arctic cat releases firecat rolling changes

 Arctic Cat's Firecats have been rolling off the production line for about two weeks. The Thief River Falls, Minnesota, company has announced a short list of rolling changes and a new official dry weight.

"We measured the F7 and F5 as they will come out of the crate," explained spokesman Jay Lusignan. "Our dry weights include chaincase oil and all the grease in the zerks- exactly everything but the coolant, gas and oil. The F7 weighs 460 pounds and the F5 weighs 447 pounds."

The added weight over the earlier published claim of 435 and 425 pounds comes primarily from three areas. First Arctic Cat found it needed a larger rear heat exchanger for trail conditions. "We had the Sno Pro exchanger on the prototype sleds last spring," said Lusignan. "But it proved to be inadequate in certain low-snow conditions, which gave us overheating problems. The new exchanger is a necessary addition to keep the engine within the operating temperature range."

The second area to add weight to the sled is the airbox. In order to keep sound levels low, Cat opted to add material to the airbox wall construction.
The third main weight-adding change is the seat. "We redesigned the seat base in order to improve the fit and finish on the Firecats," Lusignan explained. "When we changed the rear cooler design, we needed to address the fit and finish changes that resulted and that meant re-engineering the seat base.

"Obviously, we didn't want to add weight to the Firecat," he continued. "But at the same time, we can't sacrifice the sled's reliability or quality. We made the changes we felt we would expect if we were the consumer. In the end, the sled is heavier than we expected last spring in final prototype testing, but it is also a much better product."

Cat also outlined a handful of smaller changes, which had little effect on the weight gain. The ethanol switch is back for both Firecats. A small red switch will adjust the ignition timing to compensate for areas with ethanol in the fuel supply.
As part of its competitive analysis, Cat bought an RX-1 LE and Rev X 800 directly from a local dealership. Here's what Cat's scale said each weighed:

RX-1 LE 617 pounds (no fuel)
Rev X 800 486.5 pounds (no fuel, no oil)
F7 EFI 470.5 pounds (no fuel, no oil)