I don't personally know anyone that owns an A.C. and I've only ridden one for a short ride at the dealership. Everything I've ever read says the rocker shifter is the biggest down-fall of A.C., I know not to believe everything I read but without a chance to have some hands on riding time it's about the only information around, other than this forum of course. Can you guys give me some ideas as to how the rocker shifter is to operate, has it caused you any problems or aggravation? Seems like I read that A.C. now sells a replacement shifter, have any of you tried this? Thanks for any info.

 

Well all I can say is give it atleast 6 hours of riding before you make your decision. After 3 hours I didn't even realize I was shifting it with my heal, it just became a second nature thing. It does give me problems in some situations, but others it helps.

Bad shifting situations:
Riding with a passenger
standing up

Good shifting situations:
standing on one side of the bike(like on side hills)
wearing big boots
Wearing sandles


Well thats all I can think of right now. I will add that I only know of one person that has swaped his out to a Toe shifter, thats Grizzlyrules. I'm considering TRYING that my self, but I'll probaly wait till marengo and ride his if he lets. Then see if it's worth it then.

 

Boner is right, when you have big boots on, such as 4-buckle arctics the rocker shifter is the only way to go. My brother has an old Yamaha Big Wheel and I put a hole in a pair of 4-buckle arctics from where I was shifting that bike.

 

Same same same. Its harder to shift standing up, and easier in a few other places. Its by no means hard to get used to, and the downfall thing is a crock of $h!t. Its different, and thats enough for a magazine to knock it. Basically, they came up with it at the time when only the polaris automatics offered full floorboards. The rocker was the first way to put floorboards on a manual atv. Nobody else had done it at that time. Polaris found a way to do it with a regular shifter when they made the Expedition, but that was a few years later. Arctic Cat just kept theirs the same. They do of course offer the regular shift lever, but thats just personal preference. I rode for 5 hours today and a couple yesterday and once again had no qualms about it.

 

I ride a Honda Recon and my buddy rides a 2000 AC 300 4x4. We swap back and forth and I'll admit that the heel and toe shifter takes some getting used to. But once I was used to it, I prefer it to the toe shifter on my Recon. The only downfall I see is that it forces your left foot slightly farther outboard to avoid accidentally hitting the shifter.

As far as the magazines go, these guys test ATVs all the time and are constantly jumping from one to the other. Anything different is going to be an annoyance. For example, I presonally feel Honda's reverse mechanism is a pain in the A$$ and that Artic Cat's reverse mechanism is far superior. But have you ever seen anyone praise this feature on the AC? Or the start in gear feature on the AC? Both of these are huge advantages over the Honda IMHO.

Other observations about my buddy's AC 300 4x4. It rides MUCH smoother than my Recon and carries a load or a passenger much better. It is not quite as snappy as the Recon and won't turn as tight. It does have a higher top speed than the Recon. The fatigue factor is much less on the AC, on the AC300 the steering is lighter (in 2WD anyway) and the thumb throttle requires much less effort than the Recon's. These may seem like little things, but they add up after a long ride on a cold day. The Recon has a slightly higher fun factor for popping wheelies, sliding corners, and higher speed trail riding. Another friend has a Honda 300 4x4, and there is no comparison, the AC is by far the more capable machine.

I am planning to buy a 4x4 ATV this year and the AC300 4x4 is currently topping my list. I should have some comparisons to the Honda Rancher 4x4 soon.

 

If you switch back and forth between machines it can be a hassle, but once you are used to the rocker shifter, they work great. Our neighbor has 2 AC machines, and are much easier to shift with big, bulky boots than my Honda. Does take a little getting used to, though.

 

here is 1 pic of my footshifter on my cat (go to "Z71/Jeep,Vette,Cat"....http://photos.yahoo.com/grizzlyrules504

 

Hey Boner
Did you say you were going to ride the Suicide Ride? I'm hoping to get in on that ride. I just read that you have to register for it this year because they are only going to let so many people in.

The address for registering is www.cdsatvaccessories.com

Are you going to ride the Belle Cote?

 

IF thats true then I'll tell my buddies about it.

I don't think I will be at Belle Cotte, it's too early. Marengo is on the last day of school, so I can miss that day. I don't think my dad would be to happy if I missed for Belle Cotte.

Might go to FWP this summer.

 

Once you ride it for a few hours its second to none. Its nice having full floor boards.
Thanks