Hey guys, I'm not very familiar with 4x4 utility quads, but I've owned many sports and do all my own work on them. I'm looking to get my girlfriend onto something different (250EX now) and have my eyes on an '04 Arctic Cat 400 4x4 Auto. It's all stock, has ITP wheels, Mudzilla tires (says 75% tread). He said he replaced the wheel bearings, axle bearings and boots, but one rear CV axle 'pops' when in reverse only. Does this sound like a common CV problem? Again, I work with straight axle sport quads... Other things are worn grips, torn seat cover and broken fuel gauge, no big deal. He says he doesn't ride it anymore, and the carb may need to be cleaned but it starts right up and has new battery. What else should I look closely for? He has a clean title and said lowest he could go is $1200, sounds fair to me. Similar turn key bikes around here go for close to $3k. Any tips would be appreciated...

 

I used to have one of these, that is a heck of a deal. Buy a seat cover, and if the axle fails on your just replace it, they are not that hard to do and not too expensive. My wife could easily drive ours and she loved it.

 

Thanks! Since the girlfriend will be riding it on her own (when I take the KFX), I'll probably replace the CV right away since they're not expensive. The rest I'll do as I get to it, since the gas will last longer than our sport quads anyways I'm sure! All I've gotten is good feedback about this bike, I think we'll enjoy it. Any tips on what to look closely for?

 

the 400 is a good solid bike,i have not heard of any issues unless rider/owner is at faut. My cv popped also on my 500. I dont have the bike anymore but Its was doing it for 3 years with no problems. Not to say it wont. Id just run some sort of carb cleaner in 1 full tank of gas and call it good. You wont need anymore after that as long as you ride it and dont let it sit.

 

Got some bad and good news today. Bad - Another guy called and planned on seeing it tonight. (figured he'll buy it) Good news - The owner said since I called first, he'll tell the other guy to hold off, I found out he's the original owner of the bike and loved it, but it's just time to go, all the little things wrong are just wear and tear and he didn't see big enough to fix. He sent me like 15 great pics of the bike, and now I'm excited! The thing looks awesome (minus the things I know I need to fix). I'm seeing it tomorrow night, and should have it in the back of the truck on the way home!