hello im gettting my pops 97 454 artic cat from him and its gonna be my winter project, the bike starts but run like s@#$ the carb it the cause of that tho, fouling plugs black smoke out the tail pipe. but im fix it up go thru the motor to turn it into my 4x4 mud bike. just want to know any mods and aftermarket parts for the 454 bear cat 97. also will any of the 500 vinson parts fit on the 454 my friend has the vinson wit the cracked crank case and will let me get it for cheap if i want but need to see if any parts will fit my cat i was thinking bout putting the shocks and the carb on my cat but if anyone knows if any ofther parts will fit please let me know. oh yeah i would really love to see if i can make it into 2x4 4x4 wit an front diff mod. any help help will be greatly appreciated. i want to run some 28s swamp lites skinnys on it was that take on that as well

 

The carb on the 97 model 454 was its downside. It was changed some for 1998 I believe (my cousin has the remains of one in his yard still), but still that year model would foul out and blow black smoke as well. Steering geometry also changed for 98 which was a major upside, but I do remember from the time a lot of complaints about the 97 bearcat 454 having major carb issues. My advice, if you can get it going for relatively cheap, go for it. DO NOT put a lot of money in it. You will only lose out in the end. My cousin is wanting to get his 98 going again, and I bet it would take over $1000 to do so. That money would be better used towards a good used 4x4. Even in top condition, the quad will steer heavy and the rear driveshaft bearing is a poor design and not sealed well for mud. I've replaced 3 of them between my cousin's and the 99 model 500 that I once had (which was an even better improvement over the previous year model 454/500's). The 4wd system is just a common limited slip, and while its fine for most things, anything with a locking differential option is a better choice if you plan to go into situations that really need it.