I am looking for some comments on these two machines: the Arctic Cat 500i Auto and the Yamaha 660.

From my perspective:
They will cost me the same, so it is not a matter of price.
They have comparable ground clearance, and wheel travel, so that is not an issue.
They both have selectable 2 and 4 wheel drive
The AC has a manual lever
The 660 has a push-button controller
The 660 has front Differential Lock, the 500i does not.
The 660 has a bigger engine (660cc vs. 500cc)
The 660 has transmission 'Park' feature, the 500i does not.
The 660 has digital features on it's display, the 500i has limited analog features

My riding habits:
I need torque, ground clearance, good turning radius & a large comfortable seat.
My use will be primarly technical riding, not hard-packed sport riding.
A large portion of my riding will include 'bush-wacking'. Going where there are
no trails.
I will often pull a trailer. At times I will have to load the machine
with approximately 1,000lbs between the racks, me, and the trailer.
It would be nice to be able to zip around at times and have some fun.

Any opinions?

 

If you are going to carry alot and pull a trailer, your choices are not the best. The IRS will not do as well as a straight axle in carrying loads & pulling trailers.
The Honda Rubicon/450forman, Kaw650, Polaris Mag 500, Xplr 400 or even the AC 500 ACT would fit the bill more.

 

OK,

'edumicate' me. I assume you are correct. Tell me why.

 

A couple things; #1 carrying a heavy load, the IRS will widen the stance of the machine and reduce the ground clearance, the rear will bow outwards. #2 When you use a trailer on the IRS machines the suspension of the machine carries the weight (see #1), while on a solid axle machine the axle and tires carry the weight, the rest of the suspension would be uneffected. Of course you can stiffen the IRS to try to compensate but still, if you've ever seen 2 people on an IRS machine from behind you'll know what I mean.

 

I agree with tktmsa, the IRS won't handle the tongue weight as well as a solid rear axle (i.e. the ACT will keep your ground clearance better.)

I don't know much about the 660 - but in my experience, it is rare to find somebody who really needs more than 500 cc's. (Just my humble opinion - don't want to start a "cc war" here.) The AC's are rated to tow just over a thousand lbs (I think). Like any bike, they could tow more. They just can't stop more than that very well. I think if people need more power than a 500cc engine can give them, maybe they should look at a farm tractor. Besides, extra cc's really only add to top speed anyway - which is not important to me.



My friend has an AC 300 4x4, and tows large loads of firewood with it - no problems. AC has a solid reputation of building a rock-solid bike by keeping it simple - fewer electronic things to go wrong. Analog dials may be boring, but they rarely break. I always wonder how well electronic features hold up year after year of abuse in the climate.

I also have never met a person that thought they HAD to have a front locking differential. The low-end torque in the AC's make them rarely need something like that. Now if you bury it in 18" of mud... sure it would be a nice thing to have. But for normal work and trail riding, I just don't think it is needed. At least I wouldn't use it as a final criteria for picking one bike over another. If the bike I was going to buy had it - it would be a nice feature to have in your back pocket.

Just my two cents. In the words of Dennis Miller "...of course, I could be wrong."

 

O.K here's my 2 cent's. for what it's worth. I can only say that the 500i should handle the loads you are talking about with no problem IMO with the adjustable shocks there is no way that the IRS could flatten to the point where the ground clearance is going to be less than on a solid axle machine. The 500i fits your riding habits perfectly it is a heavier and stronger built machine (and a large comfortable seat your looking for) than the 660 from what i've seen in the showrooms.However it does lack the fancy electronics (and speed) that the 660 has but thats a plus to me becouse that means less to go wrong with and also cheaper to fix.I personally have not rode a 660 (yet)I think you would be happy with the 660 but if top speed is not that important to you I <u>KNOW</u> you would be happy with the 500i. Hope this helps

 

OK, so tell me some more about this 2 to 4 WD selector lever. I have seen it in the show-rooms. How does it work in real life?

 

The selector is much easier and smoother to engage and disingage than previous year cats (I had a 2000 300 4x4)Very simple push in for 4wd pull out for 2wd (while not in motion)

 

if i were doing mostly towing, i would pick the 650 prarie. the tounge weight of the 660 grizzly is only 38 lbs. it can pull a house, but will sag the rear suspencion. the locking diff is a must if you get into the read bad stuff though. the suspencion on the 660 grizzly is totally adjustable, but to haul 1000 lbs probibally has alot of tounge weight to it. the towing compasity of the grizzly is 1250lbs i think. as for plush riding, the independant suspencions are much better. the power of the grizzly is neverending too. good luck on your choises, and i hope i helped out a little.


my pictures

 

The diff lock is a must I think. When I first got my 650 I thought that I didn't really need that lock, but the other day I was climbing out between a tree and a big rock,the tree was against the left rear tire and the front right tire was having to go up over about a foot high rock ledge, and it was on thick pine straw going uphill,all three wheels were spinning ,just pulled the lock in and it on its way again.Yeah,I probaly could have made it without the lock by going faster,but I didn't know it was going to happen and I sure didn't want to back down the hill to try it again.Dangerous things start to happen sometimes when backing down hills,especialy on pine straw.