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Posted by: 400CatDriver

That's great. Let's hope they can start producing more horsepower with their own engine.

Posted by: 400CatDriver

That's good to hear. I had a 400 4X4 auto and it just didn't have enough power so I sold it. I really liked the 650 V twin but the weak drive belt was a bit of a problem.

AC builds a great quad....they're as tough as my F250...just need MORE POWER!!! BR>

Posted by: 400CatDriver

That's what my dealer tells me. He's replaced a few. I personally prefer the Vtwin over the H1 though. The H1 is a really raspy engine and didn't have as much power as the vtwin. I think you bought the right one. Just do yourself a favor...get a service manual and keep a spare drive belt handy just in case. It's a great quad. If I hadn't switched over to side by sides I'd buy one.

Posted by: 400CatDriver

Quote
Originally posted by: v2rider
I have over 1100 miles on my belt with no wear yet. The only belts that are weak, are the ones in the quads not driven properly, like low range. You HAVE to use low range up to about 40mph. People say no you dont, and then complain about the belt. Its NOT the belts problem. Its Operator error

As I mentioned, that's what my dealer had told me. I would tend to agree with you that it would likely be operator abuse/error....leaning more to the abuse side...that would shell the belt. AND! You are dead on about using low range when appropriate. I always use low range on the Rhino for downhill engine braking and for climbing steep hills. No point on putting a strain on the engine, transmission or other components. It simply works better too.

I think sevenmag will put some hard miles on his if he's into mudding. That tends to beat up a 4X4 pretty bad.

Posted by: Catterman

Hey ACbuilder, can you give me a yah or nah on these issues...

1) Is it true that the St. Cloud plant (Notice I live here!) has TWO seperate assembly lines? Is the 950V2 gonna happen???? BR>
2) Is Arctic Cat really droping the 500 and 400 for 2008 and going with the Suzuki 450 EFI?

3) Do you want to buy my H1????? BR>
4) Can you get us a discount on ATV's??????

Posted by: Catterman

No ACb, I don't know anyone who works there, but I met a guy who worked on building it.

Are they going to offer tours or have some kind of open house???

Posted by: deanz400

hey AC builder your going to like St.Cloud ,it's anice area .

Posted by: oledad

Quote
Originally posted by: sevenmag
Does the 650 vtwin really have a weak drive belt? I hope not cause I just bought one and I love to play in the mud.

04 and 05 models had to high geared diffs causing some belt slippage if you tried tuff stuff in high, then in 06 they fixed it by lowering the gear ratio in the diffs to 4.0. The 06's dont have belt issues running in high.

Posted by: oledad

Quote
Originally posted by: ACbuilder
For you Cat fans that don't know, AC is opening a new engine production facility in St. Cloud, MN. My family and I are relocating from Thief River Falls to continue working there. Can't wait to start down there; the next 6 months will be very exciting for Arctic Cat enthusiasts.

As a new AC owner I can say they make a great product however they as a company are not impressing me. Maybe you as an employee can pass this on from me and many other AC owners. Why is there no phone number for customer service? I have been trying to get my warranty registered for several weeks by mail and they are very hard to deal with. I have read many posts from frustrated owners because its like they hide behind their dealers, they need to be a stand up company and back up their products themselves. I dont have a dealer to work for me because I purchased from the original owner who lived in another state. They can never be a threat to other ATV companies till they step up and take customer relations to a higher level. IMO

Posted by: oledad

Quote
Originally posted by: ACbuilder
Quote
Originally posted by: v2rider
Hey AC builder, one more question. After basically perfecting it in 06, why on earth discontinue the V2?????

My understanding is that AC wants the H1 to be the only 650. Both engines seem to fill the same role, and the H1 has surged in popularity.

Blowfish: The only engine AC builds in-house (for now) is the H1. However, from conversations with service, the 700 EFI seems to be rock solid; I hope they're right. I don't know enough about the guts in the Suzuki engines and cases to tell you if 26" rubber could pose a problem. If you have a decent dealer, maybe ask discreetly if they have seen transmission or driven shaft issues with oversized tires.

Id say another reason for the drop of the v2 is Suzuki owns about 35% of arctic cat, they have for the last few years been in a partnership also with kawasaki, using each others products( suzuki twin peaks aka kawasaki pararie and some motorcycles too) but 06 was the end of that partnership, so AC brought the models back to in house use of suzuki 400/500/700 motors and the H1 And the kymco line for their lttle units. I think they will see a reduction in sales as the V2 was their biggest seller since it came out in 04.

Posted by: v2rider

I have over 1100 miles on my belt with no wear yet. The only belts that are weak, are the ones in the quads not driven properly, like low range. You HAVE to use low range up to about 40mph. People say no you dont, and then complain about the belt. Its NOT the belts problem. Its Operator error

Posted by: v2rider

Hey acbuilder, i suppose you cant give any hints to an Arctic Cat Vtwin any time in the future, can you?

Posted by: v2rider

Hey AC builder, one more question. After basically perfecting it in 06, why on earth discontinue the V2?????

Posted by: sevenmag

Does the 650 vtwin really have a weak drive belt? I hope not cause I just bought one and I love to play in the mud.

Posted by: oldmancrash

2500 miles and counting on my 05 V2 stock belt.

Posted by: blowfish

Hey ACbuilder!

It is nice to see someone in the forum that actually builds these things. I recently purchased a 2007 700 EFI, which helped slightly to raise the AC stock price, and have been happy with so far. I know the bike has the same engine as the Suzuki King Quad 700, but is there anything else pertinent you could tell me about the bike? For example, air filter, belt, drive train issues. Is the trend at AC to go more toward EFI engines?
I know you may limited as what you can say, but any feedback would be great.

Thanks.

Posted by: blowfish

ACbuilder,

I bet your wishing you never mentioned you were with AC, huh. You can see there are some pretty loyal folks here.

You mentioned you were possibly looking at an 700 EFI. I have a 2007 700 EFI. You build these things at the factory. Are you confident in the design of the bike and, in your opinion, is it built well? Again, so far I have been happy with it. In low range it is fierce. However, it does take a little getting used to the high range start-off lag. Would 26" tires be OK on this bike? I would not want to go too big and damage anything.

I know you are getting a lot of questions in this post and I, for one, appreciate your honest feedback.

Thanks!!

Posted by: powerup

cat builder

what is the biggest tire u can put on a 2006 400 4x4 i just put a set of 27x12x12 on back and 27x10x12 on the front and it looks like i still got pleanty of room for bigger tires i only lost about 4 mph on the top end of performance ond i could probably get that back with a jet kit and exhaust system and a clutch kit

terry

Posted by: ACbuilder

All I can say is keep your eyes peeled for some really bitchin' stuff. Take that however you like.