Update to earlier post. You know it's really to bad we can't back up more than 2 weeks, so now I am forced to post again.

In an earlier chapter, my 98 Grizzly was in the shop for a "no spark" issue. One day it is running fine and the next day no fire. We are now on day 32 of the "Grizzly Hostage Crisis" with still no end in sight. The Yamaha/AC shop is making plenty of effort, just very little success. After waiting for nearly 2 weeks for a replacement Grizzly service manual. They have replaced the following parts;

stator, coil, spark plug, spark plug wire, rotor, magnet, and did several continuity checks of the wiring harness. The thought now is that it must be something in the wiring harness. They even took all of the parts that had been taken off of my Grizzly and put them onto another one and it still runs ok.

So to make a long story longer, here is what they have done for me. Back in Novemeber (the early days of the Grizzly hostage crisis), the dealer loaned me an AC 2000 400 2X4 for deer hunting as a loaner, which was a nice extra. However since that time we have had over 30" of snow and I have a 5' Moose plow in the garage that I could not use on the AC 400, nor woudl the 2X4 have supported it. Thanks to the generosity of a neighboor I have been plowed out several times. After some pretty serious harrasement my dealer has now picked up the 400 and provided me a new 2001 AC 500 manual with a plow mount and winch setup similiar to my Grizzly. This is very nice of them, but after a month of having my Grizzly I am not as moved by this action as I should be. Of course he is trying to get me to trade in the Grizzly and $2k extra for the AC.

After using it this weekend to plow and play, I have made the following obversations;

Nice suspension, real nice ride and stabile.
Good torque and power, similar to the Grizz
I miss the automatic, shifting into reverse for plowing is tedious.
Turning radius is terrible and even worse in 4X4 Moose winch mount for AC is upside down. I can't see the wraps of cable on the spool. Not sure how you would see if you are getting it wrapped back on straight.
Rear drive shaft is exposed. That seems VERY dangerous to me. Wrap up on some weeds, exposed bailing twine, tow strap, or worst case the rope from a childs sled.
Heel toe shifter is going to take some getting used to.
Love the quiet engine and liquid cooling.

Still not sure this is the machine for me. I understand the need for a manual transmission for what I do (plowing, mowing, towing trees and firewood), however I must admit I prefer the automatic transmission. I am going to use it
until the Grizzly is back and then decide if I want to keep the Grizzly in hopes of a late 2001 liquid cooled Grizzly, opt for the loaner AC manual, AC auto, or move away from this dealer to a Rubicon after the prices drop some.

Thanks - Allen L. Grooms
98 Grizzly One HOT Machine
AC 2000 400 2X4 - used and returned
AC 2001 500 4X4 - currently on loan