Been a few years since I had my AC 375. I loved that quad. Come winter I'm going to be in the market for a new quad (been paying off my cars). I'm currently considering the '05 500 and the H1. I only buy American bikes and my dad has a polaris and has had to do a ton of CV boots on it amongst other things. It's really a pain. So I'm going to stick with AC. I never had a problem with my 375 that I didn't cause ;-).

Best I remember, in '03 or '04 AC came out with a beefed up 500 engine. How much more power does the new 500 engine have than the old?

My 375 had great power in my opinion. I did most of my trial riding in high gear and I never found a place where a hard press of the throttle wouldnt get me where I needed to go even with 10"/27" Dirt Devils all the way around. But there are times you want to really get on the throttle and have the quad "pin your ears back". The 375 wouldn't really do that.

I know the 650 would really cook but I'm trying to answer this the question for myself, "Do I really need it"? The 500 has every accessory that the 650 does minus the big block.

Any of you guys run an AC 500 with a Polairs 500 HO? Howd it fare?

Thanks!

 

I had a 02 Kawi Prarie 400 4x, but sold it for a xr and then bought a new '04 AC 500 4x. While I like the suspension, the 500's power stinks. In low it goes thru anything but in high you have to be moving 30mph to be in the peak power range. I think this all may have something to do with the belt system. My impression is that they used weak springs in the clutch. My '99 400 (2s) 4x Scrambler has more juice as well as the Kaw 400. Top speed doesn't matter to me (that's all just gearing anyhow) but the Kaw topped out at 57 and the AC 54. I don't think I'd buy another AC quad. My other choice was the Bombardier 400ho 4x, but AC had a 2 year warrenty...

 

The power is better than a 400 Prairie. Speed may be different in some aspect, but the AC is tuned for down low power and not as much on top. The 500 AC is no racing quad by any means, but it will keep up with most of the other 400's, and has plenty of power down low. The guy above here may prefer something more sporty though. I don't know about the automatic 500, but the manual has no problem in any range. As far as a scrambler 400 having more power? yeah, of course, its a 400 2-stroke. It won't have the pulling power at low rpms, but it will have that higher RPM power for driving fast.

 

I'd get the '05. The '02 is a good bike, but the warranty is worth the extra few dollars. I'm waiting on the H1[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I'm starting to get interested in the AC 650's myself. But if I was ever to trade, I will wait and see how the performance on the H1 is. I would rather have Arctic Cat's transmission, but I can't see how the single cylinder is going to outperform the V-twin. The yamaha engine is a bigger single and we all know that it has a bit less power than the 633 twin.

 

I agree, the H1 won't be any more powerfull than the V-2, but that's not why I want the H1. I want the AC clutching and the fact that it's geared for low end. As long as it makes 55-60 mph on top end, that's all I need. I'm more concerned with pulling power, off the line grunt and midrange power. I'm going to ride it first, I want to see how bad, or good, the vibration is. The only thing I can compare it to is my 400, so it has to be equal, or better than that.

 

I have serious doubts that the V-twin is lacking in low end. Prairies seem to win all the ATV pulls from what I hear.

 

I went by my Cat dealership today and put my name in for their first H1, they haven't been able to put their order in for it yet but they called the reps cell phone while I was there and are waiting for his response. I should hear something today or tomorrow. I finally decided, for about 800 dollars more than the 500i I can get the H1. I'm not at all concerned about it being a better engine than the Kawi. I just dont want the Kawi tranny. My old quad was the AC 375 which had the bulletproof duramatic. Thats what I want. The H1 and the 500 have the same dry weight. I'm sure the H1 will move the chassis along a little better than the 500.

I've spent quite some time on the Kawi forums at about 4 different internet sites. One thing I noticed is that all the Kawi 650/700 quads with some real miles on them have had to change their belts multiple times. One guy had 2400 miles on his quad and had to change the belt 4 times, not from failure, but from wear. That's too much for me. I had 3500 miles on my Cat and never had to change the belt.

To be honest, I don't think there's any way AC can screw up the H1 engine. It's been in development for 3 years, and they are going to cold spin each one that comes off the assembly line (no quad manufacturer is doing that from what I understand). Let's be honest, when's the last time we've heard about a manufacturer having a really problematic engine? We hear about bad tranny's, breaking drive shafts, breaking plastic, water in the tranny's from faulty seals, but never a full line of lemon engines.

I think AC is going to nail the H1 right on the head and I want to be on board. :-)

-EtherNut

 

Oh, the H1 will be a good engine. I'm just about sure of that, and its going to have a ton of power too. I don't think it will beat a prairie or V2 in a drag race when its said and done, but then again who cares anyway. Thats not the point.

It will be up there with the Grizz and better than the Rincon I would imagine. Plus, it will be cheaper from what I have heard than the V-twin.

I'm with you, I would rather have the AC transmission.