Oh my bad, thanks for the correction minehunter.

All the other's use belts that are about $10, and I was commenting on AUTO's in general. People who owned Yamaha, Kawi, suki, and Polaris (actually lifetime here) were making these claims. Don't know if they were pulling our legs or what, or trying to make their auto's sound better? You know come think of it, maybe that's why I never knew how much an AC auto belt costs, because I've NEVER read a thread (since Nov), where the AC auto replaced a belt and how much it cost.

I wonder if this $150 is AC's price. Because if you look at the MSRP of an AC oil filter it's ~ $19. Go buy an aftermarket, and it's $3 (that's about 6 times the diff). So 150/6x is ~$25.

Anyway, thanks minehunter. It sounds like maybe AC uses an excellent belt on their ATV's. I know that their snowmobile belts always seemed to last longer than our friends snowmobiles, maybe that's why. Either way though, 150 is cheaper than perhaps around $600 for a clutch replacement with labor, and the belt could be done faster. I still prefer to shift

 

A Polaris belt cost about $20. I bought one in eight years of HARD use for my 1993 Trail Boss. If your ride half-way normal then they last forever.

 

Now add this to the debate...

I plan on buying an AC 400 4x4 in the near future. I am also looking at the 375 4x4 auto. The hardest thing I plan to do with mine is plowing snow off my 250 foot driveway. I have a buddy that has a plow on his 1-ton Ford pick-up to do parking lots etc. He says that an auto is better for plowing in his opinion because he always has the engine rpm's up, as opposed to having to engage the clutch to shift gears in a manual, and loosing all your rpm's. I would rather have a manual - I like shifting too - but will I regret it later when I'm pushing a foot of snow next winter?

Will the 400 have so much torque and power that the fact that the rpm's drop with a shift is not an issue? What do you guys think?

As a side note: I have to say that the advice and friendship I see in this forum (the AC forum) really pleases me. You guys really help eachother out with advice and information. Let's leave the other forums to talk about "Top Speed" all day!

 

??

When you shift, if you shift in the right direction, your rpms increase.

I think what your friend meant is that you don't have to mess with selecting a gear at all with autos, and that in of itself would help with plowing snow. My father has plowed snow with his 1986 Honda TRX-350FM 4x4 since 86 when he bought it, never had a problem and it's manual. With ATV's virtually as fast as you can push in the shifter, the gear is changed.

An auto would make plowing snow easier, but by no means would you be kept from efficiently plowing snow in a manual. My father will be the first to attest to that, he thoroughly enjoys plowing snow on his ATV.

As info, I grew up in upstate NY (lake affect snow), if you notice my bio says I live in Atlanta, so I'm very familiar with snow and the removal of it.

 

Hi everybody and Happy new year. I really got to thank you all for your comments and opinions I still have not made my decision. But am leaning towards the auto. I went to my dealer today he said the belt is about $110 I assume not installed, which isn't alot of money if you only need to replace it 2,000 to 3,000 miles.I'm not to sure about the 10,000 mile replacement that the plant said.I was just reading a june 2001 atv mag article that says a polaris begins to see wear at 800 miles. (Quote:it's been our experience polaris CVT performance will begin to drop off after approximately 800 miles of hard use on a belt.This is evidenced by a somewhat notchy engagement at take-offs thats accompanied by a noticeable drop in top speed as the belt becomes narrow from wear and cannot deliver the same final "gear ratio at a full whack. By the very nature of a CVT tranny, a worn belt will not show much, if any decrease in performance while operating in the middle of the clutch faces.End Quote. I know there are some differances in the quality between manufacturers, but in theory they are the same type of tranny (kawasaki,suzuki,yamaha and arctic cat #1[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] all simalar)I asked the mechanic what problems if any he's seen he said 1 auto came back for a bearing failure do to a manufacture defect (the bearing thats on the auto's cover)no manuals have come back. So my delema continues. By the way I drove both and like them both. Maybe I can convince the wife in getting one of each.Hee...Hee...Hee[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

I have in excess of 4000 miles on my 2000 500 auto and I have yet to have any dropoff in performance or pulling power. I clean my belt housing about every 1000 miles. The belt shows minimal wear and it still hasn't glazed over on the sides yet. Just use a scotch brite pad on the sheave halves when you clean the belt housing and it should last and last. One other thing that should be done is to use low gear if you think you need it. This will prolong belt life substantially.

The belt on the AC, Suzuki and the Yamaha do not work the same as the Polaris. When the Polaris is at idle the belt is not moving, thereby causing wear on the sides. It's slight, but it is happening. The other three have the belt constantly engaged which prevents wear on the sides of the belt. If you are going at a good speed and clamp on the brakes it is possible to get the belt to stop on the AC and the Suzuki. Upon acceleration you will notice a bark of sorts, that is the sound of the belt reengageing and moving back into position on the sheaves.

This is just my 2 cents on the matter. It's worth what it costs.

 

I have had both 01 500a and my present ride. I personally like the manual better, this is because I do a lot of mud and water riding. I like the idea of not having to shift, it makes for a great trail and work machine. For example when your pulling a log up a hill you want to go faster just give it more gas and it will go faster. With the manual you would need to let off of the gas, shift, get back on the gas. It doesn't matter how fast you shift there comes a time when you let off the gas and you lose all your momentum. When you shift it won't pull the next gear from a stop or such a slow speed. I will say this with the AC 500s power this won't be much of a problem, it makes gobs of touque down low in the rpms. The 01 and 00 autos had 2 belt vent exhausts tht were barely above the tires. If you stayed on the gas it wasn't a problem,but as soon as you let off water would come in the belt housing, and you were dead in the water. Too much of this or failing to clean the housing out good after, would lead to outer clutch cover bearing failure. Not a hard or expensive job, but just one that you don't have to do with the manual. I would rather ride than wrench any day. AC has fixed this problem for 02, at least it looks like they have.
If you are just going to do trail riding, plowing, and light mudding I would recomend the auto. One more thing the manual is more responsive and faster. Ride both, talk to a lot of people and decide for your self. They both are good quads it is just deciding what you want. AC 500 and Suzuki Eiger are the only ones that give you the choice, it sure is nice to decide for yourself.