As usual, everyone assumes it is 100% the machine that decides if you are getting through the mud or not. I love my Cat to death, but it is the RIDER that makes as much difference as the machine.

Fact: Same machine, same rider, mud tires WILL go through more than stockers.

Technically you have 1.75" less clearance, but that's mostly irrelevant, because that little won't save you 9 times out of 10.

Weez- it would take a miracle for someone to NOT come in and refute buckaroo's statement that AC's are THAT much better than everything, because they aren't. There are just as many people that have problems with AC as there are with any other brand. It's a machine, it's gonna break and there are going to be lemons.

Again, I love my Cat but on the trails there are a lot of machines that can take the corners faster. My Cat is heavy, has a high center of gravity, and long travel suspension. I don't care who you are, but a Kawie Prairie is going to out corner it because it is lower and has a SRA. Just because someone rides with a guy that can't outcorner you with another machine doesn't mean that a big, high, heavy Cat actually handles better.

Not any ONE machine is the best at everything.

 

Interesting!!! I think AC is doing a great job. Think about this point. They only manufacture one of their own motors, the H1 which has awesome low and mid range torque. But the other motors come from Suzuki and the v2's were the kawie 650 vtwin motor. So this frees them up to concentrate on making all the rest of the components and frame much better. To me, AC's are like the hummer of atv's. The new AC's are built very good and I wouldn't have a problem owning one any day of the week.

 

One of the best things that I did for my AC was to put 1 inch wheel spacers on each corner. So far the 50" wide stance had not caused a problem for me for narrow situations, but the bennifits are awsome. I handles like a dream, the center of gravity has been lowered, and the off-camber situations now are tremendous. I have been able to put one side in ruts and have the other side ride high and dry so to speak, so in effect it is almost like gaining ground clearance, because I can straddle wide enough to get in an off-camber possition. For me a win win situation. If I need to squeeze between two trees and can't, I will go another route or cut the sucker down -lol.... I have gained in wheel travel because of the wider arc and the suspension for small bumps has really smoothed out because of the added leverage. So that trade off for me is livable, to deal with that once a year narrow situation that I may or possibly may not encounter.

Like they say - different strokes for different folks. I like to see people with other brands, then I giggle as I watch them put the big bucks into their machines for the necessary mods. I have said before, on flat fast trails/roads - yes, they wait for me (with the spacers and better handling, probably their wait won't be quite as long). But once off those fast trails/roads I wait for them (they can't negitiate the bumps as well or they are stuck or spending too much time avoiding obstacles). I don't know too many people that spend too much time on flat trails/roads. I only spend enough time on the flat trails/roads to get to the next challenging or fun trail. If all I wanted to do was to ride fast then I would not have a utility type machine.

My feelings are that AC gives you a pretty good package and bang for your bucks. With no mods to anything you can go out and have a good time and experience things that other machines have to spend bucks on mods to be able to do. To me that is a win situation. And at the end of a ride I am less tired because the suspension and clearance has allowed me not to dodge every pebble in my way, but to straddle them or drive over them with comfort, and not to mention energy spent from being stuck half the day.