I looked at a few machines and have made up my mind to buy an AC400. My question is manual or automatic. I will be using it mostly to plow my driveway in the winter, and occasional trail riding. I won't be driving it hard. Any advise would be appreciated!

 

well its more of a preference. do you want to shift all the time or not cuz thats really what your looking for. i have both a manual and an auto i like the auto much better myself and for plowing slow the auto is alot less work. again you wont have as much power from an auto as in a manual. again its your choice what do you like better

 

I dont like autos, just because they tend to soak up too much power. I have a couple different ATVs and one is a 2004 A/C 400 manual, it will out run a friends A/C 500 auto

 

For plowing snow I would recomend a manual. Get alittle more power there to push the snow.

 

For plowing snow I would recomend the auto. The 400 has plenty of power. I have plowed over 15" of wet snow with the 60" plow and didn't have a problem. I like the auto for its easyness to use. My wife, and any non ATV people don't have a problem with it when they first try to ride it. Less thinking to do, you neve have to worry about being in the wrong gear.

I think of it just like I do with my automobiles, I like a manual for my sports car, not because it is faster but because you can have more fun shifting fast. And I like a auto for my daily driver and hunting rig. I want that extra hand for drinking coffee on the way to work and for hunting it is easier to go slow, through the fields, without shifting.

So I guess it all depends on how you like to ride. Test each one and see what you are comfortable with.

 

The dealer told me that the manual was a better machine to plow but i quess its preference.

 

I've always had manuals and was very reluctant to by an auto, but after riding the Grizzly, I don't think I would go back to a manual unless it was a sport quad. I pull a 10 bottom disc which I think is much harder on the quad than a plow (which I do a lot of as well) and I think the auto is much better suited for that kind of work than a manual. With the manual, sometimes first is too low and second is too high. With the auto I am always in the sweet spot.

 

Being an old hot rodder from waaay back (60's), there was NO WAY I was going to get an auto when we went out in search of our first (and only) quads. Wife either. All our cars are stick. Well, when we got to the dealer and test rode some stuff, he suggested we try the auto. Reluctantly, we gave them a try. My wife got about 25 feet and turned and said - "This is it!". So I gave in and tried one too. Man, we've never looked back.

Like Catterman said, it's fun to drive your cars with stick, but now I'm a 'died in the ruff' auto quad lover. But again, it's all a matter of preference.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Starky, I read that you do alot of discing and cultivating. Do you recommend an ATV for these applications. I am looking at the AC650 and want to make the correct decission.