I bought a 2004 arctic cat 500 and it is junk. I've had nothing but problems with it. I ride it no harder than any of my friends do and they ride Polaris' Suzuki's Honda's etc. and they've never had the problems that i have. Not sure if its a lemon or not but here's whats happened to it so far. 3 broken axles in the rear, carbureator problems, radiator problems, waaayyy to many flat tires to even talk about. Now my problem is the brake system, i have 700 miles on my machine and need to replace the whole braking system. They told me that I need calipers, shoes, and rotors. Given, they are wearable parts, but with 700 miles on this machine, this is pathetic. Arctic cat will not honor my warrranty because of this. This is the worst mistake i have ever made buying this machine, i would not reccomend anyone else to buy from Arctic Cat. I hope their company goes under, THEY SHOULD STICK TO SNOWMOBILES!!

 

It sounds to me and this is only my opinion, that you don't really know much about the mechanics of your machine so you have problems because you don't recognize that a problem is developing. About the only way to need a complete new brake system is to run the pads to nothing and continue to run the brakes metal to metal, way to much heat that way. Carburator problems with todays fuel are nothing new, but good preventive maintenance either eliminates of makes them minor. Broken axles on a 500 would be cause by abuse, oversized tires or spacers or you ride you ute like a sport quad. I have a 2001 and a 2005 Cats and the only problems have been; brake pads, gee they wore out and I replaced them; a torn boot, boot protectors solved that; carb was full of junk, bad fuel finally caught up to me and I have doubled the preventive thing Ido for the fuel system all on the 2001. Flat tires are the riders fault, don't ride where the nasty stuff is or put Slime in them, then if you have a flat the tire will probaly be junk. The new bike had a nut missing on the reverse/hi/lo linkage and I lost low range on a ride, installed a nut and problem solved. So either you have a lemon, maybe; or you need to do your part or your ride, no matter what the brand, will let you down.

 

Had mine 2 years now, and not a single problem from day 1 on. I think a lot of your problems are due to rider error, and/or abuse. Did you try another dealer? Brake pads are wear items, mud riding eats them fast if you don't wash it soon after. No different than a car. ALL brands have their problem as you're aware from being on these forums. I, for one, am getting tired or listening to people whine and groan that their AC is a POS, after doing all kinds of Mods and beating the living *H*T out of it.

 

Honestly, you were better off not saying anything, and i keep very good care of my machine. In response to your statement about the braking system the dealer themself even told me that they didn't even know what happen with the brakes and that the pads on the machine were still good; and they still wouldn't even honor my warranty. Im sure that if was a minute problem such as a simple bolt missing I would have caught that as you did. Besides that I dont have oversized tires or spacers, the thing is like brand new, i ride in condensed wooded areas, so i cant ride it like a sport ATV or i'd be running into trees, I believe I do have a lemon. So with that being said, I dont appreciate your criticizing statements..

 

moore85,

I feel for you. I really do. A while ago, we purchased a used car and had nothing but problems with it. You name it and it haunted me. Yet, a few of my buddies had the exact same car and only problem they had was "having enough dollars to keep gas in their tank". That's how problemless their car ran for them. In the end, I finally got frustrated, sold our old car and swore I'd never buy that exact brand / model of car again. Yes, my buddies car is still going strong 5 years later. Go figure????

Combine within a possible lemon, too many mods that over stress factory parts, riding "a tank" hard on the trails and maybe some lack of preventative maintenance, any brand of quad will have problems. Add all this up, and things will break. Break to the point where frustration leads into anger. I've been there and even to this day, I still won't purchase the same brand / model of car. If you feel you need to "cut your loses" by selling your AC and getting a different brand, then "go for it!!!". If you are not happy with your current brand / model, then I'd recommend you do sell it. ACs aren't for every body or for every riding condition. If there's a different brand of anything that would make you feel happier, then "go for it!!!". In the end, it's your happiness that really counts. Brand / model is only a label on the side of the gas tank.

For me, I'll keep my 2002 AC 500i for a little while longer. It's been great to me, so I treat it great in return. The day it gets me "too frustrated / angry", it's immediately sold. That's how easy my decision would be - regardless of what brand / model I own.

Hope this helps...

.

 

I bought a brand new 2005 Arctic Cat 400 manual trans 4x4 4 wheeler bout 3 months ago and wow....... compared to other 4 wheelers i've had it's well .... not a POS but it's diffrent, a full size ute 4 wheeler with way to much top end, not enuff bottom end , cold weather problems, no torque, and now a broken rear axle (upper cv joint) ...... it has no performance mods, and no big tires or wheel spacers but yet.... a headache ...... iam thinkin bout tradein it in on a 2005 Honda Foreman 450s only thing keepin me from that is A. iam waitin on parts and B. i like the front diff. lock and the top end its got sum times

???????? did I get a lemon ????????
personelly I think my dealers trying to screw me over because , they dont like me (really its true), so iam not sure

 

I guess I tend to get a little rattled when someone criticizes a machine that I've had such good luck with. No ill will intended. AC does have a two year warranty, I'd find another dealer, and put the screws to the one you have the unfortunate problem of dealing with. You didn't really elaborate on what the problems were with that machine either, what happened to the rad?? The axles should be covered under warranty, as should the brakes. One of my friends has the 650, and they've replaced the rear master cyl for him, free of charge. Tires, if they're stock ones, are junk, I have 400 miles on them, now they're sitting in the garage in favour of better rubber. That was due to my riding conditions, I need a 6 ply tire around here, but it looks bad on Dunlop, not AC.
I would have them check the bearings and rear end of that machine..CLOSELY, and make SURE there's nothing out of alignment, or bad. You should never break an axle running the way you do. It's like any other brand though, my buddy has an '02 Rubicon, rebuilt the motor twice, no brakes and one tranny later, he's looking at an AC. The Rubi has 3000 miles on it, not a lot o mileage. Anyway, no offense intended, sorry if I got your blood pressure up.

 

Two things, you need to find a different dealer and you need to contact Arctic Cat. If the dealer told you he doesn't know why the brakes went bad then he needs to contact AC himself and get a rep out. That's his job, yours is to not let him snow your sorry b*tt with BS. If he doesn't change go over his head. Don't blame the equipment when it breaks, they aren't perfect and do break sometimes, but the dealer not keeping his end of the bargin is unacceptable.

 

If you ride aggressively, and go thru the stuff a 4x4 will go thru, ..then it doesnt matter which brand you buy, they will all go thru pads and rotors. Its a harsh envirionment, and I just look at it, like its the price you gotta pay to play. I know some polaris sportsmans that wont go that far on a new set of pads.
Tires arent an a/c problem, it happens to all of them. Try 6 ply tires , when you replace them, theyre more resistant to flats.

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: moore85
I bought a 2004 arctic cat 500 and it is junk. I've had nothing but problems with it. I ride it no harder than any of my friends do and they ride Polaris' Suzuki's Honda's etc. and they've never had the problems that i have. Not sure if its a lemon or not but here's whats happened to it so far. 3 broken axles in the rear, carbureator problems, radiator problems, waaayyy to many flat tires to even talk about. Now my problem is the brake system, i have 700 miles on my machine and need to replace the whole braking system. ...blah blah blah /q]

Usually when something like this is to hard to believe, don't.

Anyone who brakes 3 axels in 700 miles is either making it up or riding it so abusivley that it doesnt really matter.
Cats are tanks. I 've been riding with Cat owners for years and years and under all kinds of extreme conditions and the accumlative total for all those machines isn't half of what is claimed here. I just don't believe it.

See "Poser"