i think it depends on what your looking for. Arctic cat has the best clutch system on the market (even though its a little noisy) the cat is going to have more ground clearance and probably has more accessories, the cat also comes with an actual front locker for the differential as well as powersteering

the canam on the other hand has a locking front diff as well but its pretty scary on how it works and engages. the canam will probably out perform the cat as well but you will lack the ground clearance.

 

For straight up trail riding Id go with the 650.

 

If you are using it for joy riding then the canned ham. If you plan on using it for any work at all then you are going to want to go for the cat.

 

as said depends what your looking for. If you plan to cross any mud holes or do any work or anything at all besides trail ride go with the cat. The can am is a go-fast trail machine.

 

I use my cat for work and play, and i have to say the thing i like the most about it is the 7 gallon gas tank. I ride all day for work checking crops and on the weekend i can ride all i want and not have to worry about whether or not i can make it back on a tank of gas. My 700H1 gets around 22mpg and with that big tank that's a lot of riding. I've used Polaris and Can-Am's for my job and both only had about a 50 mile range, which isn't enough for me. I had to stop what i was doing, and drive back to town to fill up, or carry extra gas with me.

 

Thanks for the replies so far guys.

Can you explain maybe a little bit about the consensus of the Cat for doing any "work"?

What's behind that thought? Stronger frame? Better transmission?

I don't really plan on using it for "work" as I don't have any work for it to do really - but it seems to me one of the great things about these style ATV's is their adaptability, so I'd hate to close any doors I'd regret later.

On paper, the stats are quite similar (although Cat publishes no HP figures it seems) - with the Can-Am getting the slight nod in clearance (12" vs 11" for the Cat) and the Cat having better travel (10/10 vs 8/9 for the Can-Am).

 

cats have great low end power they have strong frames and sure they weight more but they can pull some pretty heavy stuff and like i stated before they have one of the best if not the best clutch system in the industry. with my 700 when it was stock i could pull wheelies, go plow snow and drag trees with no problem, and i still could do 70mph and hold 60mph cruising speed without a problem. if i was riding and wanted to play in the mud i just didnt have any worries. its really all about what you want. if you want a work and play machine go cat if you want a trail go fast machine go can am

 

well i would recommend (if you havnt already done it) going to each dealer and sitting on both machines and checking them both out in person. look em over, talk to your dealer about them, check out the control locations, handle bar placement, that kinda thing. maybe even talk to their service manager and see how they treat you. chances are whichever machine you get you will have it in the shop for something at some point, even if its just gettin the valves adjusted or some other normal service. i dont know about yall, but for me the dealer's attitude counts for a lot.

anyways, you may have already done all that but just figured id put it out there.

Good Luck!

 

most of us on here hate stealers so we try to do our own service, but a good dealer does make alot of difference.

The can am will do some work and will pull some weight how ever they are notorius for twisting that alum frame. That is why after market companies are making strengthener kits for them.

Also with the cat you get big steel racks that you can put some real weight on. My 400s have the hd racks and i have had them way past their rated loads with out any issues. My 700h1 i have had at rated loads 100pounds front 200rear no issues with them either.

Also i like the size of these machines, they are bigger and you feel like you have something under you.

The can ams to me feel like i am riding my buddies yfz450 and i dont like it.

 

The 700 makes a great trail machine, I have 3 of them. They all handle and ride great. I rode a 8oo outlander for about an hour. Its a great trail machine as well, but not a better trail machine.
Both weigh in well over 600 pounds, so if you plan of fast trail riding, a utility style quad isnt for you.
They make fast trail machines that do a better job of "railing around corners" but they are mostly 2 wheel drive units like the DVX.
We ride with polaris's, kawasaki's, yamaha's and can am's and have for the last 7 years. They are pretty much the same when it comes to trail riding. Now if we happen across a muddy area, its always "who can go farther" and the Cats never let us down.
So for trail riding, get the quad that fits your budget and the one that appeals to you.

 

If your open minded on brands i believe the best dealer is one of the most important factors. As stated above at one time or another most of us will have to deal with them again. A good experience at the dealer will help you enjoy whatever ride you choose.

 

I like the engine braking on the cat. its impresssive. even more so in low in 4x4. so much so i put in in 4 low and got off and pushed it down a hill and it slowly crawled all the way down on its own. much to my friends amazement who was scared of going down a hill that steep felt safe enough to attempt it.

I went with cat for these reasons

high ground clearance of 11 inches,
full independent suspension.
the metal brush bar and racks,
700 efi
variable powersteering,
2" receiver for towing
and the sexy blue color.

probly going with canam next if I can afford the XMR because it eats the mudpro for lunch stock vs stock. if not I am pretty sure another cat is in the books for me unless yamaha impresses me with some new styling that is not fugly.

 

It has been mentioned a few times however I can't stress enough. YOU BUY THE DEALER. I have had 2 years of hell. All the dealers will be cool when you buy your machine but it's the aftermath that counts as mentioned above. As far as the machine goes the can am felt cheap when I rode it it didn't feel quite right under me not sure why but it did. The cat has a little more of a stiff ride if you will but I have never bottomed out or ever stressed the suspension and I have used it a bit when I first got it anyway. Again you buy the dealer not the machine.

 

A good dealer is worth his weight in oil.
My buddies 2010 800 outlander is in the repair shop. The power steering goes out randomly, making it dangerous to drive.
It's been at his dealer for over 2 weeks and they haven't looked at it yet.
Here's the dealers excuse, "we have 2 mechanic on vacation right now, so things are a little backed up"
This dealer also sells/services boats.
We're in Michigan, boat mechanics have all winter off. Who was the idiot that let 2 mechanic go on vacation at the same time?
My buddy thinks its just lip service. Warranty work takes a back seat to regular service work, because the dealer has to wait for his money to be reimbursed from the factory. He's bringing it to a different dealer Monday morning.
Dealers can make a huge difference. There seems to be more zero's than hero's over the last 10 years when it comes to dealers.

 

Update on my neighbors 2010 800 outlander:
The dealer hasn't even looked at it yet.
He's fit to be tied. Its going to a different dealer today!

 

Great advice guys - very much appreciated.

It will definitely be a trail / fun machine - and not particularly hard-core or super-fast trail riding. I figure if speed is what I want - I should keep/ride the dirt bike (hard to beat the 2-stroke power band for "punch you in the back of the neck speed!).

For really nasty rocks or mud, I've got the buggy:

The Wolf by BillaVista - Pirate4x4x.com

For the ATV I picture mild-to-moderate trail riding - exploring with the family, finding fishing spots, remote camping - that kind of stuff.

I agree the dealer makes a huge difference - this will be interesting for me because the local Yamaha and Kawasaki dealers are worse than useless, the Honda borderline tolerable (but certainly not good) - so I'm interested to see what the BRP and Cat dealers are like.

As one of you suggested - I think it will come down to checking out the bikes in question, evaluating the dealer, seeing what kind of price I can negotiate, and going from there.

I really like the look of both bikes - so it's gonna be a tough decision.

Thanks so much for your help!

Bill

 

I have a cat 05 650. It just looks bad to the bone compared to the other bikes. I dont know why some say the can am is a better faster trail bike. I haven't ridden a can am but if its anything like a polaris I beg to differ. The polaris 850 was smoother over bumps compared to my cat but after i installed Rick the Rocket's 2in Flex kit that was no longer the case. And those yellow can yams are just plain ugly. I do however like the looks of the Outlander X mr2011.

 

hey man you should definitely test drive them both, although id say you prolly already planned on that!! your gonna love whichever you get, im sure.

and its not a big deal to some folks (it is to me) but can-am atv's are made in mexico whereas the full size arctic cats are made here in the US of A.

 

First off I think you have done a good job of narrowing it down. That is half the battle. You have it down to two, but now it gets tougher.
As others have said, dealer, dealer, dealer. I would gladly drive out of my way and spend a few hundred extra dollars to have a good dealer. Not that I expect problems, but knowing that if there are problems he will help me is well worth it.
I have a 2007 TRV 650 H1. My dad has the same machine as I. I have roughly 1000 miles on mine, he has in excess of 31,000 miles. Apparently one of us works, while the other does not.
LOL
Anyways, the versatility and toughness of the Cats and specifically the TRV's is unmatched in my opinion. Take the seat off and replace with a large rear rack, all kinds of different attachments can be added using the speedrack system.
The clutch system on the Cats with the engine braking is unreal. My dad just put in his second set of brake pads because you rarely need to use them due to engine braking.
The 650H1 is the first motor that AC built on their own. The 700 H1 is based on this motor along with EFI. These are tough tough motors. Run very strong and will last a long long time.
You will probably grin from ear to ear with either of them, I vote for the Cat, but that's because I own one and know what they are capable of. I have ridden the Can Ams, while they are nice they just dont meet my expectations. I hate the ViscoLok. They do have a very nice sound though because they are a VTwin as compared to a big single cylinder.
I wish Cat would come out with another VTwin to complement the TCat.

 

Both pretty nice machines. No diff lock on the CanAm. Crazy powerful. I ride with more guys with CanAms and the 650's will leave any other 700 I've seen in the dust.

AC's are great in the water and mud. Sturdy frame and good ground clearance and sometime the diff lock just makes that difference to get you out.

I think I've heard lots of complaints about brakes on both machines (My 500's brakes suck).

The belt drive is way superior on the cats. I go up lots of stuff in high where CanAm's belts will slip unless they put the machine in low gear. The Polaris belt drives are truly turds.

Not sure about the injection on the cats. There seems to be some issues there.

Both companies have good and bad dealers. More complaints about CanAm warranty claims than for AC but I don't think either of the companies have good customer service.

My 2007 500 Cat has been great and relatively trouble free considering where I ride.

My 2 cents.

 

Injection issues on Cat's? that would go under the category of "rare" The only injection issue that comes to mind is low voltage that causes the machine to run strange. In most cases a battery charger will take care of that or a new battery.

I would like to line up a 650c/a against my H1 700 or the 07 700 just to see whats what.
I know can am builds there quad engines more on the edge than the other makers so I would think it would beat my 700's. By how much is whats got me interested.
I would think an airdam mod would even the playing field

 

My brother in law rides a can am 650. His is just the regular wheelbase outlander. The clearance specs are way exaggerated on the can am at least in this case. Both of our wheelers should have 12 inches of clearance. His has 26 inch tires stock and my cat also has 26 inch tires but mine has way more clearance. I don't know how they are measuring that 12 inches as we couldn't find one place where that measurement was true on level ground in his garage. When mine was stock that can am was faster for sure. Now they are pretty close and once mine gets the cluthces machined I am confident that I will outrun him. Now granted his is bone stock and mine has the pipe, intake, and fuel controller just to make it even. I much prefer the cat for trail riding as well. We have swapped rides several times while riding and the can am feels small and bouncy to me. It is more compact so if you ride in really tight places the can am will have an advantage. I have had great luck Arctic Cat's for reliability and my dealer is great. I have to drive 200 miles to get to my dealer though. The Cat dealer that is closer to me has terrible customer service. My brother in law has had great luck with his canam as well with the exception of a couple of belts but I think that is considered normal for the type of belt drive that they use. I think both are very nice machines but I would be very surprised if the can am actually has more clearance.

 

I checked the Can-Am out at the dealer before I settled on the 700. For me it was all about feel. I'm a big guy (6'5", 270) and the cat definitely felt better for my size. I've ridden with a couple of Can Am 650's and while everybody says they're faster, I haven't had any trouble keeping up. Performance wise, they seem quite comparable.

 

Update on the update, power steering unit failed.
Dealer put 4 new power steering units on so far on different quads. Can am knows about it and wont cover it. Lucky my neighbor had the extended warranty, but he's still pissed over paying a $50 deductable for a part that should be under a recall.. I would tend to think a steering problem would be considered a safety recall issue. there I go thinking again.