Catalyst M series weight

[Woody67]

A week ago my buddy and I built our new sleds. I always weigh them the same way and feel this is the best way to compare sled weights. Arctic Cat sleds are shipped ready to ride with the following exceptions. The oil tanks have enough oil in them to run and not introduce air into the system. The fuel tanks have never had fuel in them. All other fluids are RTR. The 165 Sno Pro (pull start) weighed 455 and the 154 standard weight was 449. For comparison my 2022 Hardcore same procedure same scale was 472. Not as light as claimed but still light.

 

[Rob.G]

I think you mistyped "555" instead of 455. I did a doubletake when I saw that but then saw in your pics it was 455.

I'd love to know what my 154 3.0 Electric Start ATAC sled weighs. I replaced the stock battery (14 lbs) with an EarthX (2.4 lbs).

 

[BeartoothBaron]

I also did a "what the?" on the 555 thing. That's Yammi empty weight territory! That is a pretty realistic way to weigh. I go back and forth about whether to include coolant weight: it matters because a sled with smaller and better-designed coolers will be lighter, but on the other hand, a sled with too little cooling might win if you include it. I don't think the Pro-ride Polaris RMKs had enough cooling (mine has an extra cooler), and part of that probably was Polaris chasing weight numbers. 450lb minus consumables is commendable, especially if it does end up gaining the least weigh in the tunnel from riding. It's looking good!

 

[NHRoadking]

Cat backed off of their original claimed weight reduction for the new mountain sleds. The new Cat sleds are now comparable to the dry weights of the other two.

 

[Rob.G]

From some videos I've seen, the Mountain Cat Alpha One is coming in 10-15 lbs lighter than Polaris. Minimal, but worth mentioning. At least it's a lot lighter than they were in the past. When moving my Catalyst around in the trailer, it feels pretty much the same as my Khaos. My King Cat is a lot lighter in back but a lot heavier up front. Gee, I wonder why.

 

[Old & slow]

Cat backed off of their original claimed weight reduction for the new mountain sleds. The new Cat sleds are now comparable to the dry weights of the other two.

Cat advertised that the Catalyst was up to 10 % lighter not the Mountain sleds. I am sure some ZR or Riot model gets close to that. Dry weight means nothing when Doo claims a dry weight for a 165 turbo r to be 463 but when you weight one its 572, you are going to need some creative math to account for 109 lbs?

 

[Rob.G]

It makes you wonder... when sled makers are going for lowest possible weights, why do they ship with an exhaust can that weighs 20 lbs when we see stuff like Diamond S coming in 15 lbs less, and even the cheaper options at 8 lbs less. Or how about this... so I still prefer my bars taller, so I put a 3" riser on my sled. The old riser is HEAVY. And not just the riser block itself (it's not terrible, but it's heavier than the taller one from Powermadd), the little U-bracket clamp things that hold it to the post and to the bars... those things are stupid heavy. The four of those little things weigh more than the stock riser block itself.

Now, obviously the reason here is "cost" and "profit." But still, it seems like some things could still be lighter.

 

[MTN_VIPER]

I think the main reason for the HUGE mufflers, is because the sled manufactures have to meet a certain sound level requirement. I have a Diamond S can on the 2018, which I really like because its light and quiet. But it is slightly louder than stock and similar to how loud older sleds used to be stock. Now days I think that sound levels are a little more restrictive for the manufactures, most likely due to trail system regulations in the mid-west.

 

[Rob.G]

Ahhhh good point on the noise regs. Yeah I was pretty surprised at how quiet my Catalyst is, but I have a "Cooker Thing" pipe on my Khaos, and it's a bit louder than I like... though it sounds wicked cool at idle. Truth is I'm totally happy with sleds being quiet, but not with the 20+ lb exhaust can.

 

[ullose272]

A week ago my buddy and I built our new sleds. I always weigh them the same way and feel this is the best way to compare sled weights. Arctic Cat sleds are shipped ready to ride with the following exceptions. The oil tanks have enough oil in them to run and not introduce air into the system. The fuel tanks have never had fuel in them. All other fluids are RTR. The 165 Sno Pro (pull start) weighed 455 and the 154 standard weight was 449. For comparison my 2022 Hardcore same procedure same scale was 472. Not as light as claimed but still light.

is the 154 electric start?

 

[tuneman]

Eventually, the bean counters at one of the OEMs will figure out that they could offer an upgraded muffler, just like the bumpers, boards, etc. It could have the same decibel output as the standard muffler but with an ultra light weight and at a premium cost. Tons of folks would buy it, but the OEMs are a bit slow at figuring stuff out. They probably still think there's a benefit for the muffler to offset the weight of the clutches...

 

[Rob.G]

Yeah, how long did it take them to finally start including ice scratchers?

 

[boondocker97]

The cans are big because it's the easiest way to meet EPA sound requirements. No other reason. If they could build them smaller and lighter it would be less material to pay for and less space to take up in storage and on the factory floor. Anyone weighted a stock can from one of these? From what Speedwerx has said in their videos it should be just under 19lb.

No scratchers until they absolutely had to with smaller coolers.

I've been running ski-doo risers for several years now. Lighter and they look good with the contrast black/machined finish.

 

[Old & slow]

Eventually, the bean counters at one of the OEMs will figure out that they could offer an upgraded muffler, just like the bumpers, boards, etc. It could have the same decibel output as the standard muffler but with an ultra light weight and at a premium cost. Tons of folks would buy it, but the OEMs are a bit slow at figuring stuff out. They probably still think there's a benefit for the muffler to offset the weight of the clutches...

10 or so years ago we did some testing on the mountain with cans and stock mufflers. The stock muffler was better every time. Now the can builders are doing a better job than before making sure back pressure is right and other stuff but it still might be fun to do some testing.

 

[Krause09]

The cans are big because it's the easiest way to meet EPA sound requirements. No other reason. If they could build them smaller and lighter it would be less material to pay for and less space to take up in storage and on the factory floor. Anyone weighted a stock can from one of these? From what Speedwerx has said in their videos it should be just under 19lb.

No scratchers until they absolutely had to with smaller coolers.

I've been running ski-doo risers for several years now. Lighter and they look good with the contrast black/machined finish.

18.6 lbs

 

[Woody67]

is the 154 electric start?

Both are pull start only.

 

[BeartoothBaron]

It makes you wonder... when sled makers are going for lowest possible weights, why do they ship with an exhaust can that weighs 20 lbs when we see stuff like Diamond S coming in 15 lbs less, and even the cheaper options at 8 lbs less. Or how about this... so I still prefer my bars taller, so I put a 3" riser on my sled. The old riser is HEAVY. And not just the riser block itself (it's not terrible, but it's heavier than the taller one from Powermadd), the little U-bracket clamp things that hold it to the post and to the bars... those things are stupid heavy. The four of those little things weigh more than the stock riser block itself.

Now, obviously the reason here is "cost" and "profit." But still, it seems like some things could still be lighter.

It may have something to do with balancing the sled side-to-side, making it easier to get on edge on the right side. I know I've heard that theory before, and it seems more plausible to me. Did something change with sound levels around 2015? I still run the stock can on my pro; it only weighs around 12 lbs, and it's not noisy. I've been told - and my own research into cans agrees - there's not much out there that's lighter, not noisy, and doesn't lose power. The Axys can gained a ton of weight (it's over 20 lbs), but I haven't noticed it being much quieter.

Given how sled manufacturers chase weight numbers (for good reason), it's just hard to believe they couldn't come up with a can that passes the feds' sound test and weighs closer to 10lb, not over 20. There are plenty of reasonably quiet cans out there in the 10lb range; I just don't see why you'd need that much weight to make it quiet enough. I could be wrong, but even if they came up with a magic weightless silencer that costs them $5, it's possible they'd just build 15lbs of ballast into the right side because the average rider would prefer how that handled - despite the unnecessary weight. I guess I could test that theory by throwing 10lbs onto the right side of my sled! But then, if I liked it that much, why make it dead weight? Maybe turbo sleds have more of an argument going for them...

 

[MATTELL]

2025 Alpha One (black) 858, 154X3" track, manual start, bone stock full of gas and oil was 508.7 lbs.

 

[MTN_VIPER]

2025 Alpha One (black) 858, 154X3" track, manual start, bone stock full of gas and oil was 508.7 lbs.

That falls in line with what Woody posted. Figure 9.4 gallons of fuel at 56.4 lbs takes his reading of 449 + 56.4 = 505.4. Plus a few more lbs to top off the oil tank from the level that Cat ships the sled with. The weight is certainly competitive with the offerings from Polaris and Ski Doo which is good to see.

 

[BBIS1]

2025 Alpha One (black) 858, 154X3" track, manual start, bone stock full of gas and oil was 508.7 lbs.