Ready for a new sled

[AKSNOWRIDER]

LOL!

Hey AK!


What else would you expect a Polaris engineer to tell you.......That it sucks

I hope the cat works out great next year. It keeps the bar going higher each year. I think it looks Bad A$$ and the 800 motor is as reliable as they get(The power doesn't hurt too). I haven't rode with the Pro yet but it sounds like a winner too. I don't think you can go wrong with ether.

lol...i hear you skinner, hard to say, but I know in our close group(3 163 pros) and the looser group(have to be 8-10 pro's) not one has gone down..thats a pretty good indicator to me..and yes some have gone down for sure...same as the e-tec's and the cats, and even the yammy's.....I think its hard for people to admit that maybe....just maybe...polaris is getting their act togeather with their motors... but yeah, I hope all new sleds raise the bar...cause it makes the other manufacturers step up and we the user...reap the rewards......

 

[M8Chris]

So last year I started looking at the Polaris pro as a replacement for my perfectly good M-8, but I have been hesitant to pull the trigger as I wanted to see what AC had to offer.

Now that the new AC sleds are out and I've had a chance to look at them I find myself in the middle of a tough decision.

On the Polaris side you have a chassis that has been very competitive, reliability has been confirmed by a Polaris technician that I have known for ten years and trust, and I have a local dealer that is willing to meet me on the hill anytime for a personal test ride anytime I get a moment.

AC on the other hand doesn't have production ready vehicles to look at and the ones that I have laid hands on so far were less than impressive as far as fit and finish are concerned. They haven't published dry weights or even hinted at what they were shooting for and best of all they aren't letting anyone but a small select group ride them before snow checking.

So is this really a tough decision, anyone else struggling with the same question?

Get a pro end of discussion. I'm selling my cats next fall and we're picking up two pros. Arctic cats new sleds look funky but wh knows maybe they'll be sweet. Not buying one without being able to try/

 

[madsigntist]

I'm not buying into the Pro hype. My boys rode all 3 11's head to head on the DPC and the Pro was dead last on deep snow capabilities. Everybody has different opinion on what rocks.
Lucky for us the consumer, all the manu's are making top notch machines.

 

[harrysmith500]

I'm not buying into the Pro hype. My boys rode all 3 11's head to head on the DPC and the Pro was dead last on deep snow capabilities. Everybody has different opinion on what rocks.
Lucky for us the consumer, all the manu's are making top notch machines.

Sounds like you haven't ridden a pro?

 

[dmkhnr]

I'm not buying into the Pro hype. My boys rode all 3 11's head to head on the DPC and the Pro was dead last on deep snow capabilities. Everybody has different opinion on what rocks.
Lucky for us the consumer, all the manu's are making top notch machines.

No need to buy into any hype, it is what it is. I've ridden cat for 7 years starting with the King Kat. I've owned 5 different m-sleds and feel that both of these sleds were great in their day, but the truth is they are both old news, nobody cares anymore.
The OP is asking about buying a new sled and his choice is either a new pro, or a new proclimb (I have no idea what doo has on the market).
I can't comment on the proclimb, as I haven't ridden it (there is 4' of fresh dump in our mountains right now, it is still snowing today with a break tomorrow, and then another 5' proposed for the rest of the week, where is the new proclimb for us to test????) I know there are a few people that have ridden it, but it wasn't on any type of powder snow condition.
The fact is, the pro works, I don't know what it dyno's at (I don't care mine has a turbo now) but in stock form it had similar power to a piped M8 ho motor (drag race on the road the pro won once and the M8 sp 162 won once, on the steep and deep the m8 turned out, and the pro went over on several occasions, 2 seperate days), the same motor that is going into the proclimb.
If you haven't ridden the pro in powder conditions, you don't know what I'm talking about when I say that it climbs up on top of the snow, you actually feel the sled lift up out of it's trench and it's a different feeling from the old trench, let off the throttle so it doesn't go further down. If the new AC proclimb gets up on top of the snow, then I'm sure with it's industry leading hp it will be a potent contender. Risk a snowcheck purchase now, you might be grinning ear to ear next season, but you might be disappointed (just like I was with my 07 snowcheck m8) or wait until this time next year and buy one once they've been run and proven in the deep snow.
Truthfully, I'd love to be back on a cat, (my close family friend is an arctic cat dealer) I get all my parts at dealer cost, I buy my sled at demo cost and I'm always welcomed with a warm smile when I enter his shop. If Cat pull a pro killer out of it's hat I'll be singing a different tune this time next season. Right now, I'm loving the pro.

 

[sledchick]

Vroom Vroom..Armchair GO! GO!
Personally I like the Pros, the short time I have been on one, it feels like I have to put less effort into what I want to do/go. It'll be interesting to see what the new Cats can do! And as someone else said, we're lucky that manufacters are giving us kickass sleds...personally I wanted to go with a relic 1980 moto-ski supersonic. The super means it's fast!

 

[goforbroke]

I'm not buying into the Pro hype. My boys rode all 3 11's head to head on the DPC and the Pro was dead last on deep snow capabilities. Everybody has different opinion on what rocks.
Lucky for us the consumer, all the manu's are making top notch machines.

Found the write up in snowest very interesting. I would love for Jacob to put his ride report up and experience. Jacob can ride and is aggresive so I thought he would love the pro, but it is apparent they found the skidoo best. My experience has been the pro rips and has won the head to head comparisions I've had. It has been very fun to be on the 'new sled' and that might be the cat next year. Keeping mine for another year and next year I'll buy the best sled for me!

 

[madsigntist]

Sounds like you haven't ridden a pro?

I have ridden one, but def. need more time on one in deep fresh.
I'm not trying to argue which is best. It's just always "the latest and greatest/new best thing".
It's all good. Let's hope for Cat's sake the same is true for their new machines come next winter.
I still will be on the ole M8 tho. God Bless Obama.

 

[hyperduc]

I really wasn't trying to stir the perpetual pissing matches between the two manufactures, I just wanted to see if anyone that is in the same boat this year has gone one way or the other and why.

You can pretty much count out the 1100 for me, even with the turbo its a dog from the factory and if I have to spend another grand just to make it run (and void the warranty in the process) there really isn't a way to justify the extra weight.

 

[Dabull]

I'm not buying into the Pro hype. My boys rode all 3 11's head to head on the DPC and the Pro was dead last on deep snow capabilities. Everybody has different opinion on what rocks.
Lucky for us the consumer, all the manu's are making top notch machines.

i always base my decisions on what snowest says.ride them and decide for yourself which one works for you. a good rider can do amazing things on any sled,buy what you like..

 

[RedKitty]

i always base my decisions on what snowest says.ride them and decide for yourself which one works for you. a good rider can do amazing things on any sled,buy what you like..

A truer statement has never been uttered.

 

[harrysmith500]

so did you snowcheck that pro... yet??

 

[BossRev]

Found the write up in snowest very interesting. I would love for Jacob to put his ride report up and experience. Jacob can ride and is aggresive so I thought he would love the pro, but it is apparent they found the skidoo best. My experience has been the pro rips and has won the head to head comparisions I've had. It has been very fun to be on the 'new sled' and that might be the cat next year. Keeping mine for another year and next year I'll buy the best sled for me!

In our group of 2 doo riders and 1 cat rider it went like this.

Tim - 1st. Etec 2nd. Cat 3rd. Pro

Diz - 1st. Etec 2nd. Cat 3rd. Pro

ME - 1st, Etec 2nd. Pro 3rd. Cat

I really like the Pro. I find it to be a very fun and nimble sled. In set up conditions I found it to be a bit unpredictable but in the Pow it is Awesome.
When we were searching for our way out, we were working the trees hard trying to find the right drainage up and out from jefferson to sawtell peak.
I was glad to be on the pro, we were in tight steep trees and it stuck it's lines perfectly and with ease. It is a sled that I feel I could own and be very happy with.

With that said, the E tec for me handles just as easy as the Pro. It really does feel lighter on the snow. Easy to carve, easy to lay over, easy to side hill.
Plus one HUGE advantage, Power! The E-tec makes some serious power and it is very noticeable..

Unless you are the one jumping back and forth between sleds taking the same lines on the same day you can't really compare the sleds.
When you're swapping marks with a buddy or getting lost in the trees, to many factors come into play as to which sled is better. The biggest factor being "You".

Ride 'em all and then pick what suits you best, you might be surprised.
And then go Enjoy the Mountain cause there is no better place on earth to be.

 

[harrysmith500]

God bless America!!

 

[NoSoup4U]

Get a pro end of discussion. I'm selling my cats next fall and we're picking up two pros. Arctic cats new sleds look funky but wh knows maybe they'll be sweet. Not buying one without being able to try/

So M8Chris, what's the story now that you were one of the chosen few to ride the new cat? From your review you seemed to have changed your opinion.

I was all set to order a new Pro RMK, but after talking to the head mechanic at my dealer that sells both Polaris and Cat and finding out that they had 3 Pro engines go down in March (out of the 35 they sold this year) I'm having second thoughts. I remember the first year for the 2008 Polaris 800's and there were a few issues but not too many. It wasn't until the second year when the sled started getting some miles on them that the engine problems really started to show up. Hopefully the engine problems my dealer saw in March are just an anomaly and not a trend.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

No soup, I think this season is different then 08(I bought an 08 dragon as well), we got our sleds late that season, most around end of december, first of january, snow in most areas wasnt near as good as this season, and most really didnt get many miles on..I can only remember 3-4 guys who got more then 1500 miles that first season...this year sleds were out early, we had great snow early, and many riders have over 2500 miles on their pro's this season..I honestly dont think the motors are going to be any worse next season for reliability as they did this season, in other words..I honestly dont think its an issue..the CFI-2 just sounds so much crisper and cleaner internally then the CFI-4's did...they dont have that death rattle from the pistons...just a much tighter better motor, and the fuel system is dialed pretty good, no massive midrange lean spot like the dragons....

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

Chris(M-8), I liked your report on the new cats, good reveiw, I figure you are reconsidering your pro/cat decision...let me ask you this...last season when you guys first rode the pro..the one thing you kept commenting on..was how well the pro performed in deep...fresh pow...deep fresh pow.......now, the test you just did..was deep soft spring snow.......not the same.....and if you think about it..in spring snow..the powerclaw works its best..especially vrs the 5.1. what has stopped me from checking a cat is that its the same motor, track and skid as the 11 m-8....the chassis is updated, as is the frt end..but the things that make it go..motor, track, and skid..are basically unchanged..so its deep pow performance in the dead of winter..is going to be about the same as the current m..other then for how much better the bodywork allows it to cut thru the snow....the chaincase should help some..but neither of those is going to drastically change the outcome from what I have seen..loosing a lot of weight would..but they are going to be about the same as the current sled..good luck with your choice....just figured you could use a reality check...

 

[M8Chris]

Chris(M-8), I liked your report on the new cats, good reveiw, I figure you are reconsidering your pro/cat decision...let me ask you this...last season when you guys first rode the pro..the one thing you kept commenting on..was how well the pro performed in deep...fresh pow...deep fresh pow.......now, the test you just did..was deep soft spring snow.......not the same.....and if you think about it..in spring snow..the powerclaw works its best..especially vrs the 5.1. what has stopped me from checking a cat is that its the same motor, track and skid as the 11 m-8....the chassis is updated, as is the frt end..but the things that make it go..motor, track, and skid..are basically unchanged..so its deep pow performance in the dead of winter..is going to be about the same as the current m..other then for how much better the bodywork allows it to cut thru the snow....the chaincase should help some..but neither of those is going to drastically change the outcome from what I have seen..loosing a lot of weight would..but they are going to be about the same as the current sled..good luck with your choice....just figured you could use a reality check...

I'm glad you posted that because I was actually thinking about that today myself. The pro gets up on the snow so good it's amazing but your right a out the rear skid which is why I'm leaning still towards the pro. But i will say cat has made a better sled then the current m's. Better then the pro? Time will tell. But I do want to try a 153 pro climb because if the 162 was that flickable imagine the 153 it'd be like tossing around a 600. Both gonna be great sleds I can't wait for next year.

 

[Latitude 62]

Ordered the M8 in 162 length. I liked the changes made. Specifically, the chaincase is around 5% more efficient getting power to the track. The talk of the skid being the same is somewhat inaccurate. Moving the whole skid forward in the chassis 2 to 3 inches is going to make a difference. There is also a different length to the rear arm and shock calibration is way different. I expect that the Cat is going to put the power to the snow better than it's predecessor. I also expect that they changed the skid geometry to get it to come out of the snow better as well. Fortunately, they had a good gauge to measure performance with (2011 Pro RMK). I hope that I am right about those things. The fact is that the Suzuki motor is awesome. The clutches must be pretty good as well because M's seem to get better belt life than the Poo's I have owned in the past. I personally think the thing looks like a Saber Toothed Tiger and that's pretty cool! I Can't and won't argue that the Pro RMK isn't a good choice, the results speak for themselves. Bummer, looks like I will have to change my Avatar. I really want to try that new Cat front end though!