Just purchased 4 units. All 4 have axle issues-rear. 2 have broken belts. Riders are all adults riding on marked Utah trails at normal speeds. Has anyone else had issues with the auto 400 2 seat Artic cats. All have less than 500 miles.

 

havent heard of any belt issues on the 400s,500s,700s or the 1000. the older 650s had some belt issues but not all of them,and were minor. Whats the deal with the axles?

 

That's odd?

Out '08 TRV 650H1 has got over 950 miles on it w/no belt or axle issues - and both of us are.....ABOVE the "average" rider size and ride it in all types of terrain.

Now I'm no expert....but the drivelines from the 400 thru 700 are basically the same except for clutching and oil vs. liquid cooled. THe 1000 H2's are a completely different animal.

Now short of saying: "wow..sounds like you got set of TRV's with a bad batch of clutchs and rear axles"..................

Here's my thinking...................

I'm assuming these are rentals?

Are the belts breaking as a result of burning? I know that LOW&SLOW thru steep windey terrain - one SHOULD be in L especially w/2 riders. Being in H under these conditons will wreak havok on the belt.

Also being in L when decending a steep grade. THe TRV's can get some serious diveline "chatter/bucking" - the result of repeated braking wheel skid to sudden engine braking and back - IF NOT in L to allow the motor to do majority of the braking....... and NOT the handbrake. It's spit 80/20 in terms of overall braking & does not do a very good job at the actual rear brake, which is why there's a foot brake. With all the TRV/rider's weight pitched forward...physics take over, and the rear whls tend to lock-up due to less weight on them from momentum- thus the end result from the repeated stress could be broken axles, or CV joints.

AC 2-Up's are FANTASTIC machines IMHP. BUT.....they don't handle like regular quads and don't behave like regular quads, and rider's need to be "educated" in that fact.

YOu might for the lack of any other idea(s) crank up the rear shock resistance to lessen the frame compression/suspention travel and see if that helps. THe combined weight of 2 riders can make the rear IRS sag pretty good.

And IF they are rentals.................I'm sure they're have the "living crap" diven out of them - most do.

MY .02¢

Hope this helps.

 

the only common belt problems on Arctic Cats has been the 650 V2s, but they were around for only 3 or so years. all of the single cylinder machines are pretty excellent machines. i have a feeling it is a problem with what range the riders are riding in and what kind of terrain they are doing so in. w/ 2 riders especially it in important to have it in H or L range according to what's going on. if not in the proper range it won't take long to ruin the belt and possibly the clutching. as far as axles go, i know that a lot of Arctic Cats have had problems with axles breaking when putting the machines under a lot of stress in reverse.

 

Thank you, the belt is making so much noise the tech. said it was axles. I think the axles are ok. I love the simplicity of the unit, but why would you need to have Indy car shifting ability L-H to operate. I have other units 4-5 yrs old never worried about L-H range, other than hard core climbing or slow trail hunting. Does anyone make heavy duty belts? Thank you everyone for your .02 cents

 

the belt is making so much noise b.c of the axles?? im puzzled here. i dont understand his statement. I've heard of dalton belts,i think that's the name. not sure if they make them for arctic cat,but they are supposed to be heavier duty. You use low gear for climbing,mud,slow riding,heavy loads,plowing,ect...it just helps with the drivetrain and belt. i put mine in high gear for riding an average of 20mph or faster. anything lower than that,low is your best option. You could also try a clutch kit. The fact is,you shouldnt need anything upgraded especially with only 500 miles on your machine. these machines are built to perform to what ever you want to do with it,well within reason, in stock form. you should not need a belt if all you do is trail ride in high gear or low gear.

 

My 2003 TRV has about 15,000miles on the original belt. No problems. The AC belts that I have seen have an early demise on the 500's and 400's is due to getting water into thhe belt housing and burning the belt.

I believe the 650 V-twins also have some belt issue that are cured by shims. I believe it is also a Kawisaki tranny.

SJ

 

The 650 V2s had so many problems because that was a totally different beast. You had to drive in low range up to speeds of 45, but if you wanted to go any speed between 30-75, you had to stop and put it in high. This is abnormal and noone would no this unless they were told by the dealer, which I wasn't, or watched the informational DVD that was included with it. So if you're in high range on a V2 going less that 25 MPH or so, you're doing damage to the belt. When you can go 45 MPH in low range you really never need high range, but thats how it was i guess. And yes the 650 V2 was a Kawasaki, while the rest of the machines until recently were Suzuki. Arctic Cat engines are any machine with H1 in it's name.

 

The axles are going to be a recall per the dealer. The belts could have been an issue with L-H drive not properly used. Dayco makes heavy duty belts, so we will see. It seems the 400 works much harder than the 500 in any gear and any conditions. The tech said the little power the 500 has more than the 400 makes all the difference as for as the drive belt/clutch go. The unit cannot be shifted from low to high on the go, so at some point the unit has to start in high for faster riding? If the 400 was built for 2 riders than it should be able to perform like the 500. I wonder why the 400 was even built, I never could have imagined the problems a unit (4 units) has had with less than 600 miles on each. I have Honda 4 wheelers that are 2,4,8,9 yrs old never never had any trouble like this. They pre-run races, set-up races, pull race cars out of the desert and all I ever do is change oil and clean air filters. I love the Artic cat set-up 2 seater, but at this point I will never purchase another Artic cat product. I hope I can at least help another 400 owner with mods so the shop doesnt have their unit more than the they do. I hope the 400 is recalled all together. Thanks for letting me vent....

 

sorry about your issues. i would have never thought it,they, would let you down like that. I have owned 3 arctic cats since 1999. The 1st two were gear driven so i obviously never had an issue with either one. my newest atv is an 08 700(belt) with 28" tires and i haven't ever had a problem. ( i did install a clutch kit and a copperhead ECU recently though) I know 5 people with AC 400s and not one of them have had problems,but they aren't the 2up version either. If your stuck with the machines and aren't going to sell them,id recommend trying a clutch kit,about $150. They help out in low and mid ranges and work well in both high and low gear. It just sucks b/c you really shouldn't have to do anything to a stock machine to make it perform better under normal circumstances. Other than the belt problem, the bike should perform well for you. they are pretty solid machines. good luck!