Best option for a used cat?

[polemite.productions]

just trying to weigh up the options for updating my ride a bit. must haves are the 36" front end and 153/4x 3" lug track.

aside from that, i really don't know what's worth spending more on.

i like the idea of the updated body work on the ascender, but seems like a lot of bad engines and broken monorails out there....

i set the poll options for 2 selections each.

 

[bgraff1]

new body work is 100% worth it. that being said you can update the 17 and prior to the new style but its not cheap. 18+ gets narrower body work, narrower running boards (so did the 17 mountain cat), new motor, new controls (19+). the dropped case in the mountain cat is awesome, twin rail is good but made better with the elevate kit. alpha has piles of traction, some guys love it, some not as much. i would choose an 18+ hands down but without knowing your riding style its hard to say more than that. havent had a single issue with my 18 just had to seal up the intake system.

 

[boondocker97]

Here's some of the highlights for different years of Cats that I posted in another thread.

2012 (agree it was a train wreck)
2013 Limiteds got short coolers and painted tunnels and rails cutting way down on snow and ice buildup.
2014 had 26 improvements over the 2013 scattered throughout the sled. Rode better than it's predecessors and truely was IMO what the 2012 should have been.
2016 got new suspension geometry front and rear, all new clutches, stronger chain case components, new skis, and a 3" track option. Rode better than its predecessors. This was as good of an overhaul as a XP to a XM IMO.
2017 Mountain Cat got revised driveshaft location and narrower running boards/belly pan, lighter tunnel. Yamaha turbo powerplant. Rumor is should have been new ctec motor too, but changed piston vendors. Polaris would have hyped it, sent it, and dealt with the fallout.
2018 new ctec motor, new primary clutch, new plastic, dropped a little weight. Between 2017 and 2018 change to Ascender was another XP to XM type update.
2019 Alpha rail and track option with 10" wheels to free up HP and new skis.
2021 equivalent of FOX IQS suspension setup available from the factory.
2022 Finally sealed up the intake!!! (haha) New lighter, narrower primary clutch.

After riding a twin rail Acender with Elevate kit that is what I would get next for best all around platform. Alpha is great in deep snow and easy to spin around, but not as stable as I would like in lower snow situations where hard, old tracks and holes are underneath.

 

[ArcticChat]

I'd personally want a 2020+ so you have the latest motor. There's a reason they changed from the 18-19. I would agree with above the new plastics are so much better than 12-17.

 

[polemite.productions]

thanks guys, great feedback. i forgot about the updates to the handlebar controls too. that's a nice touch.

i have been really interested in how an elevated twin rail would stack up against an alpha, so that was really good.

what would you think about this option- i did run into a guy that blew an engine in a twin rail ascender... would the suzuki drop right in?
a big bore suzuki engine in an elevated twin rail ascender kind sounds like it would be a ton of fun, and reliable to boot.

 

[spoon]

thanks guys, great feedback. i forgot about the updates to the handlebar controls too. that's a nice touch.

i have been really interested in how an elevated twin rail would stack up against an alpha, so that was really good.

what would you think about this option- i did run into a guy that blew an engine in a twin rail ascender... would the suzuki drop right in?
a big bore suzuki engine in an elevated twin rail ascender kind sounds like it would be a ton of fun, and reliable to boot.

I am looking to find an 18+ chassis to throw an old mildly modded M1000 engine into. Let the comments fly. I have lots of spare parts to deal with any failures. I can get 4 good M1000 engines (already have 2 fresh ones and another good bottom end) for the price of one CTEC and IMO they are more reliable when setup properly. Just need wire harness from 12-17 Proclimb and other than reworking pipe a little and the clutch side chassis brace it fits fine. Already bought the adapter plate from another forum member here from Europe. A few others have done it in past and liked results. Have a bunch of spare turbo stuff around I could use to mildly boost it and make a real pump gas monster. I know its a heavy engine but will be eliminating weight in other ways. I have my other sleds as backup in case it doesn't work out and I can always throw a Suzuki 800 into it easily afterwards if it doesn't perform the way I want.

 

[Clark42]

Given those options, I would get an ascender. I have a 16 and 21 and I f%$#ing hate working on the proclimb. It's a champ of a sled but an oily, rickety pile of parts compared to the newer chassis. Yes the twin rain elevate is awesome

 

[Chewy22]

Here's some of the highlights for different years of Cats that I posted in another thread.

2012 (agree it was a train wreck)
2013 Limiteds got short coolers and painted tunnels and rails cutting way down on snow and ice buildup.
2014 had 26 improvements over the 2013 scattered throughout the sled. Rode better than it's predecessors and truely was IMO what the 2012 should have been.
2016 got new suspension geometry front and rear, all new clutches, stronger chain case components, new skis, and a 3" track option. Rode better than its predecessors. This was as good of an overhaul as a XP to a XM IMO.
2017 Mountain Cat got revised driveshaft location and narrower running boards/belly pan, lighter tunnel. Yamaha turbo powerplant. Rumor is should have been new ctec motor too, but changed piston vendors. Polaris would have hyped it, sent it, and dealt with the fallout.
2018 new ctec motor, new primary clutch, new plastic, dropped a little weight. Between 2017 and 2018 change to Ascender was another XP to XM type update.
2019 Alpha rail and track option with 10" wheels to free up HP and new skis.
2021 equivalent of FOX IQS suspension setup available from the factory.
2022 Finally sealed up the intake!!! (haha) New lighter, narrower primary clutch.

After riding a twin rail Acender with Elevate kit that is what I would get next for best all around platform. Alpha is great in deep snow and easy to spin around, but not as stable as I would like in lower snow situations where hard, old tracks and holes are underneath.

?….. nothing has changed on Cats since 2012!!!

As much as I liked the suk motor, I could never go back!

My Alpha 154 was converted to a 153 twin rail elevate two years ago. Best sled I’ve had.

 

[sno*jet]

I’d run my lightly modded 17MC up with any of them. Love it. 10k firm if interested ?

 

[madmax]

My twin rail 18’ was my favorite technical riding sled. My 19’ Alpha with elevate was close, but the twin rail was more predictable in steep sidehill and tree situations.

 

[geofharries]

Haha, lightly modded. Looks awesome!

 

[geofharries]

I’d run my lightly modded 17MC up with any of them. Love it. 10k firm if interested ?

Haha, lightly modded. Looks awesome!

 

[polemite.productions]

thanks again guys. the choice is becoming obvious.

on a side note, my old cat got wounded on the first day of a 3 day trip this past weekend. (i think it's a broken chain tensioner)

spent the other 2 days riding a g4 850, 154. great to spend that much time getting to know a different sled. i also jumped on a new matryx boost for a bit. no newer cats to try unfortunately, but it was still great to get to know what i like and what i don't like- essentially what i want out of my next sled.

i realize now how awesome it is to have modern running boards. but also, how much i dislike the angle on the cat boards. ok for climbing, but garbage for everything else.

that matryx is a surgical knife, and the doo is a rodeo of fun. if an elevated twin rail ascender is the middle ground i'd be stoked, but i'd want a more neutral running board angle.

 

[hansenmac]

my friends with polaris sleds and i agree Cat and polaris handle and feel more alike than the Doo and either of the other two. what did you think of the doo. i rode one for a day and thought it was nice but felt like a 600 compared to the suzuki cat i had at the time. also ridden with two other 850 doo's that could not climb with my 18 cat not even close. i havent ridden with an 850 polaris yet but the axys axys sleds my buddies ride are much better in my opinion that the older pros. they put fox floats on them and it made a huge difference. still like my 18 cat better though.

 

[polemite.productions]

the polaris was definitely very intuitive. like a modernized, tightened up version of my proclimb (minus the boost of course), which holds a line like a knife.

but the g4 850 was not night and day different by any means. there are a few scenarios that require slightly different inputs, but i'd say that after a couple hours of riding i was up to speed.

i do run the laydown steering post, with post forward block on my cat, and i'd say that it's probably the middle ground between the doo and polaris steering. that helps with going between the chassis i think.

when you say that the doo 850's can't climb like an 18 cat, i'm shocked. the g4's in our group were killin it.
the polaris could make ground speed like nothing else- probably even better than the boosted g4's- but even the NA g4's were basically unstoppable. the only drawback to the doos on the snow, is how much snow packs into their skids. still the same since the xp's, only now they just keep on climbing in spite of it.

i really want to jump on an ascender now. but here are my concerns about actually buying one- elevate kit is super expensive right off the bat. i'm gonna need a set of custom running boards right away. and i'd likely do the laydown steering again. so i'm looking at what? $2500 in parts, on top of the purchase of the sled?

 

[IDspud]

There are plenty of guys who pulled their elevates off and went back to stock also, or sold them on old sled, never added to next sled.

 

[line8]

I wasn’t completely happy with the elevate at first. After revalving the shocks, it was great. That should be noted into the fine print on the website.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[polemite.productions]

no doubt eh? all the shocks? just the skis? just the skid?

we aren't just talking about prairie riders that disliked the trail riding performance?

 

[IDspud]

No, guys no where near a prairie or even a groomer.

 

[polemite.productions]

so what was their feedback?