Rank top easiest mods to 2015 Cat 120

Escmanaze · Oct 2, 2017

Ok, I bought a 2015 Arctic Cat ZR 120 today. It's basically brand new and hasn't even had a full tank of gas burned through it. I want to hear the feedback from those of you who have done mods. What are the easiest mods that are total no-brainers? I'm not looking to do any of the super hard core stuff, I'm totally not a motorhead, so I can't do involved projects, and I also plan to buy a 200 next year for when the kids graduate from the 120, so I don't need the 120 to be a super hot rod. Here's what I'm thinking so far, let me know if I'm way off or if I'm missing something.

1. Jet. My house is at 4,600 feet and we ride as high as 10,000. I should at least go from factory sea level jet up to 4,000 foot jet. I'm considering maybe the adjustable jets, but I'm not sure if I would even know how to adjust them well enough to not screw it all up.

2. Governor Bypass. I'm hearing everything from a zip tie to a stiffer spring to fully removing "the little plastic piece inside". Opinions?

3. Wheel kit. The manual acts like there is an actual official arctic cat wheel kit for this thing?

4. Track clips and Graphite infused Hifax?

5. Rope Saver. Even with almost no use, the stock one is already looking all torn up.

6. Ski Dampeners?

I'm trying to rank them by how dummy (me) proof they are to install and operate but also by which ones are just so obvious that they should be done as well because it just makes so much sense. If there is one that is a little tough to install, but easy to operate, I have a good relationship with my cat dealer and I could have him install it. I might not make it all the way through the list, that's why I want to rank them in kind of a "best bang for the buck" type of way for starters.

Reeb · Oct 2, 2017

This is the order I did them in. I would love to mod this thing right out but common sense tells me it's a waste since this is kid #2 of 3 riding our 120 these next 3 or so years.

This might not be the order you want to go, but it worked for my kids. They don't get a 200 when they graduate from this sled. So something you might want to consider since yours will be.

Jetted down a size for elevation. What I put in I can't remember. A quick look at a EPC will tell you what you have.

Governor bypass with a ziptie. You can adjust the spring a little bit(3 different holes) but wiring it open is the best. Doubles the speed.

Skis and wheel kit. I bought a wheel kit for the summer time from the shop I worked at. But kept the rear skid wheels in place and swapped the stock skis to C&A Pro Mini's. Even tho they are quite a bit bigger than the originals, my kids can steer them easier and have more control of where the sled goes with these. In fact the first year I didn't even put the runners on them because they worked so well even with our hard pack snow we got around the school/farmer fields.

And that's it so far.
My next set of mods will be different drivers, track clips, and a clutch. I already have the clutch and gears for next winter already as long as he doesn't grow too big for the gearing. It pushed my daughter around at 20 or so MPH but my son is 5 and 50lbs already so the gearing might be too tall for him and his size in a year from now.

I'd love to put in a rear shock as well as runningboards but I feel that by the time he's old enough for those mods, along with the handlebars and Seat, he'll be ready for the family 370 or even 440 fan. By then the 120 will go back to stock for my youngest boy. As a built up 120 would be too much for a 3yo anyways.

I wish I had thought of a rope guide when it was new. A few days in the school yard and it wore a pretty good groove in the plastic already. Hasn't changed much in a year or so now tho.

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Escmanaze · Oct 6, 2017

Thanks

Thanks Reeb. It looks like we are operating on a pretty similar wavelength. What year is your sled in those pics? Did it come with plastic skis or metal? Mine has the stock factory plastic skis right now and I think I'm going to have a hard time justifying the cash to upgrade from one plastic ski to another. I'm sure it's better, but I'm just not sure I want to sink that kind of dough into it.

Reeb · Oct 6, 2017

I think the latest 120 we have is a '13. We bought it a few years ago for well under retail. The skis in the photo are C&A Pro mini's.

They are definitely worth it but like you said, it was a tough mental hurdle to jump for them. I just had to wait for the best deal which wasn't long. A defunct dealer in town made that happen.

I actually know of the shop that bought all of the old stock and has a few sets left. I can hook you up if you like.

The wheel kit is worth it before track clips and hyfax. I'd even do drivers before them. The square drivers are absolutely terrible.

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Escmanaze · Nov 2, 2017

progress

So...here's where I'm at so far.

Jet: I decided the adjustable jet just simply isn't for a dufus like me. I would have no clue how to listen to the engine and know when to turn it up or when to turn it down. So I'm just going to put the 72 jet in it, which will be just about right for my house at 4600 feet. It will then run quite rich at 9,000 feet elevation, where we go sometimes, but I think the motor will be tough enough to handle it. Hope so anyway.

I bought the rope saver and plan to install it this weekend. I also bought the official arctic cat front wheel kit. It actually came with some really nice bushings that I'm hoping just make it fit really nice. Then I bought the rec motor back wheel kit as they said it was better than the factory wheel kit, so here's to hoping that is true also. I should get all of this installed this weekend.

Last but not least, I bought the different governor spring. I think I might leave it off for now. I think my daughter still wants it to go slow for a while, and while the engine has only had one tank of gas through it, maybe it's better to break in the engine for a little while at the lower RPMs. I'll hope to put that spring on after maybe just one or two rides this year once my daughter is tougher hopefully.

I decided to pass on the graphite infused hifax and the track clips. I would love to have those, but for now, the install seemed to be a little more involved than I care to sign up for.

@Reeb where do I go to get new drivers? If I ever decide to go for the hifax and the track clips, which I understand requires complete removal, seems to make sense to get new drivers as long as you are already into it that deep. But where do I buy new ones?

Escmanaze · Nov 4, 2017

rope saver

Well I got the rope saver installed tonight. I have to say I'm a little disappointed in certain design aspects of this little thing. Way better than stock, but it seems like they could have done just a couple stupid things to it to make it significantly better and sooooo much easier to install. Also, if I would have had access to better / different tools, that also would have made it way easier to install. :face-icon-small-dis

It took me so long to install that I didn't get anything else done, so I'll have to report back on that.

This product is definitely a no-brainer though. Sooooo much better than the little plastic piece of crap from the factory.

Escmanaze · Nov 4, 2017

Here are some pics

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Reeb · Nov 4, 2017

Rec used to have drivers. Someone else does too....Wahl maybe? I’d have to go on my laptop to find out. I have the website saved there I believe.

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Reeb · May 20, 2018

So I wanted to update this thread a little bit.
I went off the deep end a bit and bought more than I meant to for the 120. I got the adjustable jet and velocity stack. Made sense as we ride it at 1000ft at home and up to 5000ft at the races.
I had a clutch and gears but decided to ditch the stock pitch and go with what Rec Motors recommended. I bought a few different sprockets to make sure my kids can haul the mail up hill as well as on flat ground.

I also tripped and hit the keyboard and accidentally ordered the race shock kit from Rec as well. HUGE improvement! No more bounce!
I installed the track clips and did a steering mod since my girl needed something with more control and the setup I want isn’t quite available yet. Rox Speed has a cool kit but it’s not available to the public yet. So I took a block of Teflon and some anchor bolts. Cut the hood and ended up with bars moved up and forward about 3” in total. Made a huge difference for my kids.
I also spray dry graphite all over the sliders and track and make sure it’s warmed up properly before they line up for a race.
Oh and I did a bit of a headlight delete....mainly because it looks badass. Lol

My daughter raced it in our local Hillclimbs since her brother (5yo) wasn’t allowed to race. 6yo minimum and she didn’t have a class to race since the mini sleds go to 12yo and she’s 11. The first weekend she got 2nd behind Carver Kuster and his hopped up Mini-Z and the second weekend she showed him her snowflap until the final lap when her tether came off. Yep, that’s my daughter showing Carl Kuster’s son Carver around the track. Pretty proud Dad over here.

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Doujoh · Oct 21, 2018

What windshield is that?

Reeb said:
So I wanted to update this thread a little bit.
I went off the deep end a bit and bought more than I meant to for the 120. I got the adjustable jet and velocity stack. Made sense as we ride it at 1000ft at home and up to 5000ft at the races.
I had a clutch and gears but decided to ditch the stock pitch and go with what Rec Motors recommended. I bought a few different sprockets to make sure my kids can haul the mail up hill as well as on flat ground.

I also tripped and hit the keyboard and accidentally ordered the race shock kit from Rec as well. HUGE improvement! No more bounce!
I installed the track clips and did a steering mod since my girl needed something with more control and the setup I want isn’t quite available yet. Rox Speed has a cool kit but it’s not available to the public yet. So I took a block of Teflon and some anchor bolts. Cut the hood and ended up with bars moved up and forward about 3” in total. Made a huge difference for my kids.
I also spray dry graphite all over the sliders and track and make sure it’s warmed up properly before they line up for a race.
Oh and I did a bit of a headlight delete....mainly because it looks badass. Lol

My daughter raced it in our local Hillclimbs since her brother (5yo) wasn’t allowed to race. 6yo minimum and she didn’t have a class to race since the mini sleds go to 12yo and she’s 11. The first weekend she got 2nd behind Carver Kuster and his hopped up Mini-Z and the second weekend she showed him her snowflap until the final lap when her tether came off. Yep, that’s my daughter showing Carl Kuster’s son Carver around the track. Pretty proud Dad over here.

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Reeb · Oct 22, 2018

It’s off a Proclimb.

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Rank top easiest mods to 2015 Cat 120

Escmanaze

Well-known member

Reeb

Modding mini's

Escmanaze

Well-known member

Reeb

Modding mini's

Escmanaze

Well-known member

Escmanaze

Well-known member

Escmanaze

Well-known member

Reeb

Modding mini's

Reeb

Modding mini's

Doujoh

Free Member

Reeb

Modding mini's

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