I am usually a Polaris guy (05 Predator LE, 2000 Scrambler 400 4x4) but I just got a slighty used (20hrs) 2005 Arctic Cat 500 manual. Just wondering what the polaris guys think of it? How does it compare to a sportsman. I never rode a sportsman of any model. I got such a good deal on it I couldnt pass it up.

 

We too have owned nothin but polaris's over the years but my dad also got a real good deal on an 04' Cat 500 Auto and has been nothin but good to us. I've driven many sportsman 500s, new and older, and the only thing that i like more about the Cat is the suspension and ground clearance. Cat 500s have more top end with which who realy cares about top end anyways on a utility quad, but Sportsmans have more torque with that bigger carb from what i've driven.

 

I dont know because I never driven the polaris 500 but by looking at the two the arctic cat would go through more rough stuff/mudd but the polaris would handle better in trail riding. I guess both would be great workhorses. The manual seems to have a lot of torque. I have no comlaints on power with it. Top speed (who cares) it probably takes forever to get there on both. Im more interested in quality of ride and quality of atv.

 

I recently looked at a new cat 500 but didn't like the overall feel of it, (it seems like it would be a very rough ride on trails). like i do with the SP, one thing that would be nice is the added ground clearance. Cats are king of the mud!! But I love my SP.

Ty

 

I was at the POLARIS 06 TEST RIDE ON MONDAY at the event they had a comparison test to the polaris ATV's. there was like 30 or so quads in this test Most of with was utilaty quads.ALL the people in this test hated the Artic cat the most because ti was very jumpy and was very hard to ride in 4x4 mode.we all complaned about the steering as going where it wanted,and being hard to controll. One guy even said to the polaris guys :YOU NEED TO TAKE THIS QUAD OUT OF THE TEST BECAUSE IT IS DANGEROUS.I agree.

 

Fixmatt, I heard about the stering problems and it was fixed with better tires or more air up front. Was the complaints made on the 500 or the 650? or both if you recall. Thanks for your imput.

 

I believe it was a 400 and the 500

 

Fixitmatt your right about the steering being out of control. I thought the same thing when i first drove ours and it got alot better as we put some miles on it. I was reading an article about this big National ATV mud run and Arcticcat took 1, 2, and 3 so i tend to disagree the 4x4 being crappy. And of course Polaris guys are going to hate the Cats just like Arctic guys would hate the sportsmans, neither are going to give way to eachother. The sportsmans have a nicer plush ride to them for cats have stiffer springs. But can anyone explain to me why Sportsmans drag so much, almost bottoming out, with just 2 people on them, not banging polaris or anything so don't get that idea because i know they have the best suspension in the business. Has anyone experienced this besides me.

 

Tblazer..... we had that problem with my son's 500 Sportsman. We did two things to correct it.... On the 02's, the setting for the rear shocks was at it's softest... we went up two clicks. It took care of the squatting in the back... As for the front, his bottomed out too, so we went with the stiff Polaris springs. It made a big difference in the ride.

 

Whats the comparison on quality between the two? My scrambler suspension bottoms out easy also. I think thats why polaris have suck a smooth ride. they use real soft springs. I have to admit I like the 4x4 better on the arctic cat than I do on the polaris at least compared to my scrambler. I dont like the fact it uses hub fluid and that it needs 20% slippage to engage and sometimes it doesnt always engage all 4 equally or at the same time and doest release when taking out of 4wd until I back up. Locking Diferentials upfront is a nice feature. Mine is a little harder to compare to the sp 500 because of it being a manual transmission.