Alpha 1 impressed

What do you ride and what was your thoughts? I bet cat wishes they had him. He makes polaris money.

turboless terry said:

What do you ride and what was your thoughts? I bet cat wishes they had him. He makes polaris money.

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It's interesting, we travel all winter and ride in BC, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming. We see and ride with mostly Polaris S of the border and a mix of Doo and Poo in Canada but rarely ever have a Cat rider in the mix? In the last 5 years have had more rides with Yamis than Cat. When Burandt was on Cat there were more Cats, so he definitely sells!!

I doubt you will ever see burandt on any other brand. He is way too far in with Polaris. Maybe if the economy tanks again and the brands dump their excess costs, frivolous costs like sponsored riders would be one of the first costs cut.

The alpha is really an amazing machine. The first machine that was surrounded by a ton of hype that actually lived up to all the hype. I like my axys sleds, but the alpha is so much better. Have not riden the 850 axys yet though

I'm excited to ride an Alpha, my youngest daughter bought an Alpha and she loves it. Will get a chance to ride it when we see them in early Feb as they live in Idaho and wife & I in Canada.
From the sounds of it we will be riding with more Cats in the future.

My dad has an Alpha 165 so I have been able to ride it three times so far this year. The snow has not been great so it has been difficult to really ride it hard to compare it with other sleds. I ride a doo 850, 154. I will try to compare what I like about each sled. Before I got the 850 I rode an 09 M8 which I still have. Dad is coming off a 14 cat. I know a 165 vs 154 is not apples to apples, but that is what we ride. Next time I head back to island park to ride with them there will also be an alpha 154 so i can compare the same length.
1. Engine. Doo 850. Little more power and throttle response is instant. 850 is quicker out of the hole. We also checked after each ride to see how much gas we used and the alpha used 1 more gallon on each of the rides. Each ride was between 45 & 50 miles. 4 gallons for 850 and 5 for alpha.
2. Side hill. Alpha. It goes where you want in a straight line even when hitting old tracks. I can see a big difference in the pogo front shocks and tmotion of the doo. I can initiate a side easier on the doo but fight it a little more to keep it.
3. Initiate down hill turn. 850. After initiated either up hill or side hill goes to the alpha. It climbs up on the snow better and side hills better.
4. Track. No contest- the track on the alpha is amazing. It climbs up on the snow so fast and easy. It does not trench. I would love to put that track on my sled if it was available.
5. Suspension on trail. 850 it is smoother and steers easier. But I love how easy it is to adjust the suspension on the alpha. Change the clicker 1 click and you can feel the difference immediately.
6. Suspension off trail. Alpha. The quick adjustability and changing transfer with lock out is a huge advantage off trail.
7. Clutching. Alpha. It is responsive and back shifts really good. Seems right on all the time. Doo clutch is responsive but is always hot which pisses me off.

I have ridden the 850 for two years so I know it really well. My dad has always hated riding my sled until the last ride yesterday. He said the more he rides the alpha and how easy it is to ride the more he likes riding my sled now. That is one thing that I have always likes about my 850 is how easy it is to ride in all conditions. It was to easy for my dad and felt really tippy. Knowing how easy it is to jump back and forth from the alpha to the 850 and feel comfortable on it immediately is great.

I am still really happy with my doo. If I am able to buy a new sled it would probably be an alpha. The track and the clutches not being so hot is what tips the scale for me.

Not sure an Alpha track on a Doo would work, it’s designed for the dropped chain case and central rail, stiffness might be all wrong on twin rails.

Did you compare oil usage when you looked at fuel mileage?

We did not look at the oil usage. Next time I ride I will. I know that track is not available I hope Cat adds the 3.5" pitch track to their dual rail sleds next year. doo already switched to 3 .5" pitch so it should be easy to change if cat expands that track to duel rail. It is hard to describe how good that track works. You just have to ride it to see. I know pretty much everyone hated the attack 2 0 track, but in deep powder it got on top of the snow better than any other track. The alpha track is as close as any track I have ridden to getting on top of the snow like the attack 20. But the alpha track works on the trail And i think it will work great in the spring riding also.

The attack 20 did work in deep powder. I had a buddy that hated the track. We were in west Yellowstone and they got dumped on. He was on his king cat and just started laughing. He couldn't believe how good it worked. I think the 3.5 pitch works good on the gen 4. Burandt must not think it works as good on the poo since Polaris hasn't went that route. He should know but I can't hardly buy it. They might be holding onto that card to get more snow checks.

turboless terry said:

The attack 20 did work in deep powder. I had a buddy that hated the track. We were in west Yellowstone and they got dumped on. He was on his king cat and just started laughing. He couldn't believe how good it worked. I think the 3.5 pitch works good on the gen 4. Burandt must not think it works as good on the poo since Polaris hasn't went that route. He should know but I can't hardly buy it. They might be holding onto that card to get more snow checks.

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My guess is you will see the 3.5 pitch track on the Polaris in the next year or so. It’ll take a few more lbs of weight off for them.

I have 250 miles on my alpha now. Love it more and more every ride. IMO there isn't a better sledcout there In stock form for a pull mountain sled.