I looked for several months to find the right ATV for me. I narrowed the search to KQ, Kodiak and Honda 450. Each has qualities that make them fine machines. I started looking at the KQ because a co-worker has one. I soon started looking at the larger CC machines when I became concerned about the amount of pulling I wanted to do. By chance I came across an ad in the newspaper the day I was going to deal on the Honda. The Honda dealer was pretty set on all of his prices so I postponed my purchase. The next day I went to the local AC dealer and immediately was impressed by the 2000 AC 500. I liked the racks that were NOT an add on. The full floor boards are excellent, I don't think I would buy another without them. The rocker shifter is a little awkward at first but soon becomes second nature. The most important factor in my decision was how I was treated by the dealer. This guy was great and worked with me on every detail. This was my first quad purchase and he was really GREAT! I purchased the 2000 AC500 with a snow plow and Warn 2000 winch. I paid $5600 for the ATV, the winch and plow cost me $414.00 installed. This quad has delivered for me: from pulling deer out of extreme cover to pulling a 13' snow mobile trailer with ice fishing gear for three plus two passengers. My only complaint to date is the vibration noise that comes from almost every piece of plastic on the thing. I realize that you are looking at smaller CC quads that will probably do all that you ask. These are the reasons I made my purchase. One thought I pondered was: If I can't do it with the 300cc I just purchased, could the 500 do it?

 

Just one comment based on your list.

6.rear suspension is better and allows full rear tire contact as the suzuki rear supension has the rear tires piched inward.

They are only pinched inward under no load (similar to a volkswagen bug) as the load increases they straighten up and then will even pitch out.

Good luck with your machine, no matter what we ride, the most important thing is that we ride.

 

Are these two bikes the same size physically? I seen a 250 Honda Recon ,230 Yamaha Beartracker and a Artic Cat 250 parked beside each other and the AC looled like a much larger and more comfortable bike I could not believe they were all in the same class range.

 

TIM1, All the Arctic Cats so far have the same plastic, handlebars, and basically the same wheelbase from the 250 up to the 500. I think the WB on the Auto is a couple of inches longer to accomodate the auto tranny. I have driven both a 300 and my 500, the only difference being the 500 is a bit higher due to the taller tires.

HarleyJake, I was at my AC dealer today to get another AC manual, seems I lost mine. Anyway, they had a 2000 AC400 advertised for $4600. I would say with some dickering, at least a couple hundred could come off that. If you could buy out of state (avoid that pesky sales tax thing), you could save enough to buy the larger 400cc!. There is little difference in the acceleration of the 400 and 500, but the 500 does have more torque.

BTW, I really do not like the tires the 2000 models come with stock. I guess I am attached to the titans that came on my 99!

 

I have tested both the AC 300 and 500, both have their pros and cons. The biggest thing the 280cc motor has is its smoothness. Coming from my Big Bear 350, I couldn't believe the difference. Decent power, but I don't know if I like all that weight in the rear, though (reminds me of my old Tri-moto 175).
The 500 is a very impressive machine, though. On a n incline behind the dealer, I had to nail the 300 in 2nd (high), but on the 500 I just easily torqued my way up in third. The power is always right there.

Two other things; Up here in Eastern Canada we tend to do a lot of winter riding, and I find the rocker shifter is great with snowboots; also very soon AC will be offering a $99Cdn winch kit.

Cheers

 

Another thing to this. No Arctic Cats other than the 1999 model 500 have the 26" tires. They have the 25" Titan 489's which are probably about the best stock tire available from any manufacturer. Far better than the Dunlops a lot of bikes come with.

The 300 like all AC's (excluding the Automatic) have the same size frame and wheelbase. All have a 4.25 gal. fuel tank. All have the disc brakes. The 300 AC is a bigger bike than the KQ and sits up higher as well. Basically, the only attributes the KQ has over the AC is the locking differential and a lot better range/drive selector setup. Its plastic may not rattle as much also. The AC's tend to get that "buzz" after about 500 miles.

 

All Arctic Cat's share the same plastic and wheels(250 has diffent color wheels but basically the same). Only the Cat-o-matic has a different wheel base that is 51.5" compared to the 50" on the rest.

99 model 500s' are the only ones with 26" factory tires.
99 model Arctic Cat's have softer seats than most other quads.

 

for what its worth on "on a new quad (bike around hhere) i have had a kawi 300 4x4 since 91 hauled rocks firewood moose(trapper and moose hunter) been sunk rolled and generally hammered for lots and lots of miles been a better than average bike excelant fuel mileage good power and good ride but technology changes....have been looking for another bike for a while ...dont think i am too biased but have rode and ridden with many other bikes...hondas are bullet proof hard on fuel good low cenre of gravity..caveman suspension ...kq real nice ride real good gription when locked up but terible power and carrying capacity know 2 guys with them got rid of them dont like them.....kawi 300 was great but over all they are they are not keeping up with new bike they are ok the new yamahas hard on fuel not great in bad weather starting not impressed.....ac500 know 4 guys with them 2 with the 454 s tons better than the kawi 300 harder to steer but by far a better bike pulls more has better clearance lot less shifting {( cant get used to the rocker shift)seem hard on water pump seals bearings so far are not OME crap therefore buy anywhere $$ big bkes for big jobs the guys i know drive for bragging rights they are happy with them so i bought one im happy so far where i go im alone where no one else usually goes... by far a better bike ...buy the meanest bike you can afford then maintain it like your life depends on it