I don't own an AC, but hope too, someday. I also believe Honda is over rated. I won't go into alot of detail here, things like disk brakes all around, and STEEL floor boards, to me, mean better machine. I just wish folks that don't have a clue, would give AC a better look when they get ready to buy. Honda has been living off their name for too long, they are starting to wake and smell the biscuits burning (market share going away).[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Give me a break, $7000+ with drum brakes makes no sense to me. There are several reasons I like the AC but these have already been mentioned. I'll shut up now. Go buy the AC and tell us how much you like it, next week. Let us know what you buy Saturday night, if your not riding all night.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Can you say Kawasaki Prairie 650? If I was getting a utility I would get it for many reasons. Everybody seems to like them, the throttle response it like a sport quads, it looks cool, it has a high resale value, you will outrun the Arctic Cats and Grizzly 660s, and the front locking differential. The locking differential is very important for mudding, and will get you out of basically everything. It is also very sporty, and you will probably wish you had gotten something more sporty if you get the AC. I would seriously consider the Kawi 650, at least go test ride one. I wouldn't go for the Grizzly, it sputters in the deep water and is slower than the Kawi. Oh yeah, it is only a little more than the AC 500 too, the ones at my dealer are $6500.

 

Corndog-
Great post! I like the "new you"! Keep up the good work man, and Best of Luck to ya!

Mike

 

What did you get?

 

I hope you guys will forgive me, I bought a yellow 2002 Rubicon. I had every intention yesterday of buying an Arctic Cat 500 Auto, but after riding it a couple more times and working out the price I just couldn't convince myself to go away from Honda. Don't get me wrong, I think Arctic Cats are great machines, just not quite right for me.

So, am I still welcome on the AC board? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

You bought a Rubicon [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

 

As long as you have a good attitude us Arctic Cat owners don't really care who comes in here. We just don't like the rudness that so many other forums have grown to have.

I think everyone will aggree with me there.

 

Without reading anything other than the original post, I will say this. The AC benefits are the semi-independant swingaxle (big one there) and the 2wd capability. If those two factors are not vastly important to you, get the Rubicon. The only other issue I can think about is the factory tire clearance if you want big tires on there.

I've ridden a Rubicon and it really felt nice. Much better feeling than a 450. Better steering, better ride. Power came on neat with the wierd *** transmission.

As far as speed, my 660 absolutely smokes the Rubicon, the Rubicon beats a 454 AC, but not by near the distance that the Grizzly beats the Rubicon by.

If you are comparing for buying purposes, look into the 500i model. The stakes go up when you ad the IRS into the picture I think, and the 500i looks like its going to be a winner.

For mudding purposes, I don't see any advantage with a Rubicon. I watched one with new 589's get stuck right behind my cousin on his 454 with bald 489 Titans, and neither were going anywhere.

Still, the Rubicon is a nice one to get. The only thing I can tell you is that I'm glad its you and not me. Trying to decide between quads is a headache.