well after lurking on here for months i finally bought my first atv on the weekend. i picked up a a/c 500 manual in mint condition with only 560 miles on it. is there any thing i should be aware of with this atv? most of the things i have read about them seems to be good. thanks in advance

 

Congratulations on your new Cat. You will not regret your decision because the 500 Manual is a very durable bike. The only advice I can give you is to change your oil every 300 miles and keep the air filter clean. The shifting will seem a little rough until you get good at your timing when you shift. What ever you do, don't force it into gear or you can bend your shifting fork. If it will not go into gear easy, give it just a little rock back and forth until it shifts easy. When you are changing gears while you are trail riding, if it don't shift smooth, you need to change your Rpm's just a little to get it to drop into the next gear smoothly. (Practice makes perfect.) Also, do not plan on winning many races with the manual because it is geared very low but it can pull like a train. It makes a good mud bogging bike because you can take it in very deep water or mud and not have to worry about your cluthes slipping. (Look at my pictures)
Have fun!

 

I just bought a 2005 manual shift 500.
I have been riding dirtbike for 30 years and have no problem shifting.
I think the guys that have trouble aren't used to shifting.
I just got back from a weeks riding in Colorado and it ran great.
I don't think I ever used the brakes going downhill and I mean steep hills.
The only thing I have noticed is that you want to get in 1st or neutral before you shut the machine off.
I shut it off in 2nd and 3rd a couple times and had to rock the macine abck and forth a little to get it in neutral so it would start. It seems only to want to shift one gear when the motor is off.
If you come to a stop in 3rd and leave the motor running, it will downshift with no problems.

 

cat skinner thanks for the reply. is it necessary to change the oil every 300 miles? i will be riding that far in a single weekend. i am running synthetic oil so that would be $40 plus every time out. we made it out sunday for a sort ride. what a blast i should of had one years ago. sure beats the old 2 wheeler i think it will be retired permanatily lol . i found the shifting not to bad a little clunky between 1st and 2 nd but other than that it was ok