If you're running big tires, lifts, any quad is going to break axles, and go through bushings. There's a lot more mass that is taxing all them components beyond what they were designed for. I haven't changed any bushings in mine yet, but when I do, I'm going to upgrade to either Teflon of polyurethane, as they will last a lot longer than stockers. I'm pretty easy on my gear, but I know guys that pound their machines relentlessly and they seem to never break. And yes, they're Cats

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bluethumb
for one thing i dident have a lift in my cat.
and all i said was stay away from big tires the cats axels cant take them.
besides i have bigger tires on my kawasaki and almost the same miles and i havent had any troubles with it.
also i put my honda and kawasaki through more then my cat and have had nothing happen to them yet.
my honda had over 2000 miles and my kawi has 1800 miles and work as good as new.
my first trouble was at 50 miles with the cat.
a cracked airbox then at 800m i broke an axel then another at 1100m then at 2000m both rear axels and all the frontend bushings and 2 ball joints.
then another axel and the front diff at 2700 m
so like i was saying stay away from the bigger tires.
and thats what my first comment was saying.
if you stick with the stock size you should be trouble free for a long time.
and all the people who made comments on this (dependability) topic all have stock tires or only one size bigger so they havent had anything like this happen to them and if thay are useing bigger tires thay dont ride it much and have low miles on them.
all my troubles were fixed under warrenty but after the last time it broke thay said this is the last time we fix it under warrenty.
so i got rid of it befor it started to cost me money.

 

ps bluethumb
how many miles have you put on your cat since you put the bear claws on yours.

 

I guess I have about 900 miles on the Bearclaws. Keep in mind that I have the straight axle rear end in mine. Besides that fact, the 03 500's were notorious for breaking axles, some did with stock tires on. However, they're not like that any more. I'm actually looking at one, it's an 03 with 600 miles on it, for about $5 grand. I looked at the price of axles, about 340 for stock replacements and about $369 U.S. for Gorillas. I really can't complain about my Cat, I've had very little problems with it, and being a 400, it's really good on fuel even with the bigger boots on.

 

you are right SLIMEGREENCAT a fellow canuck I am. With windshield, heated grip+thumb, 2up seat box, pegs for 2 up, plow,front bumper, winch and the governments share (14%) it will tally up to $11300 to $11500 canadian depending on dealer. Thats why I want to make the right decision. Which brings me to the question of resale. How are the ac's doing compared to the others? Like I said before there isnt very many people around here with them, let alone selling them.

 

You know CATS do have 9 life's.....lol...

 

I find that people around our area tend to hang on to their quads a lot longer than in other areas. I'm like that, I'll keep the 400, and buy another machine. They hold their value relatively well, you will take a loss if you're selling a used quad, people are wary about buying them, because of the unknown. If you're looking for a quad based solely for its future resale value, I'd say buy a Honda, or buy a used quad and drive it until it dies. The 04 and newer Cats are very good machines, the 500's are about the best out there IMO.

 

I hear ya there. I run the 28" Mudzilla's. Sweet tires. They look pretty sweet sitting on my trailer on a busted ATV. That thing has spent about a week busted, to every hour of driving it.