Those early cats were good machines, its amazing they weren't plagued with problems you would think a 1st year machine would be. Those Suzuki motors were really good and strong. Although I'm pretty sure the dry weight was over 600lbs, around 630lbs if I recall. If I dug around I think I still have the owners manual for my 96. I gave the machine away to a friend a few years ago and he still rides it.
@TheNotimprezed Honestly I think the 454 is one of Arctic cats most reliable machines they ever made. I still have this one and it runs and drives very good.
@@rockspowersports for sure, old machine and its only had 1 ball joint, replaced the cv boots, brakes and brake fluid reservoir. Removed and bypassed the primer because it always ran real rich and was prone to flooding, after bypass it never flooded again, I think it pulls a little fuel through there as a design flaw. Also got rid of the gas cap with gauge as it was never a tight seal and was a source of water contamination in thr fuel, again never happened with a regular cap.
@@rockspowersports it is hands down the best work horse machine ever made! Dad bought a left over brand new in 97. After 26 years of service she still doesn't skip a beat. Major repairs were choke cable, voltage regular and the master cylinder seized up Rear foot brake cable froze up a few years ago aswell. Big woop! I remember it was 3400 out the door lol. Maintenance really plays a part in longevity aswell. Ams oil and premium fuel has been her diet. Wish I could share a photo I have bleed cat thur and thur because of that machine! Bear cat 454 ! It was so awesome in high school dominating those Honda's,yamaha's and pullurass with as they called it artic crap! first atv cat had their name on ❤
@@rockspowersports back then the polaris was the fastest on the top end but would eat belt if ran wide open atleast the brand new one my buddy had did 😂
Awesome test brother! The results were predictable though. Typically the diesel powered engines need forced induction to be vastly superior to their gasoline counterparts. Thats why most all the automobiles and trucks on the road are turbo diesel. But I bet that diesel will outlive most if not all of the gassers.
@FlawleZ31 They are for sure way down on HP but the initial torque off the line is good with this diesel. As far as outlasting there gasoline counterparts, I believe they would if they were properly ran and taken care of. I have 3 of these diesels and all of them had a bad piston rings due to there injector clogging and starving it for fuel..
Not necessarily. You’re talking about two different applications of diesels. The reason why diesel trucks, cars and heavy equipment have turbos is because diesel engines are extremely Inefficient (thermally). Basically they suck at burning fuel. That’s obviously a concern for power, but the bigger concern is emissions. A turbo maximizes combustion and in turn creates better emissions (along with many other benefits). In something like an ATV where emissions are not closely monitored, it’s just an additional and costly expense for the manufacturer and consumer. Not needed. I’ll be honest. The test he put out wasn’t all that fair. I’m not saying the Diesel was better than the Gas, but the gas had a lot of advantages. The diesel was independent suspension, tires were in far worse condition, and it had the CVT transmission. All of which are going to dramatically lower your towing abilities.
Thats a cool test with the real-time speedometer. I've not ridden a polaris diesel but i knew the 454 was going to work it over. Ive had a 400 and a 500 cat 4x4 manual shift and they are very torquey machines. They dont turn a ton of RPM but the torque coupled with the manual transmission makes them great for pulling. The diesel is just out classed in horsepower and the CVT mixed with a low rpm diesel just probably doesn't give the best results. However id say the diesel is a much more fuel efficient machine if you're using it for work a lot. I have a video of my 300 4x4 AC pulling my 5k pound tractor up a slight incline on my channel.
Your right the cats in low range will tow pretty much anything. The diesel is ridiculously good on fuel. I drive it around off and on all summer and I haven’t put any fuel in for 2 years now.
Yes with this much weight and the lack of hp from the diesel the CVT was not geared low enough... The Bearcat actually surprised me, the 5 speed gearbox and the low range worked excellent for pulling.
What kind of camera do you use before you go riding? I know the one on the helmet is a gopro. But what kind of camera do you Use when you do a walk around?
No surprised by the result. Now a magnum 425 vs that 454 would be interesting. Having towed with my 455, a 400 (4stroke) sportsman, 350L and xplorer 400L the 350L and 400L were the best. They drank fuel but could pull. Used the 350L to move a 19ft boat. Had to have someone sit on the front rack to do it.
Ya the diesel is good right off the line with torque but quickly runs out of power when the speed increases. I’m surprised your 2 strokes were good at pulling honestly! I’ve drove them on trails and they have great power, I just never put them to work.
@98dodge360v8 Ive never looked at a dyno from a 2 stroke, thats surprising though, most of the time you think 2 stroke you think high hp low torque. Learn something new every day.
Hey Rock, that polaris diesel was underpowered compared to the low output sportsman and magnum 500s. I did what you do buy and sell plus I always had the new big bore 4x4 machines on the farm. No lie polaris always towed the best and it could actually hold back plus stop a load. That's compared to all the hondas yamahas suzukis and artic cats. Hondas were always too light and the brakes were weak. The grizzly I had wouldn't hold back a heavy trailer and had a hard time stopping too. 2013 I bought a new sportsman 500 4th one I had and ran it daily 8-12 hours towing a trailer that was typically around 2k up and down muddy snowy hills. Never let me or the help down one bit. Only sold it because of buying a ranger.
The diesel is for sure underpowered but it’s a unique machine. I’ve noticed Polaris has always been a nice work machine, they weight quite a bit more like you mentioned and that helps with stopping trailers or it helps a lot plowing snow. It’s good to hear someone with out a horror story about Polaris! I seem to get that a lot…
@@rockspowersports I've owned a lot of polaris. Never had any issues at all. I was very hard on them too. Never did a belt ever and had over 1000 hours on some. Blew transmissions and cvs in hondas.
My dad had a 98 artic cat 454 just like that one thing was a work horse I’ll tell you what put it in low it had so much torque that we where able to pull a combine
@formerice I’ve been looking for one of those Cat 700 diesels for a while now.. there hard to come by around here. I bet yours goes great with the turbo on it!
I’ve had this one for about 7 years. I paid $700 for it but it wasn’t running at the time. I put about $800 more into it to get it to where it is. Which $1500 is still very good for a Polaris diesel, they go for quite a bit just because they don’t come up for sale too often.
@@rockspowersports cool, thats quite cheap for something like that, I just find them really interesting and I like the torque from the diesel. Thanks 👍
polaris screwed up on the diesel i think. i mean, why would you make it belt driven and independent rear suspension? do what honda has done for the last 40 years. solid rear axle, and gear to gear transmission.
@@rockspowersports nice about diesel is, just force air into it. Injectors do the rest, it's not like gas or a 2 stroke where you have to worry about the fuel prematurely going off. Because the diesel engine doesn't inject the fuel until its ready to burn it. But more air equals higher temperatures and more oxygen when the fuel is injected which results in cleaner running....ect.... and more power
@@rockspowersports I got a 2000 Arctic cat 500, 1940 miles one owner previous Suzuki motor! Thing is a work horse installed a $90 2,000 lb winch on it and picked up a used 60” moose plow with new mounts for it so she’s gonna be working this winter! Just need to get it back from the shop in hardwick they are putting on a new case gasket and seeing about the transmission issue I have going into neutral randomly and then engaging gear like a clutch disengagement or something, wheel bearings and bushing fresh oil and filter should be sitting right soon fingers crossed!
@@Martyvison Oh ya that’s right you had mentioned that. Did they figure out the transmission problem yet? Should be a nice wheeler when you get it back.
@@rockspowersports they haven’t got to it yet but I guess next week they will get it in the shop and look at it. Thought about just selling for a profit and getting a new wheeler but what’s the point when this one if it’s fixable will last me for awhile and it’s just to do my driveway some trail riding so not worth it really to take the plunge on a new foreman or sportsman
I had completely forgotten Polaris made a Diesel years ago. Love the plate-tamper idle sound on those old things.
You dont see to many around, they only made them for 3 years.
Those early cats were good machines, its amazing they weren't plagued with problems you would think a 1st year machine would be. Those Suzuki motors were really good and strong. Although I'm pretty sure the dry weight was over 600lbs, around 630lbs if I recall. If I dug around I think I still have the owners manual for my 96. I gave the machine away to a friend a few years ago and he still rides it.
@TheNotimprezed Honestly I think the 454 is one of Arctic cats most reliable machines they ever made. I still have this one and it runs and drives very good.
@@rockspowersports for sure, old machine and its only had 1 ball joint, replaced the cv boots, brakes and brake fluid reservoir. Removed and bypassed the primer because it always ran real rich and was prone to flooding, after bypass it never flooded again, I think it pulls a little fuel through there as a design flaw. Also got rid of the gas cap with gauge as it was never a tight seal and was a source of water contamination in thr fuel, again never happened with a regular cap.
@@rockspowersports it is hands down the best work horse machine ever made! Dad bought a left over brand new in 97. After 26 years of service she still doesn't skip a beat. Major repairs were choke cable, voltage regular and the master cylinder seized up Rear foot brake cable froze up a few years ago aswell. Big woop! I remember it was 3400 out the door lol. Maintenance really plays a part in longevity aswell. Ams oil and premium fuel has been her diet. Wish I could share a photo I have bleed cat thur and thur because of that machine! Bear cat 454 ! It was so awesome in high school dominating those Honda's,yamaha's and pullurass with as they called it artic crap!
first atv cat had their name on ❤
@@rockspowersports back then the polaris was the fastest on the top end but would eat belt if ran wide open atleast the brand new one my buddy had did 😂
Those 454’s sure are tough! And I don’t know why TH-cam won’t let you comment with pictures on here…
Had a 2x4 454 it would pull the front left tire off the ground in first and in to second 2 feet!! Things are torque monsters
They sure are!
Awesome test brother! The results were predictable though. Typically the diesel powered engines need forced induction to be vastly superior to their gasoline counterparts. Thats why most all the automobiles and trucks on the road are turbo diesel. But I bet that diesel will outlive most if not all of the gassers.
@FlawleZ31 They are for sure way down on HP but the initial torque off the line is good with this diesel. As far as outlasting there gasoline counterparts, I believe they would if they were properly ran and taken care of. I have 3 of these diesels and all of them had a bad piston rings due to there injector clogging and starving it for fuel..
Not necessarily. You’re talking about two different applications of diesels. The reason why diesel trucks, cars and heavy equipment have turbos is because diesel engines are extremely
Inefficient (thermally). Basically they suck at burning fuel. That’s obviously a concern for power, but the bigger concern is emissions. A turbo maximizes combustion and in turn creates better emissions (along with many other benefits). In something like an ATV where emissions are not closely monitored, it’s just an additional and costly expense for the manufacturer and consumer. Not needed.
I’ll be honest. The test he put out wasn’t all that fair. I’m not saying the Diesel was better than the Gas, but the gas had a lot of advantages. The diesel was independent suspension, tires were in far worse condition, and it had the CVT transmission. All of which are going to dramatically lower your towing abilities.
Thats a cool test with the real-time speedometer. I've not ridden a polaris diesel but i knew the 454 was going to work it over. Ive had a 400 and a 500 cat 4x4 manual shift and they are very torquey machines. They dont turn a ton of RPM but the torque coupled with the manual transmission makes them great for pulling. The diesel is just out classed in horsepower and the CVT mixed with a low rpm diesel just probably doesn't give the best results. However id say the diesel is a much more fuel efficient machine if you're using it for work a lot. I have a video of my 300 4x4 AC pulling my 5k pound tractor up a slight incline on my channel.
Your right the cats in low range will tow pretty much anything. The diesel is ridiculously good on fuel. I drive it around off and on all summer and I haven’t put any fuel in for 2 years now.
The CVT did that Polaris in. The manual gearing is much better for something like that. I think that is why Honda sticks with what they have.
Yes with this much weight and the lack of hp from the diesel the CVT was not geared low enough... The Bearcat actually surprised me, the 5 speed gearbox and the low range worked excellent for pulling.
What kind of camera do you use before you go riding? I know the one on the helmet is a gopro. But what kind of camera do you
Use when you do a walk around?
I’m just using my iPhone’s camera for the walk around.
@@rockspowersports Oh ok thanks
@@MLAuto69 No problem!
No surprised by the result. Now a magnum 425 vs that 454 would be interesting. Having towed with my 455, a 400 (4stroke) sportsman, 350L and xplorer 400L the 350L and 400L were the best. They drank fuel but could pull. Used the 350L to move a 19ft boat. Had to have someone sit on the front rack to do it.
Ya the diesel is good right off the line with torque but quickly runs out of power when the speed increases. I’m surprised your 2 strokes were good at pulling honestly! I’ve drove them on trails and they have great power, I just never put them to work.
@@rockspowersports They do work well. Looking at a 2stroke dyno you get those double torque peaks, one low and one high.
@98dodge360v8 Ive never looked at a dyno from a 2 stroke, thats surprising though, most of the time you think 2 stroke you think high hp low torque.
Learn something new every day.
Yes I love seeing the diesel quad, I hope to see more vids about it
@Caleb Carinci If you guys like my diesel videos i will be sure to create some more.
@@rockspowersports thanks man I love that quad, it’s so unique and I love the sound of the diesel
@@calebcarinci2428 It is very unique indeed! thanks for the feedback and im glad your enjoying the videos!
Hey Rock, that polaris diesel was underpowered compared to the low output sportsman and magnum 500s. I did what you do buy and sell plus I always had the new big bore 4x4 machines on the farm. No lie polaris always towed the best and it could actually hold back plus stop a load. That's compared to all the hondas yamahas suzukis and artic cats. Hondas were always too light and the brakes were weak. The grizzly I had wouldn't hold back a heavy trailer and had a hard time stopping too. 2013 I bought a new sportsman 500 4th one I had and ran it daily 8-12 hours towing a trailer that was typically around 2k up and down muddy snowy hills. Never let me or the help down one bit. Only sold it because of buying a ranger.
The diesel is for sure underpowered but it’s a unique machine. I’ve noticed Polaris has always been a nice work machine, they weight quite a bit more like you mentioned and that helps with stopping trailers or it helps a lot plowing snow.
It’s good to hear someone with out a horror story about Polaris! I seem to get that a lot…
@@rockspowersports I've owned a lot of polaris. Never had any issues at all. I was very hard on them too. Never did a belt ever and had over 1000 hours on some. Blew transmissions and cvs in hondas.
Same here, I’ve had good luck with my Polaris’s I’ve had several 500’s and I bought a new sportsman 850 in 2014, That was quite a machine.
@@rockspowersports awesome. I always get told I'm lying or baby them . I have 2 rangers now. Real workhorses.
@@motofarmmx2430I hear ya there! I do like Polaris but I also like other makes also. There all good when they’re running.
My dad had a 98 artic cat 454 just like that one thing was a work horse I’ll tell you what put it in low it had so much torque that we where able to pull a combine
What state or country are you from? I've never seen a diesel come up for sale in New York.
I live in Vermont, these diesels are hard to come by anywhere though.
When I hear diesel I hear pure tourqe. Gas did better which is disappointing but it was nice to see a comparison
I have a 700 Cat Diesel that I turbocharged and intercooled. Pulls way better than my 700 TRV Cat. Diesel only tops out at 50 mph, though.
@formerice I’ve been looking for one of those Cat 700 diesels for a while now.. there hard to come by around here. I bet yours goes great with the turbo on it!
@@rockspowersports Hard to find! I have put around 3,000 hard miles on her since turbocharging. Only complaint, needs power steering.
@@formerice That’s awesome! And yes power steering is very nice. They make a few different aftermarket kits you could buy.
That Cat is pretty impressive.
if its ok to ask , how much did you pay for your diesel quad? id really like to get one
I’ve had this one for about 7 years. I paid $700 for it but it wasn’t running at the time. I put about $800 more into it to get it to where it is. Which $1500 is still very good for a Polaris diesel, they go for quite a bit just because they don’t come up for sale too often.
@@rockspowersports cool, thats quite cheap for something like that, I just find them really interesting and I like the torque from the diesel. Thanks 👍
Bring them on the asphalt road and see what they do
polaris screwed up on the diesel i think. i mean, why would you make it belt driven and independent rear suspension? do what honda has done for the last 40 years. solid rear axle, and gear to gear transmission.
@the big un They are neat machines but yes the Diesel engine would of been better suited in a straight axle and manual trans for pulling
Polaris made the diesel unit for John Deere for a couple years .
I did not know that, I knew bombardier made some atvs for John Deere in the early 2000’s
@@rockspowersports You're right it was bombardier .
I had a 99 polaris diesel brand new back in 99
yea not much speed but would pull good
My kawasaki bayou 220 2x4 pulls car trailers
Arkansas Wavin
Found it 👍
Nice! That was my gas arctic cat. I’ll do a comparison with the diesel cat soon.
Diesel needs a turbo
I’m working on it.
@@rockspowersports nice about diesel is, just force air into it. Injectors do the rest, it's not like gas or a 2 stroke where you have to worry about the fuel prematurely going off. Because the diesel engine doesn't inject the fuel until its ready to burn it. But more air equals higher temperatures and more oxygen when the fuel is injected which results in cleaner running....ect.... and more power
@@joeyholthusen6495 Yeah I’m hoping it turns out good. It’s got more room to turn up the injection pump also if it does end up needing more fuel.
455 Pontiac vs 454 Chevy lol
Haha not quite..
@@rockspowersports haha yeah I know this
That arctic cat is a tank can’t wait to get mine back from Buffalo mtn
Right! I was pretty impressed with it. What size cat do you have?
@@rockspowersports I got a 2000 Arctic cat 500, 1940 miles one owner previous Suzuki motor! Thing is a work horse installed a $90 2,000 lb winch on it and picked up a used 60” moose plow with new mounts for it so she’s gonna be working this winter! Just need to get it back from the shop in hardwick they are putting on a new case gasket and seeing about the transmission issue I have going into neutral randomly and then engaging gear like a clutch disengagement or something, wheel bearings and bushing fresh oil and filter should be sitting right soon fingers crossed!
@@Martyvison Oh ya that’s right you had mentioned that. Did they figure out the transmission problem yet?
Should be a nice wheeler when you get it back.
@@rockspowersports they haven’t got to it yet but I guess next week they will get it in the shop and look at it. Thought about just selling for a profit and getting a new wheeler but what’s the point when this one if it’s fixable will last me for awhile and it’s just to do my driveway some trail riding so not worth it really to take the plunge on a new foreman or sportsman
@@Martyvison Gotcha, the new wheelers are very pricey right now, I’m sure you’ll be happy with fixing yours.
Did you see they were able to verify scientifically with collected data that Polaris is in fact GAY
That makes a lot of sense..