Awesome yes let’s get together. Would appreciate the test ride and riding with you guys again.
Catalyst Rear Suspension mounting hole measurement
- Thread starter kanedog
- Start date
I
I got to see a Catalyst 146 and a brand new 146 riot alpha side by side. There was no distinguishable different in the rear suspensions. I measured everything. It all looks the exact same. Except the riot has way better shocks then the crap that comes on a catalyst.
I was also disappointed that they had the same amount of clearance. Floor to lower ball joint was the same, belly pan clearance was the same, how far your feet go forward on the running board was the same, The upper control arm has a bend in it now on the catalyst to clear the shocks. Spindle angle is leaned back more.
The seat sucks bad. was impressed with the track to tunnel clearance inside with the 2.6" track, and the tunnel itself is super short. I'm not a fan of the rear tail light wiring being on the outside of the tunnel like a doo. But i am a fan of the rear tail ligh being so small.
I was also disappointed that they had the same amount of clearance. Floor to lower ball joint was the same, belly pan clearance was the same, how far your feet go forward on the running board was the same, The upper control arm has a bend in it now on the catalyst to clear the shocks. Spindle angle is leaned back more.
The seat sucks bad. was impressed with the track to tunnel clearance inside with the 2.6" track, and the tunnel itself is super short. I'm not a fan of the rear tail light wiring being on the outside of the tunnel like a doo. But i am a fan of the rear tail ligh being so small.
Got to check out a Catalyst today, I definitely have some concerns…
Intake screens are way too exposed, They’re right above the M on the side panel. They’re frog skins. Going through the trees they’re going to get punctured and ripped.
Headlight adjustment is really stupid. The whole headlight assembly is on a hinge, and there’s a spring and a screw behind the gauge that you set the angle. But you can still move the headlight up and compress the spring. So that whole thing is going to rattle apart. Or break that plastic where the screw goes in
The seat is basically a dirt bike seat stuck on a sled. It’s held on with a 1/4 turn at the back of the tank. And the front has the hook like a dirt bike. But it’s not secure like a dirt bike. Can flex and move too much I think it’ll get ripped off.
The side panel on the clutch side right there’s a pretty big venting hole, but the belt and secondary clutch are right there. I bet lots of wet belts and clutch slipping on deep days.
There’s literally no storage on the sled. There’s a tiny compartment that I would struggle to get a pair of goggles in. That’s it.
All this talk about upgrades to the suspension, the spindles are no taller, there is no extra clearance, the rear suspension is exactly the same. I was comparing the Catalyst to a brand new Riot both on the same truck. Everything was the same, ground clearance, suspension mounting, rear suspension arm lengths, lower ball joint heights. This was from another site by ippielb You forgot a few things you mentioned elsewhere, I mean if this sled is this bad maybe its not a good fit for you there are other brands you know. Not trying to start things but have you even rode one yet? You complain about the Alpha rail and i am sure you have had the issues you say but i ride mine like i ride a twin rail and i have done nothing sorry i put the throught bolt in.
Intake screens are way too exposed, They’re right above the M on the side panel. They’re frog skins. Going through the trees they’re going to get punctured and ripped.
Headlight adjustment is really stupid. The whole headlight assembly is on a hinge, and there’s a spring and a screw behind the gauge that you set the angle. But you can still move the headlight up and compress the spring. So that whole thing is going to rattle apart. Or break that plastic where the screw goes in
The seat is basically a dirt bike seat stuck on a sled. It’s held on with a 1/4 turn at the back of the tank. And the front has the hook like a dirt bike. But it’s not secure like a dirt bike. Can flex and move too much I think it’ll get ripped off.
The side panel on the clutch side right there’s a pretty big venting hole, but the belt and secondary clutch are right there. I bet lots of wet belts and clutch slipping on deep days.
There’s literally no storage on the sled. There’s a tiny compartment that I would struggle to get a pair of goggles in. That’s it.
All this talk about upgrades to the suspension, the spindles are no taller, there is no extra clearance, the rear suspension is exactly the same. I was comparing the Catalyst to a brand new Riot both on the same truck. Everything was the same, ground clearance, suspension mounting, rear suspension arm lengths, lower ball joint heights. This was from another site by ippielb You forgot a few things you mentioned elsewhere, I mean if this sled is this bad maybe its not a good fit for you there are other brands you know. Not trying to start things but have you even rode one yet? You complain about the Alpha rail and i am sure you have had the issues you say but i ride mine like i ride a twin rail and i have done nothing sorry i put the throught bolt in.
I intend to punch the track to a 5.5" wide with the mid rail kmod.
Makes me wonder if the elevate will be an option, they say it won’t work but I don’t see why not! I do have it on my ascender and half tempted to swap it over and see
The distance between the upper ball joint and lower ball joint is much less on the Catalyst so the spindle from an Ascender won't fit.
That is a good point on the riot spindle. If it's standard Riot that's 1.5" taller under the bottom ball joint than the mountain spindle.
I
There's problems with every sled, i was just pointing out the issues that i found in the normal investigations of a new chassis. I very much liked how narrow it was, i very much liked the side panels being way more angled forward so my long legs can actually go forward, the steering is a big improvement, snow flap is a good change. The shocks, lowest end available... Next year better have some improvements with the 858 when i buy one.
I'm not sure if anyone has really rode a catalyst yet, i complain about the alpha rail because it deserves to be complained about. side by side comparison, same terrain, the alpha is a chore to ride in anything other then deep fresh. following trenches, its a rodeo. I love the alpha track and the traction, deep snow the alpha works amazing. But i'm not fortunate enough to be able to pick the good days to go ride. Instead i ride every day im there, and in less then ideal snow conditions the alpha rail is the weak point.
The upper control arm has a bent to clear around the shock now as well, and the ball joints are closer together, not sure but the spindle may seem to be laid back a bit more.
Had the normal mountain spindles. The dirtbike seat thing is a nice thing for aggressive riders, but sometimes a guy wants to sit down on a lazyboy on the mountain, the ascender seat was so comfy. And i do agree, the velco under the foam was a joke. My foam cracked in half and kept squishing out to the left. the velco was a paint to try and work with getting everything back on nicely.
The spindle on the riot was the normal mountain spindle, im not sure if its because the riot has longer arms that it gains that extra clearance or whats going on, but i took a tape measure stuck it underneath the catalyst locked it, then tried to fit it underneath the riot and it slipped right under the exact same height.
I've got a 100 miles on my M, the seat is fine. The riot seat is wider if you want a cushier seat swap it out.
my only complaint is the shocks. They are valved way way to soft for anyone over 200 lbs. Getting them re done now and it'll be perfect.
will you be doing a more thorough review now that you've started to get some miles on?
Thanks!
"brand new riot 146" does not tell us what exactly you are comparing the catalyst-M too in your measurements for clearance. "old mountain spindle" leads me to believe you were looking at a riot X ascender chassis, with longer A-arms and shocks than the mountain sled has. those will make the riot x sit higher than an ascender alpha front end.
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Will previous front shocks fit Catalyst m600?
Some of the early Catalyst sleds running at Jackson last year had different front shocks that I assume came from the Ascender sleds.
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