2020 Release

[Dan177]

Textron won’t and can’t sell off the snowmobile division of Arctic Cat it was put in place back when Cat started the tiger shark watercraft that if the Artco corporation ( the name Arctic Cat retuned with in 84 after Arctic Enterprises closed the company because of bankruptcy ) and again renamed to Arctic Cat Incorporated that in the event of filling bankruptcy or a buy out the manufacturing facility’s and all product lines must remain as one ( doesn’t mean they can’t rename the different products ) but they can’t sell one off to benefit from another product line it was posted in every major snowmobile magazine that year during the renaming at wall street for Arctic Cat being listed on the New York stock exchange

 

[T-Bone]

I will say I have not had to carry my sled around so I am good with it.
So far I have put 700 miles on my XTX in two weekends and love it, weight not once seem to be an issue.

Any sled you have to carry is going to be heavy. Take two sleds. One weighs 700lbs and the other one weighs 500lbs. Everything else is equal. what sled do you want to ride? You can say you don't notice the weight, but you can't defy physics. Simply, it takes more energy to ride the sled that weighs 700lbs. The weight issue is one thing that Yamaha has seemed to ignore and its partially responsible for their lack of sales, especially in the mountain segment. Yamaha doesn't need to make it a featherweight, but my Apex XTX with topped off fluids, studs, snow trackers, and a nose bag full of stuff weighed nearly 700 lbs. They have to do better than that. It was the best sled I have ever owned, but imagine if they could shed even 150 lbs. I could lose some weight, but not that much.

 

[Dan177]

Yamaha can build ATVs 200 pounds plus lighter than can am or Polaris I’m know they can make a sled close to the similar weight of ski doo and Polaris

 

[Sasquatch]

Any sled you have to carry is going to be heavy. Take two sleds. One weighs 700lbs and the other one weighs 500lbs. Everything else is equal. what sled do you want to ride? You can say you don't notice the weight, but you can't defy physics. Simply, it takes more energy to ride the sled that weighs 700lbs. The weight issue is one thing that Yamaha has seemed to ignore and its partially responsible for their lack of sales, especially in the mountain segment. Yamaha doesn't need to make it a featherweight, but my Apex XTX with topped off fluids, studs, snow trackers, and a nose bag full of stuff weighed nearly 700 lbs. They have to do better than that. It was the best sled I have ever owned, but imagine if they could shed even 150 lbs. I could lose some weight, but not that much.

Yamaha has discontinued their sled lineup. Now the Cat Sidewinder is not a light sled either, even the Cat 800 is heavier by a long shot then the Doo. So Yamaha did jump ship but not to a lighter sled.

 

[Deeppow16]

Any sled you have to carry is going to be heavy. Take two sleds. One weighs 700lbs and the other one weighs 500lbs. Everything else is equal. what sled do you want to ride? You can say you don't notice the weight, but you can't defy physics. Simply, it takes more energy to ride the sled that weighs 700lbs. The weight issue is one thing that Yamaha has seemed to ignore and its partially responsible for their lack of sales, especially in the mountain segment. Yamaha doesn't need to make it a featherweight, but my Apex XTX with topped off fluids, studs, snow trackers, and a nose bag full of stuff weighed nearly 700 lbs. They have to do better than that. It was the best sled I have ever owned, but imagine if they could shed even 150 lbs. I could lose some weight, but not that much.

This is very true. I just got home from riding in West Yellowstone for 6 days and I only saw 2 Yamaha's out of the hundreds of sleds I saw. There is a reason for that, Weight! They need to get lighter in order to compete plain and simple.

 

[Deeppow16]

Yamaha has discontinued their sled lineup. Now the Cat Sidewinder is not a light sled either, even the Cat 800 is heavier by a long shot then the Doo. So Yamaha did jump ship but not to a lighter sled.

The new Alpha is actually lighter then the new Summits. Also another thing people don't think about is how much snow sticks to your sled. That's all extra weight you need to carry around. The Alpha has almost zero snow that sticks to it. The snow really builds up on the back of the summit because of the heat exchanger. The snow builds up on the new 850 Polaris running boards pretty bad. I know this because I rode with all 3 of them for 6 days last week. I also rode all 3 and the alpha was hands down the lightest feeling sled on the hill. So Arctic Cat is on the right path the weight savings at least in the mountain segment they are.

 

[03RX1-ER-LE]

This is very true. I just got home from riding in West Yellowstone for 6 days and I only saw 2 Yamaha's out of the hundreds of sleds I saw. There is a reason for that, Weight! They need to get lighter in order to compete plain and simple.

I seen your thread and it looked like you had a lot of fun and seems like a young mans adventure. I will say when younger it did not bother me to dig out a sled, would have liked to try the powder back then. Now if I get stuck, or even someone else I help out, even taking it slow and easy, no matter how light their sled is I feel like I am going to die digging a sled out.
I will stick to groomed trails and hope I never have to use my bungee and/or dig out again.

 

[Deeppow16]

I seen your thread and it looked like you had a lot of fun and seems like a young mans adventure. I will say when younger it did not bother me to dig out a sled, would have liked to try the powder back then. However now if I get stuck, or even someone else I help out, even taking it slow and easy, no matter how light their sled is I feel like I am going to die digging a sled out.
I will stick to groomed trails and hope I never have to use my bungee and/or dig out again.

It was a blast. Best riding I have ever experienced. For me its not the weight of the sled when stuck. They actually move around easier then you think in all that powder plus I have a few techniques to make it easier to get sleds unstuck. The hard part for me is walking around in chest deep snow. Its a bear if you have to walk any distance especially at 8-10K ft.

 

[blueironranger]

Yamaha can build ATVs 200 pounds plus lighter than can am or Polaris I’m know they can make a sled close to the similar weight of ski doo and Polaris

Thumper vs Twin + all the beefier components to support big twins and they reuse the same chassis and HD components on their single cylinder models. BUT that's the reason why I won't buy anything but a Honda or Yamaha ATV, they are very nimble and agile compared to the rest with plenty of power for my needs.

 

[rtx moose]

"Dam those sleds are light." Words you will never hear in the same sentence as "Yamaha"!

Agree,there is always trade offs from one sled to another

 

[03RX1-ER-LE]

Thumper vs Twin + all the beefier components to support big twins and they reuse the same chassis and HD components on their single cylinder models. BUT that's the reason why I won't buy anything but a Honda or Yamaha ATV, they are very nimble and agile compared to the rest with plenty of power for my needs.

I have a Warrior (mine) and Bear tracker (wife's) and they are great ATV's for sure.

 

[Sasquatch]

The new Alpha is actually lighter then the new Summits. Also another thing people don't think about is how much snow sticks to your sled. That's all extra weight you need to carry around. The Alpha has almost zero snow that sticks to it. The snow really builds up on the back of the summit because of the heat exchanger. The snow builds up on the new 850 Polaris running boards pretty bad. I know this because I rode with all 3 of them for 6 days last week. I also rode all 3 and the alpha was hands down the lightest feeling sled on the hill. So Arctic Cat is on the right path the weight savings at least in the mountain segment they are.

Yep the single rail skid will work well in a mountain sled. Carving will be great with the single rail I would think. On the trail I think it will be like the twin rail where they left off the outside idler wheels, and then built a kit to add the wheels back. For the trail I would think it will be more apt to roll in the corners. Now you say its lighter then say it feels lighter. What is the actual weight? I think my Apex feels light on the trail but we all know it is a heavy sled.

 

[Deeppow16]

Yep the single rail skid will work well in a mountain sled. Carving will be great with the single rail I would think. On the trail I think it will be like the twin rail where they left off the outside idler wheels, and then built a kit to add the wheels back. For the trail I would think it will be more apt to roll in the corners. Now you say its lighter then say it feels lighter. What is the actual weight? I think my Apex feels light on the trail but we all know it is a heavy sled.

Let me rephrase that. Its already lighter then the ski-doo but its heavier then the Polaris so I guess when riding it, it feels lighter then the Polaris. Another big thing I noticed when riding all three... Having an 850cc motor was pointless IMO. The 800 cat could go more places then the 850's could. Believe me I rode all 3 sleds back to back up the same hills. I see no need for cat to put out a larger motor in their sleds. The Alpha was just a better sled. Now its no trail sled that's for sure. It handles a little rough on the trail but then again its not made for it.

 

[Sasquatch]

It was a blast. Best riding I have ever experienced. For me its not the weight of the sled when stuck. They actually move around easier then you think in all that powder plus I have a few techniques to make it easier to get sleds unstuck. The hard part for me is walking around in chest deep snow. Its a bear if you have to walk any distance especially at 8-10K ft.

When stuck in the off trail I use a Manitoba technique to get out. Works well when your by yourself, course deepest I've been stuck in is waist deep snow. I did jump off my RX Warrior once to relieve myself and sunk to my bellybutton. I had to scoop out a hole to do my thing, getting back on the sled was fun but I just rode off (not stuck in 4ft of snow) after I finally crawled up on it and no I like trails not the steep and deep but sometimes you do fall off them.

 

[rla1]

alpha 165 track full coolant and 2s oil, gas drained out 475 lbs weighed by country cat