Hey dude's, tobyo1 I got a 400-I and put the tire's like chris's, no, no,no,yes,yes! , they proved you don't need a sway bar , Me and my son went riding yesterday I couldn't keep up with him , he had the I said he didn't relaize he was going that fast. unreal ride.

 

Hey icecat,
well I DID cry, but that's OK, I only cry during serious times. Besides I'm seeing a therapist now and she says I should get in touch with my emotions and let out my pain (he he, just kidding). Hope you really love you 500i, let me know how that all goes, hope you have a great dealer like mine. thanks, I'll be carefull

Hey jeepersmitty,
you are correct about the width. That was one of my negatives AND positives with it, but is was necessary to maintain good balance and stability with increased GC and travel. I suspect there will be times when I will be too wide (not me!, my ATV), but hasn't happened yet.

Hey Toby01,
1-It is tall, but isn't tippy, they have significantly widened the i models and the placement of the shocks and suspension makes it very balanced and stable.
2-So far the mud flaps have been OK, however, I haven't had many opportunities to get in the deep stuff. I do suspect they are insufficient for the new width though in deep mud. They don't seem to be any problem on the trails or dirt roads with little mud holes.
3-As for the sway bar, absolutely not. A sway bar, in my opinion, should not be needed with a good suspension design. Sway bars will take away from articulation (thus their name, anti-sway bar), which is needed where the suspension needs tightening for hard cornering and such. But they truly did an AWESOME job on this suspension, so no sway needed AT ALL.
4-Yes the width on mine is over 48" wide tire to tire (obviously not mud flap to mud flap). Most are about 43 to 45 inches wide. But part of what makes this suspension, GC and Travel work is they extra width. I believe the i models would be a dangerous ATV without their extra width. When it comes to width, every tenth of an inch counts, so 3 to 5 inches, is extremely wider. I will warn that, you may find yourself in tight situations with the extra width, but hasn't been a problem for me. And I've gone on some pretty tight trails.
5-Yes, of course I drove an SP, I love those ATV's, always have. In my opinion the SP500 brought the ATV world out of the stone age (so I don't get hung, susuki did too, just didn't go anywhere with it, where's the IRS you had so many years ago Susuki?). Anyway, the SP500 or SP700 will not disappoint you, I rode them both for many miles. BUT, the new i models ride better than them. As I've said, the new i models will surely take over the "best ride" crown. One of the most noticable differences was the balance and articulation of very technical trails with large rutts and rocks. The i model soaks em up like a sponge, not that the SP's don't, they just don't do it as good. AND I'll put my name on that. I also drove the Grizz660, and loved it too, just didn't fit my needs and was too new an engine/tranny design for me. Plus I wanted a manual! no problem with the questions.

Hey Chunky,
I assume you were riding something else, and your son was on the 400i?

 

hey dudes, yes he did have the I model i wanted to watch the rear flex as he went throught a trail we ride, he went so fast i couldn't see and keep up , I know this don't seem possible with as slow as a AC is , he he he he , everbody just keep beliveing thatone , As the late Dale Earnhart said setup most importion part to going fast , this thing has impressed me from day one on ride,steering , ground clearance, sure footedness , It ain't got the power my old act model had , but it has more speed, where you don't expect it either , scary somtimes to, you stop and say wheu , that was fast , did i do that , I trying not to get to fast but it is hard not to , you dont realize your doing it till its over. Allright i no brag brag brag , I know but it's hard not to, I happy with my quad , chunky

 

that's what I've been finding too Chunky.

I'll ride with other ATV's that could definately beat me in a drag race or top speed. But going through the trails is a whole nother ball of wax. It's hard to explain this to people only seem to care about how fast an ATV will accelerate or how fast the top speed is. Happy to hear you are enjoying

 

Jeepersmitty: Hey, how's it going? Believe me, deliberating over whether to get the ACT or the i is no easy chore (as I'm sure you're well aware). The good news is, you can't really go wrong... either machine is a good quality quad. Even now I can convince myself to go either way... I probably won't be certain until I actually test drive both machines. Hopefully I'll get a chance to drop by GE Johnson's in the next few weeks. Anyway, happy riding. Oh yeah, NeWf is my sister... we're only getting one machine (I'm buying it but she speaks of it like it was her own [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] )

 

Hey Rides4fun. I'm not trying to start anything...BUT... almost all mudboggers, hillshooters, and high horespower baha racers are using modified Ford 9" or Dana rear axles, not irs. I realize that some of the lighter, lower horspower rigs can get by with irs. But there is to much stuff to break with the heavier, more hp'd rides.




P.S. I love the new i's. Just wish I could talk the wife into letting me get a new ride!

 

hey icecat: just don't forget who got you into atving to begin with! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]


newf

 

Hey asfastasu,
No don't worry about it, that's what these forums are for. I most familiar with baha racing (you know the iron man, and toyota's). They have really advanced independent suspensions with IRS, I've seen some outdoor network shows with other types of racing that also used IRS. But, I don't doubt what you said at all. I probably should have been specific and not generalized. Good catch if that's like you say.

 

I am very intrigued by the IRS of the AC quad. What is the ground clearance in the middle of the quad? What is the ground clearance at the middle outside of the floorboard? For comparison purposes I took a digital pic of my 650 with one rear tire on a ramp. Please tell me how to post it in my message text like you did. Also, I believe your quad is an automatic, buy you mentioned liking shifting. Is there some shifting to be done? Thanks.

 

Arctic Cat is one of the few manufactures that makes simular models with the same engine in them. So, even though there is an Automatic version of the 500i, he still had the choice of buying a manual shifting 5-speed model-- which he did.