Skiis opinion

[IDspud]

eBay….if you’re patient.

Plenty have been found at random dealers I haggle with if they’ve got several pairs sitting there.
They’ll give me a break knowing pinche will come in and make up the difference.

My girls will fight for the machines with Mohawks over any other differences.

 

[line8]

I complained just a little about it being darty and grqbby on the trail but was told that’s just mountain sleds. I won’t lie I don’t really like the feeling lol. You say it’ll help if I just take off the carbide gizmos? Assuming the factory ones are carbides? I had all the Mohawk stuff in a “kart” and thought I’d never be able to justify (skill level wise) the 800 plus bucks . Rather buy a carbon helmet so my necks not stuck and sore lol

I’ve had 5 different Cats, not Alpha not Catslyst. They’ve all been bit darty. One of just a few kitty dislikes. Last 2 sleds I had Grippers and they were much better, I guess similar to the G2 I’ve never used, only read about. But still a little darty, just more controlled dart


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[turboless terry]

My daughter's catalyst doesn't dart. I have hard surfaced wear bars on it. Maybe different trail conditions. I didn't find anything i disliked. Maybe the running boards. I liked them but i broke them. Definitely not strong enough. They don't seem to slide around anymore than any other sled, which amazes me. We were riding on a foot of fresh with a slick layer below and bottomless under that. Everyone said it feels tiny. It feels like a sled to me. People griping about belt drive whine. Another nothing there. Gets even quieter when on gas. Bottom end is nothing to write home about. After that it runs great but I'm no 600 expert. Definitely rides better than ascender alpha, which was the worst ride out there on the trail. Steering ease is great but thought it would be better. Definitely needs better shocks but it's fine for my daughter. 24 155 9r with 325 felt like a boat anchor compared to catalyst when playing on steep sidehill. Didn't even want to ride 9r after riding catalyst. Wasn't sure what i thought of it, for most of the day, until i switched to the 9r. Then i was like wow. Just so you know i love the 9r. People talking about ski pressure. There is something there but have played with nothing. It sort of feels planted but it's not. Not sure how to describe it. Definitely an awesome sled. Goes anywhere anyone else did in this snow.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Well the good news is the bigger motor 25 isn’t to expensive if you want to try. Have to deal with shocks and I guess you might want the gauge but could live without probably. Iam sure with some clutching and expert adjustments you’d be able to rip it. Seeing snow for the first time at 38 and learning to snowmobile at 57 , I should be ok with h this 600 for a while! Hope your kid loves it!

 

[IDspud]

Darting is an alignment problem, not a cat problem.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

How’s the best way to fix it? I wouldn’t be surprised if my dealer didn’t do anything at all to the sled before delivery? But I dunno

 

[IDspud]

Loose components can cause variability in alignment so if everything is tight, adjust to slight tow out, about 1/8”. Tow in will dart, excessive tow out will dart. The darting is the skis fighting each other instead of working together.

 

[line8]

Darting is an alignment problem, not a cat problem.

I agree. I did have alignment issues when I didn’t know what that even meant in my early days. Later on, after I learned proper ski alignment, I also learned the cat skiis sucked(before g2) and immediately put the grippers on. Let’s be honest, they helped 100%, and these opinions are not current of course, ‘19 and prior.


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[IDspud]

Cat skis definitely suck.

 

[boondocker97]

How’s the best way to fix it? I wouldn’t be surprised if my dealer didn’t do anything at all to the sled before delivery? But I dunno

Get a long straight edge that will sit alongside the track and extend to the ski tip. I have a piece of 2"x2" aluminum angle iron that I keep in the shop for this.
1. Lift the rear of the sled with it running and spin the track so it can settle into it's running location and let it coast to a stop.
2. Drop the sled straight back on the ground.
3. Stand on the sled and set the handlebars straight. If you are by yourself you can use two tie down straps from the bars to the back of the running boards to hold the bars.
4. Lay the straight edge against the track.
5. Measure from the inside edge of the ski to the edge of the straight edge. Do this ahead of and behind the spindle at about the same distance from the spindle.
6. Adjust the tie rod until the ski is square with the straight edge.
7. Repeat for the other ski.
8. Now measure from inside of one ski to the other ahead and back of the spindle and compare measurements. Adjust both tie rods as close to the same amount as possible to achieve 0 - 1/8" toe out.

Check that the bars have stayed straight after each adjustment and before taking measurements. Make sure the straight edge stays tight up against the side of the track. If the straight edge is too short it makes it tough to get accurate measurements.

 

[Chewy22]

My daughter's catalyst doesn't dart. I have hard surfaced wear bars on it. Maybe different trail conditions. I didn't find anything i disliked. Maybe the running boards. I liked them but i broke them. Definitely not strong enough. They don't seem to slide around anymore than any other sled, which amazes me. We were riding on a foot of fresh with a slick layer below and bottomless under that. Everyone said it feels tiny. It feels like a sled to me. People griping about belt drive whine. Another nothing there. Gets even quieter when on gas. Bottom end is nothing to write home about. After that it runs great but I'm no 600 expert. Definitely rides better than ascender alpha, which was the worst ride out there on the trail. Steering ease is great but thought it would be better. Definitely needs better shocks but it's fine for my daughter. 24 155 9r with 325 felt like a boat anchor compared to catalyst when playing on steep sidehill. Didn't even want to ride 9r after riding catalyst. Wasn't sure what i thought of it, for most of the day, until i switched to the 9r. Then i was like wow. Just so you know i love the 9r. People talking about ski pressure. There is something there but have played with nothing. It sort of feels planted but it's not. Not sure how to describe it. Definitely an awesome sled. Goes anywhere anyone else did in this snow.

Finally a real world review. Thank you Terry! Snow sucks right now, IP is not good. Going to be a long rest of the winter and summer if it doesn’t start dumping.

 

[turboless terry]

Finally a real world review. Thank you Terry! Snow sucks right now, IP is not good. Going to be a long rest of the winter and summer if it doesn’t start dumping.

Snow depth, in ip, isnt so bad up top. 1 foot with slick layer under it but was perfect to see if it would wash out. Especially being a 146, i thought it would. I was completely wrong. The alpha, even sometimes, dogwalks a little. Even though it doesn't wash or goes straight across the sidehill. The catalyst did none of this. I did have the front pogo a couple times but equated that to ****ty shocks and snow conditions. The only thing I'm curious about is 154 vs 165. I liked my 19 165 better than my 2020 154 and I'm a 154 guy. 20 had elevate and was squirrely. I might do the demo.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

I think people are really going to like the new catalyst 858. Cat could make it a little easier to get exactly what you want but it’s still a good deal I think and it’s about the same with other brands it seems there’s allways a “I wish”

 

[sno*jet]

No Terry, it’s gonna wash…

 

[Hawkster]

Someone want to explain why a mountain ski has a wedge style heel on the bottom of the ski?

Maybe for driving straight? If anything alignment is a big factor.

 

[turboless terry]

No Terry, it’s gonna wash…

You are right. Just haven't seen it yet. It will not be as good as a 2 rail skid period. But if it's close, it will be better in other areas. I don't wear brand loyal blinders like some.

 

[IDspud]

Can you get a more accurate measurement?

 

[powdermuncher]

I will putt on a set of slydog powder hounds 8" I did run them from Yamahas to a my ski doo's and now on the Catalyst. Just waiting for mounting hardware.
For me they just flat out work. They are light and have enough difference in the shallow keel over other skis that they do not dart following an other sled - they float out of it. The extra flex and flotation also makes for way less damage as they skip over stuff that deep keel skis usually get snagged on. My Go to after market ski for sure.

 

[Hawkster]

Swapped out the springs on the front, had a set of stock g4 springs. Much happier, way more responsive to going side to side without burrowing the inside ski .
Stock one on the left, the other actually allows adjustment compared to what was without sacrificing height.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Take this with a grain of salt but I have never ever riden a ski door or a Polaris lol. Sunday I rode my catalyst half the day and a 23 skidoo 850 the other half. Guys are allway talking about steering effort and heavy skiis and I just don’t know what that is because I have such little experience. I did notice just how much easier it was to steer and tip the catalyst than the skidoo. Way easier and lighter feeling but the skidoo felt so much more planted and was actually easier to ride because I could just stand there . Things that would tip me down hill on the catalyst wouldn’t on the skidoo. It was harder for me to get on edge and carve on the skidoo but on the goat trails I didn’t have to do anything. Felt like cheating after all the English I had to use to get up them on the catalyst . I was a bit confused as to what I need to do to make my catalyst feel a bit more like the skidoo? In my un trained mind I want to tighten the left to right roll of the track but keep the skiis loose lol. Don’t think that’s an option so what should I do? I love the catalyst ease of steering and easy edge but hate how tippy “feeling” it is. Like simply off camber goat trail section needing to be wrong foot and feeling like iam going over down hill but not so much I feel a true edge is appropriate or really that easy? You know what I mean? I want to ride a polaris now lol. I still didn’t feel like the skidoo was better but was definitely uglier lol but I think maybe i need real suspension help to get a better start. In knee to waist deep kinda heavy snow and catalyst was so easy and stable but takes more of a. Exaggerated edge and falling on the side panel happens easyl