I have heard of people adding spcers at the top of the spring shock assembly to stiffen them up even more. But for the riding I do, I like the way mine is set.

 

Hi Mountain Cat, it is obvious that you are happy with your bike, and the service. I'm glad you have had good luck with AC. I have had a real battle with dealers, and AC Cust. Service in Minnesota. They sure do not put a lot of effort into valid customer complaints. It took me 8 months and trips to 3 dealers, one 280 miles away before I cured the backfiring problem on my 00 300 4*4. Apparently that is a common problem with those motors (280 Suzuki). Anyone else with that problem contact me and I will tell you how to fix it. I also find that the electrics (wiring, battery location, etc.) is rudimentary compared to other manufacturers.
Other than that I love my bike, very stable, strong ( will skid out a bull moose),and lots of fun. We have almost unlimited riding up here due to abundance of Crown land.
My next bike would probably be 400 series, auto, with a locking differential. AC needs to follow the lead of the other manufacturers and make this standard equipment. The Honda 350 torque sensitive front diff. also works great, will pull with one front wheel in the air, unlike our bikes which won't move.

 

My dealer is a small dealerhip and just carries AC products. I believe he is really good because he is small, just him, his wife and he has some high school kid helping him in the evenings. But his rep is spread by word of mouth and being so small he could easily probably be put out of business, so he always takes care of you!

Yes, I would very much like to be able to manually lock my front end. That would be so nice. I have heard rumors that the 03s may be able to and if they are I hope they are backwards compatible and you can have one added to an older model. i would be a very happy camper then!

 

Hey Longlake, the frontend of 400and 500 is fundamentally the same as the Honda, they are both torque sensing. The 300 uses a standard limited slip that uses clutches. The Honda as well as the Cat will in fact 3 wheel. The torque sensing will however keep applying traction to the wheel right up until there is almost no resistance on the tire with the least traction.

Cheers Jim

 

Hi JKB, thanks for the info. AC's brochures do not advertise that the 400 and 500 front diff. is torqu sensing. I sure wish my 300 was. It is very capable unless you get in some off-camber terrain, or deep mud, in which case only the axle with the LEAST traction gets the power. I witnessed a Honda 350 Rancher with one front wheel in the air pull itself out of a ditch. The other wheel grabbed just enough to move the bike. But heh, thats why I have a winch with 50 gt. of cable plus 25 more feet of rope and a chainsaw with me.

 

Hey, Rader. Last fall I purchased an AC 300 4x4 and loved it. Rode like a Cadillac and plenty of power. I only had about 100 miles on it and traded for a 500i Automatic because the 300 kept high-centering. The extra ground clearance (13 inches!), more power, liquid cooling, and automatic make this machine a phenomenon! Just had it out the last two weekends in northern Minnesota and absolutely could not get it stuck. I think the combination of the unbelieveable ground clearance and the automatic make this thing what it is. I jokingly refer to the Warn winch as a front-end weight, no other use for it. I've pushed water above the headlights and mud over the footboards and the thing just keeps going. With stock tires! Top speed is a little disappointing at about 50 but this thing isn't a racer. Stability even with a passenger (emergency only, of course) is excellent. Takes about 100 miles for the motor to loosen up a little and then she goes pretty good. Oh, by the way....the new Polaris 700 won't go through the mud this thing will in my experience this past weekend. I pulled him out with a tow strap! Get one and ride it.

 

Heya, im not an expert in the world of atv, but i do have a 98 500 4x4 AC. I have 0 problems with it and it has plenty of power. Pulls well. Steering seems a little heavy but not that bad. Ive driven it through a lot of crap and only had to pull the winch out a couple of times. Dout this helps but just my 2c until i get more experience. Over all im happy with this machine.

Mark

 

I think you guys have all the same thoughts on the 500i as do I. Wish it would steer better... I bought mine with the Titans, all around and I'm going to try them out at H/M Trails soon. My dealer used Synthetic Oil, for the heart of the machine so when it was time to change oil, I used the same. You're right! It seems to have loosened up after 100 miles or so. But the 500i sure does use the gas. At 4.75 gal. it should be able to go the 50 miles you'd expect from the manufacturer. It would be a good idea for all the manufacturers to have enough capacity for these utility quads to go at least 50 miles before reserve, or what ever they should all agree would be an acceptable range.
Chuck

 

Yes, I wish my 400i would go farther on a tank of gas, but tis the price we pay to play!

 

When you play hard it sucks down the gas like no tomorrow. When you trail ride the gas lasts a long time (with stock tires). With my outlaws I can expect 20 miles of hard riding before she is close to reserve.