2014 Arctic Cat 500 4x4
User Reviews
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My 2014 Arctic Cat 500
By Grant Jones (I am an Owner) on Oct 24, 2019I bought my machine new. Dressed it up with the chrome wheels. I also had the brush guard, rear metal basket, and plastic front basket installed. I like the speed rack system. My only problem has been the starter. The end bearing in the starter took out the armature windings. Dealer sold me two jobber ... Kimpex starters, both of which had the wrong rotation r ight out of the box. If you need to replace the starter go with the Arctic Cat even though it is more money. The same starter from a snowmobile also fits.
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2014 500 core
By Jim () on May 12, 2017Bought new have put 3500 miles on. Kymco motor excellant great tranny and 4wd switch best made. Used for hauling firewood and remote trail riding crawls over everything. It is a it cold blooded easy start down to about -10f. Bad things. Fuel and clock not even close to accurate no protection ... from mud trail brush have been hit in face with small branches foot boards pretty weak. The price was 7000$ can. All in so if I can run it for a few more years it was a great deal.
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Good machine
By Adam (I am an Owner) on Jan 09, 2016I have put 1 1/2 years in on my 2014 500. I have about 900 miles of riding on it from tight wooded Minnesota trails to the rough rocky trails of Utah. I haven't had a single issue with it. It is very capable off road, going places our Yamaha struggles to go.
I have owned Yamaha atvs in the ... past but bought this machine because my dealer had it on sale at a great price. I'm glad I bought this instead of the Grizzly 550 I had been planning to get. The Arctic Cat just seems more durable and capable to me. We have a grizzly 450 eps for my wife, which we like, but the cat just seems to be built better and it is FAR better off road.
My only wish is that my machine had eps. My next atv will be another Arctic Cat, but I'll definitely get power steering.
You can't beat the 500 4x4 for the price!!
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Nice bike with problems
By Owen (I am an Owner) on Mar 18, 2015I just bought the 2014 arctic cat 500 and right when I took it off the trailer it would not go into 4x4, took it back and they fixed something in the gears. I bring it home and I was riding it around and a bunch of codes popped up, it turned out to be and electrical failure. I'm not saying the ... arctic cat is a bad atv, but when I buy it brand new and turns out to have a bunch of problems I'm not saying not to get one thats just the luck I had with the new one.
Overall I like the bike!
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workhorse
By Jason (I am an Owner) on Oct 26, 2014I live in western Alaska, and purchased the 500 core to work for me. Have been very happy with it's performance so far. It won't win races against Polaris or can am, but it has towed boats, pulled 1000lb+ logs, taken me moose hunting, taken the wife berry picking across the tundra, and it has done ... all these things with ease and comfort. Can't wait to put bighorn tires on it
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Nice Bike, Tons Of Plastic
By Justin (I am an Owner) on Apr 09, 2014I just picked up one of these bikes today. The EFI is very nice; no need to choke to start. My only issue with the fuel system is that it seems surprisingly cold-natured, something you wouldn't expect to find with a fuel-injected engine ESPECIALLY fresh from the manufacturer.
Throttle ... response is good, and the stance of the bike is impressive. The latest model AC bikes have been lowered from the older models, though I'm not sure at what point it was done. This 2014 bike sits at the same height as my 2004 400 model, and the 2004 400 is rated with an extra inch of suspension clearance to the current model year's largest bike.
Positives: Good stance, dependable EFI, nice instrumentation (digital fuel gauge, speedometer, odometer, and tach), 4x4 shifting on the fly with a touch of the thumb, vehicle-like hitch receiver for towing, and overall fun to ride.
Negatives: More plastic than ever before; the optional brushguard and rear bumper are highly suggested to protect it. Older models had fully-metallic sidesteps; this has now been replaced on all models with one strip of metal holding up fully-plastic steps. One of the prongs snapped the first time I got on it after getting it home. Also, strangely cold-natured for a brand new bike with fuel injection.
Overall I love this bike, but its obvious that Arctic Cat has been cutting corners in the past few years to decrease their manufacturing costs. If you've only previously owned a model around 10 years or older, I would recommend bumping up a size on the newer models to get closer to the same stance.
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