2023 cat. Where is it?
- Thread starter SnoPro1000
- Start date
The world is not ending. Well it might with the yuck yucks running our country.
Ford, chevy and dodge come with a new chassis every 5 or 6 years. The difference is they are competing or trying to one up each other on hp and torque. People still buy what they like and are brand loyal but people still buy by the numbers whether it means anything or not.
Yamaha had the same mentality on their 4 strokes and now look at them. Can't even make there own mountain sled.
The sales numbers, which we'll never see, would end this argument.
Ford, chevy and dodge come with a new chassis every 5 or 6 years. The difference is they are competing or trying to one up each other on hp and torque. People still buy what they like and are brand loyal but people still buy by the numbers whether it means anything or not.
Yamaha had the same mentality on their 4 strokes and now look at them. Can't even make there own mountain sled.
The sales numbers, which we'll never see, would end this argument.
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The brand and part is irrelevant. It is how quick it is back on snow. I bought a 13 pro from phatty that was on the cover of boondockers. Blew belt drive one day and blew the motor the next. It took polaris 55 days to get him a motor. That is the definition of livid.
Normally a manufacturer saying "we'll be announcing a new chassis next year" would be stupid (from their perspective) because it'd cut into sales in the interim, but if that's Cat's plan, they might be better off letting that cat out of the bag early, so to speak. A few loyalists wanting to buy would hold off a year; I doubt you could totally avoid an impact to sales, but you'd probably gain several times the difference in '24 sales. Too many non-Cat riders pretty much assume Cat is going under; if the only news is BNG for '23, it would tend to confirm that, whereas nothing says "we're still here" like a new chassis.
It's stuff like this, much more than their "ancient" chassis that would keep me from buying a new Cat. Hopefully Cat gets things back in order, but even a competitive new chassis could be a flash in the pan if they've cut things to the point where their new stuff is experiencing higher failure rates and warranty support is falling through. Even if everybody is having similar issues (it does seem like I'm hearing of more '22s in general going down), buyers aren't just going to accept it. If buying a late model sled and bulletproofing it nets you the most reliability, that's what quite a few people are going to do.
It's stuff like this, much more than their "ancient" chassis that would keep me from buying a new Cat. Hopefully Cat gets things back in order, but even a competitive new chassis could be a flash in the pan if they've cut things to the point where their new stuff is experiencing higher failure rates and warranty support is falling through. Even if everybody is having similar issues (it does seem like I'm hearing of more '22s in general going down), buyers aren't just going to accept it. If buying a late model sled and bulletproofing it nets you the most reliability, that's what quite a few people are going to do.
I have a buddy with rental sleds and he says he's done with cat because he can't get parts. It isn't just one time or one year.
pro climb went 6 years and this discussion is about the same as it was in 2017. If they release a new "platform" before this time next year they will be on the early side for cat.
People talked smack a couple years ago when cat said they would only be offering a new sled to those who order in the spring. Now everybody is doing that.
last comment; on the clutch, 2017 was a tweaked 2016 Team primary. No bearing, nice low engagement, a little noisy but No durability issues. They decided to fix something that wasnt broken. The adapt is genious for being slimmer, hopefully they get them dialed in. I wouldnt be waiting on parts if i wanted to ride though, i would be trying to get my hands on a 2017 primary and a deflection bolt for the secondary. Set the deflection on the tighter side and it engages just like the 18+. Run a cheap 083 belt if you want. Clutches have not gotten better than a 2017 proclimb yet IMHO.
People talked smack a couple years ago when cat said they would only be offering a new sled to those who order in the spring. Now everybody is doing that.
last comment; on the clutch, 2017 was a tweaked 2016 Team primary. No bearing, nice low engagement, a little noisy but No durability issues. They decided to fix something that wasnt broken. The adapt is genious for being slimmer, hopefully they get them dialed in. I wouldnt be waiting on parts if i wanted to ride though, i would be trying to get my hands on a 2017 primary and a deflection bolt for the secondary. Set the deflection on the tighter side and it engages just like the 18+. Run a cheap 083 belt if you want. Clutches have not gotten better than a 2017 proclimb yet IMHO.
I’d like to see a new chassis, but honestly it isn’t the end of the world if it doesn’t happen. In my personal opinion, every manufacturer needs to reign in their pricing. The days of low interest loans and easy payments are going to soon be a thing of the past, and there will be product without buyers. If Cat wants to continue in this industry, they need to step up their warranty game, offering longer terms, and repair parts in a timely manner, not to mention standing behind the product they sell. Quality first, and the other manufacturers should also get on board with that. When one snowchecks a sled, those are the first ones that should be built and delivered, not waiting till late February or March, and they had best have replacement parts available for those loyal owners, and establish a decent dealer network to provide service. With sleds up to $29000 in Canada, there is NO reason for failures, or waiting on parts for a seasonal toy…
Yup, I like the idea of eliminating belt deflection adjustment, and there are some other advantages, but finding the sweet spot for deflection and getting the side clearance right (around .015), along with running a slightly longer belt in my case (Gates 47C4572 in my case, not sure what's available on Cats), makes the old solid shaft primary work about as well as anything, and nothing outlasts it. I run mine just loose enough that it doesn't want to creep, and it sometimes makes a squeal as it's coming down to idle. Who needs a new clutch, it just works. Whether it's Cat or Poo, I'd take the "old" one if I had the option.
I thought about it, if it were just a couple clutches and some plastic that is. Hubs has it in stock. Then I started measuring things. The crank is out of phase and the jackshafts bent. Could almost buy another sixteen thousand dollar sled at that point
I checked Country Cat and all the parts are showing available. More of a warranty claims problem than parts I am thinking. Last week a 22 Cat lost its engine and was back to the customer within 3 days this was at a dealer in BC. So it does happen quickly sometimes. Possibly this dealer is just repairing the machine and then waiting for warranty to approve I do not know, but they do turn them around fast. To me Josh's case is a no brainer that sled should have been repaired and returned with in a week.
I saw a podcast a while back with Dave Mclure and he talked about riding the new chassis but didn't know if it would be ready this year or not.
I saw a podcast a while back with Dave Mclure and he talked about riding the new chassis but didn't know if it would be ready this year or not.
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I never really waited on parts either other than the typical 3 or 4 days or sometimes a week that anyone else is.
I’ve had to wait for parts before, and this was well before the plandemic hit. I think it was the 18-19’ season I was doing a top end on my ‘14 proclimb. Ended up waiting a month for wrist pin bearings that were back ordered, and only got them when I did because my dealer started making calls to other dealers around the western U.S. and found a dealer that had some sitting on the shelf. Don’t know how much longer I would have had to wait if I had to wait for cat to get them.
I've been trash talking my dealer but they just gave me a great deal on my parts and had all but one in house and got the other in a day. So I can't say anything bad about that! I will say that these new school shocks are spendy lol!
Dealer still hasn't received any 22 snowchecked sleds here in Montana
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