Looking at getting a CAT for first machine!

[kootenayguy]

Hey everyone-

I'm hoping to lean on the shoulders of experience here in hopes of getting some personal experience with some CATS that I'm looking at right now. Ill let you all know what they are, give my thoughts on them, and any and all advice, opinions, or personal experiences with these models would be HUGELY appreciated. At the end of the day, my main deciding factors would be first and foremost any sled that has had a notorious reputation for reliability (I'm aware that there are lemons everywhere, and that the biggest factor for reliability is a good maintenance schedule) And Second would be user friendliness and fun factor (our riding is almost 100% un-groomed logging roads, skidder trails, and wide open areas)

Also if any of these have a bad reputation for being absolute pigs on fuel, then I'd be interested in considering that, but its not a deal breaker if the first two items are taken care of.

Thanks again for all the help- you guys and this site are invaluable!!!

#1: 2002 Arctic Cat 800 Mountain Cat with 144 x 21/2" track- LOTS of upgrades and is in basically brand new condition

#2: 2003 Arctic Cat 900 Mountain Cat with 151" track not as new condition as the others but has been religiously maintained.

#3: 2004 Arctic Cat King Cat 900 (1M) with 162" track- only has 273 miles on it, another amazing looking machine!

#4: 2000 Arctic Cat Powder special 700 with 136"x2" track- well maintained as well

#5: 1994 Arctic Cat Thundercat 900 with 144"x2" track. lots of extras. Looks in great shape.

I know Ive kind of thrown in a red herring or two with the powder special and the thundercat- the others are probably considered to be more capable mountain machines, at least from a performance standpoint. My reasons in doing so, are the fact that Ive been learning (please correct me if I'm wrong folks!!!) that some of the older machines are near legends with seasoned riders as far as reliability goes. Obviously technology has advanced to the point that a new style mountain sled isn't even in the same category as the stuff from the mid to late nineties or even the early 00's, but at that time it was all we had to choose from, and for a rookie wanting to get into the sport and have as much fun as possible- with hopefully as few breakdowns as possible, I'm willing to consider these older machines as a viable option.

So to summarize, there are actually a few mountain cats, king cats, powder specials, AND powder extreme's even that Ive got my eye on, but the point of this thread is really to learn the general consensus of which of these models is the wisest choice.

Once again I can't thank everyone enough, and I look forward to everyone's feedback!

 

[redwolf_92]

I would say that number 1 and number 3 would be your best options. Number 4 should be thrown out the door without even thinking about it. The thundercat would be a fun sled, but only as more of a novelty than an actual rider. My choice out of all the ones you listed would be number 3, but you also have to keep in mind that this is goiing to be your first sled and the 900 is a lot of muscle for someone just starting out. Do you have a group of competent riders to ride with? Are they mechanically inclined?

 

[diggerdown]

The king is a great sled but you seem to know very little about sleds so I would look for something with efi, the 02 800 may be efi, they came both carbed and efi.. Keep looking and find a efi M7. You should be able to find a good one for $3500 or less.

 

[Boostfreak]

Of the ones mentioned I would not consider the 700ps at all. I had two 900 mountain cats and they were both awesome sleds! The bottom end grunt is just awesome!!