Yeah, AC dropped the ball by making that crappy 4wd engagement method. It could get caught on a stick and torn off real easily. Its not very protected under the fender. I wish they would have made some sort of tank mounted lever instead. Like the king quad has maybe. Much nicer. Matter of fact, they should have just put the king quad differential on it. I think we will have this thing up to 400 after all if some of the old guys notice it. Evensen, you still have credit for starting this fire.

 

The Ac looks and sounds like a nice machine haven never ridden one cant make a fair judgment,but i do know that the engine is supposed to be one of the best in the business,but that Fuji in my Sportsmans seems to be stout.
And you are right a 2 to 4wd switch is the only way to go.

 

I say let the games begin. A shoot out by Dirt Wheels would be nice. The Grizzly has already lost to the Magnum.

I put my vot on the 'Cat also. If the 500 is anything like the 300 then its a good bike. One of our memebers has a 300 4x4 & thats a pretty good machine, the owner swears about the reliability of the quad.

 

This ac 500 sounds really really good. I hope I run into one out in the woods some time and get a chance to ride with one to see how they perform. When one company puts out a superior product it inspires the others to catch up, which is good for
us customers! rangerchet, polaris xpedition 425 cc 5-speed...

 

According to the article in the Magazine "4-Wheel ATV Action, they matched up a Arctic Cat 500 auto,Grizz 600 auto, and the Polaris Magnum 500(not Polaris' full size ATV). The Arctic Cat came in last for every test they had between the three machines. In the end Polaris beat both of the compeditors, out hauling the Grizz & Arctic Cat in a Low range race pulling 800lbs., smoother ride, and the best 4-wheel drive system made for an ATV!!!!!! Answer your question???????

 

The AC fared poor in that shootout. I thought that they ragged it a little hard though, because it is a very good quad and they made it out to be a piece of crap. I think the overall standings of the shootout were on the money though as far as testing brand new machines in performance aspects. From the results they printed, you would think they were using the 300 AC. I mean they really dogged it hard. It didn't make me want to go trade mine in though.

 

I am going to buy one of these this week. I have ridden them both in the dealer's parking lots. I like them both, yet I am shocked by the review in the Action ATV Monster 4x4 ATV Shootout. It is contrary to what I have read here. I have a 325 Magnum and my 11 year old has a 325 Trail Boss. The Magnum is anemic, but cushy, slides well, Loses it on loose hillclimbs as does the Trail Boss, but the Trail Boss, bang for the buck is a
better ride. We ride in the Mountains of New Mexico, mine roads, sand washes, ruts, rocks, 50
mile days hard and FAST. I can't keep up with
anyone on the fast stretches for sheer lack of power and speed. The IRS of the Sportsman and the semi-IRS of the AutoCat 500 are appealing 'cause we've got all these ruts that CROSS the mine roads at various angles and drop a wheel which jerks the swingarm suspended ATV's
in a rather unpleasant way. Meanwhile my 11 year old wants a 425 Expedition (5-speed). I think the AutoCat may be too narrow after riding the
"Wide Track" Polarises. How wide is it? the brochure says 45", but how wide is it to the outside of the front tires? I forgot to measure it when I test rode it at the dealer in AZ. 100 miles away. The AutoCat was cushy,
fast, smooth with a low center of gravity. The Sportsman was Tall, BIG, fast. I am worried about the Sportsman's front hubs, I hear they are
prone to failure, is this true? You guys seem to have ridden them all, I would appreciate the voice of experience here. Thanks, Fourlix

 

I just bought the AutoCat 500. It is fast, smooth
low center of gravity with good ground clearance, long wheelbase, same width/track as the Polaris,
the suspension is very cushy BUT there is a bit too much "body roll" in turns and could really use a light anti-sway bar. The steering is really easy due to a mechanical advantage the handlebars have over the front wheels. The handlebars turn ~25% more than the front wheels
giving the illusion of understeer. It is a little weird at first, but it works. You wind up steering through a turn with the handlebars where the Polaris turns with much less handlebar movement, a bit more body english, a bit more slide. We havn't raced anybody except for my son's new 425 Expedition which it totally destroyed in 50 yard drag races. Can' wait till the weekend. Silly Later Fourlix

 

OK,, Fourlix here, and I did a big 40 miles in the Burro Mountains with my new Arctic Cat 500 Auto.
PROS: It is smooth and cushy, the suspension is awesome, the big Suzuki with the Duramatic EBS tranny is seamless, smooth and powerful. The long wheelbase great, stabile, the low seating position is confident on hills and overall reassuring.
CONS; This thing corners like crap. The lack of an anti-sway bar with the independant suspension
makes for lots of body roll in turns, quick transitions are very difficult because of this and the steering which is "geared" to give the handlebars a ~1.25 to 1 ratio, making steering effort easy but at the expense of long handlebar movement, and a feeling of understeer or pushing.
You have to use a lot of body english and handlebar angle to turn, so you just can't flip back and forth slalom style. The rear track, outside to outside is only 42", so stability in turns is not good. Minimum turning radius is also
a victim of this steering arrangement and the rather unnerving fact that it doesn't go the direction the handlebars are pointing-at any speed!
THE GOOD NEWS is that the steering is easily fixed by drilling a hole and relocating the tie rods on the hubs 5/8" inboard. It takes about an
hour and all you have to take off is the wheels.
See AutoCat 500 Steering Mods in the Arctic Cat Forum for more details. This modification costs nothing, fixes the steering, but does increase steering effort and it can be undone easily by moving the tie rod ends back to their original holes.
Next, NEW back tires, 25x12x12 replace the 25x10x12 which it already has up front.
WHAT's Next? Wheel Spacers, 1.5" from Highlifter
and some kind of anti-sway bar.
I've got the steering fixed and the new back tires and that has made a world of difference. I
could certainly live with it now, I couldn't before. I will try the spacers next because that's easy. The sway bar will be difficult because there is no kit, and the only ATV with one is the Sportsman. But Arctic Cat has sway bars on their Snowmobiles and I am trying to get
my dealer to find out through the factory if anything can be done. I hate to go through this kind of crap with a new vehicle, but sometimes re-enginnerring something can be a blast. Especially when you get it right. Silly Later,
Fourlix
Hey come on, only 2 more posts and this baby hits 400!!!

 

Here's 399!!! Go SP500!