So I have a real dilemma. I sold my 14 pro rmk and I am looking at 2 sleds. One is a very clean 2016 axys 163 with a mtntk turbo for 8000 with 1600 miles and the other a bone stock 2018 mountain cat 162 for 8500 that has 1100 miles. Would love a turbo sled but I have not rode either chassis and worry about the axys engine a little. The turbo on the axys is a 91 octane pump gas setup. Just looking for some opinions
2016 axys turbo or 18 mountain cat
- Thread starter iluv2fly
- Start date
Something to think about with any used sled is the maintenance that is coming up. Aside from the engine, with the turbo sled you're more likely to need to dig into drive train components (clutches, bearings, chaincase, etc.).
This is a pump gas kit. Really when your riding at 8000ft your returning it to sea level power levels. It's not like it's a 250hp sled. Dont get me wrong I love the cat and rode them for years but I really want to try a turbo. Only live once. I talked to chris at parkland motorsports who has installed 60 with zero issues on the axys.
Between the 2 I would get the 18 cat. 1600 miles on a turbo axys would scare me. Most turbo set ups I see for sale around 500 miles for $9-10k. I had a 17 axys with raptor shocks and k mod a arms, was absolutely in love with it. Decided I "needed" a turbo, went with the exact same "you only live once." All that happened is I spent most my time trenching or wheeling, was actually worse at tree riding and blew belts and hated my sled. Realised I don't need $18k into a sled. Some how luckily sold it for $14k and spent $5700 on a 18 cat with higher miles but in immaculate condition and I will throw a top end in. Any way in summary
17 axys w/out turbo was best, raptor shocks were awesome
17 axys with turbo, fun at times but mostly a waste of money and down time
18 cat. Meh, still miss my axys but I am good with it for the cost and reliability. The 18 is way better than the 16 I have rode. But even though I own one, you will never try and tell me it tree rides or sidehills better than an axys. I miss my axys if you can't tell
17 axys w/out turbo was best, raptor shocks were awesome
17 axys with turbo, fun at times but mostly a waste of money and down time
18 cat. Meh, still miss my axys but I am good with it for the cost and reliability. The 18 is way better than the 16 I have rode. But even though I own one, you will never try and tell me it tree rides or sidehills better than an axys. I miss my axys if you can't tell
I have both. Get the Cat. Put grippers, BM fab boards, and Kmod steering mod on it and it will sidehill and tree ride as good as the axys. Plus it will beat you up way less throughout the day. I have tried 2 different sets of baller shocks on my axys, and while it's way better now, it still beats me up pretty good compared to the stock shocks on my 18 MC
Between the 2 I would get the 18 cat. 1600 miles on a turbo axys would scare me. Most turbo set ups I see for sale around 500 miles for $9-10k. I had a 17 axys with raptor shocks and k mod a arms, was absolutely in love with it. Decided I "needed" a turbo, went with the exact same "you only live once." All that happened is I spent most my time trenching or wheeling, was actually worse at tree riding and blew belts and hated my sled. Realised I don't need $18k into a sled. Some how luckily sold it for $14k and spent $5700 on a 18 cat with higher miles but in immaculate condition and I will throw a top end in. Any way in summary
17 axys w/out turbo was best, raptor shocks were awesome
17 axys with turbo, fun at times but mostly a waste of money and down time
18 cat. Meh, still miss my axys but I am good with it for the cost and reliability. The 18 is way better than the 16 I have rode. But even though I own one, you will never try and tell me it tree rides or sidehills better than an axys. I miss my axys if you can't tell
Couple questions on your turbo sled. What turbo did you install on the sled and was it a pump gas kit. Also what track length did u have. The guy I bought this sled from said they installed 6 kits on different axys machines and had amazing luck with them. He said he still got 800 miles out of a belt. Sean at mtntk told me the same thing with the pump gas kit on belt life. Chris at parkland motorsports claimed they had some of these machines with 4000 miles on the stock pistons. I have actually seen some articles by builders who claim better piston life with a turbo because you dont get the piston slap. Now I understand things can go wrong but I will have Sean at mtntk go through it good this fall and see how it goes.
IM personally an axys rider over the cat every day but I would get the 18 Kitty in this case. They are rock solid sleds and hold up great over time even with rather rough riders. A stock axys with 1600 miles would be a no go for me without warranty. Boosted. No thanks. They just wear out so fast that unless I was getting it with less then 500 miles on it then I really wouldn't be interested. The cat has a lot of hard riding left in it where that axys is going to be a lot of fun, but get ready to learn how to rebuild clutches, and lots of little stuff.
Personally I don’t put much stock in recommendations from people who sell the product your looking at for a living, of course they’re going to tell it is awesome and doesn’t have any problems. As far as the turbo kit goes, most axys kits run very well these days. I wouldn’t worry about the turbo kit, It’s the Polaris parts you have to worry about. Your going to be doing a lot of maintenance on the axys; clutches, motor mounts, electrical, motor, etc. I have both sleds, love my 17’ axys sidekick, the 18’ MC is just way more durable with a lot less maintenance problems.
It will have a new top end installed by mtntk, motor mounts will be inspected and replaced if necessary, and clutches will be gone through. I will install new fuel filter and belts and ride the thing. Everyone says how worn this sled is with 1600 miles but I bought it today and it is one clean sled that's in great shape, looks like new. Everything requires maintenance but I am not a hard rider and I think it will he fine. I put 600-800 miles on a year.
I keep hearing guys say how fast these things wear out but man there are a ton of axys rental sleds for sale with 4000 miles on them on the original engine. I think the whole worn out issue is way overblown. Yea they have some gremlins with electrical issues and such but I will fix it if I have the issue.
Sounds like you talked yourself into the Axys, good luck. I ride hard but take care of my stuff. I rode two Pros then an Axys. I love the chassis so I decided to run it a second season. Blew the motor with 1100 miles on it, need a new primary and motor mounts and an exhaust valve cable and still wasn't pulling proper rpm when I sold it. I bought a '17MC to get the new chassis and old reliable motor. Yes, I can feel a little extra weight. No, I no longer ride in fear of the POS breaking on me constantly. The Polaris DOES wear out much more quickly than the Cat in my experience. The motor is crap IMO and I would NEVER own one not under warranty, even Polaris' crappy warranty. Good Luck, you will need it.
In the last 2 seasons i've owned 4 axys's and all of them end up with between 1500-2000 miles on them before getting sold. What I can tell you about them, if you ride them hard in deep snow often without long cool downs here is what you can expect.
Belts every ~200 miles.
Roller bushings every 2-300 miles
new clutch springs every 500 miles tops if you want to be running peak RPM.
Motor mounts every 1k
Motors don't blow on me, but they definately are not quite the same at 1500 miles thats for sure, even with everything else all brand new clutching wise you will still be down about 2g of primary weight it seems to maintain proper peak RPM.
Also be real careful with the tunnels, going to pick up my 2nd tunnel to swap of my 4 sleds as they are really damn easy to buckle if you flip the sled end over end. The 2 that weren't buckled looked like trash and the tail sections had to be hammered straight plenty of times.
Not to say the cats dont have issues as I can make a list of those too. but I can assure you the polaris will hold up to FAR less abuse then the cats, especially regarding performance over time.
I will keep you posted on how it works out. Thanks for the opinions even though a lot was negative. I have talked to many that have had zero issues with there axys so hopefully I get some good luck on my side. I know the cat is a great sled and will probably own another in the future.
