I had just about settled on buying a Prairie 700 or Honda Rincon when I visited this forum and started doing a little reading on the Arctic Cat. Do you feel they are as dependable as these others. It has a couple of features I like, such as the great ground clearance and front diff. lock up switch. I feel sure the new engine will be an added plus to the bike. I did notice where one member did not buy another one and bought a Rubicon. I am planning on contacting him and getting his views. Any input would be appreciated. I have posted in other forums and get a lot of replies like "buy what you like", etc. but I don't want to go into it cold. I know they all have trade offs but I would like to know what I am gettting before hand and not end up wishing I had done something else. I would like to get it sort of right the first time. I presently have a Raptor and want to be able to do more trails and mudding. Most of my riding on the Raptor is in the dunes. If Idecide not to keep the Raptor, will the AC be ok in the dunes? Thanks for your input.

 

I love my Cat Have had it scince July 10 and have not had one problem with it aside from my idle speed mysteriously getting turned up. Think my brother had a part in that though, so now all he gets to touch is the little honda 110 lol. But liek i said I love my Cat and so do a lot of other ppl on here.

 

Ive owned hondas and arcticats the arcticat is just as good Id be worried about the duramax.

 

Your opinion of the Duramax makes me wonder about your opinion of the Cat!

 

I've got about 600 miles on my cat. Other than a warranty-covered adjustment of the tranny, it has been trouble-free. I've flogged the heck out of it, too, including trips to Upper Tellico in NC, Coal Creek in TN, and Hatfield/McCoy in WV. It is one tough machine. It also just seems to keep gaining power as the engine loosens up, too.

 

I had 2 Cats, one a 454 4x4 & a 500 4x4 from 1996 to 2001. Both Cats were dependable. Since Cat didn't have anything above a 500 in late 2001, I switched over & up to the Kawasaki Prairie 650, a real nice & powerful/fun 4wheeler.
Now that Arctic Cat has the Kawie 650VTwin/tranny in their own IRS 4wheeler & since I have owned Cats in the past, I have decided to go back to Cat & get their 650 VTwin IRS version.
The Cat 650 standard model is 42#'s heavier than either the P700 or Rincon 650 & being that the Cat 650 is tall it may render you a bit in the real sandy soft stuff. This Cat 650 does excell in low/mid range power but the top end (speed) is lower than the Prairie 700, due to the gearing of the Cat. Other reliable reports put the top speed on the Cat 650 at 59mph, if speed is important to you. My Prairie 650 top speed was a honest 64 mph on the stock size tires, the Prairie 700 should be a couple + mph higher.
The Cat 650 does have 26 inch Radial tires as stock compared to the 25 inchers on the other big bore 4wheelers & the taller 26 inch tire will steal a mph or two from the top end.
For trails & muddin, this Cat 650 should shine with the IRS, Frt.dif-loc, 13" ground clearance & adjustable 10" suspension on all 4 corners.

 

My 500i has been nothing but reliable. 1.5 years, 670 miles, lot of farm work. Lot of steep hills, rocks, rough trails on my farm, too... just the sort of thing the Cat was built for. So far, nothing has broken. I particularly like the way the Cat can crawl over the roughest ground, and hardly ever scrape bottom. Only high centered it once, on a limestone boulder hidden under water.

Prairie 700 and Rincon are fine machines, I particularly like the way the Rincon is finished. Personally, I prefer the Cat - more capable suspension, better rough ground capability.

Can't say I recommend it as a dune machine. I have a couple of whoops on my farm that I can get my Cat off the ground, but it's not a happy camper doing so. Feels kinda clumsy jumping, a bit big and heavy. It'll crawl over any dune you can find, just don't know that it would feel good jumping them.

 

I was just kidding about your duramax Im glad chevy joined the deisel race, it makes It so ford and dodge keep Improving there deisels.
I own a 2003 polaris 700 and a 2001 ac 400 I wish I would have waited for the 650 ac.If your going to do lots of dune riding I would get the kaw or the honda but If you are trail riding or working the cat would be great the cats frame and the kaws moter are going to be great but heavy for the dunes

 

Markie -Me too! Thanks for the input...

 

O.K here is my two cents worth,I went riding with my brother today we crossed a stream that was above the engine but way below the seat,his 03 Kodiac went through fine, about 3/4 of the way through my 02 Cat 500 Auto. decided to stop, the engine kept running but the wheels stopped turning I had to be pulled out by his Kodiac, pretty embarrassing. About 5-7 miniutes later out of the creek it finally decided to go again, I couldn't wait to get back to the truck and get it loaded. If I would have been by myself I would have been S.O.L!!!! Maybe something wrong with my Cat(only 60 miles on the machine) I don't know but it has been doing fine until the creek, that was the first creek crossing I had done with it and it will be the last.
I posted in the forum also trying to find out what happened to the "beloved" Arctic Cats. So keep an eye out to see what people has to say about it.
Mike