I've been looking for a quad for my son. I have a Polaris Sportsman 500 and love the way it rides. How does the ride of the AC 300 independent 4-wheel suspension compare with the Polaris? Has anybody ridden both? I had never really looked at an AC up close before except for occasionally passing one on the trails. I was pretty impressed with all the features available in a 300 class machine. Can anybody fill me in on the good, bad and the ugly with these? I could tell right away that the steering effort is much lighter than the Polaris just by sitting on the quad in the show room and turning the handlebars.

 

My son (soon to be 11) has a 250 4x4 Cat, we have had it for about 18 months. With no problems besides cv boots being torn. We have went quite a while without one so I believe it may be just having to pay attention. The ride is at least as good as the Sportsman if not better. It doesn't have as much ground clearence but few do. The 300 and 250 has a very low center of gravity so they will side hill much better than most other quads. With the engine in the rear it looks like it would be light in the front end, but it is actually ballenced very well. We climb a lot of hills and he has yet to flip it over, or even get out of shape on a hill. We do climb some big hills around here and at Turkey Bay. Some other quads will have a hard time keeping the front end down or even flipping, the little 250 with a 10 year old just puts right up them. They have three ranges and can be taken out of 4x4, the 01 and earlier quads had the ability to lock the front differential with the same lever.

There are some things to watch out for on them though. You need to get the rear cv boot gaurdes if you ride in a lot of woods. The airbox drain hose has a plug in the bottom that can come out and suck unfiltered air right into the motor. I cut it off and put a bolt and a red zip tie on it so it is easy to see. And make sure the airbox snorkle stays seated in the air box. These are just things that I have noticed and fixed on ours, I'm pretty picky about stuff like that.

They are a very capable quad my son rides it in places that a lot of grown men on much larger more powerful quads have a hard time. I highly recomend it and would buy it again. Keep in mind that it is not a sport quad though. Even though it will jump and do doughnuts though. It is not a speedy racey quad but it will keep up with a good rider. It is more of a trail riding and work quad, and a very good one at that. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I have a 2000 AC 300 4x4 and I love it with the exception of the Cv boots. My dad has a 2001 Kodiak and I prefer the way the AC rides anyday. It handles very well and is very stable going up coming down and sideways. I have figured out if you can stay on it side ways it will stay on the ground. I have had no trouble with CV boots until this year on the bear hunt I hit a limb and tore a boot. I highly recommend getting the protectors for the boots. Hope this helps.

 

I have test driven almost every AC. (My neighbor is a dealer and takes them on our trails all of the time.)I personally hated the 300. The heel-toe shifter was alright, but the quad was not near as comfortable as a Polaris. I personally would not buy the AC 300.