Also posted this in the hunting/farming section, thought I might get some more views here though.

I'm kinda new to the atv world and I've been reading and searching until my head is about to pop. I'm looking for and atv to fit my needs which would be working around the yard(5 acres, clearing/mowing and pulling some stuff nothing major), I will also be using it hunt off of(and maybe plow some food plots), as well and doing some muddin and trail riding. I live in Florida and some of the areas are pretty wet and muddy. I hear a lot about the belt driven atv's slipping or squealing until they dry. I've been considering the Arctic Cat 500i, Grizzly 660, and the Prarie 650. They all seem like they would fit my needs but I can't decide. I'm kinda leaning toward te Cat becuase of GC, avalable in manual, and the low torque (from what I've read). But a lot of this stuff is kinda foreign to me. Any help good/bad about these bikes or other recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

I use a Cat 500i on my farm - 150 acres of mostly hardwood trees, steep hills, lotsa limestone rocks, creek through the middle of it. Drag trees (downed, of course) with it, haul firewood, and haul myself and tools to where they need to be. It has been terrific - clears just about anything, plenty of pulling power, the racks will carry quite a load (I've never bottomed it out), love the manual transmission, and after 500 miles, all I've done is change the oil, and replace a headlight bulb that got broken off by a branch that flew up under the front fender when I was backing up. After a couple hundred miles the engine loosened up and now develops decent power, though I wouldn't call it scary fast. I rarely use full throttle anyway. At first, it felt a bit tippy compared to my old Big Bear, but I soon discovered that the Cat would take more of an off camber than the Bear would. Now that I'm used to it, anything else feels harsh, unstable, and too low to the ground.

After a year, I'm still satisfied with the big Cat, it does exactly what I wanted it to do. We'll be visiting Hatfield-McCoy in about a month, and I have no doubt the Cat will carry me through without a problem.

Actually, I looked at the three you mention last summer before getting the Cat. The P650 didn't really have the rough ground capability that I needed, and the dealers were being hardline on Grizz prices. The Yamaha dealer expected my business, the Suzuki/Cat dealer wanted it. And got it.

 

Thanks for the info. I keep coming back to the Cat for some reason, seems like it would just fit my needs. Speed doesn't concern me since it's main purpose will be to work and hunt off of with some muddin/trail riding thrown in as well. Money aside do you think the you would have gone with the Grizzly?

 

Hey cudda, I owned a prairie 650 (for about a week) before trading it in for a Grizzly. I'm not saying that all prairies are junk, but mine certainly was (for alot of reasons). There were alot of things I discovered I didn't like about the prairie, unfortuantely after I bought it. I've been more than happy with my Grizz. I've had it buried in mud/water up to the seat more than once and have never had a problem with the belt slipping. The only reason water should get in there is 1) the belt housing isn't sealed properly or 2) you get into water which is above the air intake for the tranny. I have had absolutely no problems with my Grizzly. The only thing I would recommend if you buy a Grizzly is that you put some wider tires on it, as it is a little "tippy" feeling on sidehills with the stock tires. I put 12" wide rears and 9" inch wide fronts on mine with 1" spacers and it helped dramatically. Other than that I can't say anything bad about the Grizzly. I don't know much about the Arctic Cat, but I think that the biggest motor you can get in one of them is a 500cc. I would take this into consideration if you're going to be hauling things and doing work with it. I know the 660cc engine on my Grizz has plenty of low end. Good luck.

 

For work and Mud, I would choose a Manuel definately. Little to no maintaince on a Manuel. The belt on a Automactic is always going to slip some way in the mud and water, either its not sealed, or through the breather for the tranny. If i was just going to do some trailriding and thats it, go with the Automactic, but for me i want the Heavy Duty Manuel so i can go deep as i want, just not over the Intake. Another thing when your belt starts slipping in some deep water, your not going to have a good day [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Do you really need the top of the line machine? If not any of the 400-450cc machines are great.

 

For me, the Grizzly ran a close second. To tell the truth, I was pretty much settled on a grizz, until I saw a big Cat when I was buying parts for my chain saw, and was nothing but impressed with the tough and thorough construction. This was spring 2002, when the grizz was having some 'first year' difficulties, too, though I've heard that most of those problems have since been resolved.

In the end, the three things that got me on a Cat were the available manual transmission, reputation for reliability (which mine has lived up to), and an accomodating dealer that really cut the price to the bone. I will say that the Grizz ran a real close second - if it had a manual transmission or been cheaper, I would have probably gone for it.

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone, it's greatly appreciated. I've been doing a lot of reading through the archives and the more I read the more I like the Prairie 650. Locking diff., peppy, powerful, The only thing that concers me is that belt. Since I live in a wet place and love playing in the mud I don't want to worry about getting stranded becuase of a wet belt. Doesn't seem to be a problem as long as everything is sealed properly like it should be? The arctic cat sounds great except for the lack of speed, my wife is really wanting to get into trail riding and I have a feeling there's gonna be times when I'm gonna want to open it up some. I'm sure all of them will do the work I want to use them for aswell as get me into the woods for hunting, I just don't want something I'm gonna get bored with either.