Anybody know who makes the best boot guards for a 98 454?? what about the price?? I tore my front left boot for the second time.
(Corn stalks will do it everytime).
Boots arnt that expensive to replace..but they kinda time consuming to put on.

 

Check with a dealer. I heard that they have some that are rubber/metal combo for $30

Dave
'97 Wolverine

 

oxlite works great

 

Comparing those rubber boot guards to oxlite boot guards is like compareing a Ford Ranger to a Mack truck.

 

I have Oxlites on my 500 and my cousin has the same on his 98 454. They seem to be the best thing available in my mind. Look awesome too. The arctic cat accessories guide has some, but they don't look all that great. The Oxlites are made of pretty thick steel and cover the front and bottom. They run about $40 from Dennis Kirk. A good investment and a pretty neat cosmetic improvement as well.

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

 

I have Oxlite boot guards on both my Kawasaki Bayou 300 4x4 and Bayou 400 4x4. I put them on after a ripped boot on the 400 cost $160 to replace. I bought them from Shade Tree (1-800-927-8523) for $39.95 + shipping.

Gordon Banks once commented that the Oxlite style boot guards are too heavy, and that the added weight adversely effects handling. He also said that they act like a solid vertical wall when passing through deep mud.

I can’t say that I’ve noticed any difference in the way either Bayou handles. There are probably two reasons for this; (1) I’m not a sufficiently accomplished rider that I can discriminate between subtle differences in handling; and (2) at the relatively relaxed speeds that I usually ride (<20 MPH), any added up front unsprung weight doesn’t seem to much matter.

As far as the brush guards acting like an obstruction by forcing the mud to flow around them, rather than through the A-arms if brush guards were not used, I agree with that statement in principle, but I haven’t experienced it in practice. Six months ago at the poker run in Salamanca, NY our group encountered a very large mudhole. This mudhole measured approximately 20 yards wide by 75 yards long. It was bordered on both sides by close growing trees that did not permit bypassing it.

I had just replaced the stock 24” Goodyear Tracker MP tires on my Bayou 400 with 25” Goodyear Mudrunners. I sat for a few seconds and considered my line before plunging in. The mud was deep, the mud was thick and sticky, and the bottom of the mudhole was rutted and uneven. I required nearly full throttle in first gear to get through, but my Mudrunner equipped Bayou never faltered or slowed. In addition to pushing the Oxlite brush guards through the mud, I also pushed my nose mounted X1-F Superwinch on its Kawasaki factory winch mount through the mud as well.

All of the 4x4 quads in our group made it through this mudhole. Both 2x4 quads got no farther than one third of the way across before becoming hopelessly stuck. Both 2x4 quads had to pulled out by one of the 4x4s. Later the guy in our group riding the Polaris SP500 got stuck in a particularly deep mudhole that I had chosen to go around. I pulled him out, but this mudhole was deep enough that if I hadn’t gone around it, I probably would have become stuck too brush guards or not.

If you’re a casual trail rider like I am, and you have the tendency to plow through deep brush occasionally, then the Oxlite brush guards could easily save you the aggravation of a ripped CV boot, and thus represent $40 well spent. I give a top recommendation to the Oxlite brush guards, and to the Goodyear Mudrunners.

Army Man

 

I just got a set of brush guards and bash plate from aluminum products. They are very heavy duty and hardly weigh anything. I got both for $63 shipped to my house. I haven't looked at the oxlite ones to close but these look alot more heavy duty, and there aluminum so they won't ever rust. Just my two cents.

Brad
99'FOREMANes

 

I'd rather push mud than push my atv back to the truck!!! If you don't like steel boot guards, make some out of lexan, they holdup real well!!

 

How about Carbon Fiber? i would like to get some round ones that would clamp onto the Half-shalf and cover the boot it self. Then you wouldn't be pushing as much mud.

 

Went by the dealership today to get my new boot, The only guards Arctic Cat sells is for the outside boots... I need some that
will cover everything.