Any G4 Doo owners ride the Alpha 1

jrs591 · Mar 21, 2018

Seriously considering Alpha 1, any Doo G4 owners taking the leap after demo ride? Likes and dislikes?
I swore after 2012 would never ride a Cat again...........Been paying attention last few years, the Ascender Platform seems to be the real deal, and now this skid..........
Can you get electric start on these things?
Dealer has no idea........
I apologize if there is a thread on this already.......Thanks

rulonjj · Mar 21, 2018

A cat dealer close to me said there’s a good chance he’ll have one the first week of April to ride for a minute. I’m interested to ride it as well as I’m pretty serious about switching. I like the 18’ Mountain cat over the 850.

As far as I know, there is no electric start on the alpha.

DRIVEBYE · Mar 21, 2018

Not me still think it is a gimmick, only direction I would go is Polaris.

89sandman · Mar 21, 2018

Electric start is not available from the factory. There are 2 ways to go if you want it, first is to swap the tank and seat and put the battery in the stock location behind the seat. The second would be what I do and that is put a aftermarket can on it, fab up a battery box that fits in the extra space that provides. The second way is lighter and cheaper. My dealer was saying they didn't do the estart because not enough people order it on the top end mountain sleds? I guess only cavemen order them

It should be standard equiptment until all sleds come factory with a Shot style setup. Sleds always seem to be the last ones in powersports to realize what most people want.

10003514 · Mar 21, 2018

I'm on a G4 now, really thought hard about getting an Alpha but after you pull all the fancy stuff off it's still a 2012 chassis under there (owned a 2012, 2014, and a 2016). Now put the Alpha skid and 800ctec in a new narrower/lighter chassis everyone will be on a Cat. 2018/2019 Cat has caught up big potential now to take the lead looking into the future. I went with a 850 Axys for next season.

john6719 · Mar 21, 2018

10003514 said:
I'm on a G4 now, really thought hard about getting an Alpha but after you pull all the fancy stuff off it's still a 2012 chassis under there (owned a 2012, 2014, and a 2016). Now put the Alpha skid and 800ctec in a new narrower/lighter chassis everyone will be on a Cat. 2018/2019 Cat has caught up big potential now to take the lead looking into the future. I went with a 850 Axys for next season.

???

You do know the Alpha is lighter than the 2019 G4, right? And exact same chassis width? Don't fix what isn't broken, the backbone of the Arctic cat isn't broken and hasn't been since 2012. It's all the other stuff that's now been changed that made the 2012 suck.

Qreiff · Mar 21, 2018

10003514 said:
I'm on a G4 now, really thought hard about getting an Alpha but after you pull all the fancy stuff off it's still a 2012 chassis under there (owned a 2012, 2014, and a 2016). Now put the Alpha skid and 800ctec in a new narrower/lighter chassis everyone will be on a Cat. 2018/2019 Cat has caught up big potential now to take the lead looking into the future. I went with a 850 Axys for next season.

The 2018 is definitely NOT a 2012, 14 or 2016. Actually major changes and multiple subtle changes. Very different sled that only look a bit similar.

A person would have to do some major changes on a 2016 to get close to a 2018. IE: Rolled chaincase, clutching, suspension geometry, Shocks, Narrow plastic by almost 4". And there are more.....

jrs591 · Mar 21, 2018

Thanks for info on E/S on the Alpha 1....too bad. FWIW for myself, not having an electric start option from factory like Doo or Poo is barbaric in this day and age. After owning sleds with pull start, electric start and now SHOT that is a show stopper for me on the Alpha, they (CAT) missed the mark there but I understand their logic. Thanks, as always good info on here from people who know their stuff.............

turboless terry · Mar 21, 2018

I have a silber 850 that I love and my wife has stock 850 that I rode all the time. I've rode the alpha. I am probably the first person in the country that ordered one. I ordered it about a day or two after they unveiled it. I like trying new stuff. I love the 850 but it does have issues in the trees and on the steep sidehills. What I am hoping is it is pulling the best of both world between an axys and gen 4. Basically an effortless and quicker responding axys. I don't think the alpha is quicker handling than a gen 4. It does seem like it holds the line very easy compared to the doo. Never spun it around since we were on a sidehill in the trees on tracked out and gutted snow. Track seems to get traction. A little depressed on motor compared to 850. Clutching or boost will cure that. Not jumping up and down yet but hoping it's what I want. Betting they are all 3 good this year. It is just a matter of what you want.

10003514 · Mar 21, 2018

john6719 said:
???

You do know the Alpha is lighter than the 2019 G4, right? And exact same chassis width? Don't fix what isn't broken, the backbone of the Arctic cat isn't broken and hasn't been since 2012. It's all the other stuff that's now been changed that made the 2012 suck.

Not comparing an Alpha to a G4, my simple statement is cat is in an old chassis designed to fit both the 4 stroke and 2 stroke power plants, you don't think they can easily improve on that ? It's why Cats are the easiest sleds to drop weight on. Don't fix what isn't broken ? Then you wouldn't have the Alpha skid. I'm looking forward to what Cat comes out with.

10003514 · Mar 21, 2018

Qreiff said:
The 2018 is definitely NOT a 2012, 14 or 2016. Actually major changes and multiple subtle changes. Very different sled that only look a bit similar.

A person would have to do some major changes on a 2016 to get close to a 2018. IE: Rolled chaincase, clutching, suspension geometry, Shocks, Narrow plastic by almost 4". And there are more.....

Been around a few 2018's but personally have little seat time on one. They are nice and a long overdue improvement from Cat.

DRIVEBYE · Mar 21, 2018

I heard Polaris had this in development but scrapped it. Any truth to that?

john6719 · Mar 21, 2018

10003514 said:
Not comparing an Alpha to a G4, my simple statement is cat is in an old chassis designed to fit both the 4 stroke and 2 stroke power plants, you don't think they can easily improve on that ? It's why Cats are the easiest sleds to drop weight on. Don't fix what isn't broken ? Then you wouldn't have the Alpha skid. I'm looking forward to what Cat comes out with.

Can it be improved? Yeah, it can. But they are spending the limited R&D dollars where it counts most and having arguably the best sled on the mountain 2 years running now ('18 & '19) shows that. The chassis isn't holding the sled back nor is it where everyone is dropping weight off of that sled. Can't say I've heard of many people chopping up the chassis to drop weight. They needed to fix their clutches, narrow it up, redesign the plastics, lighten it up, and then come out with something revolutionary. Changing the chassis wouldn't make it a game changer. It would just change it for the sake of changing it. Maybe they do a chassis change next that is built specifically for that mono rail skid...smaller, lighter, narrower...even closer to a bike???

Chassis would still be below the following changes in my book. I haven't spent enough time on the '19 to really critique everything, but based on what I did see:
-intake design (weight)
-headlight design (weight)
-steering post mounting and design (less slop)
-gauge pod design and mounting (could be cleaner with better fit and finish)
-running boards (maybe chassis related, but bet you wouldn't consider it a new chassis if they changed boards so I'll keep this here)
-snow flap??
-colors
-strengthen up the tierods slightly
-strengthen up the rear tunnel slightly

10003514 · Mar 21, 2018

john6719 said:
Can it be improved? Yeah, it can. But they are spending the limited R&D dollars where it counts most and having arguably the best sled on the mountain 2 years running now ('18 & '19) shows that. The chassis isn't holding the sled back nor is it where everyone is dropping weight off of that sled. Can't say I've heard of many people chopping up the chassis to drop weight. They needed to fix their clutches, narrow it up, redesign the plastics, lighten it up, and then come out with something revolutionary. Changing the chassis wouldn't make it a game changer. It would just change it for the sake of changing it. Maybe they do a chassis change next that is built specifically for that mono rail skid...smaller, lighter, narrower...even closer to a bike???

Chassis would still be below the following changes in my book. I haven't spent enough time on the '19 to really critique everything, but based on what I did see:
-intake design (weight)
-headlight design (weight)
-steering post mounting and design (less slop)
-gauge pod design and mounting (could be cleaner with better fit and finish)
-running boards (maybe chassis related, but bet you wouldn't consider it a new chassis if they changed boards so I'll keep this here)
-snow flap??
-colors
-strengthen up the tierods slightly
-strengthen up the rear tunnel slightly

Textron has some deep pockets for Cat to play with, a chassis change built around the mono-rail would be interesting. I agree with the listed improvements you have, some of which you'd think would have been addressed by now.

89sandman · Mar 21, 2018

Let us know when Doo or Poo build the sled that checks off everything on your list...

powdermuncher · Mar 21, 2018

It will only be real interesting if they come out with a single ski out front :face-icon-small-win Than we really would have something to talk about.

john6719 · Mar 21, 2018

89sandman said:
Let us know when Doo or Poo build the sled that checks off everything on your list...

If you're referring to my "list", those are simply the areas I think they could improve next. I think the Alpha is the best sled available and that's why I'm checking one.

Chewy22 · Mar 21, 2018

10003514 said:
I went with a 850 Axys for next season.

Man I don’t know - I’d be worried about the new Axys. I’ve heard that 850 motor is 25 lbs heavier then the 800. If that is true where did they cut 20 lbs off that chassis to get a net gain of 5lbs? If Polaris goes as far as hacking up the hifax (seems extreme to me) to drop weight what else did they do?

With the Alpha it’s just a track and skid on an already proven chassis. Super simple to change out if you don’t like. The reason I had no problem snowchecking one.

10003514 · Mar 21, 2018

Chewy22 said:
Man I don’t know - I’d be worried about the new Axys. I’ve heard that 850 motor is 25 lbs heavier then the 800. If that is true where did they cut 20 lbs off that chassis to get a net gain of 5lbs? If Polaris goes as far as hacking up the hifax (seems extreme to me) to drop weight what else did they do?

With the Alpha it’s just a track and skid on an already proven chassis. Super simple to change out if you don’t like. The reason I had no problem snowchecking one.

Just trying something different, can always sell it. All 3 manufacturers have very solid sleds.

TJ427 · Mar 21, 2018

It'll be fun to ride an Alpha next year. In ND the Cat dealers are mostly gone so even if someone wants to go back to Cat dealer support is frequently more than 200 miles away. Props to Cat for trying something different!

Any G4 Doo owners ride the Alpha 1

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