I am looking at a 02 - 500 I,,what kind of quad is this,pretty dependable,ride,top speed. The dealer has the motor in pieces right now,tooth off a gear in the lower end,but he is taking care of that.And advice much appreciated.

 

i had an 02 500I it was very underpowered for a 500 in 03 they bumped up the horsepower by 20 or 25 percent. i think top spead was around 50 to 55 mph if i remember correctly. all and all i gotta say it was the toughest machine i have ever owned other then my buddy hitting a tree with it and caving in the front end pushing the winch into the radiator and me having a freak accident and rolling it which were all self inflicted it was tough as nails.

 

Speed is not exactly its forte, though it will hold its own with a few that are near the same engine class. Pulling power and low end torque are very good though. Its a workhorse.

 

It's a very good utility machine but it's low on power and slow, ~50mph. In 03 they upped the compression ratio, changed the cam, and went from a 34 carb to a 36.

 

I bought an 02 500i manual almost three years ago. It has been quite reliable - biggest problem I've had is a fouled spark plug. When it comes to getting across rough ground, nothing can match a Cat. High ground clearance, and a comfortable ride.

Top speed? Low 50's, and it wasn't a happy camper at those speeds - engine sounded strained. On the trails on my farm, which is heavy woods and steep hills, going over 30mph means you're about to smack a tree, so top speed hasn't been an issue for me. IMHO, any utility quad over 50mph is asking for trouble, most of them are heavy, with a high center of gravity, not the most stable vehicles. Sort of like driving a minivan over 100mph. You can do it, but is it a smart thing to do?

Top end power isn't all that good, though it's not a slug either. Low end torque is great. Any engine speed, any gear, just punch the gas and it pulls right through. As I haul trailers loaded with hardwood, that comes in handy.

 

Thanks for everyones replies,this helps me out a bit. Like I said before,top speed is not a major concern,but on those weekend camping trips with my buds,I sure would hate getting my azz handed to me to bad.,,,,,mrtool2u

 

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Here's a review I did on my 2002 AC 500i:

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We have a 2002 AC 500i - AUTO. Bought it off the showroom floor.

For our "around the house", minor trail rides, the odd deep mud trail runs and lots of utility work, this machine works great for us. I love the auto tranny - even for pulling 4x8 trailers full of gravel and dirt. Even pulled a huge 9x13 shed and 8x8 Play Center across our back yard without any belt slippage. In 4x4, she bounded up / down and dug deep holes in our ground, and its belt didn't even slip once. For my unique riding conditions, its a nice Large Frame Utility quad. Great for what we use it for.

When our current push type 10/28 snow blower goes, we'll be purchasing a front blade or our AC unit. Nice 60" would be no problem for our AC 500i.

For upgrades, I installed a rear seat (for my disabled son and tool storage box), rear rider adjustable foot pegs, manual switch reverse light, shock covers, replaced factory high beam 27W bulbs with 50w bulbs, installed wind shield and driving mirrors. In spring of 2006, we'll probably need new rear tires. For us, the factory Dunlop tires are ok but their soft rubber does wear out quickly. We'll go with a simular tread design in the future. Need a combo tire that's good in the mild mud but also lawn friendly. My wife is getting tired of planting grass seed all the time. LOL!!!

For pictures of our AC mods and our riding conditions, surf:
Reverse light: http://community.webshots.com/photo/...64288299urkFwc
Mud Run: http://community.webshots.com/photo/...45619686OOsQRx

For speed and power perspective, our AC is "a utility" unit. It does top end at 53 MPH (down hill with the wind) and its take off speed doesn't keep up with many others. Even my son's Predator 90 wipes our AC's tail off the line - every time. But, our AC will pull things that many other 4x4s would buckle under. Since I'm not a speed devil, take off speed and top end ground speed isn't critical to me. I leave that stuff for the "wild riders". My focus on this brand was more for trailer pulling and mud running.

For repairs, the only factory item was a wire plug that came undone. That darn plug that goes down the steering column came unplugged. I had to disassmble its entire front end to re-plug this connector back together. Lots of plastic glue fixed that problem.

For recalls, we had to ball joints done. Our factory winch solinode (spelling) and brake controller were ok. I called 2 different AC dealers to confirm possible recalls on our AC - based on our VIN numbers.

I've read many posts stating that 2002 500s have weak axles. Bigger tires and/or harse driving conditions could break an axle. So far, our axles have been great. Knock on wood!!!!

From an engineering improvement perspective, I wish our AC had a front locker system on this model. In 4x4 mode, our front drives are a limited slip system. Sometimes, only 1 front tire locks in with its back tires and the other front tire seems like its in idle mode. I've read the 2005 AC models have full 4x4 locking systems. Great for the deep mud and back to 2 wheel for around corners and dry parts of the trail.

For what we use our 2002 AC 500i for, its been a great machine. Great on cold weather starts, excellent ground clearance, great for double riding my disabled son (ssshhhh, don't tell anybody), its auto tranny is great and fun to drive at the lower speeds.

On a negative side, our unit is too heavy for the faster dry trails. Somedays, I wish our AC was 300 lbs lighter. Or, we had a nice 250cc 2-stroke 2 wheel drive unit that has very little weight. Perhaps one day, we'll get a second machine. Only time will tell.... The other negative is a lack of functioning foot brake (for rear tires only). One day, I'm going to change the geometry of its cable swivel point (of its foot brake arm) and fix their math mistake. With its current geometry, their foot brake is useless.

On the positive side, I love the shaft drive on AC. Check its shared tranny oil, check its gas tank level and "away you go!!". No chain oiling / maintenance and sprocket replacements. And shaft drives are much better in the deep mud / snow.

From a driver control and comfort perspective, my 2002 AC is "a tank". And like many tanks, its suspension is near solid and one needs strong upper body strength to control its steering. Especially on the fast dry trails. Good thing I weigh 245ish lbs and have stronger upper arms. Its rear suspension is ok (for a tank) but its front springs are very stiff. I'm sure when we mount a front plow on our AC, it will have a much softer front suspension. But on the slow moving and deep mud trails, suspension isn't too critical to me. Ground clearance, traction and ability to pull heavy trailers is more critical.

Based on our driving conditions / needs, I'd probably keep my 2002 AC 500i until I'm age 80 (or so). After my kids are past their mini-quad and motocross adventure phases in life and are "in collage", my AC will be used to plow snow, pull a trailer to pickup leaves and maybe the odd trail ride to re-visit nature. And that's it.

If I had to do it again, I wished I waited 6 more months before purchasing. Would have bought the 2003 AC 500i-Auto that has factory double seat. Much safer for double riding my disabled son and with the longer wheel base, it would be much better pulling heavy trailers. When we bought our unit, the 2-UP seat design wasn't publically announced, and my AC dealer didn't tell me about it. For us, the single factory seat with rear combo (only for my light weight disabled son) & storage box of our 2002 meets our immediate needs.

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For dependability, she fires right up. In our extreme -35s weater, I give it 5 primes, full choke and she fires right up - every time. Bet the starter great on the engine doesn't even make one full turn. For a single rider who doesn't need "fast take off" or "high ground speed" and does mild mud / utility type work, the 2002 AC 500i is a pretty good Utility Quad.


Hope this helps....