Today I had the opportunity to take out a pair of brand new, just assembled 2012 Arctic Cat F1100 Turbo sleds courtesy of Rexburg Motor Sports in Rexburg Idaho.
First the disclaimer.
I am a die hard Yamaha Nytro owner/rider who has never spent any time on a Cat before.
I am 6' 235lbs, 48yrs old and would consider myself a intermediate skilled rider.
We were riding at 6,500ft in the Island Park area, and were restricted to no more than 50% throttle during the break in period as the sleds had 0.0 miles on them when we picked them up. Snow conditions were POOR at best, perhaps 12" of snow, so we were very restricted to the trails today. Total mileage was about 30 miles for the day.
All that said...
WOW.
Was I surprised.
The very first thing I noticed was the total lack of Turbo lag, and boost that came on from about 4,500rpm on. That was about 10% throttle!
In other words, the engine was making boost and delivering power pretty much as soon as you were moving.
There was simply no Turbo Lag to speak of at all!
This engine behaved much more like a super charger in that the power was always instantly available AND there was a LOT of power.
Not only was there no discernible turbo lag to me, I was also quite surprised at how hard the sled PULLED. For a bone stock untouched factory sled, this baby delivers loads of power, and you can really feel it in your hands and arms as the sled accelerates with "Gusto".
As a Nytro rider the weight of the sled was a complete non-issue for me. It felt very familiar, though the handling was more nimble and the steering lighter in feel. If your coming off a 2 stroke then I am sure you will feel the added mass of the 4 stroke engine, but even with the weight I found the sled to have very good handling manners and quite willing to lean over on one ski and let you throw it around in the meadows.
I found the seat to be particularly comfortable with good support for a reasonably large guy. Wasn't nearly cold enough to try the seat heat feature today.
The track on this sled has terrific "Grabbing" on the trails we rode and was throwing large chunks of snow from under the snow flap. Riding behind this sled closely is not an option unless you enjoy getting pelted with snow balls.
As with my Nytro, the M1100 has significant deceleration. When you left off the throttle, this sled slows down and stops QUICKLY. I managed to lean over the handlebars a couple times when playing in the trees and letting my finger slip off the throttle at the wrong moment.
Also thought the seat was a bit wide in relation to the running boards, as they felt narrow and short to me. On several occasions I went to place a foot only to find I had missed the board and landed in the snow. This might be perfectly normal for Cats, but it caught me by surprise several times today.
Overall this sled was a BLAST TO RIDE!
I expect that Arctic Cat will do quite well with this one, and I would have no reservations taking one out again just as soon as we have some better snow to go play on!
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