I got a chance to go riding ATV's for the first time this past weekend. My buddy let me ride his Honda Foreman 400. While I found this ATV to have plenty of torque and pretty good acceleration, I was really dissappointed in its top speed. We were riding one wide open roads but at 35mph it felt like the engine was screaming. It probably had another 10mph in it but I didn't want to abuse someone else's equipment. I had been wanting a new 500i next spring but I'm wondering how it would compare to the foreman that I rode. Would it be able to cruz at a higher speed without buzzing the engine so much? How would the Arctic Cat 400 compare to the Arctic Cat 500 in speed and acceleration?

Thanks

 

The 500 AC would cruise a lot easier than that Foreman 400, and would do so at lesser RPM's. The AC's seem to rev lower than most honda's, especially the smaller ones. They get their torque at a lower rpm, so after it builds up to 40mph, it doesn't roll over a whole lot of rpms to hold it there. The 500 compared to the 400 AC is probably similar as well. If you were racing, the AC would smoke the 400 foreman handily. That particluar machine is not very fast, acceleration wise or top end either one.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]I put the gps on mine last night and got 52.4 mph on level ground, with 5 psi in the 27" 589s. I wasn't hitting the rev limiter and I only have 126 miles on it. So I only expect it to go up. The motor still feels a little tight but it seems to rev a little freer. This will smoke a 400 foreman and a 450 for that matter. The most I ever got out of my 500auto was 48 and that was with the same tires and 600 miles on the bike.

 

From what I understand, of all of the quads out there, the Honda 400 is the least sporty. Essentially this is Honda's workhorse, and its a very capable one at that. But as for speed, agility and suspension, it just doesn't compete with many of the other machines. That's why the Foreman 400 was slow. As for the AC, I don't have one (yet), but from what the local dealer told me, they should get 55-60 mph easily by the time they're broken in. I'm pretty sure the 2002s have a faster gear ratio than their previous generation so speed shouldn't be a problem. Also, unlike the Foreman 400, once you nail the gas, there's plenty of suspension (in either i or ACT designs) to deal with the speed [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]. Happy riding.

 

I don't think that I will ever see 60, at least on the gps. The speed ometer reads about 57 or so at a true 52. The only 4x4 quads that will do 60mph is the 02 Grizzly and the 650 Prarie, don't say Scrambler because I had one it was good for 57mph on the gps and that was with a jet kit and K&N. So I hope you don't think that a AC will run 60mph, but there are not to many that will leave you especially with bigger tires and the higher gears of the 02s. But is still no speed demon by any means.

 

I've been able to get 59 out of my AC 500's speedometer, but I've never gotten over 52 on a gps with it. Even with 27" tires. I can get 65 out of the 02 Grizzly's speedometer, but again, the GPS is reading dead on at 60mph at that time. One thing is for certain, ATV speedometers are not the most accurate. Digital or otherwise. I think that when I switch out my tires, I will get a more accurate reading on the Griz though. The stockers measure out to almost 24" with 4.5psi. The Claws are around 26.5".

 

I saw a '99 400 riding pretty impressively a few weeks ago. It could have passed for a 500 in my mind. Any idea how fast a Rubicon will go?

IceCat: The dealer is most likely going by the speedo. And just like most of you said the speedo claims faster than the machine is actually going. I doubt the dealer was trying to tell a lie, but who knows?

 

Gentlemen, I stand corrected. It's not like a dealer has never stretched the truth before, huh? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Still, a true GPS reading of 50+ mph is not that bad. It certainly will outrun the Foreman 400 (but then again, so will a light jog). [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Anyway, thanks for the clarification.