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Posted by: cowboy
Dusty-
As for you woman, is she gonna be towing, hauling along with ya, or you doing the work, she's kinda there for moral support, and more play time! heh heh heh-just make sure it's something pretty light steering, otherwise it might not be as much fun for her.
As for you, I do a TON of towing downed timber, fallen trees, etc. Hell, I have around 1,200 acres up in northern Washington that I pull the timber around with my 'Cat, then hand carve my own log furniture out of it. The 'Cat is my primary tool for such hard work-along with my Husky 351 chainsaw, and a .357mag for the bears/cougar. The rest of my "casual riding" is following deer and elk trails, or just making my own as I go in an attempt to follow-sometimes there impossible to find, let alone follow! I'm rarely on main roads, and especially long strait stretches, so I hardly ever get above 40mph. For me, the Arctic Cat 500 Auto fit the bill perfectly. We bought two-I bought one, then my Dad decided he needed one as well, so now there's a pair.
Anyway, for the money, you simply can't beat the AC lineup. If you don't need a new '02 model, you can get a '01 500 manual shift for around $5,200-if you can swing that extra $200. Depending on where you look, some are less than that even. For the work you're gonna be doing, I advice buying larger than you think you need, just because you never know how large of a job you'll wind up in the middle of-I'd hate for you to be "undermachined". If you prefer to stick with a 300-400, the AC 300 has a three range tranny, with super low, and optional diff. lock for superior traction and pulling power-though it won't be quite as fast. None of the AC's are known for speed, that's a given-they're pure utility quads, and damn good at what they're designed for. One of the guys in the AC forum has a new price quote up, you might take a look at it just to see what's in your range for '02. The dealers are pretty much all closing out the '01 models, so prices will be dirt cheap on that. And, if you end up buying the wife a 'Cat as well-like a 250 or 300, hell even the new 375, the dealer will mostly likely give you an even better bargain-we saved over $1,000 buying two machines at the same time-definately the lowest price by far at the time around here.
Anyway, might be something to think about. Best of Luck to ya, if you have any questions or concerns regarding log work, or anything else for that matter, just give a hollar! Take care, and have fun with the search,
Mike
Posted by: NorthernEdge
I THINK THE BIG BEAR IS MSRP'd AT 5400.00 SO YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET IT FOR AROUND 5,000.00
YOU RARELY HEAR ANYONE TALKING ABOUT BIG BEAR PROBLEMS AND IT HAS 2WD/4WD OPTIONS.
YOU WILL FIND THAT THE BIG BEAR DOESN'T RIDE AS WELL AS THE ARTIC BUT IT'S PRETTY DEPENDABLE!
GOOD LUCK!
Posted by: AC5a
Sounds like your a canidate for an AC 500 or 400. Some very good prices to be had now. AS for the wife the 300 has quite a bit more torque than the 250.
then there is the new 375. All 3 of these have very light steering plus
independent rear suspension. The 500 and the 2002 400 & 375 can all be had with auto tranny if you want it. Good luck
Posted by: DustyTrails
I have read all posts here, and there is definate "budget creep" toward $7-8000. I value your input of what you can get for $5000, "out the door". I am hoping for a 4x4 utility in the 350-400cc range, but it may not be possible for the $$. I intend to move dead & down trees 10%, ride dirt roads 15%, and explore mountainous, rutted trails the remaining 75% of the time. I don't think speed above say 40 MPH on road is needed. Finally, it appears most folks on the cyberspace trails buy their women a Recon [light weight and very steerable]. Is that what you would do? Thanks for your ideas!
Dusty in AZ
Posted by: DustyTrails
Arctic Cat--I thought so to, until last night when I read the A*T*V*time? forum. the Cat guys there spend way to much time replacing bearings, resetting gaps, and fighting with dealers over repairs. I have definately learned you buy a dealer, because except for (maybe) Honda, quads aren't no/low Mx. I've got to research how much time owners spend on routine mx. On their various models(sigh). 26 zerks on Polaris, and the poster recomennded you gotta take off the wheels to reach two of them. I remember that job on the farm 40 years ago, what is old is new...Expect a new thread shortly on maintainence.
Posted by: scrambler123
polaris xplorer 400
