This may be a simple question but bring me up to speed. What makes the Arctic Cat 70 lbs heavier than the Suzuki's and Honda's. Granted the Japanese were able to keep their quads close to the 600 pound requirement. Why are Cat's heavier? Same dimensions similar engines and drive train. Where is the weight coming from. Is it possible to remove anything without sacrificing strength other than a muffler?

 

NewCatMan,My guess would be AC's Larger diameter tubing in the chasis and A-arm's,Bigger heavier floorboards & Racks,They include a heavier duty skid plate,cv protecters,more plastic(fender flairs),steel wheels. Just my .02 Cents worth.

 

I would have to agree with CrazyCat.

BTW, which is heavier: a tank or a Honda Civic? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I don't intend to be sarchastic when I say this. But the next time you get a chance, push a 'Cat along side a honda, Yamaha or Zuk. Drop down on one knee and look at the chassis on both bikes (front and rear), you'll quickly notice why the 'Cats are heavier.

EtherNut

 

I see what you mean the bike is all frame and tubular steel. I like the construction but I am somewhat disappointed that AC did'nt compensate with the weight issue by increasing the BHP on the 500 engine like Suzuki did with the Vinsen. They could have easily gone with a 550cc or increased the compression an carb size to compete with the others. I can't see where any weight can be paired down either.

 

Its like buying a $6.95 nylon and aluminum lawn chair at wal-mart and buying a $20.00 wood and fabric lawn chair from Lowes. Its heavy cause their is more bulk to the construction. The A-arms on my old AC500 make my 660 a-arms look like toothpicks.

 

NewCatMan,I don't want to offend you that's not what this forum is all about.But what do you need the "extra 50cc's" or so for? If Arctic Cat thought they needed to make the machine lightweight in order to "compete" they would have done so after 4 or 5 years.I'm sure they will eventully come out with a sport Model and probably a 6_ _ CC something but I don't think that when they do the'll sacrifice their reputation to build a lighter duty ATV because they need to compete with the Jap's. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I don't want to spread any rummors around that I can't prove but I have been hearing a few rumors from very respectable people about Arctic Cat coming out with a new super big bore for 2003. From what I have been told, it will have a lot of updates to the 500i's chassie (maybe even it's motor) and somthing witha bout 20-40% more CC's.

Again, I can't prove any of this so I don't want to say too much. I'll try to contact my dealer rep and see what he says.

 

NewCatMan,

I have to agree with the others. AC was not targeting the sport market with the 500. If your looking for that last few MPH top end and and high end torque, your looking at the wrong machine. I think they did and excellent job of building one tough utility that has more than ample power for ANY situation that a utility rider finds himself in. In fact, I think the 400 is probably more than adaquate even though I did fork out a few more $ for the 500. No offense, but when you have all 4 wheels spinning, how does more power help? It is a utility not a sport machine and, in fact, the extra weight helps in most situations.

Bob

 

If I'm right, before the Vinson, Arctic Cats 500 already had more compression than the 500 Suzuki put in their quads. This is all speculation, but could it be that Suzuki just matched the AC's higher compression with the Vinson? Also, didn't AC do something different with the 2002 models?