I've seen mention in forums that they are hard to steer. I am going back and forth between the 2005 AC 500 and the 2005 Sportsman 500. My friend has a 2004 sportsman and I know it steers easy.

Also, I took the sway bar off my Outlander and put the shocks at the softest setting and it had way too much body roll. I stiffened up the shock settings to the max and it's better now.

Do the AC's have a lot of body roll or can it be tuned out with the shock settings?

Steering is a big issue for me. It's the only thing holding me back from getting the AC 500 at this time. Please tell me about the steering. Thanks.

 

I have a 650.The tires are the biggest reason for the body roll on it.I put some mudlights on and don't have a problem with it any more.Good luck

 

Sort of the same in my case. 01 400 4x4. Same problem, if you can call it a problem. More of perception. You did not mention 2x4 or 4x4. The 4x4 would be more noticable due to a little more weight up front. I can see even a bigger 2x4 acting in a similar fashion.

Any way, mine had stock Titan 489's on it. Off road they were not that bad but you could still feel the sidewalls roll. I even ran them a little over inflated. I want to start using the quad at car shows and at the track. Mostly paved areas. After the first couple of outings it was apparent that on a paved surface the sidewall roll and front plow in went hand in hand with higher stearing resistance. More grip on the hard surface. I looked around and asked some questions, a lot of people had the same issue. They did not like the characteristics of stock "low end" tires. The fix is to go with a higher ply. The previously mentioned MUD Lites are such tires. They are 6 ply jobbies.

I went with GBC Dirt Devils, also a 6 ply. I have not had a good test as of yey but wizzing up my street they already feel 10x better than my stockers.

Brent

 

Thanks guys.

Can you tell me more about the steering effort?

Thanks.

 

If you are having any steering effort problems just shift it into 2 wd, problem solved.

 

My experience with my 03 AC 500i is low steering effort compared with any other I have ridden. I really like it for that reason. As for body roll it is perhaps one of the worst out there as it is very tall due to the combination of clearance and suspension travel and does not have a stabilizer bar in the suspension. I have played with the shock settings to reduce roll and find that stiffer is better but still not great for overall handling. Also the the stiffer suspension sits taller so not great on sidehills etc. It seems that tall , maximum travel independant suspension while providing a great ride and excellent clearance cannot at the same time provide the best handling.

 

with my 03 500 manual i set the shocks to the stiffest setting and put some gbc gators on it and the body roll was gone.
as for the steering in two wheel drive it was ok but i have rode other quads that steer easyer
i think that the stiffness in the steering comes from the indapendent suspention.
but you'll get used to it.
my honda is just as hard to steer as the cat in 4 wheel drive.
the first dozen times i went out riding with the cat i came home feeling like i just come from the gym.
my arms were sore it felt like i did a hundred curls.
but the more i road it the better my arms felt and after a while it wasent an issue.
and for riding on side hills i found it very stable.
as good as my honda,and its 5" shorter.
there is no substatute or ground clearance.
mine had 15" of GC and i only rolled it twice once in a parkinglot doing doughnuts and the second time i was going up a hill and at the top the hill was higher on the right side and i was going a bit fast and it kind of whent over sideways and rolled back down the hill.
both rider error.
go for the cat its a better quad.
all the magazines say so.
and those guys are all pro riders.
check out my page and theres some pics of the cat in action.

 

Thanks a lot for the education guys.

 

One thing I have noticed, the 05s seem to have a stiffer set of shocks in the back compared to the 04s and riding one around the lot the other day it really made a huge improvement on the body roll. There is a small trail in the back of our lot and I was able to take a turn quite a bit faster on the 05 compared to the 04s and earlier models. I am suprised I didn't hear anything from cat on them changing the rear suspension but it wouldn't be the first time they changed something w/o telling the dealers.

 

Having both AC and Polaris I can share that the sportsman is like a tank compared to the AC steering. And, steering effort can be dramaticly effected by front wheel alignment. A little tow-in can stiffen the steering and to much tow out and you have to fight to keep in straight.

Side by side in the garage I prefer the AC. Its a TRV and drives like a cadellac. FWIW