Looking to upgrade sleds... Torn between M800 and Pro 800

[jman94]

Hoping to get some feedback on both the M8000 and PRO RMK. Mostly just need feedback on the 12-14 Cats, No one in my riding group has one yet so I haven't gotten to really hear anything about them. I have ridden both a 600 and an 800 pro and love the chassis, but the concerns of the quick drive and motor reliability have me worried. How do they stack up against each other for mountain riding?

Little info:

I'll be upgrading from a 08 RMK 700 with a Pro chassis under it. I Ride in the cascades, so never see much of the fluffy light stuff. I really like technical Hillclimb and boondocking, not so much into the big chutes, and I'd place myself at an "intermediate" skill level.

 

[bholmlate]

I think you answered your own question. You love the Pro chassis. Both sled have had issues. I cant remember which year cat 12-13 had a big problem eating belts. I believe they have fixed the issue now. I don't think you could go wrong with either one. Post the same question in the Arctic Cat forum and you will hear how great the sleds are and how bad the Polaris Pro is. You post the question in the Polaris forum and get the complete opposite answer. If you like the pro chassis I would go with that sled and know you will have to deal with some issues and take precautions that might help the known issues. good luck

 

[rmk8000]

If you go for the polaris maybe wait a while. Next year they will likely put their new HO engine in the pro. 160 horses in the pro chassis will be awesome if its reliable

 

[Dizzle]

The horror stories of the Polaris motor completely overshadow how reliable they really are. That Cat is a great sled, but if technical is your thing - then the Pro is your machine. If you were more of a chute rider, I would say Cat.

 

[doorider]

Cat

I would go with the M8. The belt issues have been solved long ago... the engines already make 160+hp and are the most reliable engine in class. I think they both handle great. I would prioritize engine power and durability, then crash durability overall.

Cat comes out on top in my opinion.

 

[carlc]

I am on my 5th belt on a 12 cat with turbo and 3800 miles. One piston from a cold seize, -32 in Cooke, and a chain. Not too bad in my opinion. And there has never, and I mean never been a technical place that a pro or ski do has gone that I couldn't go, and I have passed pros that were washed out in a side hill too. Now if you want to talk about suspension, buy a cat. If you want to talk about motor durability, buy a cat. Chassis durability, cat. Ease of warranty, cat. Bandwagon, Polaris.


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[dansyl159]

It comes down to what you're comfortable with, they're both great sleds. Dealer and familiarity are going to be the driving factors.
I was a Polaris dealer for 20 years, have almost 4000 trouble free miles on a 13 Pro, so don't let the overblown motor issues scare you.
As for the Cat, I like 'em, have ridden with several, and have quite a bit of time on a 12. You really can't go wrong either way.
With ANY of the sleds it still comes down to the rider on where they'll go.

 

[OuraySledder]

The Cat is 40-50 lbs heavier. The "it has more power" crowd is pretty much a BS position since in testing all three are within split seconds of each other on acceleration. You can go everywhere a Pro goes, you just have to work harder to get there.

I was surprised at how well the Pro worked on set up snow. I expected it to be great in the pow but it was even more impressive on set up snow. The handling is much better than the Cats from an easy to use standpoint.

I have a '13 Pro and did ruin the first QD belt at 150 miles. Admittedly, I did not break it in as gently as I should have. The drive belt shed a cord around 500 miles. I am at about 650 miles now, all this season. Other than that, it runs awesome, goes places I never would have tried before. It is by far the best machine I have ever ridden.

My priorities did not lie with the engine. Mine lie with the chassis because that is much harder to alter. Carbon fiber tubing, lots of aluminum and a belt drive... that was CMX territory until just a couple years ago. What they have done flat works. I have ridden the Cat and Doo, no comparison for me. The motor is an easy piston fix kit away from thousands of trouble free miles. For the same money as the engine fix, you can't drop the wieght off the Cat. I still have an M7, lots of M-Cats in my group but the new ones just don't do it for me.

Now if you liked climbing and jumping, the Cat is likely the better choice. I like trees and technical stuff. The Pro is the best at it right now with Doo coming up fast. Cat and Yammi Cat are still the least desirable sleds (and most expensive) on the market IMO.

 

[Frostbite]

Here's another alternative. I was in the exact same boat as you (other than I was considering the Skidoo XM in addition to the Cat and Polaris). However, I had something I wanted to try first, snowbiking!

I called Timbersled and got setup for a demo ride. The demo ride was out of SandPoint Idaho and lasted darn near all day. Snowbikes on the trail are not what I would call fun but, it's not too bad. However, once you get off trail they become a dream machine. You seem to just float along picking your way between the tight trees and literally go places you wouldn't dare ride on a sled. I guess what got me most was how we were riding across fairly steep sidehills with ease. The Timbersled guys said they are 100%, on demo rides, meaning everyone that has demoed a snowbike has bought a new or used snowbike of their own. I picked up a used Mountain Horse kit on a 2010 KTM 530 for just over half what a new sled would cost.

My snowbiking riding time has been unfortunately limited but, I can say that my snowmobiles have not moved since first riding the snowbike. You no longer need to pull a trailer, you can fit three snowbikes in the bed of your truck and four of them on a two place trailer. Also, many of those that try snowbikes end up selling their sleds and their four place trailers. I am starting to think the same thing.

Maybe the best thing is, in the summer you just put the wheels back on your bike and you can ride it year around. I also made sure I bought one that was street legal so I can connect logging roads without sweating it.

Give it a try, call Timbersled. If you don't like it, buy a new sled. You can't loose, you get a free whole day demo on brand new Husaberg 501 and a great tour guide and mentor to teach you some of the tips. I added a couple pictures. The first picture is me on my first day on a snowbike. The second is the Timbersled demo fleet where we unloaded. The third was my steed for the day and the fourth is the used snowbike I picked up locally.

Best of luck to you. As good as the sleds are getting, it would be hard to go wrong.

Here's a 2015 Timbersled update video. The snowbike continues to evolve......

http://www.timbersled.com/sbwhatsnew2015.htm

 

[H20SKE]

Might want to look at the T3 xm for 15---and now that it is available in black--looking good. 2 track lengths both with 3"--a 163 and 174.

just another option.

A lot will have to do with your local dealer as which way to go.

 

[OuraySledder]

I would definately be looking at a Doo T3.

The snowbike is very interesting right up until the point I accept that I am a poor bike rider at best. Maybe it would be better in the snow.

If you are a dirt biker this is probably hard to beat.

Lots of good choices. Truely, even the Cat and Yammi Cat are great machines. Turbo up the Yammi Cat and have great reliability in a decent chassis. The fans tell me "you can't feel the extra wieght while riding" and that "stuck is stuck, they are no harder to dig out" I dunno about all of that.

Bottom line is, if you are a serious buyer, getting demo rides on all of them should be no problem. Even a $250/day rental is not a bad investment before dropping ~$10k.

I know what I like. I accept that it may explode and I will be pissed. So far I am one of the 85-90% of Po riders not having issues but definately having fun. Lots of different opinions out there. Ride them and form your own.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

I just purchased a 2014 Pro for a wonderful price and ran it today against my 2012. I am not sure what fine tuning Polaris did between 2012 and 2014 other than the belt drive, but the 2014 absolutely rocks. We did a ridiculous amount of steep and deep hillclimb racing and highmarking this past weekend, there was not a normally aspirated 800cc sled on the mountain that the 2014 Pro didn't dominate (including two proclimbs), great buy and looks like the sled to chase for the next season or two. I've always wanted a 800 Cat but not after what I saw the last few days. This may sound a little ridiculous to some but one overrevving e-tech rider had me open the side panel looking for a turbo. I'll try to shoot some video next weekend if the light cooperates in an effort to convince the skeptics that I'm not blowing smoke. Very lousy trail manners but totally kick-azz mountain manners, hoping the belt drive will hold up. Another e-tech rider said he's never seen a Pro run that well. You can find holdover 2014's all over the west for $9,500 or less, glad I picked one up, my 2012 has run nearly flawlessly for 4,200 miles. Food for thought!!

 

[Dizzle]

So far I am one of the 85-90% of Po riders not having issues but definately having fun. Lots of different opinions out there. Ride them and form your own.

I would say that number is closer to 96-98%. Out of the thousands and thousands of RMK's sold each year, the amount of blown motors becomes a very small amount.

 

[OuraySledder]

I would say that number is closer to 96-98%. Out of the thousands and thousands of RMK's sold each year, the amount of blown motors becomes a very small amount.

Well, I hope you are right. Mine is just over 700 miles now. I will probably hit close to 1000 this season and that is all I am asking for from the Poo gods! New pistons over the summer and fewer worries next season.

 

[Tree Boss]

My 12 Pro is at 1956 miles. I keep reading on here that they blow up at 1500 miles? Someone please tell my Pro that it was supposed to grenade 500 miles ago, I want to put my warranty to use this summer

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[mtncat1]

I would not consider another cat until they get Yamaha clutching and a hood that isn't made of 50 separate pieces. I had an 09 m1000 that every body said that the belt blowing issues were made up they weren't , that cured me of cats for a long time.

 

[SSWIM]

I have both. A 2014 Proclimb, and a 2013 Pro. 163" and 162". Both work really well. Amazing what the new sleds will do. I have had 4 Pros and a 2012 Proclimb. The Pros were 2011 & 2012. Still have the 2012 Pro. The 2014 Proclimb is so much better than the 2012 Proclimb its crazy. Even though they didn't do a ton of stuff, the upgrades they did was substantial. The 2013 Pro is better than the 2012 Pro. I can't comment on the 2014 Pro, as I haven't ridden one. Some say they are better. My 2011 Pro had a turbo. I have had a fairly long list of turbos in my stable in the past.

With that said, I have a quite a bit of experience on both. Our riding style is mostly tree bashing, some climbing and mostly backcountry riding. First off, I am NO Chris Burandt or Matt Entz. I am fairly proficient at boondocking but make no claims to be a star.

My opinion. The Pro has set the bar regarding backcountry riding, no doubt. The 2014 Proclimb is as good or better in everything other than a VERY VERY technical sidehill. One that is probably only ridden .5% of the time. The Proclimb is easier to ride and sidehill. I will get flamed for this statement, but it is my opinion. Very little rider input is needed. Am I saying the Pro is hard to ride. Not at all. Its a great sled. We did quite a few comparisons this winter and the Pro is the King when it comes to sidehilling and getting on top of the snow, DEEP snow that is. The Proclimb was right there with the Pro in the very deep snow. Get in the snow that is what we ride 90% of the time and the Proclimb would perform better. The 2.6 track really works well. Another thing that is very obvious is the snow build up. Many scoff at it as a marketing ploy. HAHA. It is real. The Proclimb holds very little snow where the Pro seems to hold quite a bit. No, we haven't weighted them, but the difference is there, and real. Climbing in deep soft snow, the Pro is a lot closer to the Proclimb than we thought would be. The Pro climb will out mark the Pro, but not by much. In the heavier snow, the Proclimb is at definite advantage due to the track. At the end of the day the Pro tires me out more than the Proclimb.

Eric Woog\VOHK did a write up last year pertaining to the two sleds and I feel hew hit it right on. It would be interesting to see the same comparison to the 2014 Proclimb, as it is a better sled than the 2013 he wrote about at that time.

Again, my 02. Many will disagree. that's cool. we need debate to keep things lively.

Oh yea, the reliability?? I blew up the 2011 Pro due to fueling of the sled (turbo). My fault. The other 2 have been perfect.

Bottom line. Both are incredible sleds and will provide plenty of performance.

Sam

 

[ProRMK24]

I have a 13 pro and haven't had any problems. has over 1000 miles on it

 

[The Fourth Wolf]

My 12 Pro is at 1956 miles. I keep reading on here that they blow up at 1500 miles? Someone please tell my Pro that it was supposed to grenade 500 miles ago, I want to put my warranty to use this summer

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My 12 got refreshed at 2,300. Ran flawless.
That refresh included a LR upgrade. 500 miles since and still running flawless.

Turn up the oiler and always let it warm up.

 

[AndrettiDog]

I'm really surprised with SSWIM's review and his statement on how the AC doesn't wear him down like the Polaris. But like he says, each person has their own view.

I have been on a buddies '14 AC. It sounds great and feels good. Definitely better than the first gen year of the Pro Climb. However, I am not impressed with the power. I know that drag races are not a solid way to gauge mountain sleds. But sometimes it just feels good to run sleds against one another. My other buddy's XM whooped up on that '14 Pro Climb. My Pro has a turbo, so it I can't make that comparison. I just don't think that 163hp that AC claims gets down to the snow well. One of the best things about the Pro is that it transfers power very well. From the motor to the clutching to the skid and track. The IQ's were terrible at this, but the Pro does it well. It gets up on the snow better than anything I've ridden (including aftermarket suspension setups).

You should ride them both to find your answer. I try to be non-biased but nobody on this 4M is really non-biased. We all ride in slightly different environments too. I think you can take a Pro, Pro Climb or XM and have a great sled.