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maybe he was spinning on lava rock to get out of that tree well.that was good.LOL
Alpha 1 ride review
- Thread starter idacatman2
- Start date
Quote from the rider in the video
Max Sled Mag quote( Jason soucie)
Last week, when we had all of the new two stroke mountain sleds, in a straight pull up the hill, in about 2 feet roughly of fresh snow, the Alpha did the best.
Yes this include both 850 brand sleds!!
Alpha 
......
Max Sled Mag quote( Jason soucie)
Last week, when we had all of the new two stroke mountain sleds, in a straight pull up the hill, in about 2 feet roughly of fresh snow, the Alpha did the best.
Yes this include both 850 brand sleds!!
Alpha 
......
The videos and reviews have convinced me to snow check an Aplaha One 165"
Looking forward to the day I pick it up!!!
Looking forward to the day I pick it up!!!
Got on an Alpha yesterday in West. Here are a few observations of it and the 2019 in general. I ride a 2016 LTD right now and ride a fair amount. Typically trees and technical type riding:
1. The Alpha is for real. We rode where there was some fresh powder, but also a ton of beat down hard pack and crusty snow. It responds quick, but I think it's very predictable and something a rider could easily get the feel for quickly. The track definitely stays planted in the snow better than a twin track. You have to account for that or you will over ride it. An off camber turn that takes a full squeeze of the throttle on my '16 to pull through, takes a half pull on the Alpha. Traction is just always there.
2. It is absolutely nothing like a t-motion
3. Throttle pull on the 2019 is heavy (in comparison to 2018 and previous). Reminds me of the last Polaris I rode. Not a big fan of that.
4. Clutching on the sleds we rode was all over the board and not great. These are prototypes, so who knows what it will end up being, but will likely need to play with it.
5. Love the new brake! Fits me perfectly and is an easy one fingers pull to stop brake. Can keep a good firm grip on the handlebar while grabbing break. Will work great for my riding style.
6. Cat needs to put the larger rear wheels on all their sleds. Between that and the larger driver, the Alpha is smooth.
7. The new windshield bag is sweet. I don't know if that's new or just new to me, but I love it. Storage to keep **** out of my backpack and it will also solve the problem of ice and snow building up under the windshield (not that it's a problem, just annoying when ice is banging around back there).
8. Trail manners were very surprising. It stays planted in corners better than my '16. Same ski stance as I'm running and I have grippers on my '16 so would be similar ski as the Alpha, but Alpha just doesn't get the ski lift like a twin rail.
There's probably a lot more, but these are the highlights. Let me know if you have questions.
1. The Alpha is for real. We rode where there was some fresh powder, but also a ton of beat down hard pack and crusty snow. It responds quick, but I think it's very predictable and something a rider could easily get the feel for quickly. The track definitely stays planted in the snow better than a twin track. You have to account for that or you will over ride it. An off camber turn that takes a full squeeze of the throttle on my '16 to pull through, takes a half pull on the Alpha. Traction is just always there.
2. It is absolutely nothing like a t-motion
3. Throttle pull on the 2019 is heavy (in comparison to 2018 and previous). Reminds me of the last Polaris I rode. Not a big fan of that.
4. Clutching on the sleds we rode was all over the board and not great. These are prototypes, so who knows what it will end up being, but will likely need to play with it.
5. Love the new brake! Fits me perfectly and is an easy one fingers pull to stop brake. Can keep a good firm grip on the handlebar while grabbing break. Will work great for my riding style.
6. Cat needs to put the larger rear wheels on all their sleds. Between that and the larger driver, the Alpha is smooth.
7. The new windshield bag is sweet. I don't know if that's new or just new to me, but I love it. Storage to keep **** out of my backpack and it will also solve the problem of ice and snow building up under the windshield (not that it's a problem, just annoying when ice is banging around back there).
8. Trail manners were very surprising. It stays planted in corners better than my '16. Same ski stance as I'm running and I have grippers on my '16 so would be similar ski as the Alpha, but Alpha just doesn't get the ski lift like a twin rail.
There's probably a lot more, but these are the highlights. Let me know if you have questions.
Nobody seems to want to answer this but I keep asking. Is it quicker handling than a gen 4 850?
It is stated in one of the ride reviews.
Not an exact quote: 'quicker handling than the G4'
I am trying to find it for u.
G
"Arctic Cat with the Alpha One further defined – narrowed – exclusive and aggressive backcountry riding. Arctic Cat does not feel its Mountain Cat and its M8000 Sno Pro are yesterday’s snowmobile, nor those of the other OEMs. Alpha One is a highly nimble dirt bike with two skis and a track; it is nimble like a snowbike. It is easy to ride, but so fast reacting to driver input, a driver may wonder why they’re on bottom while Alpha sits on top. Not that Alpha One is unstable, far from it; it is a snowmobile that reacts to input quicker than the agile and nimble G4 Summit, and we thought that could never be possible."
This is from snowmobile.com on their article on their Alpha Experience.
I've read that article. They are the ones that said it. Just trying to see if anyone else will back it up. I am heading to west today but my daughter has basketball so probably won't get there early enough to ride one.
http://www.snowmobile.com/manufacturer/arctic-cat/2019-arctic-cat-alpha-one-mountain-cat
Quote from the snowmobile.com article “The 154 is a highly-nimble chassis; it is easy to ride, but from our experience so far, quicker responding than Ski-Doo’s G4 Summit. With its Fox QS3 (Quick Switch 3) shocks up front, QS3 as the front rail’s shock and a QS3-L (Lockout) set as the single beam’s rear rail shock, drivers can, in a simple explanation, slow down the 154’s nimbleness. If you want a little bit slower acting chassis, then the 165 is it.”
It is not quicker handling than a gen 4.
. So did you get the to ride it?
I did ride it in really crappy snow and I even almost had it stuck. Soft spot and front went out of sight and the back dug in. I had to shake the bejesus out of it.
Same as 18 on trail.Track throws some serious snow.
First time I rode an 18. They are way better than my buddy's 17. Not a strong as 850 doo bottom end. My guess is they are half way between a poo and a doo and without the downfall of t motion. Maybe they are quick turning. I don't know. We were up on the side of a hill that was chewed all to hell so I never spun it around. The biggest thing I noticed was you do not get pitched around in rough trenches and tracks. It soaks them up when you cut across them. It is planted and holds a line compared to my 850. Definitely can ride it wrong foot forward without over riding. I have to hold back on my review because it was crappy snow and not my sled so I didn't rail on it. I wouldn't care to ride my 850 in it. They did their best with what they had but after 60 people do the same thing it's tracked up. Everybody is wondering what it does in this but I don't care to ride in it. I will go where it isn't all tracked out. Skis seem fine. I guess nothing bothered me about the 18 ski.
Same as 18 on trail.Track throws some serious snow.
First time I rode an 18. They are way better than my buddy's 17. Not a strong as 850 doo bottom end. My guess is they are half way between a poo and a doo and without the downfall of t motion. Maybe they are quick turning. I don't know. We were up on the side of a hill that was chewed all to hell so I never spun it around. The biggest thing I noticed was you do not get pitched around in rough trenches and tracks. It soaks them up when you cut across them. It is planted and holds a line compared to my 850. Definitely can ride it wrong foot forward without over riding. I have to hold back on my review because it was crappy snow and not my sled so I didn't rail on it. I wouldn't care to ride my 850 in it. They did their best with what they had but after 60 people do the same thing it's tracked up. Everybody is wondering what it does in this but I don't care to ride in it. I will go where it isn't all tracked out. Skis seem fine. I guess nothing bothered me about the 18 ski.
Ya, they said the 18 Mountain Cat trenches......?
This is the least trenching sled i have ever ridden! Sure, i can dig a hole if i ride stupid but for taking off from a dead stop in deep snow it is awesome.
Anyone who concludes the G4 is better on sidehills than an Axys has no credibility anyway.
M
18 trade in values on Alpha 1
Anyone trade in there 18s on a new Alpha?
Anyone trade in there 18s on a new Alpha?
F
Never rode the axys, but the G4 is pretty dam easy to side hill.. On the verge of almost to easy for some of us
I think everyone was just wanting them to jump up and down about them so they feel better about wanting to or having ordered one. I was even interested to hear what they thought. You still have to take it with a grain of salt. It is still about ad dollars. They have to watch what they say so they don't make anybody mad. There really is no shootout. I heard someone say they heard the alpha climbed higher than anyone. Don't know if it was true but that is the first thing I would have done if I was testing them. Can they say it outloud,no. If the factories hear bad stuff they won't bring them. Push the positives and leave out the negatives. Sponsored still in a way.
I'm not worried about it. I know some of what they will do and guessing on the rest. Guaranteed there will be something I won't like. Never had a perfect sled. As long as the positives way outweigh the negatives. It is made for what I like and some tracked out, icy, 50 degree sidehill in the trees is not it.
I'm not worried about it. I know some of what they will do and guessing on the rest. Guaranteed there will be something I won't like. Never had a perfect sled. As long as the positives way outweigh the negatives. It is made for what I like and some tracked out, icy, 50 degree sidehill in the trees is not it.
I've seen you side hill Fred, I don't think the rest of us are talking about what you are talking about. :face-icon-small-win:face-icon-small-win:face-icon-small-win:face-icon-small-ton
Totally just ribbing you, I thought my G4 side hilled pretty well, where they get in trouble is when you need to change direction quickly. They just get a little squirrelly when they are on the point where the t-motion is trying to decide which side it wants to lay on. My 18 cat is much more predictable in the trees, and I like the way it clings to a hill quite a bit flatter than my G4 did. I don't think it feels as "light footed" as the G4 in less challenging stuff however. But in my case at 6'5" and 245 lbs that's a good thing. I'm keeping my 18 for sure, now to decide if I want to upgrade it to the alpha skid or not...
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