Heard and read that info 1000 times over the years imo all OEM sleds are good and it’s a personal choice of what you want for the riding you do. Who is best seems to be an unanswerable question not one I would touch with a 39 and a half foot pole. Lots of stereotyping but entertaining article. Market wise Doo is 1 , Polaris 2 and AC is a distant 3 and it will probably stay that way for the foreseeable future. Although I think the Catalyst is an exciting new platform AC will stay 3 even after taking some market from Doo and Polaris.
Catalyst ride reports
- Thread starter euphoric1
- Start date
favoritos
Well-known member
To the topic of Catalyst riding.
I've been on the previous Cat sleds with 800 motors quite a bit. Most of them were 137 skid versions. I finally got a chance to do a shake down ride on two Catalyst sleds with 137 skids. They are now at about 550 miles each. Conditions have been pretty tough riding, but enough to compare with the old chassis.
These are easier to ride if that makes sense. I'm an active rider and used to moving around on the sled a lot. It took me time to settle down and move less. Buddy is a sit down and steer rider. He saw more benefit from the handling and rider position. It seems odd to sit higher and yet they stay flatter in the corners. I am able to sit further back without tucking my feet into the footwells and still get cornering input with foot pressure. Sitting further back also helps with the big junk. The transition from sitting to standing is quicker and the hits are easier to absorb. I hit some stuff that would have been real back crushers on previous sleds. After a couple of those hits I was into a yeehaw mode through the junk. Definitely easier and more fun.
I don't have much seat time on the old chassis with 600 motors. I am a little surprised how these get up and go. The biggest downfall is that they go like crazy up to about 80 and then give up. They are not lake runners, but they will scare the 800 through short stuff. I'd love to see them keep pulling at more speed. I'll note that with the easier riding layout and better handling these are much faster through twisties for sit down riders. I used to wait for riding bud after those sections. He's right there with these sleds and the 600 motor. It's worth adding that he's a big guy and the weight isn't slowing him down through twisties.
The fit and finish is pretty good and I see some cool stuff in the part design and connecting points. The side panels "tuck" into the molded hard plastic footwells without fasteners. Oil tank is designed to fit into chassis layout. Seat and cowl panels integrate well, etc. The downside is that some things are super tight. There isn't much room around the primary. That seems odd because there is a lot of room for a bigger pipe just above clutches.
The tube frame has created some fastener challenges. There is a lot of body plastic mounted to tube steel. There is a prolific use of torx truss head fasteners into clips that hold body parts. Those aggressive threads are prone working loose and something to watch.
Overall, pretty pleased so far. If we had more snow to ride the little 600 would be getting the miles vs. the older 800 sleds sitting on the trailer.
I've been on the previous Cat sleds with 800 motors quite a bit. Most of them were 137 skid versions. I finally got a chance to do a shake down ride on two Catalyst sleds with 137 skids. They are now at about 550 miles each. Conditions have been pretty tough riding, but enough to compare with the old chassis.
These are easier to ride if that makes sense. I'm an active rider and used to moving around on the sled a lot. It took me time to settle down and move less. Buddy is a sit down and steer rider. He saw more benefit from the handling and rider position. It seems odd to sit higher and yet they stay flatter in the corners. I am able to sit further back without tucking my feet into the footwells and still get cornering input with foot pressure. Sitting further back also helps with the big junk. The transition from sitting to standing is quicker and the hits are easier to absorb. I hit some stuff that would have been real back crushers on previous sleds. After a couple of those hits I was into a yeehaw mode through the junk. Definitely easier and more fun.
I don't have much seat time on the old chassis with 600 motors. I am a little surprised how these get up and go. The biggest downfall is that they go like crazy up to about 80 and then give up. They are not lake runners, but they will scare the 800 through short stuff. I'd love to see them keep pulling at more speed. I'll note that with the easier riding layout and better handling these are much faster through twisties for sit down riders. I used to wait for riding bud after those sections. He's right there with these sleds and the 600 motor. It's worth adding that he's a big guy and the weight isn't slowing him down through twisties.
The fit and finish is pretty good and I see some cool stuff in the part design and connecting points. The side panels "tuck" into the molded hard plastic footwells without fasteners. Oil tank is designed to fit into chassis layout. Seat and cowl panels integrate well, etc. The downside is that some things are super tight. There isn't much room around the primary. That seems odd because there is a lot of room for a bigger pipe just above clutches.
The tube frame has created some fastener challenges. There is a lot of body plastic mounted to tube steel. There is a prolific use of torx truss head fasteners into clips that hold body parts. Those aggressive threads are prone working loose and something to watch.
Overall, pretty pleased so far. If we had more snow to ride the little 600 would be getting the miles vs. the older 800 sleds sitting on the trailer.
favoritos, thank you for that "to the topic of catalyst riding" much appreciated, some of us don't really give a poop about 4 stroke, smart shocks, power steering, who is rated number one, two or three. I ride what I like, not what I see most of on the trail, not what reports say are the best sled on the trail. In my market the customer who comes in with the consumer reports rolled up under their arm and make their purchase based upon them are usually the worst customer. Thank you again for the report favoritos!
