To add to cobs comments about reliability, I was in Colorado last Feb., and went on a sled ride into the mountains. Anyhow, one thing I noticed, all the sled rental areas that I checked out rented only Polaris'. These guys make their living with these machines, it says alot that they buy a whole fleet of Polaris sleds exclusively! The tour was a great time, about 20 sleds went out, no problems at all, even the ones that flipped kept running no problem!

 

I believe this year's AC will be able to contend with anything you put up against it.
Sportsman, Grizzlys, Rubicons ect ect. In my opinion the 98 and 99's could compete with anything. But the test riders. (who spend there time riding banshees in the California hills and wouldnt know a sport-utlity/work/go anywhere machine if it bit them in the butt) thought different. Arctic Cat did have a couple of improvements to make, such as easier steering and 2/4wd selection. Having made those improvements for 2000, the Arctic Cat is on Top.

 

I just returned from a weekend of using
my 98 Magnum 425 in cold crappy stuff in
the morning and sun dried open prairie
type stuff in the afternoon. The POLARIS
was great.
The Cat is going to have to be SUPERB to keep
me from adding a SP500 to the stable. If I can find a decent dealer situation, then it
will be SP500.

 

Boner, I'm a bit late with this post here, but I still have a comment for you. Mainly, when you are already spending around $6,000 then what the hell is $400-500 anyway? I got my AC 500 considerably cheaper than a sportsman, but the price isn't why I made my decision. It was just the best bike for me, myself, and I. For others, it could be anything else and I don't think that anyone who is willing to pay the price for a 500 class ATV is going to be totally steered one way or the other over $400-500. For anyone interested in the ride of the IRS, its every bit worth the money. If IRS isn't a factor to you, then its not worth it. I still wouldn't trade my AC for a Sportsman, but I will say that If I had been ready to purchase a month earlier before I had ridden the AC, then there would be a green 99 Sportsman 500 in my garage right now. Things just were timed to where I had my down payment built up a month after I was set on a Polaris.

------------------
Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

I still say, it doesn't mater if you were spending 10 grand, 500 bucks is still 500 bucks.

 

Yeah, It was to me as well back when I was 17.

------------------
Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

Well I am 15. But my dad bought a $27,500 machine for his company. He could have got a different machane $600 bucks but he didn't want to spend anothere 600 bucks because he was already spending enough.

 

If look at Magazine test they sometimes make there decisions on a 200 dollar price difference also. So I don't think it's just me.

When I bought my Arctic Cat 500 i bought it becase it was cheaper. I was set on buying a yellow 450s till I saw that the Arctic Cat 500s were selling for the same price and including a 2-year warranty. It would have cost me 200 bucks more to get a 2 year warranty on the 450s, but I bought the Cat even thought I thought, at the time, the 450s was better. The reasn I thought it was better is because the 450s had won a shootout against 454 and the Suzuki 500.
Now after riding both I am glade I bought the cheaper quad. If i would have been thinking like you do I would have never known how much more I like the Arctic Cat 500 over the 450s.

Arctic Cat 500, OH HELL YEA

[This message has been edited by BONER (edited 11-08-1999).]

 

If you were thinking like me, then you would have the same damn bike you do now. Don't you remember where I stated that my AC was a lot cheaper than the others, and that I would have still got the cat even if it cost more? I'm not trying to make you mad Venable, I'm just saying that after you get to a certain point, a couple hundred just doesn't mean as much. Good lord, I just wrote a $1,200 sales tax check last week. On that, I would have definitely prefered it to be $1,000, but when you look at buying a $30,000 pickup, the extra $500 for the towing package and foglights just didn't carry the same weight.

------------------
Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

to corncob, I know AC had some problems with there snowmobiles about two years ago with zr 600 but Arctic cat backed there sleds up and recalled them and replaced them for nothing. Dont think your polaris company is all that much better. I remember back in 96 they had so many problems with the xlt cranks. That engines where going out left and right, do you think they recalled? No they left there customers high and dry. Im not saying polaris makes bad machines but there no better then the rest. But I must say, I have heard horror stories and also have seen some horror stories with their atvs. My neighbor Who in 98 bought a new sp500 with in 6 months he went threw 2 engines and he was fighting to get his engine covered under the warranty. Thank God he had a decent dealer that was standing behind what they sell. Ive seen tons of problems at the polaris shop that my uncle is a mechanic at have the polaris's come in because the four wheel drive unit went out or failed. The list goes on in on. Where as the AC atvs I will admitt they had a carburation problem on the ac454 which fouled the plugs all of the time. And they also have a problem on the ac 500 with the water pump not sealing up and it leaks.