Snowest 858 Pod Cast!

[MTN_VIPER]

Glad to hear that the new calibrations are working out and that they are impressed with the sled. I found it interesting that they liked the shock package, as I assume that the shocks would have been the same as the sno-shoot sleds. Perhaps Cat has been dialing in the shock valving as well?

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Perhaps the blow back from being themselves was more than they where willing to endure for the sake of “journalism “ ?? Even these guys gotta make money. The lead guy , his dad started all the snowmobile magazines back in the day when magazines ruled?

 

[Griff]

Good to see the parties get together for a second review.

 

[mountaincat 800]

Arctic Cat was pissed and they got a good spanking.

 

[Chewy22]

Looks fun. Glad I changed my order to a 154 3”. AC blowup the whole bottom end “issue”!

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

www.instagram.com

 

[sno*jet]

Hopping back n forth on the displays at Jackson, Im leaning 858. Think the cat is ahead on “feel”. Polaris feels good, but still kinda big up front compared to cat now. Betcha Polaris will make a new tighter platform in next season or two.
Also the 325 track still looks not too durable to me. Maybe I’m wrong. Guys talked up the 2.75 for the first season, then not so much in following years so we will see I guess. Both will have durability issues I’m sure, hair more faith in cat myself. Still don’t like cat skis, picky I guess. Pretty sore from all the showroom riding

 

[Chewy22]

Hopping back n forth on the displays at Jackson, Im leaning 858. Think the cat is ahead on “feel”. Polaris feels good, but still kinda big up front compared to cat now. Betcha Polaris will make a new tighter platform in next season or two.
Also the 325 track still looks not too durable to me. Maybe I’m wrong. Guys talked up the 2.75 for the first season, then not so much in following years so we will see I guess. Both will have durability issues I’m sure, hair more faith in cat myself. Still don’t like cat skis, picky I guess. Pretty sore from all the showroom riding

It's funny all the paddles laying on trail A out of Alpine. I did not stop to inspect closely, but I can promise you they were not cat paddles, these were narrow like the Polaris paddles.

 

[boondocker97]

A half a Cat paddle is the same size as a polaris paddle! My alpha hasn't thrown any full paddles yet, but it's lost a few half paddles out of the center.

 

[hansenmac]

never thrown a cat paddle but have seen lots of little paddles on the trail

 

[Prairie Dog]

I went from an 19 Alpha to a 22 Matryx na. Both completely stock. I loved both sleds. Snowchecked the M600 for this winter and I have zero regrets. The only issue I’ve had with the 600 was a low end bog. Cleared that up with some clutching. The chassis is completely legit. Every mile I’ve put on this year has been on the 600. Matryx hasn’t even seen a snowflake cause I’ve enjoyed the 600 so much. The first two podcasts were not what anyone wanted to hear but I have complete faith that come next season the 858 will be dialed. I’ll be at the demo in Revy this wkd, snow is sh*t but still be good to compare my 600 with the demo sleds……if they have the updated calibration.

 

[Hawkster]

A half a Cat paddle is the same size as a polaris paddle! My alpha hasn't thrown any full paddles yet, but it's lost a few half paddles out of the center.

Any long runs over 50 will do that to the 3" lugs, reason why I went with the 2.6 and like they mentioned on the podcast the 2.6 is more prone to trenching. Took a little saddle time to know for sure but I'm now at the point of lowering the extra smaller lugs the 2.6 has and see what it does this coming season before doing the next step and just removing them.

We were on a trip the other week that's a 40 plus to the lodge, seen a few of those chunks both ways on the trail.

 

[boondocker97]

Any long runs over 50 will do that to the 3" lugs, reason why I went with the 2.6 and like they mentioned on the podcast the 2.6 is more prone to trenching. Took a little saddle time to know for sure but I'm now at the point of lowering the extra smaller lugs the 2.6 has and see what it does this coming season before doing the next step and just removing them.

We were on a trip the other week that's a 40 plus to the lodge, seen a few of those chunks both ways on the trail.View attachment 418490

I keep it 45-50mph or less on the trail. I'm just not going to ride 35mph for 8 miles to save the track. Log hops and supercharger are not helping the longevity lol! If I have to replace it at 1000 miles so be it.

 

[spoon]

Demo at Revy yesterday was great other than 2 km of dirt from parking lot. Snow was spring snow with 8-10" of fresh. Got to try both 3" and 2.6 154 Sno Pros. 2.6 was best in snow we had. Alpha rail felt more like a twin in this chassis. Sled was very predictable and went where you wanted quite easily and controllaby compared to Alpha Ascender where I always feel I am over riding it with the Alpha. Power delivery was excellent and clutching was very good. No bogs or hesitations. Seat is perfect for me (5'11") as I find my non E-start Ascender seat too short in length when I want to sit.
2.6 track worked perfect for the spring snow and hooked up well with little to no washout as compared to the 3" which washed out easy and didnt hook up on acceleration as good. My twin rail 3" Powerclaw on my 800 was doing same so no surprise for the hard base snow conditions. Will definitely look to getting one of these in future. Loved the chassis and felt very comfortable on it instantly where in past I have usually taken a few rides to get used to something new.

 

[Clark42]

I keep it 45-50mph or less on the trail. I'm just not going to ride 35mph for 8 miles to save the track. Log hops and supercharger are not helping the longevity lol! If I have to replace it at 1000 miles so be it.

Are you serious? That speed difference makes for a difference in about 7 minutes. That is worth a $1000 track to you?

 

[IDspud]

Pretty sure he means it’s getting shredded by rough terrain before trail.

 

[Clark42]

Ahhhh I see

 

[boondocker97]

Yeah I likely tore a couple off-trail and the trail finished them off. I'm not really doing anything I didn't do with the old 2.6 and 3.0 twin rail powerclaw tracks and never lost a lug on them. Used to run that 2.6 70-80mph and the 3.0 60+mph on a pretty regular basis without issue.

I've fully clipped the 3.0 Alpha track, always run the scratchers, duck off the edge of the trail when I can, maintain my track tension, and keep the speed 50 or below. I even tried gluing a few lug tears last season. I feel like I'm doing my part to maintain the integrity of the track. Also, I think it's safe to say these early alpha track designs were not what they should have been in the durability department. Hence the updated design with the tied-together windows.

Not so much worried about saving a few minutes as having fun. I don't make it out nearly as much as I like to anymore so I try to maximize the fun on the rides I do get in. Riding slow on the trail is not fun and I enjoy running hard corner-corner, skimming and jumping moguls and holes when I can. So if I tear up a track as a result, so be it. I'll upgrade to the newer style and by then I'll probably be due for a new driveshaft anyway from what I am seeing in the bearing locations.

 

[IDspud]

To me tracks are tires.
Gonna need replaced occasionally.
Way more likely to remember that time you destroyed a set in 12k, than the set you got over 65k on.

 

[0neoldfart]

To me tracks are tires.
Gonna need replaced occasionally.
Way more likely to remember that time you destroyed a set in 12k, than the set you got over 65k on.

There is always a trade off. Wasn't many years ago the sleds had less horsepower, and 2.52" pitch tracks that were two ply. We asked for lighter weight and to free up ponies, 1st we got single ply tracks that started to get taller, and wider pitch. There are fewer paddles (so more pressure exerted on each one), then a 2.52 / 2.86 / 3.0" pitch track. In the quest for performance, we will always lose reliability... but who wants to go back to a 2.52" pitch track with 2" paddles for mountain riding?

 

[spoon]

There is always a trade off. Wasn't many years ago the sleds had less horsepower, and 2.52" pitch tracks that were two ply. We asked for lighter weight and to free up ponies, 1st we got single ply tracks that started to get taller, and wider pitch. There are fewer paddles (so more pressure exerted on each one), then a 2.52 / 2.86 / 3.0" pitch track. In the quest for performance, we will always lose reliability... but who wants to go back to a 2.52" pitch track with 2" paddles for mountain riding?

Not me. Will put up with the vibration and slight loss of longevity from my 3.5 pitch tracks in exchange for the deep snow push.