Having just finished reading the "Buying An ATV" column. Especially the one from CDN viking. I think that Catlance and Cowboy need to get together and start a Cat dealership. With all the other people on that forum telling him what is better and what not to buy, you two convinced him with basically two posting to check out the AC and then he went out and bought 2. You guys are super salesmen. Of course, all it took was a test drive and he would of sold himself on them anyway, without any prompting, but AC wasn't even a consideration at the beginning.

 

I agree with the test drive thing. Arctic Cat is taking the Honda route to building a reputation. Its pretty much the idea now that they are extremely tough built and reliable machines. There will always be more faster and agile quads out there, but the AC's have their niche. Best bike for the buck, and the suspension sets it apart from most of the others in its class. Anyone looking for a long term quad can't help but look at an AC now. At least 3 times a year, I want more speed and start looking at SP500's and Grizzlies, and every year I back out because of the features the AC has.

 

Well said gentlemen. My father and I caught all kinds of greif from our friends about buying 2 acrtic cats. It wasn't long after that everybody wanted to ride our quads. They all rave about the rear end, hi-lo range tranny, good power, and how rattle and vibration free the machines are. Good traits when you like to ride from sun up to sun down. I think my dealer hit it right on the head when he said "I don't have to be pushy, the machines sell themselves once someone rides one."

 

The only reason I feel obligated to try to tell people about ACs is to offer an alternative against all the Honda & Polaris loyalists (dealers & riders). The ACs just don't yet have the brand name recogniton that the others have. I don't try to sell people on them, just steer them towards the ACs & let the machines sell themselves. The reason I knew about ACs when I went shopping is that I researched & bought 2 AC Tigershark PWCs in 1994. At the time, they were the most stable PWCs & the most powerful. I had a great experience with the PWCs & when I went looking for an ATV, Arctic Cat was the first brand I looked at. I did look at all of the brands, but honestly, I compared them all to the Arctic Cats & for my needs, none of them compared. Just my humble opinion. Have a great weekend everyone.

Lance

 

My 1998 for 3 years now has made a believer out of me. What a bang for the buck! With all the extra's you get with the 2001 models, it a bigger bang for the buck.

 

Well, I haven't purchased the Cat's yet, but I have decided that they are the ATV I'm going with.

You're right about Cowboy, Catlance and the rest who replied to my original posting. If they hadn't suggested I look at the Cats I would probably still be trying to decide between Honda and Polaris.

Once I saw and rode the Cat however, my mind was made up - these are the ATV's for me.

Now I just need to decide how I'm going to haul them and everything will be set!

Cheers,

 

Just a little heads up Viking, after you buy your Cats you may experience a noise coming from the front end while desending down hills in 4WD and using the foot brake. You may get a sort of noise best decribed as a clunk. Do not be alarmed, If you use the hand brake the noise will cease. The noise is caused by the uneven torque loads applied to the front differential rear wheel only braking. What you hear are the racheting cones engaging and disengaging. It is nothing to be worried about. I have close to 2000 miles on my Cat and I've had it only 10 months. It has been flawless. Also the Gas gauge will rattle for a while but, even that noise will go away after the gauge wears in.

 

I vote BONER for salesman of the Year for 2002!

 

I kind of have the same feelings as Catlance it seems. Anybody who is looking for a good utility quad, such as the 450s/es, ruby, grizz or sp really ought to check out the 'Cats. I seriously believe that for the money, you can't beat a 'Cat-for utility purposes. The guys on this forum here suggested I take a look at the Arctic Cat back when I was still shopping for an atv. At that time, my choices were narrowed down to the 450es, the sp500 and the grizz. I didn't even know AC made atv's! After digging through the archives on various machines, I became interested in the 'Cats, took a look at the AC forum and then found the nearest dealer. Like others have said, the 'Cats really sell themselves once you take a test ride. In fact, that's the first thing my dealer did was throw me the keys, said lets go for a drive-even before he knew my name!

As the old saying goes-"one shot, one kill", that's basically what it was, I was sold. I feel anyone who is looking for a tough, dependable, long lasting atv that is great for working, with a smooth ride to boot, really should consider the 'Cats. Gee, that kind of sounds like a Chevy commercial now doesn't it. Well, going along with that, the 'Cats as well as the Chev trucks are "like a rock".

Anyway, to end my soap, CHEERS TO AC FOR BUILDING A GREAT QUAD!!!

Mike

 

What I did to deserve that kinda title???