Arctic cat 550 , Yamaha Grizzly 550

Spend the money and go Honda. I have 3 three wheels from the 80s still running strong. The 90s fourtraxs are great but have diff problems if running a lot of water, rear breaks freeze up to in winter. The Rubicon is the machine for you. My brother as pulled cows out of the swamp with it. It my not be the fastest but it will always get you there. He had a cat demoed it in a year, junk. I have a Yamaha Kodiak, you have to watch the conrod on the 2000s, it can break.Diff lock and on/off 4 wheel drive are great, lift kit and mudzilas will help get you anywhere.
 
I spent some time as a mechanic at a bike/atv dealership, arctic cat and polaris is maginally better than the chinese stuff canadian tire sells.

Ive repaired (bandaided) quite a few cat frames, chased down too many wiring gremlins in polaris to even recount. It is shamefull
that our american brothers can market such garbage. Backyard engineering and design with every possible corner cut.

Youll find the same low quality un-sealed crimp type bullet connectors and switches you find at lordco, not sealed locking connectors and water resistant switches like every other manufactuers on the planet use.
Youll find mild steel .063" wall tubing used for the main frame spurs, a yamaha for example will have a high grade
.120" wall that cant be caved in with an 8oz ball peen by an infant.
Cat and poo like to use regular old bolts, flat washers, lock washers and nuts that require you to have 4 or 5 arms. Everyone else uses captured washers and threaded inserts wherever possible.

Somehow polaris and cat team up with other high quality companies like suzuki and ktm for engines, walker evans for shocks ect but anything they do themselves is a joke.
Also interestingly enough, while suzuki and ktm have manufactured engines for them, once again they are made to cat or poo's sub-par specs and tolerances and can not be compared to the reliability of a genuine suzuki or ktm.
 
fuzzynuts54 said:
I spent some time as a mechanic at a bike/atv dealership, arctic cat and polaris is maginally better than the chinese stuff canadian tire sells.

Ive repaired (bandaided) quite a few cat frames, chased down too many wiring gremlins in polaris to even recount. It is shamefull
that our american brothers can market such garbage. Backyard engineering and design with every possible corner cut.

Youll find the same low quality un-sealed crimp type bullet connectors and switches you find at lordco, not sealed locking connectors and water resistant switches like every other manufactuers on the planet use.
Youll find mild steel .063" wall tubing used for the main frame spurs, a yamaha for example will have a high grade
.120" wall that cant be caved in with an 8oz ball peen by an infant.
Cat and poo like to use regular old bolts, flat washers, lock washers and nuts that require you to have 4 or 5 arms. Everyone else uses captured washers and threaded inserts wherever possible.

Somehow polaris and cat team up with other high quality companies like suzuki and ktm for engines, walker evans for shocks ect but anything they do themselves is a joke.
Also interestingly enough, while suzuki and ktm have manufactured engines for them, once again they are made to cat or poo's sub-par specs and tolerances and can not be compared to the reliability of a genuine suzuki or ktm.
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Sounds like a guy who knows what he's talking about.
 
Really not sure what people have against new Cat's.

I have a 2 year old artic cat TRV 550. Its the 2 person touring ATV. With stock tires I had no problems going mudding/trail riding with 5 or 6 guys riding new suzuki, new brute force, new rubicon and a older honda (late 90's). At the end of the day I got stuck just as much as the rest of them. I also pulled out more of them then they pulled out me.

It's 2 years old, I had the 4wd accuator replaced under warranty.. Not one other issue. I use it to plow piles of snow in the winter in minus 30, I ride the mud and trails hard in the summer, I haul wood all winter etc..

At the end of the day the 550 is great on gas, amazing ride and reliable.

The only thing I've done is put 26 inch mudbugs and a clutch kit. And this was recently done.
 
KodiakHntr said:
I've ran a PILE of Yamaha's over the years, and I've never managed to slip a belt, ever. Nor has anyone I ride with. Full contact belts in Yamaha's are a different machine than a standard belt driven tranny.

Besides, both the 'Cat and the Yammie are belt driven, so that's a moot point for the OP.
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I'm not going to argue with you about it but mine is centrifugal and don't have a belt.
 
fuzzynuts54 said:
I spent some time as a mechanic at a bike/atv dealership, arctic cat and polaris is maginally better than the chinese stuff canadian tire sells.

Ive repaired (bandaided) quite a few cat frames, chased down too many wiring gremlins in polaris to even recount. It is shamefull
that our american brothers can market such garbage. Backyard engineering and design with every possible corner cut.

Youll find the same low quality un-sealed crimp type bullet connectors and switches you find at lordco, not sealed locking connectors and water resistant switches like every other manufactuers on the planet use.
Youll find mild steel .063" wall tubing used for the main frame spurs, a yamaha for example will have a high grade
.120" wall that cant be caved in with an 8oz ball peen by an infant.
Cat and poo like to use regular old bolts, flat washers, lock washers and nuts that require you to have 4 or 5 arms. Everyone else uses captured washers and threaded inserts wherever possible.

Somehow polaris and cat team up with other high quality companies like suzuki and ktm for engines, walker evans for shocks ect but anything they do themselves is a joke.
Also interestingly enough, while suzuki and ktm have manufactured engines for them, once again they are made to cat or poo's sub-par specs and tolerances and can not be compared to the reliability of a genuine suzuki or ktm.
Click to expand...

After maintaining my 'cat for several years, it's a 1999 (and yes, I'm a mechanic by trade) the only really stupid thing I've found is that on the rear axle they didn't include inner grease seals so that over time the bearings dump their grease into the axle tube. Dumb oversight in the design.
 
KodiakHntr said:
I've ran a PILE of Yamaha's over the years, and I've never managed to slip a belt, ever. Nor has anyone I ride with. Full contact belts in Yamaha's are a different machine than a standard belt driven tranny.

Besides, both the 'Cat and the Yammie are belt driven, so that's a moot point for the OP.
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Correct. Yamaha cvt is well known for very long belt life and little to no slippage. I think Polaris is the winner when it comes to shredding belts...

Newer cats and all Polaris' are a great buy....if you like wrenching more than riding :D
 
They all burn belts if one doesn't know how to drive. For pulling and in deep mud, low range is a must,otherwise the belt gets glazed from slippage and will eventually shred, regardless of make. The only other thing is if your clutches aren't aligned due to a worn motor mount,etc.
Yamahas and Hondas are known to be rugged, but neither are smooth riding and they're heavy. I'd say Yamaha over AC any day of the week.
 
had a yamaha and arctic cat. yamaha is the one i would take over the other. new cats seem to have lost some quality the old ones were known for.
 
burnt_servo said:
yamaha's are almost as indestructable as a honda
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Here's the thing about Honda. Good engine, good tranny, drivetrain, except for that electronic push button shifting system. That system is garbage.

Also the Honda plastic just doesn't hold up to abuse. Always popping plastic rivets off, just a pain. Also if Honda were to make a 4x4 with IRS, they would get a lot more attention. I understand the benefits of a solid axle, but there are way smoother riding machines out there. They just need to pick up the pace with research and development.. Been lacking in that area lately.

Forgot, their ground clearance is usually a lot less than the rest.
 
bearkilr said:
They all burn belts if one doesn't know how to drive. For pulling and in deep mud, low range is a must,otherwise the belt gets glazed from slippage and will eventually shred, regardless of make. The only other thing is if your clutches aren't aligned due to a worn motor mount,etc.
Yamahas and Hondas are known to be rugged, but neither are smooth riding and they're heavy. I'd say Yamaha over AC any day of the week.
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Yamaha ATV's are heavy? My 700 is about 170lbs lighter than a sportsman 700, but I'm not sure about cats. Many people love the yamahas because they're light and sporty when compared to similar machines.

It's pretty common knowledge that Yamaha has one of the best drive systems, hence the reputation for very long belt life. Ripping wheelies and muddin in high is not an issue...

That said, I have yet to see or hear of anyone with a grizz shred a belt and many riders report getting over 7500 kms on the factory belt. I changed mine at 4500 kms even though it was well within spec which was surprising considering how I'm constantly hammering the throttle and towing cats and popo's home ;). When hooked up to something that's too heavy or too stuck the front end will come off the ground before the belt slips, as long as you have adequate traction.
 
bearkilr said:
They all burn belts if one doesn't know how to drive. For pulling and in deep mud, low range is a must,otherwise the belt gets glazed from slippage and will eventually shred, regardless of make. The only other thing is if your clutches aren't aligned due to a worn motor mount,etc.
Yamahas and Hondas are known to be rugged, but neither are smooth riding and they're heavy. I'd say Yamaha over AC any day of the week.
Click to expand...

Also, a buddy with a grizz 660 has probably never used low before and he's over 5k on the original belt...
 
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