Friends new Cat

KEVIN

KEVIN

VIP Lifetime Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2009
Messages
559
Age
53
Location
OTTAWA
Buddy just picked up his new XF 8000 Limited Cat
Of course I said nice sled...too bad it's a cat...lol
He told me to tune my sled up cuz I'm going to need it
I said sure pick on the guy with a vintage sled
Should be some fun ridding
 
I have a friend that went to pick up a leftover Cat 800,don't know which model,about a month ago now,had the deal all worked out and everything,traveled about 2 hours to the dealer to get it and as he was loading it onto his trailer the clutch "explodes".This one of the sleds that apparently was supposed to have had some recall work done but from what I was told it was neglected.This was a brand new leftover sled.Anyway he tells the guy to get it off his trailer and get his money back lol.I'm not sure if this is the end of this story or not I haven't been talking to my bud lately but that would certainly leave a sour taste in your mouth.
 
How could you possibly trust that sled for any serious riding if you can't even get it loaded on the trailer? A former riding partner of mine was a die-hard Yamaha owner until he saw a "good" deal on a Cat. He switched to Cat and had problems for the next 4 years even though he traded "up" for a new cat every year. He used to slam my sled all the time. I was riding a 4 year old Vmax-4 while he was riding a new Cat the last time we rode. He kept telling me to junk my old "Buick" sled, he did not want to have to wait for me at every trail junction, yattta, yatta, yatta........... Ok so we get going on our multiday ride into Quebec. We don't get 100 miles into the trip on the FIRST day when his engine burns a piston and now my "Buick" needs to tow him. i gave him a tow alright, it was the fastest his Cat ever went. The Buick pulled his Cat with him on it at 75 MPH at times. By the time we got to a place where we could retreive his sled by truck, he looked like a snowman, PLASTERED with snow. I had to ride back across the border into NH, get to our starting point, get the truck, return to Quebec and pick him up. That was his last snowmobile trip. i rode that "Buick" for 2 more years and never had a problem with it.

Jim
 
When the 13' XF 1100's came out, I believe they had about 13 recalls on them before people were taking delivery. One of the big ones was that the reverse wouldn't work. They would load them onto the trailer from the dealer, get home and not be able to back it off. I'm not biased towards any sled company really (although I love my Yammy), but EVERY TIME I ride, I always see AC's broke down. Last ride of the year in March, I saw 4 guys on ditch pickle's stopped with the hoods open. The 5th one was in the middle of the trail by himself so I stopped and gave him a hand. We ride with 2 guy's that have Cat's, every year one always has to be trailered back. I dunno what the deal is, but it has made me swear off AC's.
 
what gets me is why do guys still keep buying Arctic Crap if it is an ongoing pain in the azz everytime one breaks down.Cat can't solve their problems and should not be in the Business of selling sleds anymore..funny all the Cat guys hate Yamaha..but then Cat and Yamaha joined forces now,that must burn them Cat Loyal Riders...maybe they should see the light..Yamaha advances here and Cat is going backwards..lol at them Cat Owners for sure..being towed home all the time must be embarrassing to them,especially when they are towed back by a Yami....got to love it..
I live and ride in Cat territory and seen a few Cats being towed and belt explosions leaving pieces on the River..to funny.
 
Supr, the recalls still have not cured cats belt eating, or reverse not working issues. Things like this are a major sign of lack of r&d. I can't and won't tolerate that. I also rarely will buy an entirely new anything toy for these reasons.
 
The new merger with cat means all new future Yamaha sleds will be cat clones with Yamaha powerplants.If cat can,t/won,t put quality parts(Chinese bearings, mexican made wiring harnesses scream quality:o|)in there own sleds what incentive do they have to make the vipers(competition) any better?Food for thought.
 
I honestly believe cat has focused more attention on trying to get a chassis to handle well for racing applications. They are always in the mix in snow x. With the deal they have with Yammi I think the new viper will be a great sled. This is probably the best thing that both companies could have done for the sport. I don't think this will be the last sled we see them work together on!!!
 
horkn said:
Supr, the recalls still have not cured cats belt eating, or reverse not working issues. Things like this are a major sign of lack of r&d. I can't and won't tolerate that. I also rarely will buy an entirely new anything toy for these reasons.
Click to expand...

you forgot about their buckling tunnels as well.there are made to flimsy and thin gauge.Guy out here locally had his replaced 3 times already on a new Cat last season..ridiculous what a company will do to save weight..JUST STAY away from Cats period..the cost of belts alone($280) should make any Cat owner just walk away.

And don't buy the First Year Viper either unless you like disappointment..and down time..
 
Thinner than the old Viper? These new ones seem a lot stiffer than my Pro-Action sleds. Maybe it's the extra bracing that makes them stiffer?
 
yep lightweight tunnels can't handle the snow build up and she buckles..3 times last season..he was not impressed one bit..not to mention blowing belts at $280 a crack out here from a dealer..totally unacceptable.The new Vipers are using cat tunnels aren't they..there will be recalls and updates years down the line..when it is to late of course.Just better off buying a pure Yami with no Cat parts at all in them..will last forever...
 
Staggs, he does have a point about the chassis buckling on the cats. We can only hope that that does not happen to the sr viper. This is a huge year for Yamaha, and a lot of people will be watching to see how they hold up. Thanks to my new job, in the next year or 2 I might finally be looking at getting a new sled again.
 
Oh I know the cats have had there problems, i'm just tired of hearing the bitching about the Viper from people who have zero first hand experience with it. speculation is 1 thing but so much is stated like it's fact.....
 
I have nothing good to say about a Cat. To me they have proven their worth.

I also have nothing good to say about a YamaCat as they have not proven their worth.

Good Luck to the guinea pigs.

opsled
 
i think some of cats problems are owner and dealer related my grandfather has been cat since 91 and he hasnt been left stranded ever his friend had a turbo and never blew one belt eithier now they arent gooseing it all the time eithier though still i will take yammy from personal expirience they are much more reliable imo
i think the new viper has a chance to be a great sled and we all hope it will be
:yam:
 
csargentmaine said:
i think some of cats problems are owner and dealer related my grandfather has been cat since 91 and he hasnt been left stranded ever his friend had a turbo and never blew one belt eithier now they arent gooseing it all the time eithier though still i will take yammy from personal expirience they are much more reliable imo
i think the new viper has a chance to be a great sled and we all hope it will be
:yam:
Click to expand...

I think you have found the few cats that have never had any problems. Lol. Different dealers, new sleds, well cared for sleds, poor quality control, cheap quality components, and bad r&d. Outside of that, they are not bad.
 
I cant see Yamaha just handing over an engine to Cat and calling it a Yamaha if there werent steps taken to ensure the chassis was going to hold up. Yamaha reps are aware of the issues as well as anyone. They are obviously happy with this years chassis or they wouldnt be making the move to partner up.
Atleast common sense would support my opinion, but who knows.
By March, the whole snowmobiling community will know. If it's a flop, Bombardier will be grinning ear to ear. lol
 
I was a bit nervous about this at first as well. But education is a good thing and change is even better. I have spent a fair amount of time talking to cat and yamaha dealer about these sleds. I have sat on and crawled around both. They both sound awesome also, i have not rode yet but will. The yamaha viper was suspect at best at the shows with the proto type they brought. Huge mistake by yamaha IMO. They were weak, poor fit and finish and looked simply "bad". The new yamaha in person at the dealer was simply awesome!!! The fit and finish was spot on and the little things i though were cheap looking looked great. Even the same sales guy that back last march was pissin and moanin about how yamaha merged with cat was grinning ear to ear about the sleds. "education and change" I even went to the cat dealer to look at the 144 7000 crossover, cats version of the xtx. And i must say it was also just as nice looking, the black and white graphics were cool as hell. I would have bough one in a second untill (i was wearing a yamaha hat) he said if ya buy one ill throw in a cat hat. Well that broke the deal as i cant be wearing no cat gear!! LOL!! I dont think this sled will flop, it will be the next phazer in the yamaha line. HERE TO STAY!!!!! Just my 2cents. Im not defending cat but everything ive hear about the belt problems on turbos was related to people having the turbo tuned way up beyond factory specs and the belt would not handle it. Stock turbos are fine. Every brand has their problems and yamaha has their share, i am true blue all the way and will never ride anything that does not have a yamaha name on it but a open mind is a good thing. So if its a yamaha engine with a cat skid, so be it!!! Go yamaha and let it snow!!
 
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