2020 Sidewinder or Tcat?

[GoFast4me]

I suppose for some the question is not popular.

I am weighing my options before making a commitment.

Rode a 2019 SRX for 60 trail miles hard and loved it thus the desire to get another 4 stroke and ditch my 2017 AC ZR 8000 2 stroke. Which is up for sale now. Before that I had an 2011 Apex SE. Also rode the doo 850 and still prefer the 4 stroke engine decompression braking and smoothness. Much easier to ride the 4 stroke hard and longer distances for me anyway. I want the 1" to 1.5" drop of the SRX.

Any comments on 1" lugs vs. 1.25" vs 1.6" lugs? I like corner rotation on trails and only ride trails.

Anyway the present spring order results in about a $2,300 difference in price. This can be chalked up to in part the warranty/extended service. This leaves approximately a $700 gap between the two.

In theory the SW has a better clutch but after reading through that thread it is questionable.

I am not necessarily a brand loyalist or hater. Either sled offers a disappointing color choice. A wrap can fix that though.

I have seen varying opinions on the YES with regard lack of honoring the YES agreement.

Is there any compelling changes to the 2020's or other verifiable features etc. That would drive the decision one way or the other? Please offer your constructive comments and opinions.

 

[Pstn head]

IMO If it's that little in price difference I'd go with the Yamaha for its warranty, amongst other things. the 1" track works awesome on trail and can rotate the sled into a turn like a professional rally racer doing a " Swedish flick" with ease. Studding the 1" track helps with traction when getting down to the base

 

[mario750]

Warranty is pretty much useless if you going to flash it. I’ve spoke with a CAT representative in Old Fordge this weekend about changes from ‘19 to ‘20 , and he said that they change front suspension , front arm in skid got changed, and they added on electronic suspension a pre set functions. For money I think that a TCat is better choice.

 

[lilrez]

Clutch theory?
My theory is i have read way more negative posts about the +17 yam clutches vs team clutches.

Pick the colour you like that matches your snow suit and ride it.

 

[Big_Phil]

$700 difference I would go with the Yamaha. $2300 I would go with the cat no question. Also, dealer does make a difference. I could have bought a Cat LTD for cheaper than my winder, but it was from a dealer 5 hours away vs the Yamaha Dealer 20 minutes from me that I have been dealing with for years. I went with my local dealer.

 

[ROCKERDAN]

I suppose for some the question is not popular.

I am weighing my options before making a commitment.

Rode a 2019 SRX for 60 trail miles hard and loved it thus the desire to get another 4 stroke and ditch my 2017 AC ZR 8000 2 stroke. Which is up for sale now. Before that I had an 2011 Apex SE. Also rode the doo 850 and still prefer the 4 stroke engine decompression braking and smoothness. Much easier to ride the 4 stroke hard and longer distances for me anyway. I want the 1" to 1.5" drop of the SRX.

Any comments on 1" lugs vs. 1.25" vs 1.6" lugs? I like corner rotation on trails and only ride trails.

Anyway the present spring order results in about a $2,300 difference in price. This can be chalked up to in part the warranty/extended service. This leaves approximately a $700 gap between the two.

In theory the SW has a better clutch but after reading through that thread it is questionable.

I am not necessarily a brand loyalist or hater. Either sled offers a disappointing color choice. A wrap can fix that though.

I have seen varying opinions on the YES with regard lack of honoring the YES agreement.

Is there any compelling changes to the 2020's or other verifiable features etc. That would drive the decision one way or the other? Please offer your constructive comments and opinions.

For the lowered ride height you only have the SRX or Tcat for 2020....you have only a 1" track option on each sled so no 1.25 or 1.6"..... The Tcat has a rip2(1") track for 2020 which IMO will outlast the traditional Rip1(1") style track on the SRX. Both have the NEW front end with 1.5'' more space below the lower A arms (advanced roll center). Probably the biggest difference in performance to consider is the difference in GEARING.....24/50 Cat vs 21/41 SRX so the Cat will tap out around 119mph or so, while the SRX should tap out around 126mph all things being perfect(IE: ICE runs or runs with the wind, or TUNED)

If you want a quiet idling sled, buy the Cat as the TEAM will have very little rattle noise vs the VERY VERY LOUD at idle Winder clutch.

Color choice is what would sway most here between these two models....Black Tcat with green and some seriously ugly colored spindles and skid(no wrap will help) vs the SRX which looks great if you like Black. Personally I would go with the LE or GT or SE before I would another black sled but that is just me. Blue is what SRX should always be IMO.

As for Warranty, the Tcat with incredible spring order only pricing will come with the basic 1 yr warranty at this price point, where all YAMS during spring order will come with 5 year warranty total(1+4YES). My dealer says many items are easier to get thru on warranty using YES, While certain items like my new shock which got replaced he said was best to put it thru season 1 while under YAM warranty. I just got an entire new chaincase due to failure of roller, and YES covered it. Tunes will void warranty for certain items that directly correlate to the failure. Many things YAM and YES consider to be wear items, but some dealers are better then others when it comes to covering things,and so this should be a major consideration. My dealer sells both so Im lucky.

For me the HUGE difference is the cost for 202o......

MSRP(USD)
$17,999 SRX(iQS)
$14495 Tcat(iACT)
$13,995 Tcat(Qs3 manual)


Difference between Tcat and SRX is $3504 on paper. Most dealers will pull approx 2k or a tad more off a SRX MSRP. This would put the SRX around 16k.

So $1505 more in reality for the SRX vs Tcat. You will also get a 5 yr warranty included. So in the end, the Tcat is cheaper but SRX is likely a better value and WINDERS bring more resale over the Cats im finding. Im not sure what 4 additional yrs of warranty would cost or if its even available from Cat, but for many its not even worth it. Depends how long you keep sleds I guess. I got the 5 yr warranty thrown into my deal 2 yrs ago. Otherwise Id likely not pay extra for it.

For me I like the Blue/Orange for color best. Still not an all blue SRX which I loved, and since I have red currently Im not really wanting another(GT) even though the GT is really the best deal and in season too. With the SE Ill add three Qs3 shocks and add some more blue panels to get it how I like. And be quite abit cheaper then the SRX which has less travel for bumps, and a 1" track I dont want these days. And one less thing to go bad with simple manual adjust shocks.

Dan

New Tcat 1" track for 2020

 

[Mototown]

Just looking at the two I would pick black , I'm interested in seeing the black SRX at the show

 

[BTP]

Cat no question.... I have an 18 and a 19 so I guess its not a fair answer.

I can say I have had zero clutch, belt or chain case issues.

 

[NYTurbo]

X2 The price difference makes it a no brainer. Many sidewinder guys are switching unless the Yamaha prices drop.

 

[SLOMO]

I would say depends on who gives you your best price, which dealer you have a better repore with, it’s not a matter of if you need warranty work but when you do who will take care of you better. Around my area there is no point in having warranty with Yamaha as it’s either wear item or they find some ridiculous reason to say it’s not covered but cat will not even question it and just replaces.

 

[SqueezeER]

But they both have that?

Warranty is pretty much useless if you going to flash it. I’ve spoke with a CAT representative in Old Fordge this weekend about changes from ‘19 to ‘20 , and he said that they change front suspension , front arm in skid got changed, and they added on electronic suspension a pre set functions. For money I think that a TCat is better choice.

 

[ROCKERDAN]

But they both have that?

LOL....

ALSO I dont think any changes in front arm were done, dealer may have been talking about how the Tcat/SRX have lowered suspension using dual stage springs or softer torsions.

Dan

 

[SqueezeER]

Warranty.

X2 The price difference makes it a no brainer. Many sidewinder guys are switching unless the Yamaha prices drop.

 

[SumpBuster]

For the lowered ride height you only have the SRX or Tcat for 2020....you have only a 1" track option on each sled so no 1.25 or 1.6"..... The Tcat has a rip2(1") track for 2020 which IMO will outlast the traditional Rip1(1") style track on the SRX. Both have the NEW front end with 1.5'' more space below the lower A arms (advanced roll center). Probably the biggest difference in performance to consider is the difference in GEARING.....24/50 Cat vs 21/41 SRX so the Cat will tap out around 119mph or so, while the SRX should tap out around 126mph all things being perfect(IE: ICE runs or runs with the wind, or TUNED)

If you want a quiet idling sled, buy the Cat as the TEAM will have very little rattle noise vs the VERY VERY LOUD at idle Winder clutch.

Color choice is what would sway most here between these two models....Black Tcat with green and some seriously ugly colored spindles and skid(no wrap will help) vs the SRX which looks great if you like Black. Personally I would go with the LE or GT or SE before I would another black sled but that is just me. Blue is what SRX should always be IMO.

As for Warranty, the Tcat with incredible spring order only pricing will come with the basic 1 yr warranty at this price point, where all YAMS during spring order will come with 5 year warranty total(1+4YES). My dealer says many items are easier to get thru on warranty using YES, While certain items like my new shock which got replaced he said was best to put it thru season 1 while under YAM warranty. I just got an entire new chaincase due to failure of roller, and YES covered it. Tunes will void warranty for certain items that directly correlate to the failure. Many things YAM and YES consider to be wear items, but some dealers are better then others when it comes to covering things,and so this should be a major consideration. My dealer sells both so Im lucky.

For me the HUGE difference is the cost for 202o......

MSRP(USD)
$17,999 SRX(iQS)
$14495 Tcat(iACT)
$13,995 Tcat(Qs3 manual)


Difference between Tcat and SRX is $3504 on paper. Most dealers will pull approx 2k or a tad more off a SRX MSRP. This would put the SRX around 16k.

So $1505 more in reality for the SRX vs Tcat. You will also get a 5 yr warranty included. So in the end, the Tcat is cheaper but SRX is likely a better value and WINDERS bring more resale over the Cats im finding. Im not sure what 4 additional yrs of warranty would cost or if its even available from Cat, but for many its not even worth it. Depends how long you keep sleds I guess. I got the 5 yr warranty thrown into my deal 2 yrs ago. Otherwise Id likely not pay extra for it.

For me I like the Blue/Orange for color best. Still not an all blue SRX which I loved, and since I have red currently Im not really wanting another(GT) even though the GT is really the best deal and in season too. With the SE Ill add three Qs3 shocks and add some more blue panels to get it how I like. And be quite abit cheaper then the SRX which has less travel for bumps, and a 1" track I dont want these days. And one less thing to go bad with simple manual adjust shocks.

Dan

View attachment 147234
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New Tcat 1" track for 2020
View attachment 147237

Rode through some fresh spread manure the other day, so the cat spindles and sliderails would have matched nicely!

 

[ROCKERDAN]

Rode through some fresh spread manure the other day, so the cat spindles and sliderails would have matched nicely!

Yeah I am keeping eye on Tcat myself.....Pricing is hard to pass up, but I want to see the suspension color in person. I have a feeling the color will look good in person, maybe a gold/brass or whatever it is. I recall BRP did that many moons ago on their first Rmotion i think it was. So it might look great, but the pics sure are bad ....lol