I like the ZR 900. It makes me happy to pull onto a lake with the new Cat and be confident I can run with almost any sled in sight. It makes me happy to have people come over and want to see the size of the cylinders under the hood. But most of all, it makes me happy to have a 900 twin that I can pull over in the cold, get better than 10 miles per gallon with the throttle pinned and still twist the speedometer needle into a pretzel whenever it strikes my fancy. Yup. It's sad but true. Arctic Cat's new ZR 900 speaks to the obnoxious short man in me.
The ZR has pretty much everything I like in a sled, except EFI and RER. I hope to someday find a 900 with both of those features. Until then, the TM 40 flat slide carbs and a drive-on/drive-off trailer will suit me just fine. You can't get everything you want in the first year, afterall.
I was concerned about getting the big twin started in the morning. But usually with three pulls, it fired up. I don't think it ever took more than five. Plus, the pulling effort was light enough that even I could get it going. Special thanks go to Greg Spaulding and his crew in Arctic Cat's engine development department for that little decompression hole. It's a winner!
The sled as a whole is the same as what we have for the full 2002 season. The wide runningboards with serrated edges and hooked cross country handlebars are fantastic. Switching back and forth among sleds without those little goodies is like straddling a vintage Scorpion. You just get used to having the added control and comfort, and you miss it when it's gone.
Cat's suspensions, in my own opinion, are about the best available on the market. I like the long travel stroke they deliver. On the 600 sleds, I found the lightest spring preload worked out best for me. But with the added heft of the 900, plus the extra speed it tends to carry through just about anywhere, the middle cam position delivered the same ride quality. For the record, Cat lists the ZR 900 at 507 factory pounds.
The coupling mechanism on the rear is not really an optional item if your plan is to trail ride the ZR 900. Though it doesn't have the same power-on/power-off characteristic of the 800 twin, when the big mill comes on the pipe, you'll want to have a little help keeping the skis in contact with the snow in the corners.
As a replacement for the Thundercat, the ZR probably pales a little on the top end. I know there is a very loyal contingent out there that feels that Arctic Cat left them to drift when all of the triple triples were dropped. I know them; they send me emails. But this is close. My test sled didn't have the vibe of other twins. Arctic Cat somehow dampened the heck out of the engine cradle and it doesn't send nearly the buzz to the handlebar as you'd expect from a big twin. Plus, the ZR is 26 factory pounds lighter than the '02 ZRT 600 and 68 factory pounds lighter than an '01 T-Cat (the one without reverse and Smart Ride).
To recap, the ZR 900 is a blistering lake runner. It is light enough to still be fairly nimble on the trail. It makes me feel good. And it's not a heavy puller to start in the morning.
Radar Data taken on Feb. 7, 2002. Conditions: 40 degrees, smooth hardpack lake surface. No wind.
| 60' ET | 330' ET | 330' MPH | 660' ET | 660' MPH | 1000' ET | 1000' MPH | 1320' ET | 1320' MPH | 0-30 mph | 0-60 mph | 0-100 mph |
|---|
| Run 1 | 2.25 | 5.39 | 74.34 | 8.10 | 89.86 | 10.58 | 97.20 | 12.76 | 101.96 | 1.82 | 3.88 | 11.71 |
| Run 2 | 2.43 | 5.56 | 75.49 | 8.23 | 91.52 | 10.65 | 99.36 | 12.80 | 103.66 | 2.05 | 4.01 | 10.91 |
Comments: looking at the curve on the ZR 900 runs I made show that the sled was still accelerating when we had to get out of it. Top speed observed for the day was 105.29 mph at 1432 feet in 13.66 seconds on the second pass. We didn't touch the jets, clutches or gearing from factory-delivered spec.