My 300 4x4 is two months old. Already, the parking brake is worn out because the latch is plastic, the brake light switch on the hand brake died, the starter is starting to go out, and the carbeurator dial fell off in my hand. Not to mention, the handlebars squeak and have play in them, and just sitting on other brands at dealerships makes my AC feel like it has a cheap overall fit and finish to it. Anyway, I'm really getting tired of having my brand new quad in the shop so much. I'm wondering if it would be worth it to trade it on a Suzuki (the dealership sells Suzuki/AC together)?

 

thats why i traded my 03 500 because it was in the shop all the time.
and the more i road it the more it broke down.
now i have a rubicon and i have 500 miles on it so far.
and i havent had one single problem with it yet.
knock on wood.
i loved my cat but i just wish it would hold together.
it got to the point that every time i took it out i was worryed it was going to brake down and thats not good when you loose faith in your quad.

 

Strange,
I have 600 miles on my 03 500 and the only prroblem I had was when they installed the winch they scuffed a sticker and they replace that. The quad has been threw the mud, brush, over the rocks and logs and hasn't given me one bit of grief.

 

Strange, my 2001 AC250 still has the original foot brake pads and the parking brake lever and switch works perfectly. My carb is still secure and the starter works fine. Of course I generally treat my equipment pretty good as I work on it and never take it to anybodies mechanic for any reason. The only problems I've had are the gear shift cable went bad, I upgraded to the 2003 linkage system and I tore a boot, install boot guards and replaced boot. Carb acted weird for awhile, but carb cleaner and adjustment fixed that. So I would say my experience has be the opposite of yours.

 

1500kms on my 650 and no probs yet,well limp mode three times.

 

Have a 2001 400 that has been great, no problems yet... But with all the problems the new machines seem to be having, limp mode,axles,bearings etc. I would have to consider "other"brands, as much as I hate to say it. The problem with the "limp mode", and the way AC is handling it bugs the heck outta me...This problem has been around long enough that the AC engineers should have resolved this by now, and not just hand out a "reset tool".

 

This might be a stupid question but whats "limp mode"???

 

650's have a belt drive system that has a sensor switch that tells when the belt is out of adjustment. Seem there was a change between the belts tested by the factory and what went on the production machines. So belt ok, but the system says there is a problem and puts you into a slow speed mode to limp home on. Also suppose to be a fix for it. If I had a 650, that system would become inoperative very fast. I won't have to do that because I see no reason to have that much motor for my style of riding.

 

I hear ya birch,if I think about it hard enough I'll dump this bike and get something else,Actic Cat has got to tell me something soon.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]They claim(or at least I've read)that limp mode is fixed for 2005,well if they know its fixed then they know what caused it.So then give us the fix I say,but I guess thats how your supposed to do business.?

 

Dear heyyou,

The fix for the 650 is an RF Filter that Artic Cat is trying on 50 - 650's. So far, none of the bikes have gone back into the limp mode with the filter installed. Apparently the problem is that the ATV is emitting a frequency that is causing the CDI unit to go into the limp mode. A fix is on the way. As for StormDawg, sometimes you just get ahold of a lemon. If you think that the ATV is going to keep having problems, then get rid of it. You would be much happier with a bike that you can trust. However, if they are minor problems, remember you should have a two year warranty. Let Artic Cat fix the problems.