when i chose mine it showed the projected growth for 1 year 3 year 5 year and 7 years. some of them were negative for the first year then would grow after that some would only grow for 5 years and then decline after that. so i chose a couple that would only gain about 5 percent or so within the first year. which is the safe way of doing it then i got two in the growth category and one in the aggressive where i can either gain alot or lose alot i believe that one is natural resources. the old saying don't put all your eggs in the same basket routine works well. i do keep a close eye on what they are doing throughout the quarter probably check it once every other week or so. if one of them isn't doing up to par i will take the 20 percent off of that particular one and spread it throughout the other 4 or invest in a different one. but real estate and natural resources have been doing great for me and the other three have been growing a little bit but i would rather them be growing then going backwards.

 

So are we comparing off road atvs, dirtbikes and snowmobiles to cars, trucks and tvs.
I think they call that apples to oranges.

Anyway, will you two take it out to playground, I want to hear about the Prowler.

 

So are we comparing off road atvs, dirtbikes and snowmobiles to cars, trucks and tvs.
I think they call that apples to oranges.

Who are they?
I call it my cash and standing behind commitments

Anyway, will you two take it out to playground, I want to hear about the Prowler.[/quote]


.

Sorry Back to the Prowler

Arctic Cat, a long time maker of snowmobiles and ATV's, steps into the side-by-side off-road utility vehicle market with the introduction of its Prowler XT 650 H1. Polaris and Yamaha, among others, have their version of the off-road utility vehicle. Each has become very popular in the last few years for all types of uses -hunting, working around the farm and just plain fun. Arctic Cat decided it was time to jump into the mix and offer their version of a multi-passenger work horse. A quick glance of the features and specifications tells us they didn't hold back! Let's take a brief look at these three machines.At-a-glance each features a liquid-cooled 4-stroke power plant with automatic, on-demand 4WD transmissions. Comparing engines specs, the Prowler comes with a 650cc engine, the Rhino 660cc, the Ranger 500cc and Ranger XP has 683cc. (We are comparing 4x4 models. Polaris does also have a 2WD model with a 653cc engine). Reportedly, the Prowler motor sits between the seats while the others are positioned more toward the rear. After hands-on testing, we know the Rhino motor sits between the seat as well, purposely positioned not too far to the front to drag the Rhino forward on steep decents, or too far back to make it prone to wheelies. If Prowler's motor is even farther forward, look for it to be placed at about the knees, reducing floorboard space? We aren't sure, and will have to check it out in person. The Prowler and the Rhino both have independent double wishbone suspension on the front and rear, while the Ranger has MacPhearson struts on the front and independent suspension on the rear. The Prowler is the widest, has the most suspension travel, and has more ground clearance than the Rhino and the Ranger. The Arctic Cat has more ground clearance due to it having the larger tires of the three.The Rhino has the lightest dry weight of 1,049 pounds, with the Prowler coming in at 1,160 pounds and the Ranger came in the heaviest at 1,185 pounds. We find it odd that the Polaris has the smallest motor but claims the highest bed capacity (1000 pounds) and towing capacity (1,500 pounds) of these three utility vehicles. [Editor's Note - thanks to sharp reader Ron Heater for pointing out that this is due to the lower gearing on the Ranger.] We are excited to see Arctic Cat step up and build an off-road utility vehicle and can't wait to try one out! Now the only question is when will Honda step up? Side-by-Side Comparison: Arctic Cat Prowler Yamaha Rhino Polaris Ranger 4x4 XP
Displacement 641cc 660cc 683cc
Bore & Stroke 98x85 100x84 N/A
Cooling System Liquid w/ fan Liquid w/ fan Liquid
Transmission Auto Auto Auto
Drive System 2/4 WD 2/4 WD 2/4 WD
Width/Length/Height (in) 61.25/115/77.5 54.1/113.6/73 60/113/75
Wheel Base (in) 75 75.2 76
Suspension Travel (F/R) 10/10 7.3/7.3 8/9
Ground Clearance (in) 12.5 12.1 11
Suspension Type (F/R) A-Arm/A-Arm A-Arm/A-Arm Struts/Independent
Brakes (F/R) Hydraulic-Disc Hydraulic-Disc Dual Hydraulic
Tires Size (F/R) 26x9-14/26x11-14 25x8-12/25x10-12 26x8-12/26x11-12
Fuel Capacity (Gallons) 8.2 7.9 8.5
Box Capacity (lbs) 600 400 1000
Under Hood Capacity 25 N/A N/A
Towing Capacity 1500 1212 1750
Speedometer/Odometer Digital/Digital N/A N/A
Dry Weight (pounds) 1160 1049 1185
MSRP $9,499 $9,199 $10,299

 

Does Cat make there 650 engine thats in this prowler or is it another companies engine? Doesnt their 500 use a suzuki motor? Im wondering if the 650 has a Kawasaki vtwin 650. Some kawis have been known to have blown seals that cause the belt to slip after only a few miles on them, im not to familiar with cats but have been looking at them lately, thought i might try one out if i found one i liked.

 

The 650 in the Prowler is the same as in the H1, it is Arctic Cat's own engine. The 500 is the Suzuki. Only the 650 V2 uses the Kawasaki engine.

 

Suzuki owns 30% of AC

Shonk

 

Hey shonk how do ya like that v2, it has the kawi engine? Does it run like the kawis do, or is it "detuned" any, I heard the 500 doesnt quit have the hump of the actuall suzuki, was wondering if the 650 is the same. I may be intersted in one if they are reliable, like i said i havnt seen to many cats around so dont know much about them.

 

I think it is up to 42% now.

 

Yes the V2 is detuned. You will need to spend $200 for a new CDI to fix that. As far as the 500's from Suzuki, it is the exact same and not detuned for Arctic Cat. Often people think it is because the 500 Cat is heavier then the Vision. Causing it to be slower.

Arctic Cats are very reliable in my book. Everyone has their lemons though. Check out the H1. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

The 30% (or 40%) ownership of AC by Suzuki raises some interesting thoughts. I recently read Suzuki and Kawasaki broke off their cooperative agreement. Exactly what that means I do not know, but it may have serious implications for AC, specifically the 650V2. AC just spent a large percentage of its available R&D on the Prowler and H1 engine. That means they may not have a lot of available cash for significant new products and/or innovation in the near term. This could have serious implications if AC wants to effectively compete in the marketplace. I am constantly struck by the amount of machine we are able to purchase for our dollars - a lot of engineering for the money. There just can't be a lot of net profit in them to finance large development projects, particularly on the heels of the H1 and Prowler. I wonder how much of ATV development costs are being carried by AC sleds.

We all know AC had a EFI ready in 2001. It didn't make production because AC didn't feel there were enough customers ready to make the price point, estimated at $1000 higher. Right now Polaris, Suzuki and Bombbardier each have EFI on their large machines and there is a lot of pressure to bring EFI down the model line. AC customers want the same. There exists the possibility AC could loose its 650V2 engine because of the Suz-Kaw split, and at the same time not have the cash needed for significant R&D...who knows what could happen. This could be very interesting...stand by.