Hello all, Been reading this forum for awhile and thought I'd join in. I buying an Arctic Cat next week, the only decision is which one. I use it mainly for hunting, so speed is not a big thing for me. I want reliable, reliable, reliable. The dealer said that for the money, he'd go with the 400, almost as much power. What is the power difference in "real" terms? I do like the air cooled engine of the 400, I had a Sportsman 500 and was forever knocking off the wire to the rad and overheating. Besides, overheating is not an issue in the Northwest Territories!

Also I am leaning toward the manual, any thought on reliability between the manual and auto? Dealer said the manual was probably a better choice for hunting and pulling a trailer.

Thoughts?

 

NWT, I have an 02 400i manual and my wife has an 03 400i auto. I hunt and fish alot and haul fire wood, plant food plots etc. I would take my manual over her auto any day. I like to be able to tell the machine what gear to be in-sometimes you may want to wind it out alittle. Got 27 inch tires on mine and still plenty of power. Remember tho, that my 400 is water cooled and her's is oil/air cooled. the 500 was 1200 more than the 400-hence thats what we got. I have had no problems with mine but if you can afford the 500 go for it. You can never have too much power. Good luck

 

i have a 500 manual and i use it for all kinds of things and it has lots of power in the low range for pulling a trailer or anything i got the 15 cubic foot trailer and i fill it up all the time, its a great work horse i'd buy the 500 if your budget will allow for it. there a good machine. i here the 04 cats will be fuel injected if you can wait it might be worth getting one of them.

 

Thanks all,

I got a 500i manual on the weekend. $7900 canadian with a 2500warn winch. Very nice bike. Suspension is unbelieveable. Tons of suspension articulation. Way softer ride than my 98 Sportsman 500. Not as good as the sportsman at high speed, I never would want to give up articulation for sport suspension anyways.

I assume the shifting will loosen up after a few more miles. It spretty tight and clunky now. Correct?

The only disappointment so far are the tires. They look half worn out from new! I am thinking of 26 mudlites. Save $100 fromthe 27s. Thoughts?

 

yea, it will get better

 

Shifting definitely gets looser as it breaks in - my 02 500i really did the clack-clank number when I first got it. It got better after a hundred miles, though the 2-1 downshift still gets stiff sometimes. Love that gear indicator!

I also will recommend the larger Cat trailer - I use it to haul firewood. Not as high priced as the custom trailers, but built a lot stouter than the cheap garden trailers.