2023 cat. Where is it?
- Thread starter SnoPro1000
- Start date
Lighten up Francis!
Derail- bad news is ALL brands now are crazy expensive (compared to what were used to) of course my wife needs a newish car and good lord what they get now is to me insane. So with no snow and crazy prices fuel may be crazy soon too we may need to build bug out shelters instead.. cats not a ram either lol. I'd say more like a good old small block !! Iam still so new to snowmobiles I'd really like a 600. I don't ride revelstoke. The whole power only a really good rider can use is beyond me anyway and I think it's just silly that's what everyone think is good. I mean think abou the future on that track....a 1200 turbo with a smart phone gauge? Ok now you better be a revelstoke guy or otherwise your gonna get hurt on our snow here. Just sayn all this power is eventually gonna give way to something. I think you guys could be right about price point. Make a reliable sled with pretty good performance and cost 5k less. I dunno ?
i agree on the power thing In one sense i always want more but when the snow is marginal to poor its more fun with stock 800 power or less. But if you do run into a few of those deep days its nice to have some extra. I still think the main stream is 800 to 900cc naturally aspirated twin thats reliable. although reliable doesnt sell many sleds anymore.
I still don’t believe there’s really that big of a market for big bore sleds. Everybody talks a big game on social media that that’s what they want, but look how many times over the years 900-1000cc sleds have came and gone just for the market to fall back to 6-800cc sleds.
That's just it, social media. All cat would have to do is a few things and hit the marketing hard core and these conversations would be in the past. I mean as a guy looking in-pollaris has it all and if your a cool kid or your "good" it's the only choice? Except three posts down is a thread, "wated a year and it blew up first ride" but the marketing is still so strong that instead of fixing that they made it bigger and as a hotrodder (of cars) bigger allways means more vulnerable. Just sayn cause I wanna be burandt too but luckily iam old enough to know I won't be "flicking" anything except boogers probably lol.
Social media advertising….
Manufactured Hype
Thread about blowing up first ride, as well as many others similar…….
Reality
Let them look cool for a minute, Reality looks a little more foolish.
I’m still a fan of letting R&D finish their job so I get to run the throttle going in and out each day.
Manufactured Hype
Thread about blowing up first ride, as well as many others similar…….
Reality
Let them look cool for a minute, Reality looks a little more foolish.
I’m still a fan of letting R&D finish their job so I get to run the throttle going in and out each day.
I agree, although I have met a handful of people just this season that subscribe to the idea that a turbo is going to make them a better rider. The belief that 'a new sled is going to make me a better rider' is definitely alive and well.
I couldn’t disagree more. So much has changed since the last 900/1000 (2009?)- better chassis, major engine/drivetrain improvements, and newer more aggressive riding styles. There are alot of people who rip now (social media created this) 6-8 years ago, not so much.
800s, and even the 850s just don’t do it for me anymore, especially when its deep or when riding above 8000’.
Agreed- Always been a big bore fan just not into the turbo trend anylonger- With the torque of a BB it's way addicting ..
FWIW- I would trust a factory 900 from Cat before I would from the other manufactures- Even at 10,000+ where I ride it's still addicting
Went riding past weekend and my 2 buddies rented a couple new polaris sleds. We dropped em back off at end of weekend and my one buddy thats 99% going to check a poo this year was commenting how it was odd the first thing the guy did when he fired up the sled to get it off the trailer was put his ear on the tank. Everyone has had issues or has issues. But that kinda stuff doesn’t look good for a new buyer. He was also very surprised how playful my sled was compared to the kahos after reading all the reviews make it sound like cats are anemic and not “flickable”. He also was impressed with the pull of my little 800. We are both novices and agree on the crappy hard tracked out snow the polaris is much easier to ride and more “intuitive” but honestly the Cat is more fun.
I agree that the tech has definitely changed since the m1000, but that same argument could be made about the m1000 vs the thunder cat 1000, and yet the m1000 still faded into the past. I didn’t say there was zero market, there’s always gonna be some guys that want/need the extra power, but based off previous trends the 6-800 range is where the meat of the market seems to be.
That’s what you hear from most people that actually give the cat an honest chance, they tend to think it’s a hell of a sled. It’s only on the social media that cat gets such a bad rap and for some reason nowadays what you read on social media is gospel. Most of those bad “reviews” you read of cat online are probably from people that have never even flung a leg over an alpha, they’re just parroting what they’ve read on Facebook. It’s definitely obvious that most of the people $hit talking cat on social media have no first hand experience with the sleds by the nonsense they spout. Then they turn around and take a dig at cat riders for being blindly brand loyal for still buying a cat even though they don’t come out with something new every year, as they’re over there making excuses for why their ‘22 Polaris has just blown up like they’ve been doing for the last 20 years.
I think one of the issues with the 900/1000 class sleds no one speaks about is the EPA emissions. That was one of the reasons the industry went back to the 800 class sleds according to an article I read years ago. I had a 2008 M1000 and it did have a appetite for oil compared to the 800's. Today's motors are far advanced from the older ones, and I bet they meet the EPA's standards where the old motors didn't. Just my take on it.
Tell me why guys don't do a little hot rodding on their sleds like cars? 50 cc's is hardly a thing in the engine world right? A little head work a dished piston punch the cylinders 30 and your there?? Now iam sure guys can by a "hot tune" for their fuel injection and voila "big bore" ??? I still can't believe it's a thing really cause in the car world that's just a freshn up not a big bore!?? Don't hear guys talking about forged lightweight cranks or cool billett flowed heads and flywheels balanced and lightened yada yada ....seems like the real advancements are chassis designs but honestly as a new rider who wants to be deep in the backcountry, nothing more important to me than not breaking down! So iam perplexed by the idea that you can have both but iam old so?? I remember blowing up brand new engines just trying to do a turbo with a carb lol.
I think about this periodically too. I have a 2021 ctec 800 as a main sled, and a 2016 800 suzuki backup sled. That suzuki easily uses 2-3x more oil than the ctec does, it's insane! I ended up buying some mystik (cheapo) for the zuke because it was burning up my ctec oil like crazy $$$$
I personaly wouldnt touch a first year big bore from polaris I dont care how much testing was done, they will find a weak link somewhere. could be motor mounts and belt life even. Give it a couple years. I would probably get the proven N/A 850 instead and fix the intake if it hasnt been yet. Nobody big deals the intake issue like they do cat, I bet its worse than cats was in 22. Im with Vern tho, I dont need big horsepower where im at. I remeber the craze around this time back in 04 surrounding cats new 700. The polaris 650 would not be a hard market to steal and get some looks.
The crowd went apeshit or at least the crowd i was standing around when the M7 hit snow king mountain 18 years ago
The crowd went apeshit or at least the crowd i was standing around when the M7 hit snow king mountain 18 years ago
Kinda was thinking the same thing in my old school car mentality. 50cc thats like 3 cubic inches. Big deal. 50 sounds like a big number but is it more bragging rights? In old school 4 stroke naturally aspirated car land where you are looking at 1 hp per cube for a decent build a few more ci isnt much. But we are dealing with motors that are making a over 3 hp to ci so 3 or 6 extra cubes is a much bigger deal. More power is always more better even though I can’t use what I got ? the power of the little 800 is good but Id like to see some bigger cubes if it didn’t make weight go up drastically or more important hurt longevity. Longevity doesn’t sell sleds to people #’s and specs do initially. Longevity does make for repeat customers though. Cubes also means you can make power without being so high strung. When not running on razor edge for compression and tuning. Thats good for longevity. Fatter torque curve is nice too. With snowmobile clutches on paper it doesn’t matter. But in the real world riding it’s probably why the Cats 800 seems strong even though its “underpowered and small”. Just my novice hypothesis anyway. ?
I take regular digs at you guys because year after year you’re happy with the same sled from the year before. Thats cool… glad you guys are easy to please, but its OK to want and demand more from Cat. Innovation and change are GOOD, and new DOES NOT mean it’s automatically unreliable or untested.
Since 2012 Cat has had the Pro Climb and the Ascender, with the 800 HO and the 800 Ctec. Do has had the XP, the XM, the G4, the G5, with the 800 Etec, 850 Etec, the 850 Etec Turbo, and the 850 Etec Turbo R. Polaris has had the Pro Ride, the Axys, and the Matryx, with the 800 2011-2015, the other 800 2016-IDk, the 850 Patriot, the 850 Patriot Boost, and now the 9R. Whats my point? Cat doesn’t do chit. Its boring. Its not poor marketing, its just the same lame chit year after year.
“Well Polaris has their customers do their R&D”… Ok, I have had nothing but good experiences since 2011 along with all of the people I ride with (buddy had a 16 Axys that was a lemon, but his 2013 Cat was bigger but POS, annnd his 2012 was even worse). Ya you see more problems with Polaris but thats mostly the result of there being 10 times as many of them on the snow… you’re gonna see and hear more stories of breakdowns. Doo steadily comes out with new stuff that works flawless. Cats capable. It can be new, and better, and reliable. I don’t get the new is bad mindset… but I’m young, and based on the way most you think I’m pretty sure you’re NOT ? I just get sick of Cat blowing it every year. They are good sleds but the have to do SOMETHING to attract new buyers and its like they refuse.
I’ll say it again, the current Cat is a GOOD sled, buts its the same damn sled every year (yes I understand the evolution from what it was in 2012). People are not gonna buy it if its not shiny, new, the latest, or the greatest.
New is Ok.
New is Ok.
New is Ok.
Ok rant over, sorry.
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