I was at my dealer today and he had a 300 4x4 & a 500a. Here are the changes that I seen. The cable operated foot brake is back, tubular A arms, AC front diff instead of Suzuki, shifter on left front fender ( really slick ), New muffler looks bigger but will probably not rub with bigger tires, New fan that sits right next to the back of the radiator, fan comes on at a certain temp does not run all the time like my 01, seat latch moved to the rear of the seat under fender, all new belt cooling system this looks like it will work at keeping water out of the belt (and it may even work on my 01 I only hope this is my only complaint), The ring and pinion ratio has been changed from 3.60 to 3.10 so it should have a little more top end, and of course the new plastic it looks good. I can't wait till the IRS bikes show up he said not till AUG. The 300 had titan tires (yeah) but the 500 had dunlop may pops on it (boo !). All in all they look really good. Not the bib bore that I had hoped for but I still think they can compete with the 660 and 650. The 600 Grizzly never seemed to have any more power than any of my ACs.

 

Did it look like there was more ground clearence on the new 500?

 

I didn't measure it but if there is I would guess it is from the taller tires. They are 25" but a taller profile. If you want ground clearance wait till the IRS bikes come out, he said they would drive over a 12" concrete block and not hit it. I will have to see this!

 

I know it is not like seeing it in person, but I saw them drive over a concrete block this past week on the new Arctic Cats Video that the saleslady showed me at my AC dealer. It was pretty neat! I was impressed! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

to me the new cats look like a jeep cherokee from the front, but nonetheless they look great. i just wish they would offer more colors. i wonder how the 500i will compare to the polaris sp500 ho.

disclaimer: that last line was not meant to invite anyone to start a slamfest; however, if anyone does decide to slam they will be swiftly paid back tenfold!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

Texascat is a loser. Texascat couldn't find his butt with a bell on it! Bring it on! Polaris rules![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

I love it! Drawing a line in the sand of central Texas! I would like to see how they compare too. Bigger carb, more compression, and some different gearing should make it interesting to say the least in the accelereation and top speed department for the cats. I haven't even thought about the cat's fully engaged belt system and new clutch milling vs. the polaris system.

Texascat, we're going riding one of these weekend on our land in Bastrop County. A bulldozer has made that place cool to ride. Tons of dirt and loose sand. Lots of creeks and washes to ride in too. Bone dry of course but fun to work on technical riding and really using the 4wd. Let me know if you are interested.

Dakota R/T