Just curious if your Cat is in the garage getting repaired or out on the trail with other atvs?
What is the worst atv that you have owned and the best? Is your AC reliable? Just curious, I have a AC 500i 03 and I like the bike. I am amazed at the articles and reviews that I read and AC is almost always at the bottom of the list. How do you like and rate you AC atv. Thanks!!

 

When I wanted to ride my AC 250 has always be ready to roll. Only problem was a torn boot and I took it into the brush without boot protectors, my fault. When I replace the boot, the protectors went on and never had it happen since. The 400 is only 3 weeks old so have had it long enough for problems. Only had a 100 mile oil change so far and I dinged a rim on sunday, again my fault (no flat though). So yeah, I have found my Arctic Cats to be reliable. So have he 9 friends that have them.

 

I have over 3200kms on my 650 with little to no problems with it.The belt needs to be tinkered with from time to time but it's no big deal.

I have always been a yami guy but after riding this bike for the past few months I can't see me owning anything else.

When the mags do the reviews on these bikes the morons that write them think they should all drive like a sport bike,put them in the rocks,trails and mud,that's where these cats RULE!!!

 

Jay,
It appears that the authors of most of the articles tend to favor the more "sporty" of the untility ATVs. These same articles seem to give credit to the fact AC is a rugged, get the job done, kind of ATV and is great in that area. Yes they are heavy, yes they have high steering effort, and yes they may not have the "instant" throttle response other bikes may have. That said, I really don't care if my bike is faster, either in top speed or in a "drag race." I want it to get me out and back, taking me where I want to go. It excells in there. Yeah, money no an object, I'd probably go with Honda's 650, but I'm very happy with my ACs. In truth, for the average guy, all the machines are pretty good. Differences are minor and tend to be in features, disk brakes all around and IRS are two biggies for AC. Yeah, there are bad ones out there from all makes. Those that spend way too much time in the shop, but for the most part, they are all pretty good. That said, we all get perverse satisfaction in doing better on the trail than the other guy. It feels good to gloat from time to time.

My 500 has been in the shop twice in it's 600 miles. Both for seal leaks. There was a third seal leak also, but the dealer just gave me the seal and let me fix it myself w/out going through the pain of bringing it in. He says he's never seen a bike with more than one seal leak in 10 years - save for mine. I'm optimistic and don't think I'll have any more problems, but we'll see. The 300 has never been in the shop in it's 700 miles and the motor actually runs sweeter than the 500. Not near the power of course, but it actually runs better. I can't really say how it runs better, the engine is very sweet. It's also much quieter.

Jim

 

dont have a cat ATV but my 440 cat sled, after i fixed it up when i bought it, runs like a charm other then my power regulator going and needing new carbides

 

My 375 had a ball joint issue awhile back that was fixed quickly under recall. Other than that, the only problems have been from the riders flipping and crashing it. (It's been rolled 5 times) In each of those cases I didn't have to wait long for parts and had her fixed in a few hours. The engine runs perfectly and I've never missed a trip or had a problem on the trail. I'd stack its toughness and reliability up against any machine. I've got a little over 1000 miles on it now.

The 650 has not spent 1 minute out of order. Only routine service, which hasn't been much more than me just doting over it unecessarily. I've got about 400 miles on it. No belt issues and the engine is as sweet as any I've known. I couldn't be happier with it. All 400 miles have been rugged stuff, not much cruising or putting around. I like to take it right to the rocks! Nothing rock crawls like the big cat.

Those guys in the mags have to admit that the Cats have an advantage in the roughest stuff. As for always finishing near the bottom, one magazine did give the 650 ATV of the year last year. Most of the test riders are little motocross racers who crave speed and handling. They are 5 feet tall and have little bitty arms and legs like jockeys and they can't handle the heavy steering or the wieght of the machine. They always pick the utility that performs best at high speed. Heck, look how they dress. They are all wearing sport quad boots and clothing. I wear jeans or carhardts when it is cold, with steel-toed work boots. The only thing MX is the helmet/goggles! High speed where I go is 10 mph, and you'd kill yourself going that fast most of the time. I've ridden them all and they are all good, but in my opinion the cat has it in the rough stuff, where I ride.

 

1300 miles on my 650 and it hasn't been in the shop once a little belt issue and limp mode but that was kawi's mishaps and i took care of them myself most of the 04 650's had those problems and they were very easily taken care of and when it comes to the magazine's and stuff it doesn't help that there is that atv television who always harps on the arctic cat but look at the terrain they drive in very slow sandy trails and the arctic's big structure is a turnoff to them and not everyone drives in that stuff but even if i did i would still pick my 650 awesome in rough terrain and the deep mud pits

 

Thanks for the info!! I was watching atv television and the on the 2004 500 models this is how they placed (honda, suzuki, yam, Ac, polaris, bomb). They put the cat down pretty good but it did do better than the polaris and the bombardia. Did arctic cat put a different housing belt covers on there machines and remove the suzuki belt covers? What about the the differentials? how does the suzuki gears compared to the arctic cat differential gears? Just curious, they stated that the suzuki seemed to get the power to the tires better than the AC and that the Ac seemed noisie. How does the AC front differential lock up? Do you like it or hate it? I know the 03 and 04 model don't have the locker but wondered how it worked on the trail? Just curious and would like to hear your thoughts! Thanks!!

 

01' 400 4x4. 1500 miles and not a problem yet. I dont beat it, but I dont baby it either.

 

The AC has its own tranny design. They only use the Suzuki motor (Except the 650, which uses Kawasaki's engine and tranny). I find the AC tranny to be noisier than the Suzuki, but it has better engine braking and performs extremely well. It still isn't as noisy as the Kawi tranny. The AC front locking diff uses a clutch mechanism and it locks up great, but in the worst possible situation, it will allow a very slight amount of differentiation, probably to save itself from breakage. It is a stout unit and I havn't found anything that another machine can go over or through that the AC can't do. In fact, because of the ground clearance, suspension travel, and locker, I have found several extreme situations that buddies on a Griz, Polaris, and Honda couldn't make. Those involved big rocks requiring ground clearance while maintaining good enough wheel contact with the ground to get power down. The big Cat made it look easy, and the Griz and Honda had aftermarket tires. I was pure stock.

The best part is that I rarely have to use the locker. The big Cat keeps all 4 wheels on the ground very well.

I hope this helps. Some of it is strictly opinion, but I did my homework before I bought the 650 and had lots of experience with the 375, which is a different animal but designed with the same suspension philosophy (long travel, articulation, and keeping wheels on the ground).