Well I got my 500i all fixed up, the right rear axle didn't pop out like I thought it did, it broke off inside the rear differential. I guess there was to much heat build up on that part of the axle when I was playing in the mud.

I have the big tires back on and it runs like a champ now. I just got back from an ATV trip in the bush and it was a blast. I can't believe how much mud and water I can go through. This quad was built for water, we rode down the rivers all day, crossing deep areas and going over huge slippery boulders in the water. The outlaws and the wicked ground clearance makes it so easy while my friend on his stock king quad was having a hard time. There were areas in the river where we had to cross spots that were waist deep and one time it was even with the bottom of my seat, and we all know how high the 500i's are with big tires, that was some deep water. Anyways, I had a blast. I never got any real pictures this trip because we were in the water all the time and I didn't want to get the camera all wet since it is all electronic. I also took my Z400 for a rip in the bush, its not bad in the mud if you can hit it with speed, I did hit a rock with it once, nothing happened to the quad though. Oh speaking of rocks, the skid plates on the Artic Cat's are perfect, not one scratch or tear or anything on them. We were river riding all day and we went over alot of rocks and alot of them scrapped along the skid plate as I went over them. I can't say the same thing about my rims, they took a few good hits and the rocks have left their mark. I have steep ITP chrome rims, they are pretty tough but the rocks are tougher.

Well this was just a short update, just so everyone knows that I'm back up and running again.

 

That's great bbertram, a bad axle. So are you happy with the work the dealer did on your cat? Now I think I going to buy new rims and tires for my 500i, for we do have a lot of mud and water here (alberta) in the Rockies.

 

My friend picked up the quad from the dealership for me and gave it a 2 hour test ride when he got it home. During the first 5 minutes he said it slipped once, now I'm not to sure what he meant by it slipping but nothing like that happened to me during my ATV trip. So I'm very happy with the work they did and they got it done very fast. They got the parts in on Thursday and they were done that same day plus I got my recall looked after too. I'm a happy Arctic Cat owner now, after driving my sport quad for a long time I forgot how much fun it is to play in the mud !!

If I were to redo my tires and wheel choice's I would buy aluminum ITP wheels and the new radial outlaws that are as close to stock size as possible. This way you get more power and you still get 300% more traction than stock. This one mud hole my friends Kind Quad couldn't make it through, he even ramed the mud hole but still didn't make it. I went back through it and this time I went in 2 wd, no problem at all. I even played around in the mud a little just to show off some. But when you do get stuck you are really stuck, these Cats are so heavy and with my outlaws and steel rims it just that much heavier, thank god for a winch.

 

Yeah I wnat some of the new radial outlaws, IF they ever release them!!! Glad to hear that you are back in busienss bb!