I'm looking at getting a new wheeler and the new 500 Cats really

appeal to me. I was first interested in the manual shift version but I

think I will miss the "easy riding" of the automatic...Im currently a

Grizzly owner. I'd like to ask a few questions to help me decide.

1.Transmission - Manual vs Automatic - I think the manual shift would

be pretty bulletproof so my main questions are about the Auto version.

Ive heard dealers say " you WILL NOT EVER get water in the belt on

this 4 wheeler"...is that true? Sounds like a bold statement to make.
How about belt life/reliability...do they hold up well? Any other

tranny problems/weak areas I should be aware of
Also, is it geared low enough to pull oversized mud tires well? How

about in Reverse?

2. Engine - IS the 500 a reliable engine? Easy to service? Anything

that may need "extra" attention?

3. Axles - Ive heard the older models had weak axles...are the 05's

any better? Anyone break one yet?

4. Electrical - Any electrical problems to speak of?

5. Would you buy AC again?

That should just about cover all my questions. Ive seen many things

talked about already, my main concern is the Auto tranny.

 

There are definately folks here that know more about this than I, but I just recently went through the same process and "settled" on the AC 500 auto... "settled" in the sense that it's more bike than I need, the 400 would've been plenty-

Keep in mind my exposure to bikes is limited to the list in my sig line...

Anyway, from what I could gather, both the 500 suzuki engine and the duramatic tranny have an excellent track record. I thought about buying the 650, but the clutch/belt/limp mode issue made me gun shy. I'm sure that the folks that have issues with them represent a smallish percentage of the 650's out there, but I couldn't bring myself to lay out that kinda money and then have to go searching for the correct color spring to make my new clutch work "right"... and I know that there are fixes and work arounds for the limp mode, but again, not for me if I'm buying new. Add to that discussion about removing shims to "correct" belt tension to help avoid smoking the belt, I just couldn't justify taking the chance on a bike that was WAY more than I needed. My understanding of the 650 v2 powerplant is that it's awesome, too bad kawi can't get that power to the ground better.

As far as never getting water in the belt case, I have no personal experience since I've only really had mine a few weeks, but I learned early on in life to "never say never" (the red sox came back from being down 3-0!)

As I understand it, the 05 400 and 500 now have the heavier axles that the 650 has...

.02

 

They are right. You would have to drop it to the bottom of a lake to get water in that tranny. It is a great unit and has excellent engine braking as well. I havn't heard of anyone breaking axles since the '03 models. They have worked that out. Of course, I never heard from anyone who broke one on stock sized tires, either, no matter what year.

Mbullism, you got the best of all worlds with that '05 500, including the locking front diff. However, I havn't had any issues at all with the tranny (or anything else) on my 650. Mine is all stock. It works as well as the duramatic on my 375, and is sealed just as well. It has superb engine braking and doesn't intrude into the footwell as much. In my humble opinion, they are both as good as any auto tranny out there. I've flogged them, too.

I know this much: My next ATV will also be a Cat. I'm completely sold on them. It will be a TRV, which happens to have the 500/duramatic combo. I've heard that the auto-choke on the 500 works wonders for cold weather starting.

 

Well my 03 500 has not seen the bottom of the lake, but I have taken water into the belt housing 3 times. The snorkels are great, but if the water if flowing or waving, it will find a way in! Good thing is, there is a drain screw on bottom of the belt housing to drain water in case never ever comes!!!

 

my 03 500 was a manual and the motor was awsome and the gearbox was good also.
every once in a while you would find that magic nutral, but i found if you made firm shifts with it you hardly ever found it.
i realy liked the manual because you never had to do nothing with it.
ever.
the oil in the tranny is the same as the engine and it gets changed every time the oil gets changed.
ac recamends you change it every 300 miles.
and i did that and it just seemed to run better every time.
now the rest of the quad is another story.
i like that the new ones have a locking front diff.
i wish mine had that, when i had it.
P.S. if you change the tires on it dont go any bigger then 26s or 27s or you'll start to brake parts every time you beat it a little.

 

i have gotten water in the clutch on my arctic cats a few times but you have to get water over the racks to get it in there and if it dosee get wet and you get it pulled out put it in neutral and rev the motor the spinning of the clutch will throw the water out and dry the belt off everything said about the 650 is true i fixed the belt and limp mode problems myself but a person shouldn't have to do that to a new machine the 650 has awesome power but i never liked kawi that much and i really really don't like them now just the motor has good power but the 500 auto is a bombproof motor tranny clutch setup but good luck just wish the 650 had the tranny and clutch setup like the 500

 

Yeah, DanW, I figured as much... Good to hear you've had no issues. I imagine that most folks have your experience. I'm in know way bashing AC, I think they are awesome machines or I wouldn't have bought one. The fact that the limp mode/belts burning/shim and spring swapping were/are discussed to the extent that they are was enough to ward me off the 650. Remember, I was already buying over my needs with the 500. All I was looking for was a decent hunting rig, to replace my worthy but tiring Honda, that could play a little... the 400 would have done that nicely, and some would argue the 300 more than capable.

Pfelect, for what it's worth, I'm an engineer by trade (that makes me **** as hell about details) and I'm a cheap sob to boot. I researched buying a new ride for the better part of a year, and when I compared everything out there feature for feature, there was no question in my mind... and I started my search "knowing" that I was gonna buy a Polaris 500 HO, and the cats won me over. I'd probably never buy another AC, though. I'm hoping this one will take me the rest of the way-

.02

 

Pfelect,

I own an AC 2002 500i-Auto. Overall, I'm very pleased within its tranny behavior and the way it keeps the water out. A few weeks ago, I had water above its front headlights and not one drop of water worked its way into the tranny. Certainly impressed the heck out of me. The auto transmission on our 2002 model is great. Its shifts smooth and its litterly, "press on the gas and go". No worry about manual shifting in mud or on our trails.

The only thing I would probably change on our 2002 AC unit is its gearing. I found the auto transmission is one gear too low. It's lower gear ratio / higher reving engine is great for pulling stuff around (re: like our 9'x13' shed, tree stumps, logs in our bush, 6x10 trailer full of dirt, etc. etc.) or going through the deep mud but on the faster dry trails, our engine is reving higher them all other brands.

I had an opportunity to drive a '04 Honda 450(??) Ricon last week. It had one of those new torque converter type transmissions. The sound and shifting of that quad was great. The sound coming out of its tranny often reminded me of a jet engine. That much quieter (hum like a jet engine) sounded really cool. Perhaps the newer brands of AC have a much better sounding tranny then my 2002 brand?

Anyway, hope the above helps...

.

 

Here's feedback to your other questions based on my 2002 AC 500i....

2. Engine - IS the 500 a reliable engine? Easy to service? Anything?

- Easy to change its oil & Oil filter. Easy to change / clean its air filter. Easy to change its headlight bulbs. The seat latch is a pain (re: sometimes sticks) but it does work. For our AC 500, press on the gas and go since day one.

3. Axles - Ive heard the older models had weak axles...are the 05's

- The axles on our 2002 have been solid. No problems.

4. Electrical - Any electrical problems to speak of?

- Within its steering column, an electical plug came apart. Good thing we were in my garage. It took me 45 minutes to find the problem (because it was acting like a pinched gas line) and 3 hours to fix it. Complete disassemble of the front end. Wow - did I ever learn a lot that day. Anyway, lots of plastic glue on the connector and re-plug back together. It's been working great ever since. If wondering, I could have gotten this work done under warranty. But, I wanted to learn something that day.

5. Would you buy AC again?

Yes I would. Our 2002 AC 500i has impressed me since day 1. It's geen a great "utility quad". It's done more then its expected share of pulling things around, or pulling things out of our bush. For the faster trails, I'd like to have a little 250cc 2 stroke 2 wheel drive unit. Something that's very light and easy to spin the tires. One machine for utility work and a much smaller / lighter machine for "fun on the trails".

Hope this helps...

.

 

Thanks for all the replies gentlemen.

Heres another question I left off of the original post...

Airbox - is it a good setup? Where is the intake located? Easy access to the air filter?

I might add that I am a 99% mud rider so whichever bike I choose, it will be used in some pretty harsh conditions. Even with the good things being said about the auto, I am still leaning toward the manual shift version because I feel it would be better for turning mud tires without modifications.

BTW...Ive been told the manual shift is actually more expensive that the Auto version...anyone else ever heard this or is the dealer just trying to sell me on the auto?