I am going to purchase an Artic Cat 500 HO or 700 EFI. I had been looking at several brands and I know this is a little goofy coming here and asking if this is the best machine but I figure you guys know better than anyone. I had it down to the Polaris Sportsman and the maybe the one of the Hondas. We hunt in the UP of Michigan and it gets really cold. So I want one that starts on cold days.

This reason I am asking is we want to use it to pull a disk and other items for planting food plots. Can these Artic Cats handle the pulling and is it going to hold up. Several folks say go with the Honda oil based transmissions. We are not speed racers, more of the use would be hard pulling of logs and clearing brush and maybe pulling one of those mowers.

Then some say go with the King Quad. I am certainly no ATV expert so any help would be appreciated. The Artic Cat accessories seem really nice and they many of the things we want.

Thanks, Ranchdog

 

Well Ranchdog, of course in this section of the forum, we're Cat lovers. But to tell you the truth, you would most likely be happy with whatever ATV you buy. Just get one that's big enough to do the things you want, take good care of it, and 'life will be good'.

But again, we're just a wee bit biased here in this section and we think the Arctic Cats are great machines.

 

Ranchdog - I have both the Artic Cat 500 and the Polaris 500 HO. Your question has a obvious answer from me - you want the Arctic Cat. Polaris are a great quad - for going a little faster - but in no way are they the low gear log dragging machine you are looking for. I have about the same miles on my Cat and Polaris and we ride them both simularly and I am on my 3rd belt on the Polaris and on the original belt for the Cat. The low gears of these two machines are considerably different. Also - the 700 won't do you any favors for what your looking to do. Being able to spin the wheels with a bigger engine does nothing. You may want to look at the more utility machine from Artic cat with the large rear box and longer wheel base. You wont pull the front wheels of the ground with one of these TBX or TRV longer wheelbased units.

 

somthin with a stright axle, a rincon 650... my grizzly has a good low range pullin but it is indepent sspension

 

i live on a small farm and i use my quads alot for hard work and the belts IMO wont hold up to pulling heavy loads.
they will slip and you dont want that.
if you want a good work horse and dont want any trouble with belts i would go with the manual.
the belts are good but when it comes down to real hard work the belts slip.
i had a 03 500 manual arctic cat and that was a great work horse.
and i have a 500 rubicon and that is just as good as the cat at hard work.
i was told that my kawi would out work my honda or my old cat.
well thats not the case as i found out yesterday.
me and some friends were grooming this trail and there was some downed trees on it so we cut them up and i started to drag them out of the way ( in low gear ) and next thing i know i can smell the belt smoking.
this would never happen on my cat or honda.
if you want a great work horse and a fun trail rider dont get a belt they will slip under heavy work where as the manual will not.
stick with manual for hard and heavy work or you will be changing belts often.
and i know there will be alot of people that will say this is not the case but i found out yesterday and im sure the auto cat will be the same.
belt quads are not near as good a workhorse as the manuals.
and any one who says other wise hasent worked theres very hard.
hope this helps.
and if you go auto ............good luck.
because your going to need it.
1 more thing my honda is auto or manual so when your working you can put it in manual low and when your out on the trails you can put it in auto and let it do the shifting for you.
then all you got to do is push the gas and have a blast.
like i said befor good luck.
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I would go with a Rubicon or a Rincon they are both all around great quads!

 

the arctic cat has the best belt drive system on the market and as long as you use low range whenever pulling something you will be perfectly fine. i used to own polaris and now arctic cat and if you are new to the atv industry i would say go with the cat for the same reason i did polaris is very high maintanance and i just wanna drive. i live on a farm and i put my 650 through the paces but if i wanted something for food plots and stuff i would go with the 500 arctic

 

Thanks everyone for their feedback. I think this gives me a little more to think about. I might take a closer look at the manual transmission and ask a few more questions.

Thanks again, Ranchdog

 

Be aware the tranny on the rubicon and the rincon, are totally different. The rincon will be a huge disappointment for hard work, its a 3 speed torque converter type, and works very nicly for just riding along, but because it doesnt have a low range, and 1st gear is a bit high, its not meant for work. Rides like a dream...but its not a brute like the rubicon which has a hydrostatic tranny.
As long as the belt is dry, the a/c 500 will be just fine. It doesnt slip like the kawi trannys do, unless it gets soaked. Either the manual or auto will do whatever youre thinking of doing...and then some.

 

Ok, Thanks for the great input.

So I now have a follow up question. If I ruin a belt on an Artic Cat is this covered under either the 6 month new warranty or the 2 year extended warranty. If is not, how much does it cost to have the belt replaced and is this a repair that a I can do myself with the purchase of a belt.

Thanks, Ranchdog