I just got back from a 10 day riding trip that included the Tailgate AK event and Arctic Man. Both events are sled orientated and draw thousands of people to literally the middle of no where in Alaska to ride. Think Hay Days but in the middle of winter and in awesome terrain. Manufactures always have demos at these events. Arctic Cat had 5 2016 153's with the 3" track there. I was pretty excited to ride one because I wanted to snow check one. I signed up for the demo ride and after the usual paper work stuff off we went. I dipped a ski of in the soft snow and the Arctic Cat guide immediately stopped me and informed me that we would only be riding the trail to the mountains and back, zero off trail time. What a joke, I completely decided then and there I would not purchase a cat. This guy was even from Cat corporate headquarters. How do you get people excited about a mountain sled if you only let them ride a trail at 15 mph? Went back to vendors row and filled out the paper work on the axys for a demo. Polaris gave zero restrictions and we had a blast. Ski Doo was the same way. With the crowd at these events being oil and gas workers, everyone has money to burn and usually snow check after the demo rides. Wake up Cat, you possibly had have the best sled for 2016 but no one will ever know it because of the worthless demo rides.
Demo rides and results.
- Thread starter AKtoad
- Start date
what all did you demo and how did you like them?
Demoed everything but the turbo viper. Ski doo was basically the same thing since 2013 oh wait I mean 2008. The Doo's are nice sleds but I have a 13 and besides the 3" track really zero difference between the 16 and my 13. I run the RS spindle spacer that essentially makes the upper a arm taller just like the new front end. The Cat looks to be the best of the bunch but without seat time who knows. The primary on the cat appears to be a P-85 and the secondary is just an updated TSS-04. Those two things alone will be a big difference for cat not to mention the narrow front end, 3" power claw and the new steering post setup. The Axys felt really good with smooth power delivery. The body work is extremely narrow and the entire sled had a nice fit and finish. It's an absolute blast to ride. With that said I have 900 miles on my 14 assault that is completely dialed in. I will wait another year to snow check. Really had my hopes up for the cat but with no true demo ride and the rep being a jerk it derailed my hopes of buying one. Guess my assault and my XM will have to hold me over for another year.
i would have babied the cat till i was just out of site... then jumped off the trail and let her rip haha
I think I would have done the same, took it for a long ride, take your azz chewing then tell him to stick his trail ride where the sun don't shine. The older I get the more fun it is to simply not care what others think.
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CatndHat
Member
So when you say smooth power delivery from axys, Is it a noticeable motor pull gain over an oem compared to the assault you ride? even with the few performance tune parts added? Thinking if the Pol were the real deal this year there would be a new sled tagged for you. I too am curious as to which MFR sled is worth the delivered 14000usd out of box as tuned up, ride ready. No need for me to push it to full disregard mode till it has at least 600 miles, so intake and exhaust investment waits, Then I can ride it with less fear of tree smacking and will chance the full on sketchy. But those 6 hundy miles still had better be perma grin for an adrenaline toy 1/2 the price of a new decent commute car.
Ill let you know as my 14 is sold and 16 checked with full slp and pcv...Have a nice summer Russ.
cat that is -20 lb with the pipe set and 170 hp with a proven motor is a hard one for me to look past the last 20 lbs.
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I rode the snot out of the new Cat for a weekend and ~80 miles. I had my '14 PRO along and my buddy's '15 XM. For me it is still hands down Polaris. I will either buy another holdover PRO come x-mas or maybe an Axys. I can't ride the Doo, just can't.
The Cat has some great improvements, no doubt about it. It is missing one key ingredient and that is lighter weight. It is friggen heavy compared to the other two. All of the extra weight seems to be in the nose. It rides great, the power, clutching and track conspire with the new suspension to make a tree eating machine. The Evol shock package is epic too...
The weight killed it for me, I was serious about the Cat as well. It will be another near 400 lb Polaris for me, it is just more fun.
The Cat has some great improvements, no doubt about it. It is missing one key ingredient and that is lighter weight. It is friggen heavy compared to the other two. All of the extra weight seems to be in the nose. It rides great, the power, clutching and track conspire with the new suspension to make a tree eating machine. The Evol shock package is epic too...
The weight killed it for me, I was serious about the Cat as well. It will be another near 400 lb Polaris for me, it is just more fun.
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CatndHat
Member
2.6 or is it the 3" coming in Octobray? Guessing the 3 on a limited you lucky sparky, & look at all the fuel stabilizer $$ you save!
question for CO POWDER
so being nose heavy does this mean the 2016 m8000 has hard steering
and a lot of ski pressure?
so being nose heavy does this mean the 2016 m8000 has hard steering
and a lot of ski pressure?
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