Hello all,

Looking to replace my current 2010 AC 700 H1 with a model that is a few years newer. In this case a dealer I have dealt with in the past has two brand new 2014's left over. Particularly they are a 700 Limited or a 700 Mud Pro (I have not ridden nor am I really familiar with the mud pro). We are talking $6499 for the limited and $7499 for the mud pro. With that said, I am trying to make the best decision here on which machine to actually go with this time around. I have had 4 or 5 cats now and don't plan on going anywhere else at this point in time.

Let me give a little background of what I ride which I suspect will help. I live in northern jersey or as I like to call it the rock and climbing capital of the state. Where I ride we have a lot of crawling to get up and over ridges and generally through all the trails. Lots of wash outs. We also have a fair amount of river trails to contend with and areas that do have standing water that could build up with quite a bit of mud. I would say that most of the riding around here is a combination of buffed out trails, climbing and crawling. (60% climbing,rocks and rivers, 20% buffed out trails and 20% mud) I do take the machine to a few places in upstate new york and in the Poconos were mud is a bit more common.

With all that in mind, I ended up putting ITP 589 M/S tires on my current 700 so I could make all of these tasks a bit easier

So I have gone back and forth over the pros and cons of both bikes.

Pros Limited:
1. A bit faster since it doesn't have to turn 28" zillas (would only have to turn 26")
2. About $700 cheaper than the mudpro after buying tires

Cons Limited:
1. Weaker axles
2. No snorkel

Pros Mudpro:
1. snorkel
2. stronger drive train (i.e. axles)
3. Maxxis Zilla Ties

Cons Mudpro:
1. Slower with more torque
2. Potentially replacing worn out parts more often with the bigger wheeled machine
3. Taller and potentially more unstable on uneven terrain.

Am I missing anything? Is there some other way I should be looking at this.

Thanks

 

If you haven't got stuck on the trails you've been on I'd go with the Limited personally. If you haven't snapped an axle or ingested water you really don't need the Mud Pro.

Just my own thoughts.

 

I don't see the advantage of replacing your current machine as it appears to be pretty new being a 2010 unless it has a ton of miles or is currently giving you a lot of problems. The new 700 is basically the same engine, you won't see a performance upgrade with either machine over your 2010 700. With it being older and obviously out of warranty, you could simply put a snorkel on it if you feel you need it to go through water crossings for a few hundred bucks if you want it to be like the mudpro.

 

Put Zillas on a limited, or, being a cheap bastid, I'll say stay with the old one and put Zillas on and snorkel.

 

I went ahead and got a left over 2015 XR 700 XT EPS. Performance wise, I wasn't worried about it as I knew it was the same motor. I did not care for the extremely rigid ride on the 2010 even in the softest suspension presets. Also, for me, EPS became a necessity. I got on one and gave it a shot and I fell in love. I have MS and suffer joint pain in the shoulders and such on a daily basis, so I ended up deciding that it had to happen. Now in terms of costing, I sold my 2010 for $5500 and got my 2015 left over for $6500 so in my opinion well worth it. Obviously I added a couple of things to the machine but all in all, it worked out great. I attached a couple photos of the finished product. One thing I will say, if anyone buys a 2015 or newer, pull the seat off, pull the removable side plastics off, etc and tighten the intake boot clamps, heat shield bolts (while they are still loose, slide the shields back so they don't rub on the muffler, etc), air box clamps. This is my first cat that has extremely rough around the edge QA/QC. This is something I will be sending Cat a letter about because it was appalling and uncalled for.

 

This is what your dealer gets paid for when doing a PDI. They are to go around and check every nut and bolt.. I would be complaining to the dealer and asking for your PDI money back since they did not do it 100%

 

Unfortunately, it seems every dealer must have been told not to do anything with the machines. From what I have been reading, its seems that most people who purchase new machines are finding everything loose. Now, my dealer hasn't flat out said that to me, but that is the gist I am getting. For me, it doesn't make much of a difference other than I can send Cat an email anyhow. I truthfully don't trust others to work on my machines anyway, so I always tear them down when I get them. Plastics off, the whole nine yards and do it all myself.

 

Thats the problem the dealers charge us a good amount to do a PDI and all they do is pull it out of the crate, put the tires and battery in, and call it good. One of our machines was missing the rear belt housing snorkel. It went in a few times for a loss of power issue and was never picked up on. Also found the same on both our machines all clamps loose or even missing.

 

Don,t be to sure. The 28"x12-12 Zillas weighs 27lbs that the weight of some 25" tires and lighter then many 26" tires. Here's the specs.http://www.mud-throwers.com/inc/sdetail/6590/12045

I had 26x11 6ply zillas on my 350 Bruin and they were only 3 lbs heavier then the 25x10 2ply that it had from stock.

The 26-11-12 zilla weigh 23lbs , I thing for only 4 lbs difference the taller and wider 28x12 zilla is well worth it if mud is your thing.

 

Hey TLC,

I ended up with 27" zillas on the new 700 and those tires 100% turn those tires so much easier than my old ITP 589 MTs. The zillas were easily 10 pounds lighter each tire over my 589's which was nice.