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In its second year, the Twin Spar rigid, self-piercing riveted, rider forward, IRP enhanced, F-sled continues to turn consumers on.
We tested both the F6 and F1000 for a full season last year and I got a ton of seat time aboard the F1000 with its big 999cc 2-stroke liquid EFI motor.
Turn onsI don't mean to harp on this, but the F-sleds are simply the most comfortable long-distance mileage sleds on the market, and our F1000 was no different. The seat's 7-position adjustability and plushness made it possibly the most comfortable of any in our test fleet. My body's midsection stayed warm, and using either a medium or tall Cat windshield there's plenty of air deflection.
The cavernous trunk on the F1000 meant we were able to bring the air pump for the Fox Float shocks up front as well as a belt, tool kit, rope, plugs, water bottle, small first aid kit and more. (Yes, we actually fit all that in the trunk!) We also enjoyed the Cat gauges as they gave us a lot of options, had glove-friendly buttons and were easy to use.
Low-end power on the 163.9-horse dual plug per cylinder 1000 felt strong, and it really jumps out of the hole. Unfortunately, we were unable to test the F1000 at our Real World Shoot-Out. We had a little dispute with a small poplar tree early in the season after an unforeseen rock ejected me and sent the sled into a "180," only to be stopped abruptly by the tree. So the big sled was awaiting parts during Real World testing.
We did learn from this unfortunate incident that the Twin Spar chassis is incredibly resilient. After hitting the sturdy poplar squarely with the back of the sled during my unexpected off-trail excursion, we assumed the worst. However, the strong bumper and rigid frame saved the heat exchanger, the tunnel stayed straight and all vital parts were intact. The sled was perfectly true and all we had to replace was a bumper, trunk, tail-light, plastic side panels and the accompanying hardware. We are confident that many other sleds on the market would have had a crumpled tunnel and faired much worse after such a bruising.
Thoughts to ponderEvery sled has at least one fault. Our only real problem was that more than once our Fox Float shocks up front lost their seal. We were told that this "never" happens, but we do know that the shaft on these shocks dents easily. For slightly more than $100 a set, we suggest running Fox Float shock guards like those from RPM composites (www.rpmcomposites.com, 508-896-7313). Once the shaft on the shock gets a dent, it will not seal correctly when it moves through its stroke and you'll soon lose shock pressure. It will be fairly obvious because the sled will sit low and handling will be affected.
At a full wet weight of 650 lbs., this sled is bulky, however, with that extra weight comes more predictable handling, good balance and a very strong, durable sled.
As mentioned earlier, we prefer the medium to tall windshield as the standard low shield on the F1000 Sno Pro freezes your hands.
Finally, we didn't realize how much we liked electric start until our photo shoot with the F1000. Constantly having to crank over the big 1000 with the cord gets old quickly. Thank goodness Cat offers electric start as an option!
2008 Arctic Cat F1000 Sno ProEngine: Suzuki 999cc twin liquid 2-stroke
HP: 163.9 (
AmSnow tested)
Exhaust: APV w/tuned pipe, pipe sensor and canister
Ski Stance: 43 in.
Front Susp.: AWS VII double-wishbone A-arms w/Fox Float shocks and sway bar
Rear Susp.: Slide-Action frame w/coupling blocks, adjustable torsion springs & Fox (IFP) shocks, 2-in. dia. rear shock
Track: 15x128x1.25 in.
Fuel Tank: 12.6 gal.
Dry Weight: 515 lbs.*
Wet Weight: 650 lbs. (
AmSnow tested)
Avg. mpg: 10.2 mpg (
AmSnow tested)
Price: $12,099 US/$15,199 CA
*2007 Arctic Cat weight, 2008 weight not issued by factoryODDS & ENDSCat Factoid:
The coolant pump impeller design on the F1000 provides high coolant flow with less chance of trapping air inside the heads for better engine cooling.
Cat Factoid:
The blow-molded co-extrusion gas tank of the 2008 F1000 was an update from 2007. The newer tank complied with EPA fuel-permeation emission limits for snowmobiles, ATV's and motorcycles of 1.5 grams or square meters per day. This added a little weight.