Speaking as an Ex AC owner, I will keep this short; I found the electrical system very poor, started having mojor problems after less than a year, which left me stranded more than once. I couldn't keep the boots on the dam thing even with the guards, which made me paranoid that I would tear one, every time I went through some rough terrain I would get off and check to see if they were ok. Every time I would hit some cold water with the lights they would go out, I found the plastic faded and became worn looking very fast (despite my constant use of Armor All), not to mention it rattled like crazy. My experienc wasn't all bad, I did like the quiet smooth engine, the big plush seat and enjoyed the ride over all, it just nickle and dimed me to the point where I had no confidence in the over all quality of the machine, I eventually traded it for a Honda and although the Honda is louder, may vibrate a little more and I may be a bit more tired at the end of the day, it has never left me stranded. I think AC has a lot of great features for the money (which makes it look better on paper), but I think they are lacking in the quality of certain (not all) components. I am sure the AC's would hold up great in an area with less harsh riding conditions, and in all fairness I believe they have upgraded thier electrical system since 2000.

 

I agree with Bbertram and Jason24 and some of the others about the overall quality of AC quads. The electrical system is rudimentry, they still put the battery near the wheel on the 300, so all the mud can freeze on the wires while moose hunting in November. While the engines are Suzuki, they sure have way more carburator problems than Suzuki owners. And why does AC resist putting locking front diffs on their bikes. That should be standard equipment.
However, they have many good points, lots of torque, very stable and a great ride on all models. Hopefully the design people at AC will pay attention to what we, the customers are saying. Otherwise our next quads will not be AC.

 

I think an AC is a great bike and it will go most anywhere that the other atv's will go needaQuest I believe that you 650 made it up a hill better than a AC 375 because it prabably has twice as much power than the 375. The 500i would have done much better than the 375 in this hill climb. How about the 500i and the Prairie 650 head to head in the mud. Longlake the reason for the IRS and ACT suspention systems is that AC is does listen to customers, if they were to introduce a 650i or something with a lot more power than the 500i has and diff. lock people would still find things to whine about.

 

i had a 01 250 cat and it was a piece of junk i ended up puttina like 3000 grand into it .. it kept melting the rings and it never ran rite and i sold it and it was a piece of crap i will never buy a cat again my friend has a 97 454 and it was a good quad fast almost 60 he had it for a lil over 2 yrs now and then the crank shaft seized up what a piece and my arctic cat dealer is a dumb *** i have heard more bad stories about him then good i sugeests dont buy a cat cuz when u trade them they aint worht that much save urself the troulbe and spend a lil xtra cash and get a honda or suzuki or yamaha

 

Nick, i wasn't the one who was climbing with the 375, i pasted that paragraph from the Kawasaki forum!

 

2000IAWarrior, It sounds like you were screwing with your jetting on your machine and are trying to blame AC for all your troubles. I would say in your case it is driver error not machine problem. Or to give you the benefit of the doubt you got a lemon.
I don't know your dealer, but if you're not careful people may call you a "dumb ***".
The point here is if you spent $3000 on repairs then you obviously were abusing your machine.
Also, of course you can not expect to get a good trade in value when you have a beat up piece of junk!!!

 

Needaquest, I guess I misread your post. It was 2 a.m. when I got online I thought this was something you had seen or done.

 

I've been checking a seeing how this topic was going. Anybody could get a lemon. I’ve read many posts in other forums talking about what a piece of crap that particular machine was. Simply a case of bad luck. Then you have individuals who will post negative comments about other brands in attempt to prove mine is better than yours. Well this is a case of being a pinhead. Everyone will have their own opinion, when it’s all said and done the only things that matters is if you had a good time riding.

I like Cats, Bomb, Kawi 650, Yam Grizz, Honda Rincon (never thought I'd ever say that[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]), and many others. So I'm not really brand loyal.

So basicly I don't think Cats sux nor do I think any other brand suxs.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

 

I agree TG1 fun is the main reson people are out there riding.Everyone has had bad experiences with something at one time or another.It doesnt always mean that the entire product line is bad,you could have just got a lemon,or it is possible that you wre just too abusive to that product.I have ripped several boots on my AC but I dont place the blame entirely on AC.I was taking my 400i to places I probally shouldn't have.I have ridden many different brands and enjoyed riding everyone of them.I just like the AC's more than the others.All quads have areas other people would like to see improved and I think it is a good thing to air these views because there is a possibilty that the manufacturers may read these forums and impliment these views into their next years lineup.It is also a good way to vent.Enjoy!

 

I believe some of you are mixing the machine tipiness with body roll, yes the cats have a lot of body roll, as any machine with good wheel contact should to be effective in uneven conditions. However body roll & the feeling of rolling over has nothing to do with MACHINE stability,its only a feeling, get over it. The Cat are just as good on a sidehill as any other machine given equal ground clearance thus centre of gravity. As far as motors being any great mounting diff on any machine that's bunk, 1/2" higher or lower engine mount amounts to nothing.