Glad to see so many resonses to this.. Thanks everybody..
TREE- Yeah, i've welded more than a few dirt track and 1/4 mile rear ends together.. The thought had crossed my mind, but I wouldn't have admitted to it in public forum until somebody else did first.. hahahahaha..
I know of two guys that have A/C 500's with 26 and 27 inch Vamps... When riding together, there are always one or two holes that I have to push them out of because of the "lesser" AWD system. And every time, they cuss the "3x4" set-up and scream about wanting a locker.. Other than that, the bike seems to have MUCH better build quality than the Polari'.. (I'm prolly gonna get flamed for that one, but its the truth)
The local A/C dealer is a great guy. He was honest about every question i've asked... He does NOT have a problem with snorkels.. he actually will give ideas on how to get them on there right. He DID say that the AWD system is not as good as the Polaris because the differential won't power all four if you are "tweaked out of shape in a hole" He called it "Honda Syndrome"
Guess maybe I'll have to fire up the old Lincoln before its over with.

 

I have never ridden the Arctic Cat, other than a test drive at the dealer, but more than one source has printed in writing that the 2001 AC's do in fact have an automatic torque sensing front differential/True 4wd. The folks that held a shootout between the AC 500 and the Traxter XT for atv connection said that they were impressed with the 4wd system on the AC.
If I remember correctly, there have only been three machines to make it through this particular mud hole, the quads being: Polaris magnum, Arctic Cat 500 and the Traxter. Some of the quads that failed were: Suzuki Quadrunner 500, Honda Foreman 450 and Yamaha's Grizzly. Keep in mind this is comparing stock machines against other stock machines.

That said, I would tend to believe the reviews I've read and the manufactures literature.

 

The 2001 500 gear is using the same front differential as the 500 auto. It is a limited slip. It only has the two possible positions.
The 250 & 300 4x4 have a three position differential, 2wd,3wd,4wd. The drawback is the 250 doesn't have any linkage to change positions, but can be added with the newly available linkage kit for $59.95. The 300 only has linkage to support two of the three positions. This looks to me like it is due to the clearance between the upper A arm mount on the frame and the shift linkage. The Suzuki uses all three positions. If you would remove the shift linkage arm and adjust the position of the splined shaft on the front differential it is possible to have 3wd and 4 wheel lock but not 2wd. It just depends whether you are muddin or cow chasin.

 

Well you can listen to all kinds of hog wash from non-2001 AC owners or you can take the word of those that own one. You can also believe the shootout information that they did with the Bomb and the Cat. They didn't have any reason to lie to us. It made it through the hole that other machines couldn't over and over again. Give me one good reason why these people would lie. A good one now. Not something off the wall.
Another thing myself, Dependability is really important. If the machine did what they said it did in that shoot out, who can argue that its not an excellent buy.

 

I am talking with experience as an actual owner of a 2001 AC 500 manual. The front end DOES have a limited slip differential. It does take a few seconds to always kick in, but it does. I have over 700 miles on it riding in mud and snow and have had numerous occasions were both front tires have been spinning. To any doubters, send a blank video tape and I'll go out on a sandy hill, put it in reverse and have someone video BOTH front tires spinning where it easy to see it does work.