How reliable are Arctic Cat quads. I heard that their motors are good but smaller things brake on them. Is this true or are they full of crap. Are you happy with your Arctic Cat quads, or do you not recommend. Just to let you know I'm not interested in going fast.

 

Since you're not interested in going fast, I highly recommend them. That's the only downfall I've seen with them. Oh, and they're kinda heavy if you want to jump them (900+lbs of man and machine kinda jars the joints and I am only getting a LITTLE air).

 

I have a 2002 375 auto 4x4 it has the auto, iwasn't to sure about the auto but i got used to it the 375 has plenty of power i use it for hunting and yard work .my wife buy round bales for her horses i can put it in low and push it around it weighs about 1500# and i can put the round bale where she wants it .I've also used it to help untract a f-250 out of the mud they are great atvs.

 

trapperjason where do you live? a group of my buddy's including me own alot of arctic cat four wheelers. i think we have had a total of 13, the first one being a 97 454 bear cat. considering the amount of abuse we put the through they have all been very reliable. have you ever seen a 700 lb four wheeler do a endo at 40 mph. it was back on the trail with new parts in 1 month. and still won awards at the atv pulls in northwest wi. feel free to e-mail me if you have any ?'s. 59 mph top speed on a 2000 400 4x4 with 650 miles after being swamped in three feet of water with no repairs just new oil and filter. ran strong for another 100 miles before i traded it in. do you need to go anyfaster than that?

 

Arctic Cats come highly recommended in my book!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] I own a 2000 500 autocat and it has not failed me yet!!

It is heavy and not very fast, but it will take you any place you want to go and back!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

It is a great work horse...like a little tank really!!

As with anything you buy...you need to do regular maintenance...and make sure that whenever you take her out in the mud, you clean her up real good. Dried on, caked on mud is the number one killer of a quad and that is any make or model. Keep'em clean!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

With that said...I doubt that you will be disappointed with an Arctic Cat![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

How reliable are AC's? Just take a side-by-side look at their quads with ANY other brand...The difference is obvious...Yes, my '02 500i was 60Lbs heavier than a Grizzly 660, but if you look at the two quads you will see where the 60 lb difference is: In the frame and drivetrain. The shocks on my AC are twice what the Yamaha shocks are. And the frame on the AC is so much beefier that it is unbelievable. Check the specs on both machines and you will find that the AC is superior in all aspects (wheel travel, clearance, load capacity, etc...) Yamaha owners will point out that the Griz has a 'diff-lock' but I can tell you from first-hand experience that the superior ground clearance of the AC is more valuable than the 'diff-lock' of the Griz....(my 500i got thru a mud-bog when the Griz got stuck, even with the 'diff-lock'...) The Griz motor is 1/3 larger than my AC 500, yet the only performance diference is at the extreme top-end of the power range: the Griz will speed past my AC on the wide-open stretches...My AC has as much (if not more) low-end pull than the Griz...I'm only using the Griz as a comparison because it was the only quad that I considered as comparible to the AC 500...I have 2 friends that ride '02 Griz's and I've had plenty of chances to compare both machines..Yes, the Yamaha Grizzly 660 is a nice machine (I'm not trying to dog it, I'd be very happy riding one....) , but after looking at both I bought an AC 500i....And I would buy an AC 500i again after experiencing both machines in the woods...My $0.02 of advice :-)

 

Ricerocket - ok, I know they are good but! I have a 2000 a/c 400 4x4 , I weigh 240lbs and have never been able to get 59 mph! The best I have got is 50mph down the blacktop. I have by the way swamped twice, one fully submerged in the Minnesota river and once up to the gas tank, both time the machine ran after getting the water out for the rest of the day. Happened a year apart. Oil and filter and good to go!!!! I need to hear your secret on 59 mph or is it a typical midwest fish story, grows with each telling?

 

hey shooter29 my fourwheeler was bone stock! and 59 was on the rail road bed north of iron river wi on the way back to valhalla. about 20 miles later i endoed it in a 3 ft deep wash out. had to leave it there and ride two up on a raptor for ten more miles to get the truck. not fun. before i swamped it the most i ever got out of it was 56 mph. now that is going off the speedo i don't know how acurate they are. my buddy has an 01 400 4x4 and mine was faster than his but he beat me every weekend at the fourwheeler pulls he weighs about 220 and i about 170. on that same trip i was getting passed by a honda 400 ex doing a wheelie he was doing alittle over 60?? he didn't pass me very fast though. if you don't believe me go up to wild rivers road and trail in trego wi. and ask to test drive ian's four wheeler.

by the way what tires do you run and at what preasure cause that makes a big diff.

 

Delta- In response to you Grizzly low end statement, I think that it has to be the rubber band tranny on the Grizz, cause the engine definitely has the juice. I do agree though, because I still feel like my old 99 500 AC would outpull my 660 (not locked). Massive low end pulling power with the AC.

On reliability, top notch. About as good as you will get. I give honda the overall nod based only on the longevity of their 1980's model quads (many still going today), but AC gets the close second in my book over everyone else.

 

So far our AC's are very reliable.. I do baby them but I use the heck out of them as well.. As far as speed is concerned our 300 runs about 40 mph tops and my new 400i auto. runs about 55 mph on pavement. I have had it to 51 or so with a bit more rpm's to go but wound up slowing down to be safe.. that is fast enough for me.. What I do know is that they both seem to be relentless when it comes to climbing hills, especially the new 400i auto.