Artic cat

[starmac]

I wound up with an artic cat atv today, I have mostly messed with old hondas and these things are not all that popular up here. Does anybody know anything about them, are they worth having??

[Bo1]

Not bad bikes.. My uncle had a side by side, and it was comparable to my Polaris Ranger...
Bo

[AlaskanGuy]

They are junk, just bring it to me when you come fishing, i will use is as a Boat anchor... Or maybe just use it.. He he

[starmac]

I would hate to see it down there where the salt air would probably even rust the plastic. lol

[starmac]

I hope this works out to be a decent ride. I have been looking for something so the wife and I could both have a ride or something to ride together. I have seriously been looking at the side by sides, so if this works out it potentially will sve me THOUSANDS. lol

[AlaskanGuy]

Them new side by side jobbers will run close to 20k, so hope it does"...

[dakotashooter2]

Made in MN so designed with cold weather in mind. Seem to be pretty good.

[dtknowles]

My Brother in Maine got one, he is happy with his. He replaced the tires with tracks and used it this past winter as his snowmachine and to plow his yard.

Tim

[Bullshop Junior]

They are junk. Not as bad as Polaris but I wont ever own another.

[Loudenboomer]

They are built about 35 miles from me. I had a 2007 366 "Lemon" a few years back. I currently have a 2009 550 efi no complaints. had a few problems with rear cv joints but warranty had that covered. What model and size did you get?

[starmac]

It is an 04 650. They only made this model for 2 years which makes me wonder if they had problems with it.

Akguy, you must be looking at the loaded side by sides with electric windows. lol So far the one I like best is the ploaris, and a basic model is running around 11 grand, and goes up to as much as a guy wants to spend. lol

[Bullshop Junior]

Polaris is junk. Arctic cat are junk. Suzuki are junk. . Yamaha and honda are good.

The Subaru ones they sell at Home Depot are better then Polaris.

[Superfly]

DANG Looks like we are neighbors. loudenboomer I am about 1 hr from TRF .


There is really nothing wrong with Arctic Cat or Polaris It is all in how you treat them now. It does not matter if it is a honda or a Kawasukie or a Suzukie If you treat them like shiit you will have Shiit.

Most of the Polaris problems was from untrained people Who Thought they knew what they were doing working on there own Stuff. Seen it way to many times. Some people think they are Mechanics When they should not be anywhere near a tool. Just becuse you bought snap on tools means nothing if you don,t know what you are doing.


Do your self one Favor Wash the Rad out with simple green BEFORE it is Soaked with **** Mud dust debris etc. Then wash it out again to be sure.

Now Start the Machine let it get warmed up and have the fan cycling on the RAD make sure it is Dry and when it is Spray a few cans on Silicon spray into the Rad letting it dry between coats. Then when dry Hose it in there real good. this will help keep the cooling system clean on the outside. Yes it works and it works rather good.

Now for the inside get your self a pint of water pump Lube Just like in the old days Add it to the coolent system it will help keep the internals going alot longer.

Now take the rest of that there silicon spray and spray everything under the ATV it helps to keep the mud and **** from sticking to everything.

They are built about 35 miles from me. I had a 2007 366 "Lemon" a few years back. I currently have a 2009 550 efi no complaints. had a few problems with rear cv joints but warranty had that covered. What model and size did you get?

[Superfly]

I belive the O4 650s had frame problems look it over real good as the frames would break on them real common. Yes you can weld them back up and re gusset them stress point but you have to catch it before it is toast.

[starmac]

Well this one does have a frame problem, but it was not a manufacturing problem. lol I got the frame straightened last night, but will need a new lower a arm. lol I have it stripped down cleaning everything up as we speak, what brand of silicone do you suggest?? It has always had a carb problem after it ran for a while, but I may have found it, the vent from the tank was routed next to the heat shield for the muffler and had melted into and closed off. This was a manufacturer, or more likely an engineering fault.

From all I gather they have weaker frames than others, but I don't get too crazy on them anymore, it is way heavier than my honda, so the winch is not an option on this beast.

[Superfly]

What ever silicon spray you can get ahold off i use about 2 cans on 1 atv. Yes the closed of atmospheric vent line will make it run like ****. run all the vent lines and breather lines into the handle bar stem if you plan on water crossings it does help.

[Goatwhiskers]

I've had two, a 454 and now a 300, both second hand. In my limited experience I found that if you pull apart every connection in the electrical system, clean it, and apply dielectric grease you won't have electrical problems. Also I used a grease needle to pump every booted joint full of grease, no CV or ball joint problems. GW

[41 mag fan]

Bought me a 400 back in '04. Only problem I have had...knock on wood...was I fouled out the spark plug by hitting the throttle while trying to start it.
Of course it's like anything...you get what you pay for and the length of its life depends on how hard a life it had.
I bought mine for 2 purposes...hauling deer out of the woods and to haul wood we cut out of the woods.
I will say this Artic Cat can haul...I've loaded up the trailer heavy many times and it never missed a lick.
Oh...and being 10 yrs old...my odometer only shows 164mi ...thats another thing...i think my odometer is off, it reads fast ...I'm probably closer to 75mi on it.

[terry]

I have an 06 sxs 650. love it. I put street tires and legalized it for the street. still climbs the hills as well as with the original tires. take care of it and you will like it.

[Wasalmonslayer]

Hello all
I have been workin on cats for 13 years. On the new ones anything 450 and down are china cats joint venture with kymco.
The older ones like you have are bullet proof. We have some that only plow snow and have over 4000 miles on the original belt.
Up until that 650 all cats ran suzuki motors. They were ultra reliable. The only issues we have are fuel varnish.
Drive train is maintenance free and bullet proof.
From the point on they are arctic cats motors. They are an exact copy of a suzuki except they build more power.
I own an 04 400 4x4 I plow snow, haul elk, haul deer, spray weeds.
Every time I push the button it starts. Just keep an ethanol rated fuel stabilizer in and you will have 0 problems.
Shoot me a pm and I can fill ya in on the inside scoop.
Wasalmonslayer