Yes its a Mountain Cat. Looked like it worked MUCH better today, didnt ride it though.
850 not the shining star...
- Thread starter Insaneboltrounder/sjohns
- Start date
Yes its a Mountain Cat. Looked like it worked MUCH better today, didnt ride it though.
Here's my take on it. Have not been on a 17 MC but my riding partner has a 2016 with BDX front end, hood, seat, narrowed up with B&M boards. Took it out with an 850 and its not even close in my opinion. The 850 out performs the Cat in every situation except sidehilling through old tracks, which has always been a twitchy trait of the past few skidoo models. Just for comparison my personal sled is a 2015 T3, style is aggressive tree rider.
We are not comparing your friends 16 to the ski doo, we are comparing a mountain Cat to the ski doo. I own a 2016 ltd 162 Cat and a 2017 ski doo 850 165, and I ride with someone that has a 2017 Mountain cat 162. If you haven't rode the Mountain Cat then you're waisting your time comparing cat to doo. 50% of the time my 16 cat will out perform my 850, 100% of the time the MC will out perform my 16 cat, and 90% of the time the MC will out perform my 850. The 850 has a great motor and clutching and is as smooth as a sewing machine and with about $4000 in suspension upgrades including shorter front shocks, and T-motion lock out it would be a great sled...I'm just not interested in spending an extra 4k to get it to do what the MC or even axys will do stock. We should all feel fortunate that we have 3 great sleds to choose from.
Spent some time on all of the new '17 sleds in various conditions from softer pow to denser pow to tracks to virgin. Not personally a big fan of the ski doo handling, including the G-4 but it is an extremely impressive snowmobile. The side by side we did with a '17 Mountain Cat showed they were very close. Snow conditions do affect performance so any categorical statement that one is better is pretty suspect. The G-4 is extremely nimble and definitely the most powerful of the '17s. Not even close on power. Sidehilling I'd still give to the Axys, then MCat then G-4 but they all do very well. The mountain cat is definitely better in deep snow than the limited and climbs extremely well...just keeps going. If someone gave me any of the '17's I'd give them a big hug and ride away with a grin.
The funniest thing about these sled reviews is when you start reading the thread "blindly" after following the link from the SnoWest daily digest email, and 3 or 4 posts in you already know what section you are reading (cat, poo or doo) without even looking.... and yup, this one was quite obviously in the Cat section.
I'm not brand biased, I love the competition between the 3 (sorry Yamaha) but we all have to remember that it's the Internet. On that note, I really want to ride a Mountain Cat now and will form my own opinion....
I'm not brand biased, I love the competition between the 3 (sorry Yamaha) but we all have to remember that it's the Internet. On that note, I really want to ride a Mountain Cat now and will form my own opinion....
Just wait next year they will release a new version of the mountain cat with different angled rails and this years will be a outdated pos
Because it will get up on the snow sooooo much better and blah, blah, blah.
Don't forget the etech was always said to Pull harder than the rest when everyone thought it was a 162hp motor, now not so much! Just because it was on the internet somewhere doesn't make it so, it just makes some believe it is...
Because it will get up on the snow sooooo much better and blah, blah, blah.Don't forget the etech was always said to Pull harder than the rest when everyone thought it was a 162hp motor, now not so much! Just because it was on the internet somewhere doesn't make it so, it just makes some believe it is...
Just wait next year they will release a new version of the mountain cat with different angled rails and this years will be a outdated pos
a lil mtn cat envy there bud?
Just a little All you Mountain Cat owners will be there next year
All you Mountain Cat owners will be there next year
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He must have meant used it to get the ladies while all the Poo guys were off on their usual trail ride
Funny my 16 Limited hasn't had any problems hanging with any of the Poo's I've rode with this season, must live in a different world...
The Cat was really nice on the trail but in the mashed potato snow we were in, it dragged all that wet snow through the tunnel and dumped it in front of the track. It just refused to come out of the snow. And it was very heavy to push up or roll out of stucks. The 3 Polaris sleds came out easy.
your buddies ride on a '16 with a bunch of polaris' last year settles the '17 mtn cat vs 850 debate eh..
N
Heck I owned a Mountain Cat before a lot of you ever got on a sled
I
Heck I owned a Mountain Cat before a lot of you ever got on a sled
Haha had one ! And then the new 900. Wow that was a dominantsled for the time
S
yup...loved mine....specially after the big-bore rotax in it got dialed..
90% or more of the performance gains are because of the 8 tooth drivers!!!!!!!!!!
You go from a 7t to a 8t is a great ratio change from 2.86 to 2.63.
No sled should ever be geared that f cling low, 2.63 is the limit. Plus the team clutch doesn't shift into as high of gear as the old cat clutches.
It's like groomer vs snowmobile, or 4L vs 4H.
My 14 cat with 8t and 3" with 2.42 still pulled harder than anything yet. But I had the clutching perfect.
The MC with different spring, helix and weights is the second best setup I've ever ridden.
Nothing I tried on my 16 with 7t felt right or even compared to the 17 MC or my 14.
But with gear change you have to calculate everything, it changes the location of the swing of the clutch weights and most don't clutch properly for gear changes.
Biggest thing you can do for the cat is just add 8t even if you don't drop the case. It's huge.
Aside from bmfab skinny boards and a 30lb diet. Add grippers of course. That setup will p:ss pound any of them.
For any of you broke riders, get a Speedwerx 155/310 spring and put in your 16-17 and learn throttle control. Massive improvement in response and full range power.
As for trenching, your an idiot to say the MC trenches. What you need is an education in throttle control, rider position, and suspension setup. No more trenchy.
Camber/Evol
Front shocks 60/150
Fts 35-50/110 powder 50-70/110 average/firm snow
Rts 120-135/250 (of your under 250 and not carrying bag or fuel in Tunnel) for ever 5lbs over 250lbs add 2psi.
Handle bar risers make it trench worse!
Lean forward, keep body low and weight forward.
Work the throttle to not wheelie, a quick release will often let it jump on top. To much to fast will trench.
In a climb it can be effective to tap the break if you anticipate a wheeling, hold the throttle down but smack the brake just enough to keep it on plane.
But really most of you will leann back, let her wheelie with a chit eating grin.
Let a real rider set them up and test them, then jump on and see if you can do the same.
99% of people can't figure out why there trenching when the other guy didn't.
You go from a 7t to a 8t is a great ratio change from 2.86 to 2.63.
No sled should ever be geared that f cling low, 2.63 is the limit. Plus the team clutch doesn't shift into as high of gear as the old cat clutches.
It's like groomer vs snowmobile, or 4L vs 4H.
My 14 cat with 8t and 3" with 2.42 still pulled harder than anything yet. But I had the clutching perfect.
The MC with different spring, helix and weights is the second best setup I've ever ridden.
Nothing I tried on my 16 with 7t felt right or even compared to the 17 MC or my 14.
But with gear change you have to calculate everything, it changes the location of the swing of the clutch weights and most don't clutch properly for gear changes.
Biggest thing you can do for the cat is just add 8t even if you don't drop the case. It's huge.
Aside from bmfab skinny boards and a 30lb diet. Add grippers of course. That setup will p:ss pound any of them.
For any of you broke riders, get a Speedwerx 155/310 spring and put in your 16-17 and learn throttle control. Massive improvement in response and full range power.
As for trenching, your an idiot to say the MC trenches. What you need is an education in throttle control, rider position, and suspension setup. No more trenchy.
Camber/Evol
Front shocks 60/150
Fts 35-50/110 powder 50-70/110 average/firm snow
Rts 120-135/250 (of your under 250 and not carrying bag or fuel in Tunnel) for ever 5lbs over 250lbs add 2psi.
Handle bar risers make it trench worse!
Lean forward, keep body low and weight forward.
Work the throttle to not wheelie, a quick release will often let it jump on top. To much to fast will trench.
In a climb it can be effective to tap the break if you anticipate a wheeling, hold the throttle down but smack the brake just enough to keep it on plane.
But really most of you will leann back, let her wheelie with a chit eating grin.
Let a real rider set them up and test them, then jump on and see if you can do the same.
99% of people can't figure out why there trenching when the other guy didn't.
well put together,90% or more of the performance gains are because of the 8 tooth drivers!!!!!!!!!!
You go from a 7t to a 8t is a great ratio change from 2.86 to 2.63.
No sled should ever be geared that f cling low, 2.63 is the limit. Plus the team clutch doesn't shift into as high of gear as the old cat clutches.
It's like groomer vs snowmobile, or 4L vs 4H.
My 14 cat with 8t and 3" with 2.42 still pulled harder than anything yet. But I had the clutching perfect.
The MC with different spring, helix and weights is the second best setup I've ever ridden.
Nothing I tried on my 16 with 7t felt right or even compared to the 17 MC or my 14.
But with gear change you have to calculate everything, it changes the location of the swing of the clutch weights and most don't clutch properly for gear changes.
Biggest thing you can do for the cat is just add 8t even if you don't drop the case. It's huge.
Aside from bmfab skinny boards and a 30lb diet. Add grippers of course. That setup will p:ss pound any of them.
For any of you broke riders, get a Speedwerx 155/310 spring and put in your 16-17 and learn throttle control. Massive improvement in response and full range power.
As for trenching, your an idiot to say the MC trenches. What you need is an education in throttle control, rider position, and suspension setup. No more trenchy.
Camber/Evol
Front shocks 60/150
Fts 35-50/110 powder 50-70/110 average/firm snow
Rts 120-135/250 (of your under 250 and not carrying bag or fuel in Tunnel) for ever 5lbs over 250lbs add 2psi.
Handle bar risers make it trench worse!
Lean forward, keep body low and weight forward.
Work the throttle to not wheelie, a quick release will often let it jump on top. To much to fast will trench.
In a climb it can be effective to tap the break if you anticipate a wheeling, hold the throttle down but smack the brake just enough to keep it on plane.
But really most of you will leann back, let her wheelie with a chit eating grin.
Let a real rider set them up and test them, then jump on and see if you can do the same.
99% of people can't figure out why there trenching when the other guy didn't.
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