What your advise on Arctic Cat!!!

[ratherbefishn]

I have been looking around a bit for a Wheeler. I may be able to get a pretty good deal on a Artic cat 400. I wanted to go with Honda but hate to pass up a deal. Olny thing bad I have heard are the cost of parts. Anything else I should know or be aware of????? Most the use it will get is ice fishing and some hunting.

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

I researched heavily and found enough postive info on cat to buy a 500 last month. So far no probs but I have not run it much. Used it to plow twice. The gas line leaked where it attched to carb but I easily fixed that. I too always said I'd buy a Honda but the cat was alot cheaper, had nice options and looked good. From what I have read they are a nice machine. Time will tell.

[jltimm]

Almost every cat has a Suzuki engine (which in my opinion are bulletproof).Arctic cat has great ground clearance and alot of suspension travel in their "I" models.They make a great hunting,fishing unit as they are equipped more for work than play.You can trail ride with them,but they are heavy and cumbersome compared to some others,but you said you'll be using it mostly for ice fishin and hunting anyways.

[Bingy5150]

I have had Hondas for the last 10yrs and this year I switched to the Arctic Cat 500 TBX. The dump box feature on this machine is great to have. I have used it for plowing and fishing and it has really impressed me. I loved the Hondas but the ground clearance and the diff lock feature on the cat is what sold me on it and I would not put down a Honda but I would rather have a Cat

[harvey lee]

I have a Cat 400 4X4 and its 8 years old.Always starts and runs well with almost 4000 miles.Never a problem.I use it to pull my portable and deer hunting.I would buy another cat with a second thought.I cant say anything about the cost of parts as I dont buy any,great machine.

[Smokey]

I'm getting a new 400 Arctic Cat this coming weekend. My first ATV. pretty excited. From what I've seen and heard I think it will be a good machine. My question is, what do people normally do about insurance on something like this? Does my homeowners policy cover things like theft? Is it a good idea to have liability coverage? I'd like to have some idea before I call my agent.

[notsogoodfisherman]

Homeowners insurance will not cover your ATV. I contacted my insurance agent and it is a total of 268 dollars for one year of full coverage with a $500 deductible. I bought it mainly in the event of a theft. Most damage you will do will be better to pay for out of pocket.

As far as an Artic Cat goes, I heard they are nice. Regarding the above posts, Kawasaki I believe makes around 60% of the Suzuki parts including engines. At least that is the statistic I have been given. I purchased a Yamaha 660 Grizzly this past December. It is a wonderful machine. As far as choosing a machine I am repeating advise I have read on this board in the past when I was shopping around; Trust Your Dealer! That's about it. Make sure you have a maintenance plan or at least an extended warranty. All ATV's only give a factory warranty for 6 months.

Ground clearance is almost the same on most machines too. You will typically have enough ground clearance for most riding conditions unless you put on a plow then you loose about a 1/2 inch or so. Good luck shopping, it is an adrenaline rush when the quad finally arrives at your house!

[ratherbefishn]

Thanks a ton guys, I have been waiting a while to find a used one. Temptation may get the best of me to go with a new one pretty soon though if I cant get a good price on this cat! Thanks agian... Im sure I might have other questions when I finally buy one.

[tripper]

I ride with quit a few people that own cats and the biggest thing that I have seen with them is electical problems of all sorts. That four lock is nice but the machine is a bear to turn when it is engaged, at least that is what people that own cats tell me. Over all they are good machines.

[cold one sd]

I have a 05 Artic Cat 400 auto with the locking front differential. The machine is great and trouble free. I liked the features of Artic Cats and the fact that they had four different models in the 400 class. I started looking at a manual 400 and kept finding things that I wanted to have on my wheeler and ended up with the 400 auto. As far as parts are concerned I think Honda parts are quite a bit higher that Arctic Cat parts from what I have read on some ATV forums.

[96trigger]

I own a 2004 AC 650VTwin. It is one heck of a machine.

A couple of things I don't like:

The choke switch, pain to turn, have already broken one, but they are cheap and fairly easy to replace, yet, if one breaks in the winter, consider your cat dead as they are extremely cold blooded.

The belt drive can be a little annoying, you can't pull anything in reverse, it burns the belt, seems a little silly with the winch on front but its minor.

There are a few electrical issues with the AC. Their is a belt sensor that keeps tripping, I can put a new part in to eliminate that and get more HP but it costs like $250. Thats a lot for a machine you just spent over 5 grand on.

Some likes:

Good power, Smooth ride, good weight distribution, nice heavy front and rear racks. Mine came with a reciever hitch. Very nice for moving trailers and boats in and out of the shed. The differential lock is very nice when plowing snow, I've never had a problem with traction. Good luck.

[icedoctor]

I own a 2005 500 auto Arctic Cat and love it. I bought it new non-current in December of 2005. It came with a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty and the 2006 models come with a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty.

Look at the rack system on the Arctic Cats and I think you'll love it. The built in reciever hitch is nice and the suspension and travel is great. I have a plow on mine and only used it a couple of times this year but it did a great job plowing, no chains needed. Look at the accessories you can get for the Arctic Cats as well they provide an assortment of great add ons including a clam fish house that mounts to the rack system and folds over the entire ATV its around $469. I just bought the Auger mount and its great. Keeps the auger secure and is easy to take off with two pins. What ever you decide, all the machines on the market are great and you'll be glad you got one especially if we have another winter like this one.

[ratherbefishn]

Ended up with a auto 400. Just picked it up from the dealer last night. It is an 05 but still at 00 miles. One concern I do have is when we started it in the garage last night you could hear a rattling/clicking down by the foot break In what looks like the gear casing. Now I am new to these machines but is this common. I did adjust the idle down a little and that helped. When I left the dealer they had to play with the idle because it wasnt ran for a while and may have been to high after it warmed up??

[cold one sd]

That casing is the belt chamber and you are probably just hearing the belt turning. Mine is always kind of noisy too.

[reddogadventures]

My first and only wheeler is a '02 AC 500 auto. Cat has made many improvements since then as far as user friendly items. Mine has been put to many, many tests and has passed with flying colors. The thing pulls like a train. I have a five foot plow on it for snow moving and it does an awesome job, even without tire chains.They are cold blooded but I played with the choke and it seems as though I found the sweet spot. Starts and runs great. Mine has a nice feature with the choke adjustment. It's on a flexible connection that can easily be reached from the right side of the engine without removing the seat or other parts. Don't know if that's changed on the newer models. One complaint that I do have is the rear brake is worthless. Maybe they've improved that also. I am now fighting the urge to buy a new one or maybe even a Prowler. That Prowler would look good in front of my portable and would certainly hold a bunch of gear in the box. I really think I need one but my girlfriend says it's a boy toy thing....again.

I think you made a good choice on your wheeler.

[cold one sd]

I think they are all a little cold blooded and the 2005s have an automatic choke. I just pull the boot back on my throttle cable and turn the adjuster out to boost the rpms until it gets warm enough to rev it to kick the choke off. It seems like the more hours you get on em the better everything seems to work.

[ratherbefishn]

Thanks agian, I was just a little worried because in the first 24 hours I have had it a tire has gone flat and the oil cooler leaks because the plug was stripped Between that the noise started to worry me also. So I brought it back today to get everything fixed almost ready to tell them to keep the machine and give me another because I really need it for this weekend. The 05 does have an auto choke witch is nice. The dealer seems to be pretty good about helping so hopefully were good to go by the weekend.

[LMITOUT]

I've never considered Arctic Cat before, but after doing some research they seem to be a decent machine. I've been partial to Suzukis in the past so that was the direction I was heading, but now I might have to reconsider. Do they all have the Suzuki engines? That's a big selling point for me.

Since you guys are more familiar that I am with the AC's, is there any difference between the 500 auto and 500 manual other than the trannys? I'm not sold on auto's and would rather bang gears myself. Any idea what a fair price is on a 500 manual? The main use for this would be ice fishing of course!

Anything else I should look for when shopping around? I'm sure a bigfoot kit will be on the shopping list as well shortly after.

[ratherbefishn]

I put 60 miles on the machine this weekend and was very pleased with it and the dealers quick action to get it ready for the weekend. I was looking at the 400 and 500 auto. Ended up with the 400 auto for 5200 after tax but it is also a 05. Thanks everyone for the info.

LMITOUT, I almost went with the manual also but the lady wanted an auto so she could drive it also To be honest I think I will be very pleased with the auto. I think it was about 3-400 bucks more to go with the auto and I thought they all had the suzuki engines.

[Dave]

Arctic Cat introduced its own engine with the H1 650 in 2004, released as a 2005, if I remember correctly..

[cold one sd]

There really isn't a difference between the 500 auto and 500 manual except the manual is around 40 lbs lighter.

[LMITOUT]

Lighter, cheaper, more fun...sounds like the manual is the way to go.

Dave - In my brief research I did stumble on the mention of AC making their own engine for the 650. You are correct.

I'll take the Suzi though in the 500.

[jltimm]

Just for everyones info. The other Arctic cat 650 has a Kawasaki v-twin engine.And to be released soon the Suzuki will let them use their 700 single cylinder fuel injected motor.

[LMITOUT]

Stopped by the local dealer to check out the Arctic Cats and they aren't giving those away! $7000+ for a 2006 500LE. Ouch. The only 2005 they had was a 650 for $6300. This dealer also carries Yamaha's and the 2006 Grizzly was about the same price as the 650 AC and looked pretty snazzy in gray/silver but I don't know much about the positives/negatives between these two as far as maintenance or reliability. They talked me into an considering an automatic, although I need to ride one to see how it feels and performs.

Are these walk away or run away prices or about right?

[Smokey]

I just purchased a 2006 400LE which is the same setup as the 500 (automatic, winch, bumpers, nice wheels). I paid 6 even for it, which I thought was a decent deal. I think you can figure on an extra $700-$800 for the liquid cooled 500 engine. I could have saved a hundred bucks or so buying it here in the cities, but the dealer that I bought it from was very highly recommended to me by my wife's uncle, who worked for Arctic for decades as some sort of regional dealer rep, so that swayed my decision quite a bit. All they do is Arctic Cat sleds and ATVs, and they get high marks for customer service and knowing their products. They are located in Sauk Centre, I know that we are not supposed to name names or provide links but I think it would be worth talking to them. They seem like straight, honest, knowledgible people, and they were willing to talk prices over the phone.

By the way, that 400LE is a nice riding machine.