Due to the law change in NC, in order to legally ride two-up you have to have a ATV built for two-up. I have a child with a disability who loves to ride withme so I am having to find one. Currently I have an 04 Polaris Sportsman 600 which I love. I have looked at the Polaris X2 and was not impressed with it.

I have a chance to buy a 2004 Arctic Cat 500TRV at a good price. Here are my questions. I have never ridden an Arctic Cat so I don't know how it rides compared to the Polaris. Any comparison woul dbe appreciated. (I have briefly ridden a Bombardier 650 Outlander MAx XT) We ride in a lot of Mud and also the Hatfield McCpy trails. HJow will it handle the mud (not worried about Trails)? It does not have a winch. (I am mechanically inclined-so I can mount one). How hard is it to do?..

One weird thing (maybe just an Arctic Cat thing). The only guage on this machine is a speedometer. No Tac, hour or any other guages. I would think it being a 04 that those other guages would be standard. Any advice or help would be appreciated..

Thanks

 

Those are very solid ATV's. I almost bought one too. The ride quality is really plush, the extended wheelbase helps a lot and it has some better shocks then the regular 500. Power isn't going to be as good as your 600, but is isn't too bad either. They are actually pretty good in the mud too, only thing is that is doesn't have the front diff-lock. And yes, I would put a winch on there ASAP. You are correct on the speedo, they didn't add the advanced one until 2005 for some odd reason. So all you get is the speedometer and some dummy lights.

For the price I am sure it can't be beat when you compare it to new ones. However if you are interested in somethign newer and more powerfull Arctic Cat is coming out with there 650 H1 TRV in the next couple of months. But then again you are looking as some serious cash. Good luck to you. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

dont let the lack of gauge setup disurage you the ride will be better than your pol due to the extra lenth i enjoyed my 2003 so much i bought a 2006 they are the best two up atv out there! i love the set setup, the speed rack, and the engine is bullet proof you will love riding this bike!