smashed my index and middle finger knuckles wide open.

As wildhobbybobby said, PS wouldn't help, and in my case probably be even worse because I'd probably still use a suicide knob and drive it even stupider than I do now.

I don't know how you guys drive these sxs with a suicide knob, one of my buddies has one on his Rhino and every now and then he hits something and I don't know he doesn't end up with a broken hand. I tend to drive with my hands open and not wrapped around the steering wheel, though sometimes I forget and that's usually when I hit something solid.

Instead of saying "hold my beer and watch this" I can just say "watch this."

Can you buy an after-market PS kit for an older Grizzly ?, seems like a tight fit with all the crap under there.

Yes. https://www.superatv.com/shop/yamaha/grizzly

OK, after mulling over the cost of having PS installed on my 06 660 Rhino I took the plunge. At 80 and with bad shoulders I figured what ta heck, its only money. Got the kit ($599) and had a good mechanic friend put it in. Wow!, what a difference. You can steer it with your little finger. The money spent took the place of a 243 I was looking at but it was monies well spent. My Daughter Sandi will also love it as she does most of the driving when we are Turkey hunting.

Best argument yet for it. I'd love it if my old quad was more comfortable to drive, but don't want to sacrifice 4 wheeling ability to get it. All the newer machines seem bigger, higher, heavier, and more expensive than I want. Although they float like a friggen caddy compared to my old Honda. But the old Honda really goes in the rough stuff, has a very low center of gravity, starts in any weather, runs cheap, never breaks down, does not have a low range and a bunch of levers to mess with, just point and go. Everybody seems to be building the next biggest, baddest machine, when sometimes smaller is more capable. I've hauled an entire quartered 5 point bull, two guys, and all gear out of a canyon on a Honda 300 4x4, so it's hard to ask for better bang for the buck. And hearing about machines not running or starting scares the crap out of me the places I go. I have a pull start backup and manual transmission so it can even roll start if the battery dies. Can't do that with all the electronic crap they load the machines down with now.

But power steering and IFS would be nice.

Even if you're still a young buck and can 'get over' the wrist snap that sometimes comes with whacking a root, root, or [bleep]head on your wheeler, at some point, God willing, you won't be a young buck anymore and whatever you did to your joints will come back to remind you. Power steering is a boon to those who have lived well along the way.