Bob thanx, that was tooooooo easy. I called the dealer just now and she said she found it. I can understand me not knowing where it was but........ not the dealer. I hope this isn't a sign of thing's to come!

 

Whitetail, I have a little comment about why the salesPERSON couldn't find the manual, but I won't say it. Good luck with your new 500. I hope you have a great time with it. A few things I can say that you might ask some folks about later is that I didn't take mine full throttle until 50 miles. I didn't ride continuous full throttle (over 2 minutes floored in 5th) until over 100 miles. I didn't ride it for long periods of time (more than 30 minutes constant, or 15-20 minutes slow 1st-2nd gear rough trail riding) until around 100 either. When you break it in, you can still ride it without totally babying it, you just don't need to keep a constant rpm or ride it real slow for any ammount of time. 1st gear rock climbing gets it hot quick. no speed, high rpms, not much air going through the radiator. I tried to keep from getting mine very hot for the first 100 miles. I changed my oil and filter out after 250 miles. I'm advising my uncle to change the oil in his 454 at about 150 miles though. I think that would be about the opportune time. It has time to break itself in, but its still not too many miles to run a quad on its "break in oil". When you do change it, there will be a little magnet on the drain plug. This will help collect little metal shavings that the quad will get early on. Don't worry about it, its normal. I got a clean rag and wiped all of these off the magnet. I had a few when I changed it at 800 miles, and did the same then. The magnet is a good feature, and I wonder if all quads have one. You might want to keep an eye on your engine coolant during the first 100 miles too. I've only added a tiny bit of it in 850 miles, but its still a good thing to keep an eye on. The 99 will steer a bit heavy, but you can combat that a little by running more tire pressure. It sacrifices ride quality a bit, but you can tell a small difference in turning. I ran 4.5 psi at first and now I run 5.5psi rear and 6.0 psi in the front. The half pound of pressure isn't enough to make the front tires any taller than the backs. Some folks say that you might run 10 psi, but I think it would probably bounce all over the place with that much pressure. It certainly would ride a lot firmer. The manual will help with things like part location, and oil/fluid types, and as Robert said, it is sealed in a bag in a slot under the seat. Mine is still in perfect condition. A reminder, keep the ziplock on the bag sealed. Another tip that Robert recognized is that the place under the seat where the tool pouch is located will puddle up water after you wash it. I drilled two small holes in the plastic so it would drain. Its out of sight, and not a location where drilling would affect anything. It was a good idea from Robert that I hadn't spotted at the time.

Well, thats all the crap that I can think of to bore you with tonight. Good luck with your new AC 500 4x4. I hope it serves you well. If you ever have any questions about it, there are a good bunch of guys here that would be glad to tell you somthing.

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

oops, the second question. I use the bed of my pickup to haul mine. It will fit in a short bed fullsize either way, but you have to back it in to get the tailgate to close. It has about 3 more inches room on a Ford shortbed than on a chevy(ME). Don't know about a dodge. If you don't have a truck and the trailer is the only way, I would recommend mainly just something that it will fit on. Personally, when I haul two quads, I have to use the trailer. Mine is just a 13ft. trailer that my dad had made 10 years ago. You can haul 2 300-350 class bikes on it. I put the 300 in the truck and the AC on the trailer.

I wouldn't ever buy a trailer especially designed for a quad. I figure they cost more, have less uses, and any trailer will do the same thing. If you only need it for the quad, you can find a small trailer somewhere closeby probably that it will fit on. If you opt for a little larger trailer, it will haul the bike just as good, and can be used at other times if you ever need to haul anything. We moved most of our furniture to our new house with the trailer we have. It gets used for hauling brush, rocks, etc. as well. Its always a plus to have a good trailer around, but if you don't have room to park one, or really don't need one, a smaller trailer will be just as good. I don't know if it is the same in all parts of the world, but there are quite a few places near where I live that make trailers. They are cheaper than a brand name atv trailer, and built just as good. Thats my take on the trailer thing.

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

All GOOD advice, Thanks Andy! My BMW is alot easier. It has idiot lights that are run by a computer chip. The only problem is that I wear reading glasses and I can't read the message next to them.

I plan to take it easy breaking it in because I'll be breaking my self in at the same time. I've never ridden an ATV before.

When I started riding motor cycles 30 yrs ago I remember being told that the first 6 months of ridding were the most dangerous. That's ridding time, not ownership time. (I started off with a 68 Harley Roadster).

I have a 77 Kawasaki 1000LTD and it has a magnetic oil drain plug. I don't think the Harley did.

The tires pressure suprised me; I wonder what might have happened if I set the pump at 35psi. BANG?

I'm thinking of painting the rim's black. I think it would look better and there would be less reflection off the bike for hunting.

I got rid of my F-250 and replaced it with a Nissan Pathfinder so I have to get a trailer. I'm looking in the Want Advertiser for a good used one.




[This message has been edited by whitetail (edited 09-09-1999).]

 

Whitetail,
Did you get the camo cover with your 4 wheeler? If you didn't you might want to check it out. I've got one for the fenders, tank, and seat and it fits like a glove.

 

yeah, good point. Did you get in on the promotional deal. $69 extra for a winch or a camo kit. Either one is worth the extra $69 because they both go for over $300. They didn't offer the camo kit last year, but I got the winch and it was worth it. If nothing else, it makes the quad look a lot meaner.

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

They didn't offer me the camo cover but I got the $69 winch kit. I'd like to camo the bike but $300 is out of my range right now.

Has anyone tried the camo tape that Cabela's has; if so, how good is it?

 

The camo kit for the Arctic Cat covers the fenders and tank. It retails for $130. The seat cover retails for $40. My dealer let me have both of them for $130. The other money for the kit includes rack bags, gun scabbard, and some kind of tank bag, these things, for me anyway, weren't absolutely necessary. You can get a gun scabbard from Cabela's a lot cheaper. You can get the rack bags just about anywhere that sells atv accessories. This is why I only got the covers from the dealer.