I am thinking of buying a 00 500 auto would like some help on deciding.A lot of friends are telling me not to buy an ac , to go with polaris sportsman 500.What do you guys think?I don,t have much experience with 4 wheelers I have ridden 2 wheelers all my life.Could sure use some help here as i don't want to make a 6000$ mistake and be unhappy with my decision!Thanks in advance Dog.

 

you will pay more than 6000 for a sportsman. if you are going to look at AC also look at suzuki. suzuki makes all the engines and transmissions for the AC models. you will find some similarities but you may prefer one over the other. don't overlook the "smaller" machines too. the rancher is a really nice machine and i love my king quad. if this is your first machine you may be better off with something in the 300-400 cc range, this will save you some money and you will still get a quality machine. as the buyer you have the right to test drive before you buy. go to a dealer for every make and model. drive them all. buy the machine that fits you the best and falls into your budget. they are all good machines but they don't all have the same feaures. good luck and enjoy the ride!!

 

It seems your not totally convinced with the sportsman or you wouldn't be asking questions on this forum. Number one situation you have to first look at is your height and weight. If you are above average size go with the bigger machine, you won't regret it. Next what kind of riding your going to be doing. If your going to be side hilling the sportsman is not your machine (top Heavy), but they do have a good 4 wheel drive system and lots of grease zerks if you like maintenance. I own a Arctic Cat and had Suzuki and Kawasaki previously. All good bikes. I am very satisfied with my 1998 Cat 500, never had a problem with it. I have a couple of friends that have one too and they are very satisfied with theirs also. I hear a lot of good things about the Bombardier Traxter, it also has a great 4 wheel drive system. I read somewhere that somebody bought one for $6100.00 American money. Have you read the latest ATV Magazine they had a shootout of all the big machines in there. Might help you figure out what you want also. Stay away from too many electronics can become costly after a few years down the road. It all adds to frustration and more cost to that original price. If you are going to pull anything heavy or go in the mountains stick with the big bikes, no lack of power in any of them. Well hope I helped and didn't make the decision worse. Have a great day.

 

DesertDog:
What do you plan to use it for? That will be a good basis for your decision. And, like Irichard said, your actual body size is also a factor. Pick the one that "fits" you best. I bought two AC 500 Auto's a few months back, and have been more than thrilled with them. I bought them for hunting, and also for utility type work, mostly logging stuff, and hauling capabilities. AC's got the highest rated rack capacities of any bike on the market (300 lbs. combined) which helps quite a bit. So far, they've been excellent machines, and fun to ride as well. Plenty of power-pulled both a mini-van and a suburban up a hill in the mud where the vehicles were just spinning madly, and also winched my stuck suburban buried axle deep in mud with the running boards high centered over a culvert pipe, hooked up to a trailer that was also buried in the mud. Winched the rig out no problem with a ****** block. We've only got a little over 200 miles on them now, but most of our riding is in four low, doing less than 5 mph crawling up deer and elk trails, or making our own.

Some of the features I preferred on the AC were the Automatic transmission, sealed throughout-so very low maintenance (oil changes and air filter mostly), disk breaks, 2/4wd, great engine break, large towing capacity, highest rated rack capacities, and it just "fit" me the best. Like the others said, take a look at a few different machines, see what you like the best and go with that. You won't be sorry going with the 'Cat should you choose it. Then again, I think pretty much everything out there is a good machine, otherwise they wouldn't be in business. Again, Irichard was right about the prices. Don't know what they go for in your area, but the Sportsman was about $1,200 more than the 'Cat where I live. That was another of my "likes" about the AC, cheaper to buy!

Best of luck with your decision!

Mike

 

I am 6'2" 225 I am going to use the cat for hunting deer elk and waterfowl( hualing goose decoys) and running a beaver trapline( lots of water).The reason I was thinking cat was1:cost 2: the feel of the bike 3:maintenance.Do you guys think I should go with the auto or manual tranny?I live in northeast nevada the famed Elko Co. where all of us radicals are fighting the feds on Jarbidge south canyon road and the whole forestservice roadless lie.The country is pretty steep lots of rocks and big sagebrush.Thanks for all your help guys its really appreciated.Desertdog

 

If you are going to be in a lot of water, I would get a manual with whatever brand I went with. Now a bunch of guys have had no problems with automatics in water, but I would go manual just to be on the safe side. There are no ifs at all that way. I would consider the top manual shift quads of that range. Honda 450, AC500, Suzuki 500, and Polaris Expedition 425 seriously. I guess the Big Bear 400 is up there too, but I don't consider it to be as close to the 450 or bigger bikes as the Expedition is. Its on the downside of 400. The Kodiak isn't offered in a manual either, so I guess Yamaha and Polaris get left out of my picks. Bombardier is in there, but costs too much I think. Best value in my mind is the AC 500, because you can normally find them in the price range of several 400 class machines.

Should you get a cat? Thats totally up to you. Better ride one, along with some others to see what you like. If you have any friends that own different things, thats the best way. Then you can see how they ride someplace other than a 30ft. dealers lot. Good luck with whatever you get.

 

I HAVE A SP500 I LIVE AND IRS IS COOL .AND AC ATV ARE NICE TO. GO SP 500.

 

I HAVE A SP500 I LIVE AND IRS IS COOL .AND AC ATV ARE NICE TO. GO SP 500.

 

I have bought a Y2K AC 500 auto & 300 4x4, and we love them both. I had 9 miles on the 500 when it blew an oil seal took it to the dealer and they fixed it in 3 days. I asked them because I was so worried Id made a mistake, Do I have to treat his quad like a candy A** and they said it was a fluke and nail it!!! I did and I am very pleased. I have hung it up in the mud, Rode with sport quads and it has realy shined. I dont pull wheelies but I do put in mud up to the lights (and get out) The 300 will do and has done the same, Just dont have the *** the 500 does. Every quad has it's good and bad points. Just if you pick the AC, you wont get let down, The same with the rest I ride with them all and guess what? We all have a BLAST!!!!! Good Luck. SLY

 

Where have you been Cowboy?