i have not removed the rmk hood yet so not sure how time consuming it is, the cat hood is time consuming, lots of screws to remove. (PITA)
i cant compare to a skidoo, never been around one to mess with.
access panels on both sleds are easy to get open.
once the side panels are removed the rmk would be much easier to replace plugs and the belt. it is roomier under their....
oil res is easy to access on the rmk too
the cat takes a little work to get to clutch and oil res.
the rmk seems to have more room under the hood,
the secondary clutch on the polaris is a dream to work with as far as changing a belt, it is very simple takes a little wrench, it takes like 3 min to change belt on the rmk, the cat is not so easy, it would take at least double the time, i suppose a guy could get faster at it though..
on the factory parts, like i previously stated, i would call michele at oregon trail sports she is a dealer for both polaris and cat, she could give you a good baseline on parts costs..
like i said in my review, i dont think you can go wrong with either sled, one will no doubt feel more comfortable than the other, ive had a few rmk riders say they will likely try the cat next year and vice versa.
they are both great sleds.
one thing for sure the cat guys seem to complain about the new cat more than anyone, which i dont understand, i think the new cat is a step above the m chassis.
lets not forget how good the m chassis was so for cat to come out with a new platform that would be light years better than the m chassis is just ridiculous.
the new cat, in my opinion is much easier to ride than the m, the steering effort, the balance, the smoothness, the ride, power to the ground, rider position, to me, all these points were taken to another level by cat.
yes the sled needs improvements, steering radius, secondary clutch(from what i hear, no problems on mine) a small diet, but all in all it is a great sled.
