jordo 2 thing's i would do , is change over to the engine oil brand you deside to use after breakin' early before the first oil change ( 50 mile's instead of 100 mile's) like the owner's manual call's for ; only i wouldn't change from Dino to Synthetic untill after bearkin' !

There are many who will say go ahead and change to synthetic , but i would wait ; and the early oil change is to remove metal shaving's from the engine/tranny then change it again at 100 to 150 mile's to remove any shaving's the first oil change didn't get !

I did the prep for my 06' AC 400 FIS Auto 4x4 to save money on the Dealers prep , the first thing i did was to burnish the brake's ; The manual states fo achieve full braking effectiveness ; Braking distance will be extended untill the brake pads are properly burnished.

Choose an area sufficietly large enough to accelerate atv to 30 miles mph to a stop .
Accelerate to 30 mph and ; then squease the hand brake to a stop .
Then accelerate to 30 mph , and squease the brake untill you get to 0 to 5 mph ; and repeat this procedure 5 times or untill brakes are burnished !

This should've been done by the Dealers Technition/machanic , but it's something i had to do as part of preperation that the Dealership gave me a discount for doing my own prep ; then i went over every nut and bolt i could get to with the proper type of locktight !

The owners manual also call's for no more than half throddle varying the rpm's during the breakin' period allowing the componate's to "load" ( aiding the engine/transmission componate mating process ) and then "unload" ( allowing componates to cool ). Although it is essential to place some stress on the engine componates during break-in' , care should be taken not to overload the engine too often . Do not pull a trailer during the break-in peroid .
When the engine starts , allow it to warm up properly .
Idle the engine servals minutes until the engine has reached normal operating temperature.
Don't idle the engine for excessively long periods of time .

These were directly from the owners manual of my 2006 AC 400 FIS Auto 4x4 , but one thing i like about the Auto's are that no matter the speed of the quad the engine stay's in the right rpm range ; unlike the manual shift model's this helps for the Auto's so there are no lugging the engine !

One thing i did as soon as i heard about it was to add some Sea Foam to my fuel to keep the fuel fresh longer , Sea Foam also keeps the fuel system clean ; and keep's the combustion chamber clear of carbon deposit's !

Sea Foam and Deep Creep ( Witch is the same as Sea Foam ) only it comes in a spray can ) are at most all Auto Parts Stores , i get it from my local O'Reillys Auto Parts Store ; it went up from $5.99 to $6.99 when the gas prices went up but i think it's worth every penney for what all it does to the engine both 2 and 4 stroke engines Deisel and Gasoline internal combustion engines !

Welcome to atv's , Arctic Cat and fo the forums , ride safe and have fun riding your new quad !.......

 

I bought a suzuki king quad 300 ltwd,that thing is a torque monster w 15 speeds.I bought mine for 1600.I would go this route I dont like machines with belts.My buddy smoked his belt trying to pull my trailblazer outta quicksand an we ended towing him out of the woods but what if he was by himself he would be screwed.I wish some 1 would make a bigger cc quad like the ole suzuki.Thats your best bet or honda they are both reliable quads.

 

mudslingfool if you get in deep enough to get mud in the belt housing air intake you'll also suck mud into the air intake to the carb , because they're both located side by side up high at the handle bar mount's under the plastic's on the 2006 AC 400 FIS Auto ; with the Suzuki 376cc Engine and Suzuki's Duramatic Belt Driven Clutch Transmission that can be snorkled to keep out the mud and water !

And about the no low reverse if you're hauling a trailer load of fire wood or log's on a steep incline and have to backup the hill , you would need a low reverse ; but at the same time if you're coming down this steep incline with a trailer full of wood or log's that weigh a ton i would worry about stopping than backingup this steep of an incline in the first place !

I don't mean to sound deffenceive about any brand my first good Motorcycle and first atv was a Honda , like Kawasaki , Yamaha , Suzuki Polaris and Arctic Cat ; they all make good atv's wheather they're fully Manual Semi Auto or Belt Drive Auto's !.....

 

good point with the low reverse. ive heard people say , " i dont really need it anyway" then they haul wood and cant back it up like you said. i will never get rid of my 02 for that reason. low reverse is wonderful. cant believe they got rid of it. oh and itt helps in the mud too.