All I can say is WOW! This machine is HUGE. I was dealing on a 400 but the dealer (over the phone) told me he just got a new 400i in....so I bought it sight unseen. I know you shouldn't do that, but I was going on the good advice from this forum. Thanks guys!

Parked in the garage beside the old 1986 Honda 350, it is a monster. It is wider and MUCH taller. I took it out for a quick spin before dark tonight and the ride reminds of my old Polaris 350. You sit really high, but it is very stable.

I have adjusted the shocks though. I asked the dealer to put the shock settings at #2 all around, but the rear (a 5 position unit) was set on the middle or #3. I found this much too harsh, and adjustment was easy (the dealer had greased this). I suspect that it would be much harder to adjust this to a higher setting rather than going to a lesser setting....Chunkyboy take note!

I know that going down steep hills, I want this machine in low range and 4x4. I tried 2 wheel and high and had trouble as the rear wheels skidded down.There was no engine braking either. Note that I have also not burnished the brakes yet. I tried again in low and that resembles my old Honda 350 the most....lots of control and the engine does all the braking. I might try high range for going uphill, but for now I do not want to apply that much throttle during the breakin period.

I am planning a trip to the river hills tomorrow with my buddy and his Honda 450 ES so I will report again on my second ride impressions and a comparison of the bikes. I already know I have the better ride!

Oh, by the way, I replaced the stock Dunlops with 25 inch Kenda Bearclaws (6 ply) and got to trade in the stock tires to boot. I was very happy with that. I do not think that I would want any larger (ie 26 inch) tires. This quad has MEGA clearance as it is, and from just the 15 minute ride I think that the 26 inch tires would rob too much power.

Tomorrow then, and I will try and answer any questions anyone may have.

Barry

 

Hey dude , I think you will be very pleased with what you got , I agree with the 26 tires they are to much on the 400i , they eat alot of power , compared to my 01 400 act , the i is way down , My dealer thinks they may recall the shock collars , he has had 3 bad so for , Im just going to let them deal with it, only problem so far , I still got my dunlop's , May try to find a set of rims and put them back a on when i dont need the 589's so much , but thats later, happpy riding good luck CHUNKY

 

Yesterday was the day I finally got to take my new AC 2002 400i 4x4 for its first major run. I managed to put 22 miles on and feel I got to know the bike fairly well. There are not too many trees out here on the prairies so all of the riding was done in the nearby river hills. Lots of low brush and sage, rocks, cactus, and hills of all sizes with ridge backs; add about 3 inches of snow and just melting temperatures.

I had the dealer adjust my shocks prior to picking up the quad, but I found for me and my kind of riding, I adjusted them in the field to the lowest setting front and back. It was not too difficult as the dealer had greased them and they were not dirty yet. I also had installed 25 inch Kenda Bearclaw tires all around, and these turned out to be 6 ply. Perhaps that is why the lower shock setting was better.

Overall, I am very impressed with this machine. I suspect most of my gripes are little ones, and in time may go away. I LOVE the floor boards and serrated edges of the footpegs. No slippage there! Of course, I was impressed by the clearance of the bike, but it sure feels a bit strange sitting that much higher than any other bike there. I had no trouble on side hills with unexpected bumps and rocks...it felt very stable and did not have one tire in the air like the Honda 450 ES that was with me. (Note that he did go everywhere I went, so maybe that is not so important) Downhill was good, but I think my old 1986 Honda 350 4x4 had more engine braking. The front shocks did not dive when hitting ruts and holes. I did find out that I do not want to go downhill in 2 wheel and expect the engine to brake my speed. Expect the rear wheels to skid!
Fairly good power. I mostly kept it in low range. I find that gives me better control climbing and besides I did not want to work the machine too hard for the first few runs as high range would have required much more throttle.

OK complaints time.
#1 I do not like the rear foot brake on this machine. A couple of times I hit it with NO effect. To be honest, the brake pads may not be burnished yet, and I could also adjust the pedal yet. However, just the feel of it bothers me.

#2 I have sore shoulders today. The steering effort seemed to be light but every now and again I would hit a rock etc and the handle bars would twist quite radically. Most machines will do this too, but it seemed to be more. Also, the handle bars are quite high for me and could have contributed to the soreness(maybe I am just getting to be an old fart!). I will try and loosen the bars and turn them down just a tad.

#3 I find the heel/toe shifter awkward and clunky. I thought being an old biker that would be the last of my worries. It seemed to be worse in high range verses low range. I hope this problem (and also the suspension) will loosen up a bit the more miles are built up.

#4 Although I liked the feel of the reverse lever, I think this should be located on the left side. If you stop on an incline, and try and hold the brakes and shift it is very awkward....worse if the right rear brake is ineffective. I also would rather have the high/low range shifter on the right for the same reasons. These things probably cannot be changed because of the bike design.

#5 Going uphill. This to me is the major complaint. Maybe it is just me, but I have been riding (and rolling) quads for awhile. I feel very unstable going up steep grades. I know that on my old 350 Honda, I would have just sat on the seat and let her work her way up, spinning etc. On the AC, I felt that my front was lifting so I stood and placed all of my weight forward. My buddy told me later that the front did not lift up, and in fact only one wheel spun just a little. As the day progressed, I did climb more steep hills, but I was never comfortable. I think it is because of the higher center of gravity. Going uphill when you look over the side at the tires, they seem so far down below you....they look like little 22 inch tires instead of 25 inchers.

To end this loooonnnng post, if you are considering an AC 400i I think it is a good machine to buy. I personally think for good dependability and resale value a Honda is hard to beat. However, the Honda's did not have the features I wanted.....independent suspension with more than 4 inches of travel, good clearance, high/low ranges, and 2 wheel option. I hope this helps someone who is thinking of buying, and I am sure a search on this forum will bring up a lot of information on Arctic Cats. I hope I have not offended anyone, my purpose was to be as truthful as I could....from my point of view.

Regards,

Barry
2002 400i 4x4
25 inch Kenda Bearclaws

 

Thanks for a great review. The ACs take a little getting use to especialy the shifter, but I came off of a Polaris so it wasn't as big of a change. You will also find that the foot brake is useless, it was ment as just a back up incase the hydraulic brake system fails. The hand lever operates both front and rear brakes, and these are outstanding on all the ACs I've been on. You will only have 4 wheel engine braking when the front wheels are locked, and it is very good in low range. I do agree about thr reverse lever, I said the same thing "why did they change sides". As far as the hill climbing goes I don't have an i model, but I run 27" tires. I have climbed some hills that others have flipped and flipped on and my front end never even came off of the ground. It does feel like it does though. Common sense tells me that it would go over fast if it did come up, but that is the same with all tall vehicles. The motor will run a little better once it gets a few miles on it. I sat on a 500i at the dealer the other day and shook it from side to side it seemed to be alittle stiffer than my ACT. I like that ground clearance but not the width, but that is what makes it more stable. Keep us posted.

 

hEY DUDE , GLAD you had fun , you know my brake on my o1 was useless , But my 02 is great I can slide the rear wheels with mine ,But it has about 80 miles on it, youll get used to the shifter ,then you wont like anything else or at least i did, the reason the rear wheels slid is the engine braking , Every quad I own will do that in 2 wheel drive , the more i ride it the better better it shifts, I to am not happy with the rev shifter my 01 was on the other side it worked a lot better, but it to I m getting used to, Ive had no problems with hills only power and like you I just use low range, It feels a little better than the 01 to me going up hill. keep riding mines a blast the more I ride the more I like it , CHUNKY

 

Good review, we all prefer truth here, which is sometimes hard to do, when you just spent several thousand dollars, and don't want to look like you made a mistake doing so.

I will however, throw my .02 in on your complaints:

#1 I'll be the first to tell you, that not having a hydrolic foot brake saved my butt. When I lost my hydrolics I still had brakes limping back to the truck, because the foot is not meant to primary it is a backup, with mechanical link to rear only. Would you expect your automobiles hand brake (which is a secondary brake on auto's) to work as good as the primary hydrolic brakes? I understand that you're unhappy with them, but they are not supposed to be used primarilly only there to back you up.

#2 I have wide shoulders and wasn't bothered, but I can see if you are using muscles you normally don't there would be some growing pains there. I agree with the steering effort, but as with any other ATV, when you hit a rut just right, it will take over your control (perhaps easier steering actually makes this worse), but every ATV I've been on is that way. I don't think you sound like an old fart, maybe you fart like an old sound though, I don't know hehehe)

#3 Hey you're not the only one. I have large feet and thus big boots, and appreciate not having to WEDGE my foot under the shifter (exposing it to things coming up from the ground). I will say it gets easier, as you get used to it, but I think it could be improved a little. Give a hundred miles or so (like I'm doing). If it still bothers you, buy the regular foot shifter from AC (approx $19).

#4 I agree with the location of the fwd/rev shifter and the low/high shifter needing to be on the right (especially with a single hand brake w/ backup foot brake ATV). I have gotten quite good and fast at doing it now though, but would still prefer them on the opposite side of the single hand brake. They can change them, they just have to have a good enough reason to (owner feedback).

#5 In my times with ATV's over the years (since my father bought the new '86 Honda TRX-350FM when it first came out). I have to say that I've never been on an ATV that climbs hill or decends them better. In fact, the ATV gave me such confidence I went up a hill that was really quite stupid (now in hinesight - as info did 3 endos), than I EVER would have on other ATV's. I see what you are saying about center of gravity, but I will not hesitate to tackle steep inclines with mine. In my accident, it is possible that the little tree that upsetting my uphill balance, may not have been able to flip me as easilly, had my center of gravity been lower. But I wouldn't have been able to make it to top of that hill on other ATV's (it was steep, and I had gone over several dead or fallen trees on the way up).

Keep the truth flowing