2019 King Cat

It is about 150 lbs heavier than your SKS. That is like riding double and when you get stuck the guy just sits in the sled while you try to get it out. I personally think you would have to be insane to consider such a thing, never mind the huge price tag.


You can get the track, the shocks and a WAY better 800 engine than Polaris can even dream of. Just get a Mtn Cat, even a SnoPro is an upgrade over the best Poo offers. The best news is, the M8000 only weighs 10-15 lbs more, not ten times that.


I think the only reason for the big turbo 4 strokes is big climbing. They are going to suck at most everything else compared to a much less expensive M8000.

You will be depressed about the weight. The power will be awesome and the sidehill fine but get it stuck and you will be depressed. Haven't rode a king cat but have rode a sidewinder. They are 10 times better than my old turbo nytro. They mask the weight pretty good but you can still tell they are heavy. Take all the weight off the sled you want but you can't get it off the front end where it counts. Power is easy to remedy. Handling is not. There is a reason nobody rides them out here. A really good friend of mine is a Yamaha dealer and hasn't sold a sled in a few years. He was hoping for a blue 800 so he could sell a sled.

All of my turbo 4-stroke buddy's sold them and went back to 2-stroke. One of witch was a 17 sidewinder.

In the last 10yrs I've had T Apex, T Nytro, Cat 1100T, T Viper, and currently have a Sidewinder and an 18 Mtn Cat. Never been on a Kingcat but it's basically a Sidewinder with different clutches. By far the best and easiest to ride has been the Sidewinder. You can leave it bone stock and it'll go to some pretty crazy places. They're easy to get unstuck (for me) but it Def takes more effort. Ride is incredible. Can get it to side hill but tales more effort and you really have to use the throttle differently. As much as I have loved my 4 strokes after getting a Mtn Cat this year the Sidewinder is going up for sale and I have an Alpha snowchecked. For the riding I do now the Mtn Cat is a better fit. If the Cat wasn't so good I would still be on the Sidewinder next year

I wouldn't be surprised if cat releases a king cat with the alpha skid this year at haydays. I'm thinking that could be a fun combo.

Unless you're a point and shoot guy or wide open country and looking for speed, the King Cat or Sidewinder are a lot of work to ride. You "can" do a lot of things on them but the weight up front is so much that they are awkward and difficult to handle. The power is a blast but personally I wouldn't even consider one over a two stroke sled...any two stroke sled.

I ride in the northeast where its a lot of tree and technical riding, earlier in the year I was hot and horny over the Kingcat, I was stopped one day riding and heard an XF9000(same motor) go by and was like "WTF is that!!" Further research pointed me to the King Cat sled. Early March we were having lunch and a guy pulled up on one. I started chatting his ear off and he asked if we wanted to go play as he didn't know the area as well as we did, and we ended up switching sleds for a bit. I currently have an 18 Mountain Cat. I immediately missed the instant throttle response of the 800ctec. The power and traction was awesome I will say, just takes a sec to get there. The weight difference is defiantly noticeable, the front end kept wanting to dive into the snow on me and if your line was not set up perfect, it wasn't going to play, the Mountain Cat is much more forgiving.

I'm not trying to discourage you from buying one, but you just need to realize this sled has its place, and its in big chutes and open areas, not the trees.

If you can ride anything can be done on a fourstroke that you can do on a two stroke. Yes more effort but not a lot. Oh and when the snow deep nothing is more fun than a 250 plus horsepower sled

To the OP:

I currently have a 2017 King Cat (same as an 18 Sidewinder with the narrow boards and D&R case)and an M800 in the Proclimb chassis with a 925. Make no mistake, the lighter 2 stroke (90 lbs difference) is easier to ride in tight trees, but a decent rider can make the King Cat work as well. The stock skis suck on the heavier sled, I run Grippers. I'm 50 years old, 230 lbs, and have been riding a turbo 4S since 2013, and the 925 2S only comes out of the trailer once in a while. Suspension setup is key (the factory uses the same settings on the entire line up) and once you master throttle control on the 4S you won't be stuck as often, the track speed will get you out of trouble pretty easy.
That said, if you are strictly a tree rider, you'll be happier narrowing your SKS.
Food for thought: IT wasn't long ago our 2 stroke stock sleds weighed the same as the King Cat, with far less power and lacking in the suspension dept. how did we ever manage to ride them or get them unstuck?

Just tie a boulder on the hood of your sks then take it for a spin. If you like how it handles then buy the 4 stroke...

They really are great sleds for some people. I’ve had a number of 4-strokes over the years and love them. like everyone has mentioned they are heavy and if you work the trees a lot you’ll be very tired by days end. If you’re young and over 220ish lbs I’d say it’s not a big deal. If your under 200ish lbs I’d say it’s not for you unless you mostly stay in open areas. With a little tuning they are amazing and very powerful. If I had unlimited funds I’d have one for those few days a year.

0neoldfart said:

Food for thought: IT wasn't long ago our 2 stroke stock sleds weighed the same as the King Cat, with far less power and lacking in the suspension dept. how did we ever manage to ride them or get them unstuck?

Click to expand...

First, we didn't ride them into the same places because you would be stuck all day. If you are not going more places on a modern sled, you aren't trying very hard.


Second, I at least, used to mod the heck out of those old crates to drop weight and make power. Today, my last three new sleds have stayed bone stock, my newest has a can on it. Any one of them would go more places than the heavy old sled.


My buddy used to make this same dumb argument until he brought his 2002 800 RMK out with a bunch of 2014 and newer sleds a couple of years ago. We schooled his azz all day long. Wore him out so bad he was worthless at work for days. I never had to listen to silly stories about how the old heavy sleds would go the same places again.


The weight is a huge penalty. Listed dry weight for a King Cat is 557lbs dry vs 463 for the 162 Mtn Cat. Anyone who tells you they can't feel it, or "it isn't that bad" is lying.

I started the year with a brand new 2017 king cat and a 2018 mountain cat. I’d always wanted to try a 4 stroke turbo and the king cat/sidewinder set up had me convinced to try one.

I’m 5’8 and 215- I’m a Viking more or less.

The king cat out of the box suspension was phenomenal. Added a bit more pressure to the front track shock. On big powder days it was a rip and tons of fun. I bought it knowing if I rode with certain friends or my dad who is 70 that we would be riding mellow stuff and it would be fun. What really happened was I invited friends without sleds to ride with me every week and they rode the mountain cat while I rode the king cat. For me riding it every week wasn’t a good fit. It wore me out for sure. That’s. That’s not to say that I didn’t have a hell of a lot of fun because I did. But the last month of riding spring snow (fresh heavy snow on rock solid base) did me in on the king cat. If it truly was a 2nd sled and ridden when I wanted to ride it I’d keep it but for me I just can’t beat how easy the mountain cat is to ride. I’m seling the king cat. Myself and 3 friends all out deposits down on Apha’s yesterday.

King Cat- motor is phenomenal- endless and immediate power. Track speed powered me out of ridiculous situations - as long as there was a clear line and I wasn’t exhausted. FWIW I was told by many people that they couldn’t believe where I was going on the big sled. When It is moving at a decent pace it doesn’t fee heavy. Slow moving/picking through trees it was noticeable. Believe it or not getting it unstuck wasn’t that bad. The reality is in our group of
You’re stuck we help out. I dug it out solo a handful of
Times and it wasn’t that much different. Getting out is usually more technique than brute strength vs weight anyways.

#1 thing I would have done different is add a roll over valve to the king cat. Even if it’s not upside down i has it pull oil into the air filter.

Fun as hell