2015 Arctic Cat M8000 Review

Jorli · Apr 7, 2014

I've had the privilege to ride the new 2015 Arctic Cat M8000, I can't stress how much better the sled is than the 2014. The suspension works really well, its plush in the initial part of the stroke yet has good bottom out resistance and no longer feels like you're riding a board. The clutching and engine mapping is also really smooth and makes great power. Overall, I was super impressed with the sled. Arctic Cat hasn't gotten as much hype they deserve IMO, the 2015 M8000 is a full-on ripper!!!! Definitely worth checking out before snow-checking.

phatty · Apr 8, 2014

Felt the same way bud, i was surprised at how much better the 15 was than the 14. And I am not even sure what they changed to get there. Still needs better skis, but very fun sled!

CO 2.0 · Apr 8, 2014

Nice review. Makes me want to get the shocks on my '14 revalved.

Jorli · Apr 8, 2014

CO 2.0 said:
Nice review. Makes me want to get the shocks on my '14 revalved.

The suspension valving was certainly very noticeable between the 15 and the 14. RMR Suspension in Abbotsford, BC can do that for you.

carlc · Apr 8, 2014

What all makes it better than a 14. I am stuck between a 14 or 15. Upgrading from a 12. Every year has been huge gains, and I have ridden each year of them quite a bit. Is it just suspension or some more hidden chassis changes like the 14s?

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Jorli · Apr 8, 2014

carlc said:
What all makes it better than a 14. I am stuck between a 14 or 15. Upgrading from a 12. Every year has been huge gains, and I have ridden each year of them quite a bit. Is it just suspension or some more hidden chassis changes like the 14s?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are a number changes listed somewhere on their website, what I've noticed is clutching, engine mapping, suspension valving. Apparently there are some changes in geometry with the skid. My overall feeling is the 15 sled is much better than the 14.

AKtoad · Apr 8, 2014

If only a dealer up here had a demo they might possibly sell some.

carlc · Apr 8, 2014

Jorli said:
There are a number changes listed somewhere on their website, what I've noticed is clutching, engine mapping, suspension valving. Apparently there are some changes in geometry with the skid. My overall feeling is the 15 sled is much better than the 14.

That's good to know. I know our area rep pretty wel and he showed me a list of changes in Jackson, but it was mostly cosmetic stuff.

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Jorli · Apr 8, 2014

carlc said:
That's good to know. I know our area rep pretty wel and he showed me a list of changes in Jackson, but it was mostly cosmetic stuff.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here are some of the changes:

-improved engine mapping and clutching
-more magnesium components
-beefed up jackshaft with a larger bearing and circlip.
-improved suspension calibration for the Fox Float 3 shocks
-Fox Float 3 in the rear skid
-rail stiffeners

Suspension, mapping and clutching were the areas that required improvement and they addressed it very well IMO.

Woody67 · Apr 8, 2014

Jorli said:
Here are some of the changes:

-improved engine mapping and clutching
-more magnesium components
-beefed up jackshaft with a larger bearing and circlip.
-improved suspension calibration for the Fox Float 3 shocks
-Fox Float 3 in the rear skid
-rail stiffeners

Suspension, mapping and clutching were the areas that required improvement and they addressed it very well IMO.

Thank you for the great review. I have seen in the Arctic Cat dealer documents all of the above except the engine mapping and clutching as published changes. Where did you get that info?

Thanks,
Woody

Jorli · Apr 8, 2014

MBMS said:
Thank you for the great review. I have seen in the Arctic Cat dealer documents all of the above except the engine mapping and clutching as published changes. Where did you get that info?

Thanks,
Woody

From our Rep. Pretty sure its correct because it feels different than the 2014.

Cheers!-J

Buz · Apr 11, 2014

Thank goodness - I switched to my wife 2012 ecu, since it was map better. Hopefully they offer a reflash.

Dogmeat · Apr 12, 2014

phatty said:
Felt the same way bud, i was surprised at how much better the 15 was than the 14. And I am not even sure what they changed to get there. Still needs better skis, but very fun sled!

So are you ready to start riding a Cat again?

phatty · Apr 14, 2014

Dogmeat said:
So are you ready to start riding a Cat again?

Who knows? :face-icon-small-coo
I rode Cutlers 950 in the 2015 chassis as well. The 950 was really, really impressive. It had the two necessary upgrades IMO, the skis and airframes, but it was power all the way through.... super tempting!

Griff · Apr 14, 2014

AKtoad said:
If only a dealer up here had a demo they might possibly sell some.

I would like to see a better demo program from Cat in general.

Steamboy · Apr 14, 2014

Demo Sleds

There is no question that the new 2015 will probably in small ways be a better sled as this chassis evolves into it's 4th season. However, it has been my humble experience over the past 40 years that these demo sleds that are being test ridden will not to be exactly what we will be riding as production sleds next year. I have seen this many times over the years. The demos have been finely tweaked and are always superior to the production models. I am sure we will see improvements but I do not think they will be as dramatic as we would all like to think. I hope they prove me wrong but this has been my experience with both Cat and Polaris. I am sure it holds true with the other manufactures as well. Sorry to dampen the spirit of this thread. Just trying to share my experience with many years of buying new sleds. I will also say that they just keep getting better and you will not go wrong by updating as your pocket book allows.
Cheers!

diggerdown · Apr 15, 2014

No doubt that the production sled will be slightly different than these early "demo or proto type" sleds but that does not mean the productions sleds will not be as good or maybe better than what they are showing now. I rode the early demo M 7's when they were developing the M line and the production models were better than the demo ones.
Doo has had the xp platform since 08' and each year has gotten better, cats proclimb will do the same and it started out better than the doo did. I know that may be open for debate but anyone that is not married to doo will have to admit that!

anziconda · Apr 26, 2014

Jorli said:
I've had the privilege to ride the new 2015 Arctic Cat M8000, I can't stress how much better the sled is than the 2014. The suspension works really well, its plush in the initial part of the stroke yet has good bottom out resistance and no longer feels like you're riding a board. The clutching and engine mapping is also really smooth and makes great power. Overall, I was super impressed with the sled. Arctic Cat hasn't gotten as much hype they deserve IMO, the 2015 M8000 is a full-on ripper!!!! Definitely worth checking out before snow-checking.

Just curious, did the sled have the 2.6", or 3" power claw? Anxious to hear some feedback on this track as well. Thanks!

rockymtnboy · Apr 27, 2014

Rode a 15 on Friday, very impressed. It was completely stock other than it had the snow flap ripped off. I have a 13 that has 50 lbs ish removed, belt drive, 3" etc and other than weight it (the 15) felt pretty good stock. I am really intrigued about the 3" powder claw. I love the down hill brake'n and the bottomless powder days with the x3 but I think the powder claw in a 3" will be bad&$$! Look at the difference it made go'n from 2.25 to 2.6! The 15 I rode was the 2.6.

Jorli · Apr 27, 2014

anziconda said:
Just curious, did the sled have the 2.6", or 3" power claw? Anxious to hear some feedback on this track as well. Thanks!

I'm happy with the 2.6 inch lugs on the 153 on the 2015. I would probably rather have 3 inch lugs on a 162 because I have different expectations with a longer track.

2015 Arctic Cat M8000 Review

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