Does a 17 Mtn Cat ride the same as an 18 early release

the jump from the 17MC to the 18 is bigger than the jump from 16 to 17MC imo.
unless its a straight hillclimb. that the 17MC can hang with anything. fricken amazing really, with the rear shock pumped up right.:face-icon-small-hap

Chassis wise the jump from the 16-17MC is the ticket. The MC is narrow where it matters which is in the boards and low panels.

With that said the 18 is a huge jump up in everything else and it does add up. The engine is smooth and crisp, the clutching is awesome, the shocks have been re-valved and couple changes in length and things that make it handle much better, the new panels are huge improvement in fit and finish as well as being narrower, additional 10 or so pounds of weight loss from the MC so around 20 different than your 16.

It depends what you are going to do. if you want to ride a stock sled I would get the 18 without question. Out of the box that thing is amazing. If you are going to do some mods anyway get the 17 MC and start throwing money at it and it will outperform the stock 18, maybe.

They really feel very different, and surprisingly so. No doubt the narrow front end is an improvement. But what impresses me the most is the clutches and the motor. The power band is so smooth, controllable, and powerful. You can crawl at slow speeds through the trees like a tractor. The torque of the motor at low rpms is excellent, and since the clutches start out in a very low ratio in comparison, the engagement can be much lower, yet you have much more instant power at your when you need it. There is no waiting for any power to build, the power is there instantly. I did put the new clutches on a 2017 model, and it does give it a very similar feel and a huge improvement in the trees. But the new motor with the auxiliary exhaust valves being closed at lower rpms has a smoother cleaner feel to it with more instant power.