For those who are interested, I took a few measurements of the 'Cat after the install of the 'Claws, and what I found was rather amazing.

With the 'Claws mounted, and running at 6.5 lbs. pressure in front, with 6 lbs. in the rear, I went from 9" at the skid plate, clear up to 11" at front skid plate. Floor boards raised from around 10", clear up to 12", and the rear diff. went from around 8", or just under, all the way up to 10". I don't know how this is possible, due to the fact that the stock tires are supposed to be 25", and the 'Claws are supposedly 27". Theoretically, this should only give a 1" gain in total clearance, though in actual measurements, I gained at, or slightly over 2" all the way around. Only other measurement I took was the front rack height, which turned out to be 34", just out of curiousity.

I'm sorry I didn't take actual tire measurements yet-started raining pretty hard, so I decided an ice cold beer, kicked back in a recliner sounded much better than an ice cold rain, kicked out under the 'Cat. Will check on that later, when the weather looks a little better. If anybody is interested in any other measurements, let me know, I'll check those as well.

Hope that helps those who may have been curious. Keep in mind though, I took these with all weight on machine that I normally run with, to get more "true" figures. Those that do not run with extra weight may very well see higher ground clearance numbers than what I have found.

Mike

 

I have 12" at the front skid plates, 10.5" under the motor at the skid plate and 9" at the rear differential skid plate.

I think Arctic Cat moving the differential drain plug helps the ground clearance of the 2000 and later model quads. (Addng another reason to buy a 2001 model 500 manual now)

 

Cowboy,

That rain sure screws up the deer hunting doesn't it!! Any luck yet??

We went up today to our hunting spot, checked out our stands, installed a new one that I think will be mine, & just cruised around. Didn't see any deer, but scared up a lot of Turkey & one dead Beaver. I'm starting to get the itch but we have to wait until the second Sat. in Nov. for our Rifle Deer season.

Anyways, let us know how the claws work in the snow & muck, I'm sure they will be killer!!!

Lance

 

I got my *** wet yesterday as well, the only difference was it was in the mid 50's here. Not so miserable.

I guess that clears up the questions on the clearance gains. And you wonder why I had to argue so much with that one guy that was doubting my figures because the math didn't seem right.

Boner will have better clearance up front because he has Tri-claws there and they do stand up higher than the bi-claws. Thats enough to put his front end up a little higher. He also has a good point about the drain plug on the newer models.

 

Andy:
Yeah, rain in the mid 50's is still chilly, but at least bearable. This was pouring rain in the upper thirties, low forties, so it was down right cold! All day it was miserable.

Yeah since you mentioned it, I remember now you having to argue about your own measured gains. I still can't believe it on my own machine, just doesn't add up right, but hey, I checked it twice, then even had my buddy measure to make sure I wasn't making some mistake somewhere. Oh well, definately an added bonus to get that much more clearance out of them.

It was funny though, while I was out hunting the other day, I took off up this hill after a few deer I had spotted, and when I looked back, my buddy was no where to be seen. I went back and looked, and as it turned out, he couldn't get the traction to climb the same hill, and ended up having to go around, to a lesser incline. All the rain had really made things slick and muddy, lots of clay as well. The claws really performed well, I had to keep looking over my shoulder to make sure my buddy was still behind me.

Catlance:
Well, the other day looked much better, even though it was so miserable. We found 3 big bucks, one of which I never even could make out a rough estimate on points. I was scoping this hillside, through the rain and fog, saw this bush start moving. Then, the bush popped up, and was attached to a pair of ears, and a head. I couldn't see a body, just the head and rack, thing was huge, but way too far out for a shot in that kind of weather. Tried to get closer to him, but he dropped over the ridge into the next canyon. We followed him for 3 more canyons, and found 3 more good sized bucks along the way, but were busy tracking the big boy. Had we not have been so greedy, we both could have bagged a couple 3 pts. Not sure how you measure back in your area, but here in Washington, it's a 3 pt. minimum, on one side of the antler. That does include eyeguards, if they are over 1" long. Anyway, it got dark earlier than normal due to the rain and fog, so we had to give up the chase, return home. I'm affraid the season is now over for deer for the most part. Whitetail is still on till the 27th in a specific area, with a 3 pt. min, but I've really only seen mulies in that area. May got up to check it out, but don't have too high of hopes. Late season is mid Nov. for a few days, so I'll try again then. Elk opens on the 28th, so hopefully that will turn out a little better.

Mike

 

I think the thing that the one guy couldn't figure out was that the stock tires don't measure up to what they say under the weight of the quad. My 26" tires are only 24.5" when I measure them. Claws are true to size, even under the weight.

The thing I have to do now is make some kind of rear skidplate for the axle. My plastic one is busted, and every time I hit a rock, I have to get off to check the drain plug to make sure that its not loose.

It shouldn't be too hard to make that thing, but it still needs to be done. I need to do that pretty soon too.

 

Another reason could be the Lack of extra weight, but he also has those spacers on his shocks.

 

My best guess would be the new tires didn't squash nearly as much under the weight of your ATV. I know most stock tires have a fairly round profile, so I suppose they measure the very tallest part of the tire, not how tall it will realistically be on the machine.

 

Boner:
Yeah, I put the 3/8" up front, with nothing in the rear, and went from 7.5" at skidplate to 9". Then, after installing the 'Claws, I went from 9" at skidplate with 3/8" spacer, clear up to 11" at skidplate with 'Claws. That's a hell of a gain for tire size alone!

Anyway, I pulled out the 3/8" spacers, and installed the 1/2" -man, that was a b_tch!- then put the 3/8" in the rear. Interesting bit here-no clearance gains what so ever! Even with going from 3/8" to 1/2" spacers, I didn't gain anything, still sitting at 11" which was same as with the 'Claws and 3/8" spacers.

On a side note, if anybody is thinking of adding spacers, I'd suggeting going with the 3/8", not the 1/2". Reason is, the 1/2" didn't give me any more clearance than the 3/8", and the ride is much more stiff now. Suspension travel is great, but it is getting closer to the ride of a one-ton superduty now. I think it would rattle your teeth out if you ran with the 1/2", and no weight up front. I have just enough weight that it balances out OK, but you can tell a big difference between the 3/8" and 1/2".

Hope that helps,

Mike

 

Claws have a major stiff sidewall. They don't go down much at all under the weight. They are also the right size or taller when they aren't mounted, where a lot of tires are less. Check out the Dirtwheels tire thing to see some actual measurements.