900 Mountain Cat opinions?

Skyhigh · Jun 21, 2009

Looking at picking up an 03 900 Mountain Cat. It has low miles and is in good shape. Is this thing going to nickle and dime me to death? Will I be able to keep up with the new sleds my buddies are riding? The only concern I'm having so far is no reverse, but to get a comparable rev is like $2000 more. Opinions. :beer;

76FOMOCO · Jun 21, 2009

this is one of the hardest sled to beat and one of the toughest sleds out.
now there is a list of thing that will make it ride a lot better and give you the track speed you need.
last of the old school chassis with lots of parts available but they did have a few problems like the rest.
post bends easy
power valves and cables need cleaning and adjusment
factory chain sucks go hyvo
clutch maintenance
change primary and secondary spring every year and take out the 55 helix and put in a 51
hand heaters suck fill the bars with foam.
stock skis are good but need dual carbide runners.
venting, venting, venting!!!
jet it right and you will avoid the right side bog.
high rise seat, snow eliminators and 2+ higher post are a must
motor is the toughest out there
and new recoil rope from rei 5mm
seal off right side intake from engine side.

think I about covered it but hope a few will help, don't be afraid of this sled for they are hard to kill and easy to find part for.

polarblu · Jun 21, 2009

i picked one of those up mid season when my mod @3it the bed again they work really well in the steep and deep but are hard on you on the trail in and out. I picked it up for the engine but the sled hangs right there with the 800s other than 09 M8, those i wasnt close to.

Good sled, great motor wont let you down. suspension sucks, seat is really low

My .02

Skyhigh · Jun 22, 2009

How well do they carve? Do you need a tonne of body english or will they lay over nicely?

kodpkd · Jun 22, 2009

You know,,,, you get what you pat for... There is a reason a XP cost more.

76FOMOCO · Jun 22, 2009

Skyhigh said:
How well do they carve? Do you need a tonne of body english or will they lay over nicely?

once you move the post in front of the hoop and bring it up at least 2" it will ride like a whole different creature. move the skis to the narrowest stance and layover is a piece of cake. not a xp or a M but a lot better.

untouchable · Jun 23, 2009

Suspension setup is very important, front and rear. Gearing, clutching, venting (mesh hood is the best), boss seat (or just ride standing up), go with a single for back country and twins for climbing, reeds and there wont be too many XPs on the hill that will out perform you. A head really cleans up the midrange too. There are a ton of parts out there and people have done so many things to these sled you'll have pages of information to read through.

Boss

Idcatman3 · Jun 23, 2009

Skyhigh said:
Looking at picking up an 03 900 Mountain Cat. It has low miles and is in good shape. Is this thing going to nickle and dime me to death? Will I be able to keep up with the new sleds my buddies are riding? The only concern I'm having so far is no reverse, but to get a comparable rev is like $2000 more. Opinions.

We actually run reverse on all our 975 big bores, with few problems.

I don't know what the guy that got beat by the M8 was doing wrong, but it takes a lightly modded M1000 to beat our 975s, the 900's were at least as good as a stock M8 (well, at least the ones I've been around, not saying there aren't better out there somewhere.)

The newer sleds do feel more nimble in a lot of cases. I just can't seem to get used to the chassis in all situations. It could probably be cured with enough time, but for the money, I'll stick with the 1M chassis for a while.

At least till they come out with something newer my 1500 will still fit in.

Make sure you're tuned right, the 900's came from the factory very rich on the bottom end. We've dropped the pilot jets significantly, and it cleans up the low range a lot. Makes it so you don't have to kick the clutch in at 4k.

diirtbag · Jun 24, 2009

the 900 is a great platform to mod ,drop brackets are a must ,then a bigbore kit ,and watch it climb,most of the people I ride with are runnin new machines and my old kingcat just pisses them off ,it is rightfully called kingcat,forward mount steering post changes it a lot to I got mine +4 with no problems

polarblu · Jun 24, 2009

Idcatman3 said:
We actually run reverse on all our 975 big bores, with few problems.

I don't know what the guy that got beat by the M8 was doing wrong, but it takes a lightly modded M1000 to beat our 975s, the 900's were at least as good as a stock M8 (well, at least the ones I've been around, not saying there aren't better out there somewhere.)

09 M8 will walk all over a M1000 with mods, even a 08 M8 dosnt have a chance. That is from a ride with a whole bunch of Cats. LOL lots of M1000 owners were pissed off when my old school 900 beat them by 4 sled lengths!!

xander · Jun 24, 2009

76FOMOCO said:
once you move the post in front of the hoop and bring it up at least 2" it will ride like a whole different creature. move the skis to the narrowest stance and layover is a piece of cake. not a xp or a M but a lot better.

Completely agree. I still have an 04 900 and after I put the rider forward steering post it helped tons. Plus the motor is awesome.

squarehead55 · Jun 24, 2009

Rider forward post is amust as said above, The sled lays over pretty easily I think, 1M's will sodomize XP's all day.

Skyhigh · Jun 24, 2009

Sounds like it is a great platform for the money. This will be my first mountain sled but I've been renting XP's for the past 2 seasons, do you guys think I can adjust or did I spoil myself with the new sleds? From your comments it sounds like I'll be able to keep up. I just don't want to be stuck all day.

76FOMOCO · Jun 24, 2009

Skyhigh said:
Sounds like it is a great platform for the money. This will be my first mountain sled but I've been renting XP's for the past 2 seasons, do you guys think I can adjust or did I spoil myself with the new sleds? From your comments it sounds like I'll be able to keep up. I just don't want to be stuck all day.

you will only be stuck by your poor judgment with the throttle, the king has more in the mid and top. you'll notice the difference when you get in the truck at the end of the day and a little more beat.

smv sledhead · Jun 24, 2009

The 900 cat is the best 'straight up' motor they ever made. Class of it's own. It will scream with a good porting + SLP twins; 62g weights/45 degree cam @ 7-9k feet.

high time · Jun 25, 2009

I'm sorry, it seems these guys think you have a King, but..

an '03 could be just a 151'' notched track and no titaium springs. Is it red or green on a grey hood? or orange on black? The red on black was a 159'' '03 and a half. They all kind'a sucked compared to an '04 King Cat 163''. The motor is good, except for the recoil, which could be swapped out for the new style from an 800 or 1000.
The 975 conversion is a hoot and with mods. pipes could get 200 hp. That's enough to whip up on any well tuned stock sled made today. But you need a good track. Powder Claw or Challanger Extreme.

Owen

diggerdown · Jun 25, 2009

High time is talking about the '02 1/2's. They were produced as a 2003 but were just an 02 with a few mods and the 900 engine. They were heavier and poorer shock valving. The color of the sled, the dimpled running boards and the chaincase sticking below the belly pan were ways to look for the 2002 1/2 model sleds. I have 2 900's and so far have not seen many sleds that beat me and both have been trouble free, with regular maintaince.

John · Jun 25, 2009

Great sleds...

I sure have enjoyed my '05 King Cat. Weak points are the chain, power valve system and electrical on the EFI's. Yours is carbed so you probably don't need to worry about the electrical. I broke two chains before switching to the 20T top gear, two seasons on it now with stock chain and no issues. Mine is pretty much stock and aside from the chain, electrical issues (trash the servo and go with the STM PV set-up) and a few suicidal trees I've had no issues. Leave 'em stock I say. Right MOCO?

76FOMOCO · Jun 25, 2009

John said:
I sure have enjoyed my '05 King Cat. Weak points are the chain, power valve system and electrical on the EFI's. Yours is carbed so you probably don't need to worry about the electrical. I broke two chains before switching to the 20T top gear, two seasons on it now with stock chain and no issues. Mine is pretty much stock and aside from the chain, electrical issues (trash the servo and go with the STM PV set-up) and a few suicidal trees I've had no issues. Leave 'em stock I say. Right MOCO?

I'm with ya John all stock. :lips:

scotth · Jun 25, 2009

A little threadjack here, what are people running for jetting on stock Kingcats? What pilot are you guys dropping to? I ride 3-6k feet.

900 Mountain Cat opinions?

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