Hi, guys!

I just found this site and thought it would be a great place to ask a couple of questions about the Cat 500 LE. Is it a good one to get? I haven't had an ATV for quite a few years (my last one was an '83 200 Big Red Honda 3-wheeler). All my friends have 4 wheelers, so I sold my street bike and want to get a 4 wheeler. I have been looking at the '06 Cat 500 AT LE and was impressed, but I don't know much about 4 wheelers. Is it a tough, dependable, comfortable ride? I have heard some good things about them, but does anyone have any bad experiences? There is a CAT dealer 7 miles from me (the closest dealer of any kind) and I thought that would be a good place to buy because the service would be so close. Can anyone shed some light on my dilemma?

Thanks for your input!

 

The 500 Cat is a great machine . Arctic cat's are very tough and dependable , they are built a little more heavy duty than most , just take a good look at the frame and the a arms and also the racks , this adds a little weight but it makes for a tough quad
As for a comfortable ride , they are one of if not the plushest riding machines on the market .
Now consider they have more ground clearance , suspension travel , rack capacity , fuel capacity , towing capacity , 2" reciever hitch , standard diff lock , the MRP racks and a 2 year warranty it kind of makes you wonder why other manufactuers are still selling machines[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
If you have any more questions abvout the Cat's check out Arcticchat.com , not knocking this forum , it's a great site but Arctic chat is all Arctic cat all the time and there is real good bunch over there that are very friendly and helpful .[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Thanks, Slimegreencat. I will check out the other site as well as this one. I am looking for all the input I can get before forking over the cash to buy this machine! It is $9600 plus 14% tax here in Manitoba.

 

Yeah , us Canadians seem to get screwed on the price of quads [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] For the same machine in the states I think the price is around $6000 , almost half the price yet are average wage isn't double theirs [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]
Does that price include the $99 winch , my dealer wouln't budge on the list price but at least he threw in the $99 winch and gave me $200 in my choice of accessories . Does your dealer have any left over 05's . They didn't make any changes to the 500's from 05 to 06 so maybe you can get a deal on a 05 .

 

You may want to check out Austin sports centre for a price, I found Transcona Trailer sales to be quite pricey

I have an 02 500 cat auto and could not be happier with it, it is a tough as nails

 

Slimegreen: Our dealer here started out at $9800 with winch included (plus taxes). I offered him $9500 / winch and he decided $9600 / winch was the best he could do. All they have for 05's left is one 400 gear drive. He is blowing it out at $6700 plus tax, no winch.

Backwoods: Thanks for the advice on Austin. I have talked to them and they have nothing left for '05 and they didn't know when they might get some '06's and didn't seem too interested in selling me one anyway for some reason. But I did try Brandon RV and he would sell me an '06 500 AT LE for $9700 / winch (plus tax). Transcona Trailer Sales didn't have an '06 price list yet, but I find them to be quite competitive with their prices. They had one '05 500 AT when I talked to them last. It was $8450/winch (plus tax).

Thanks for the advice and opinions!

 

I bought the 2005 500 auto and wouldnt trade it for anything. It is my first ATV in fact I had never even drove a quad before I bought this (old 3-wheel guy) . Its a very tough machine and plenty of power. may lack just a bit of top end then "other" brands, but hey its about riding through trails and mud not around a race track. My friends have cats a 500 and a 2-up and they have never had a bit of trouble with them. The ground clearance is awesome, the rear mounted fuel tank is cool no gas tank between your legs. I paid $6300 out the door back in feb 2005

 

Just to give an update - there was changes from 05 to 06 but it is only the exhaust system. Far less restrictive, so the 06 has a little more go then the 05's. I love my 05 though and can always do an exhaust mod or change out the muffler to aftermarket. It's my first atv though and it's still powerful enough for me. Once I'm looking for a little more go, I will look into changing the exhaust.

Just wanted to let you know, since apparently the exhaust system is the BIG "bottleneck" of the potential power of an 05 500.

Cheers

 

Thanks for the advice and opinions. I have made my decision and told the dealer that I would take it. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] A 2006, Arctic Cat 500 AT LE, red in color. He says that it will be here at the end of next week, so I am hoping that the LE comes with the red bumpers that is on the Arctic Cat web site . The dealer doesn't think that it does, but he has never seen it so in a week we will both know for sure. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] If it doesn't come with the red bumpers, it soon will have them. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Now just to plan the goodies to put on it...... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Also for 06 they changed the front springs, you get a 3 year warranty instead of 2 and the speed ois analog, but you can switch it from MPH to RPM which sounds pretty cool f you ask me. That is why it goes up to like 110 I suppose.