Hi guys,
I'm new to the forum here. Actually been watching for about three or four months from time to time. Back when I was shopping for my first ATV I found a lot of value in your opinions and comments here on the Cat. I looked at all of them. My son has a Polaris 500HO and considered that as well as others, but came across a 2001 500 Auto Cat and that's what I'm riding. Very satisfied to this point; no complaints; Use it mostly for hunting and yard work; firewood mostly. Do a little trail riding from time to time and that's a lot of fun, just need to find more time to do it. I live in Central Maine and am really looking forward to hunting season coming up this weekend. I have stands that are about a mile in the woods so this machine is just the ticket.
One brake question:
My front brakes squeel a lot and haven't been able to quiet them down. I have used compressed air and brake cleaner for a start. I bought the machine with about 300 miles so assume that the brakes were burnished when new, but didn't do it myself so am just assuming. Any help would be appreciated!
hearthethunder in Maine
ps - "hearthethunder" is a product of things that go bang; firearm reloading and Harleys a favorite!

 

Good to hear from you and welcome. I'm itching for hunting season too only it looks like I won't have any time this year. Since your cats has already got some miles on it check to make sure the pads are not already worn out. I only got 250 miles on my first set. Some guys have gotten over 800-1000 miles on a set of pads. The metal backing plate makes a loud noise on the rotors when the pads are worn away. Minehunter turned me on to another idea that has worked like a charm and that is to put a piece of duct tape on the back of the pads to stop the high pitched vibration that makes the brake noise. You won't be able to spray the pads down with brake cleaner after that since it will eat the adhesive. Another area of noise in the brake department is the rear footbrake, the pads just flop around in there and can make some noise on the manual 500 cats since they have a mechanical footbrake. Don't know if is a problem on the 500 auto cats with the hydralic footbrake assembly. Mud and grit are a brake pads worst enemy. Keep them clean when possible. I hope these suggestions help out and good luck this season.

Dakota R/T

 

..Appreciate your response. I wouldn't have even thought that the pads might be worn that quickly. I'll look at that for sure! The duct tape is a good idea too. I'll try anything to quiet that noise down. I'm careful about the idea of the ATV and hunting, not just my own interset, but for other hunters as well. This will be my first year hunting with the use of the Cat (or any other ATV). It will be especially handy with my dad who is in his mid seventies now and the idea of walking very far to hunt is out of the question. There are some nice areas where I go and he'd love to be able to get out there just to set for the afternoon until dark. I'm not comfortable with taking the Cat in in the morning just because of the other hunters in there...don't want to upset things for them or myself. Getting in in the afternoon would be okay and park the thing out of the way, cover it up and get in our stands until dark.
Thanks again for your help. I'll put those suggestions to good use.
hearthethunder in Maine