Arctic cat 500 Info
- Thread starter Hunta
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HuntNphotos
New member
Two seater
Two seater
I have the Arcit Cat 500 TRV and I love it. Have not had a single problem with it. It rides like a dream with the IFS and mine has a slightly larger and wider wheelbase due to the rear seat that adds to the cushy ride and excellent handling as well. Mine has stock tires so far but I have only had to winch it a few times and the machines that were with me (all with Mudlites) had to winch as well so it does pretty good. I am going to try and fabricate a small lift and put some bigger mudlites on it and it should be a hell of a machine!
Two seater
I have the Arcit Cat 500 TRV and I love it. Have not had a single problem with it. It rides like a dream with the IFS and mine has a slightly larger and wider wheelbase due to the rear seat that adds to the cushy ride and excellent handling as well. Mine has stock tires so far but I have only had to winch it a few times and the machines that were with me (all with Mudlites) had to winch as well so it does pretty good. I am going to try and fabricate a small lift and put some bigger mudlites on it and it should be a hell of a machine!
Also go to a high volume site and get alot of feedback instead of the few comments you'll see here, post your question on here in the AC section:
http://highlifter.com/forum/
It's no secret that one of the biggest knocks on AC is the poorly designed BEVEL GEAR that breaks quite easily. $1000 to fix. Read up on the AC Bevel gear to see if it's something you want to risk.
Cresent Hills
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Ac 500
Ac 500
Bevel Gear? Must be a pretty good secret around these parts.... I have 2 2005 500s and have spent plenty of time around others and this is the first I have heard of the bevel gear. I will have to research that one... but at any rate I have just over 1000 miles on one and close to 2000 on the other. I have plowed countless miles of ice roads and driveways at the lake with the one and the biggest problem I have had with either of them is a loose hose clamp after two years on a cooling hose.
I bought the AC because i had nothing but fantastic luck with my Suzuki King Quad and that is the same motor base... I found that AC gave the biggest bang for the buck and hangs with my buddies yammerhammers and hondas.... but I got to spend the money saved on my machine on goodies to go with it.
I can not say anything bad about Karen or Vance at Big Lake Arctic Cat They have earned my business, and if I had to I would drive past Wasilla Arctic Cat and go to Anchorage for anything I could not get at Big lake.
my 2 cents.
Tom
Ac 500
Bevel Gear? Must be a pretty good secret around these parts.... I have 2 2005 500s and have spent plenty of time around others and this is the first I have heard of the bevel gear. I will have to research that one... but at any rate I have just over 1000 miles on one and close to 2000 on the other. I have plowed countless miles of ice roads and driveways at the lake with the one and the biggest problem I have had with either of them is a loose hose clamp after two years on a cooling hose.
I bought the AC because i had nothing but fantastic luck with my Suzuki King Quad and that is the same motor base... I found that AC gave the biggest bang for the buck and hangs with my buddies yammerhammers and hondas.... but I got to spend the money saved on my machine on goodies to go with it.
I can not say anything bad about Karen or Vance at Big Lake Arctic Cat They have earned my business, and if I had to I would drive past Wasilla Arctic Cat and go to Anchorage for anything I could not get at Big lake.
my 2 cents.
Tom
Well go here and go to the arctic cat forum that has thousands of posts and type in bevel gear, then start reading all the postshttp://highlifter.com/forum/
sluicebox
New member
I have a Cat 500 Auto and do nothing but pull grizzlys and zukis out of the mud...
I have about 600 miles on it right now..
a good info part to get info is www.arcticchat.com
I have about 600 miles on it right now..
a good info part to get info is www.arcticchat.com
Good Machines
Good Machines
AC 500 is a good solid ATV. I have a manual shift model and I really like it. It is a good rugged design made for more utility work than play. I've had 27" Mud Lights on it since day one and it turns them easily and gets great traction. The 650 H1 Cats had bevel gear problems when jumped wheelhoped or abused with large tires. Most normal riders do not tear up their machines like the HighLifter Mud bogger types. The 500 does not have as many problems. Arctic Cat had axel problems in 2003-04 and they made stronger axels which do not break, but it put all the stress on the bevel gears causing failure. But again if you plan on 30 inch tires and beating the hell out of your ATV, things can break. If you read HighLifter mud hole you will see all manufactures have problems with parts breaking when machines are modded and abused. You get alot of machine for the money with Arctic Cat plus a 3 year warranty. Good luck with your choice.
Good Machines
AC 500 is a good solid ATV. I have a manual shift model and I really like it. It is a good rugged design made for more utility work than play. I've had 27" Mud Lights on it since day one and it turns them easily and gets great traction. The 650 H1 Cats had bevel gear problems when jumped wheelhoped or abused with large tires. Most normal riders do not tear up their machines like the HighLifter Mud bogger types. The 500 does not have as many problems. Arctic Cat had axel problems in 2003-04 and they made stronger axels which do not break, but it put all the stress on the bevel gears causing failure. But again if you plan on 30 inch tires and beating the hell out of your ATV, things can break. If you read HighLifter mud hole you will see all manufactures have problems with parts breaking when machines are modded and abused. You get alot of machine for the money with Arctic Cat plus a 3 year warranty. Good luck with your choice.
HuntNphotos
New member
I hadnt heard anything about this either, and after thoroughly searching the highlifter forums I found out the reason why they are having problems. It looks to me like they are one of the more popular machines to mod and mud bog. I can tell you from my rock crawling experiences in the lower 48 that any time you subject your machine to serious abuse you can expect breakage. If your that worried about it then I would stay away from the grizzly as well. There was all sorts of carnage to them listed throughout the posts, to include the bevel gear! My guess is you can attribute that to their popularity as well.
If your that worried about it then I would stay away from the grizzly as well. There was all sorts of carnage to them listed throughout the posts, to include the bevel gear! My guess is you can attribute that to their popularity as well.
LuJon
Moderator
I am surprised to hear the negative feedback on Wasilla AC. I go there quite frequently for odds and ends fpr my sled. I will say that when I wanted a "real" hitch for my 2004 mountain cat 159" every other store I talked to said their was no such beast. Finally I went in and talked to the guys at Wasilla AC and I walked out with a part number but didn't order cause I was skeptical about the part being right since I had so much trouble with the other shops in the area. I went to the other shops in person to see if they could verify the part and they couldn't. After a week I went back to Wasilla AC and asked them to order the hitch. The manager asked me to wait a minute while he went to the back. A couple minutes later he came out with the hitch in hand, turns out they had another request for one after I left so they ordered 2. That is not where their customer service ended cause one of the parts in the factory sealed kit was wrong (they gave me 2 left side tunnel reinforcements) my wife took it back without a reciept while I was at work and they ripped open a packaged pair pulled out the correct part and gave it to her no questions asked. Their parting words were "tell your husband to have a good hunt". They also gave me a 5% military discount! I have no doubt that Big Lake is a great shop but I have had great dealings with Wasilla.
I have two Cat 500 autos. The bevel gear is a total non issue with the 500's. Use reasonable sized mud tires and don't jump the thing like a sport quad and it's going to last a long time. I have totally abused my machine and it keeps coming back for more. I managed to break off a rear brake caliper and mangled the spindle and rim. It was covered under waranty and I was back in action in 4 days. Otherwise both quads have been totally reliable. No belt issues and I ride a lot of mud and water. Tows my 1200# wood chipper with no problems. Rides super nice and smooth. The only other machine I would consider would be a Yamaha with power-steering. I bought mine locally at Alaska Mountain Magic and they have totally taken care of me.
Edit: the only story I could find on the net about a 500 breaking a bevel gear was a guy running 29.5" Outlaw mud tires. I don't really think that's the quads fault.
Edit: the only story I could find on the net about a 500 breaking a bevel gear was a guy running 29.5" Outlaw mud tires. I don't really think that's the quads fault.
USMC RET
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I have a 500 TBX (2007) and love it. No problems at all. Plenty of power, plows lots of snow and only been stuck a couple of times in some really nasty stuff. Winched her out and kept going. I also like the utility box which keeps stuff fairly clean when mudbogging. The side box storage is nice too.
Mike and Karen at Wasilla AC are awesome folks and have earned my business as well. I have generally had nothing but attitude from a couple of the same folks at Wasilla AC and therefore will not give them my business........
Good luck choosing a machine.
Mike and Karen at Wasilla AC are awesome folks and have earned my business as well. I have generally had nothing but attitude from a couple of the same folks at Wasilla AC and therefore will not give them my business........
Good luck choosing a machine.
A lead moderator talking about AC bevel gear:
Cryo definately helps. It alleviates all inherent stress within the metal, as well as strengthening it 30-40%. However, I don't believe the problem is the gears, themselves, so in that case cryo is somewhat counterproductive. It's more in the case/bearing design. They've improved both of these in 07-08. Back in 05-06, every other thread in here was about broken bevel gears. Not so much anymore. I've only heard of 2, maybe 3, of the new ones breaking bevel gears, which is still too many but is a vast improvement...
Cryo definately helps. It alleviates all inherent stress within the metal, as well as strengthening it 30-40%. However, I don't believe the problem is the gears, themselves, so in that case cryo is somewhat counterproductive. It's more in the case/bearing design. They've improved both of these in 07-08. Back in 05-06, every other thread in here was about broken bevel gears. Not so much anymore. I've only heard of 2, maybe 3, of the new ones breaking bevel gears, which is still too many but is a vast improvement...
dws- You can keep beating this dead horse but it is NOT an issue with 500's at all, especially if you don't exceed 27" tall tires...which is about all a 500 can pull effectively anyway. These guys are breaking the gears primarily on the 650H1's and doing with huge wheel hop and BIG tires.
HuntNphotos
New member
Congrats man! You will enjoy it! Let me know if you want to get out on a ride sometime!
May not effect the 500AC. I made a comment about ACs and problems with the bevel gears and AC owners on here say there are NO bevel gear problems on ACs. You are absolutly wrong saying all the 2005-6 650s ran BIG tires and that was why the bevel gears were breaking. Highlifter promotes modding and mudding but the majority of people on there are looking for tips and the knowhow to keep their stock atv running without bringing it into the shop. Anyway have fun on yer AC.
HuntNphotos
New member
Oh no!
Oh no!
Go to the highlifter forums and read through each of the different manufacturer forums. I know you guys are not going to believe this, but even the almighty Honda's have problems too! And lots of them by the sounds of it on there!
Oh no!
Go to the highlifter forums and read through each of the different manufacturer forums. I know you guys are not going to believe this, but even the almighty Honda's have problems too!
And lots of them by the sounds of it on there!
