Ive got an AC 2005 400i. It has Hi and Low.

 

As a truck driver who shifts all day, it was easy for my wife to 'convince' me we should get auto's. And I love it! "Stab and steer", as we used to say as hot rod kids.

You can listen to arguments all day on this subject, but get the dealer to let you ride both and make your choice that way. Both are good, but I'm firmly in the 'auto' club.

Oh, and yes, the auto has "Hi & Lo" range. The only problem is, there isn't a "Hi/Lo" range in reverse, and that can be uh, 'troublesome' at times. But I don't think any brand auto has a dual range in reverse. When are these manufacturers going to catch on???

 

the manual is good because theres no maintenence just change the oil when the time comes and thats it.
with the auto you have to check the belt and replace if nessary.
and if you dont ride around in low gear all the time you will ware out the belt faster.
the only time my friends use high gear is when there cruiseing down the dirt roads at more the 30 mph.
other then that they use low .
my kawi can do 40mph in low and i hardly use high gear.
and then theres the gas the auto uses almost half as much more then the manual.
and the auto is noiser and not as smooth a ride as the manual.
but the auto is more fun because its like they say point and stab the throttle.
BUT i have to say this.
if you want the best of both auto and manual you gotta go with the honda rubicon 500 or the forman 400 rancher.
it has auto tranny for when you want to cruise and just have fun.
and manual shift with your thumb for when you want to get down and dirty.
2 and 4 wheel drive.
what more can you ask for.
ive had the 03 500 manual arctic cat.
i have a 04 500 rubicon and i also have a 04 700p kawi.
the ac 500 was the smothest riding and had about the same power as the honda but i think it had more torque.
at least it felt like it.
and the kawi is by far the most fun but its also the hardest on fuel and the loudest .
after riding my cat i felt like i just came from pumping iron at the gym.
the kawie is the same because of the big tires.
the the honda is IMO the better of the three.
if i were you and i was looking for a 400 auto i would take a good look at the honda befor you buy because once you buy there is no changing your mind.
good luck with your shoping.

 

The difference between gas mileage with manual and auto works out to be about 5 mpg at WORST based on some conversations we had back in 02. Not that much of a trade off considering that the cat has the largest tank out there (6.5 gallons!!!).

I've never needed low range reverse in all the 3500 miles I put on my quad in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky. Chances are you won't either. Reverse on the auto is geared very low and works great.

The belt wearing out issue is a non-issue in my mind. I put 3500 miles on mine and didn't need a belt. CatRep posted a while back of a dealer changing a belt on a Cat that had 14,000 miles. That's on one belt folks. While I would consider that to be the extreme high end of belt life, it speaks volumes about the efficiency of the Duramatic design.

Another thing to consider is the dyno runs on Highlifter's site. Copy and paste the link below into your browser:

http://www.highlifter.com/performanc...tart=1&stop=25

Look closely at the Cat 500 auto and the Cat 500 standard. The Auto actually makes more horsepower on the dyno. Something to consider.

 

I've heard the "low range only" issue on 650's, but never on the 'lesser' sized engines. I rarely use low range on my 400. And I rarely do 35 mph either. I always figure if I can do 35 or over, I'm on the wrong road. I could be driving my p/u on a road like that - ha.

 

Good point.

The only thing to consider is if you enjoy shifting or not. There is nothing the manual can do that the auto can't, and visa-vera. Buy what you enjoy! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]