Andy - $6800 does seem ridiculous. My dealer told me the MSRP on the Auto was $6589 or something like that. I bought mine for $6300; the Theif River Falls, MN dealership was selling them for $6200, so I didn't think I was doing too bad. The Sportsman and the Honda 450 ES were 2nd and 3rd on my list, respectfully. So far the cat has been a good machine for me.

 

Whoops! Looks like I snuck in on you guys getting page 6, there's always page 7, right?

 

Congrats are in order TCat. You kept Boner from winning the tic tac toe on this topic. He almost got three in a row, and probably would have gotten another, but I don't think he posted anything tonight. I bet he will wish that he had. Two in a row was pretty good. That dealership is extremely high priced. Two months ago, I saw a 99 400 4x4 with a tag for $6,400 on it. It even said "SALE" on the tag. Its a good thing that they sell boats, otherwise they would be turning that building of theirs into a furniture warehouse or something.

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

 

Shame of it is that we keep buying them,seems like we are just as happy as if we had good sence

------------------
THE FORMER CORNCOB2

 

I bet the new seat is another example
of an upgrade/improvement made during
the production cycle of a new machine.
The first one I saw had a 2wd/4wd shift
cable type thing that looked like it
belonged on a cheap lawnmower as a throttle
cable. They have fixed that on later ones.
Was the gas gauge still the type built
into the gas tank cap?

 

Went to a Honda/Arctic Cat/Suzuki/Yamaha dealer today and also a Polaris dealer. First thing I did was check out the RancherES 2x4 in the showroom. Very nice machine, I liked it. Then I checked out the 2000 Arctic Cat 500 Automatic. I sat on this machine at a different dealer and the seat was hard and narrow. This machine's was extremely soft and nice and wide. Was this a quick change on the production line for all of the Arctic Cat ATV's, since they all had the new seat? I also noticed the cooling fan went on again when I turned the key on, why does it do this? Also, as I've heard from a lot of people, the gauge was annoying just moving the machine a little. But I thought it was pretty good and I would like to ride one sometime. Also, how do you get this machine in low range? I got it in neutral, reverse, and high range pretty easily, but it absolutely would not go into low range. I figured there would be a safety like Yamaha has so I stepped on the rear brake and pulled the hand brake in but it still refused to go in. Does it have to be rocked back and forth to get it into low range? The only other thing I didn't like is the floorboards. They look nice and sturdy, but the outside of them has nothing to hold your feet on. Anyone have problems with your feet flying off the floorboards when they get slick from mud?

At the Polaris dealer, they had a new 2000 Sportsman 500 in yellow in stock. Looks like they updated the shifting mechanism on their entire lineup, cause they all shift into gear a lot better than the old ones do. Not that the old ones were hard, just that the new ones don't require much of a shove to get them into gear. All I can say is, Arctic Cat and Polaris did a good job on their updates and Honda did a good engineering job on the Ranchers.

 

WHY!!!!!! I WANTED TO BE THE FIRST ON PAGE 6.

 

The Cat-o-matic goes into low range like a Polaris. Push the shifter forward as far as it will go, then push it to the right, then push forward again.

 

Merry Christmas at my house!!
I did it.
I just bought 2 new Cat-O-Matics.
Traded the Magnum 425 for two Cats.
I will pick up the two red Cats
on Tuesday. VERY EXCITED!!
The dealer here in Idaho just got
5 new red ones. They have the improved
wide plush seat, better 2wd/4wd lever,
new main shift lever, and gas gauge is
not built into the gas fill cap.
Now I need a narrow 2 deep trailer
(13 X 5) with at least 14" wheels and
capable of sustained 85 mph. Any suggestions?

 

I hope I will still be welcome
on the Polaris pages...
So many good folks here.