horkn
New member
Roost'er, I ride with these guys, or used to at least. I was also the first to help them fix their sleds as well. The only sled in our group that was more prone to breakage than the cats was my skidoo plus/ mach 1. It was stupid little things on the cats too, besides skid bearings that don't last like they should, like a motor mount on a brand new maybe 500 mile stock 96 ZRT600. When that went, it killed the belt. And it busted another belt because we didn't see the sheared bolt/ mount that led to the belt shreddage. While something like that may seem minor, it has been the repeated stuff like that that that irks me. Granted all big twins are tough on primary clutches, my friends zr800 went through 1 a year.
Say what you want about me not owning these, but I am not making this up. I would be even more pissed if it was my sled that had these things go wrong. I also would not endure this lack of product quality, so I ended my cat ownership with our 431cc panther, and never looked back. That sled went though 2 stators, and even with only 1 carb, it liked to foul one plug all the time. The primary clutch on that sled needed to be rebuilt every 1500-2000 miles. For a 30 or so hp machine, it went through primary clutches regularly. Yes, that was a hex clutch, known to be junk, but still.
So, while you may have had good luck with cats, I have not, nor have my friends.
Say what you want about me not owning these, but I am not making this up. I would be even more pissed if it was my sled that had these things go wrong. I also would not endure this lack of product quality, so I ended my cat ownership with our 431cc panther, and never looked back. That sled went though 2 stators, and even with only 1 carb, it liked to foul one plug all the time. The primary clutch on that sled needed to be rebuilt every 1500-2000 miles. For a 30 or so hp machine, it went through primary clutches regularly. Yes, that was a hex clutch, known to be junk, but still.
So, while you may have had good luck with cats, I have not, nor have my friends.
sleddineinar
VIP Member
The last cat I had was such a PITA that I stopped sledding for almost 20 years.
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Roost 'Er
Member
Horkn,...... 431 is BULLETPROOF motor, i tore my 431 down at 6000miles and it was in MINT condition inside. I replaced everything for preventative but the pistons still looked great. These motors have seen 10-12k without touching.... almmmooost yamaha territory.
But realistically you guys need to compare apples to apples a newer ( under 10 year old) cat with good up keep and good maintence regement. Then start throwing stones.
Im stating the facts, we still own 2 cats and they are primary sleds. To this day they run good.
Also horkn we can argue all day, i disagree with you, you disagree with me thats fine. Its sad you just havent had the same luck with cat, im sorry. Either way at the end of the day yamaha or cat they both get us down the trail letting us enjoy the sport we love.
But realistically you guys need to compare apples to apples a newer ( under 10 year old) cat with good up keep and good maintence regement. Then start throwing stones.
Im stating the facts, we still own 2 cats and they are primary sleds. To this day they run good.
Also horkn we can argue all day, i disagree with you, you disagree with me thats fine. Its sad you just havent had the same luck with cat, im sorry. Either way at the end of the day yamaha or cat they both get us down the trail letting us enjoy the sport we love.
Yamidude59
New member
I was lookin at a F7 that is forsale at a dealership, just for the hell of it, noticed that the hood is alot more flimsy then a yamahas, it felt lighter, but it seems weak, maybe they sacraficed strength for weight savings??
03viperguy
Moderator
exactly what they did on the f7 sleds, but they were and are fast and light 
horkn
New member
03viperguy said:exactly what they did on the f7 sleds, but they were and are fast and light
At the expense of durability. Kinda like the Rev, and as far as it sounds, the rev xp.
I am a big boy, I can deal with a a heavier sled, to a point. My large size also doesn't help with durability either.
Roost 'Er
Member
Yamidude59 said:
Your joking right.
I dont think ive ever heard of anyone complain to that extent to say cats hood was sacraficed stregnth.
Its a polymer, almost like plastic hood, UHP or something its called. So its strong and FLEXIBLE, but no where near as heavy as fiberglass. Also what you dont realise is that hood is 10x better then a yamaha hood, the hood on a cat will acutally flex, meaning if you brush a llimb or something, the hood flexes and has more resistance against cracking. Yamaha hoods dont flex nearly as much so if you hit or brush a limb the hood will spider crack the fiberglass. The paint also has more flex agents added so the paint wont chip when the hood is flexed like it is. It takes more then youd think to flex, dont think of it as some flimbsy cheap thing, they are alot more practical in a sled world, and less weight to boot.
Ever see a wrecked cat, i mean really wrecked one like head on to a tree, the hood usually bends to whatever it hit but the paint always stays true with no cracks.
Im still laughing at the "sacraficed stregnth" thing for a hood.
As for durability goes, I usually look at what the Rental operations are running on 3 year old sleds. Cat sleds are usually changed out every year and sold at auction for bottom dollar, next is ski doo, usually bringing 800 to 1k more than cat. You really do not find many Yamaha or Polaris at auction, rental operators usually sell after 3 to 4 years of service. Both manufactures seam to last the longest and bring the most in resale after hard use.