Bearcat 570

[eric3793]

Hi Air19. Happy New Year!

Thanks for all the weight research. The difference between the various models is remarkable. The Expedition 600 would be nice to try out. My wife could use a new sled but she is really hung up on the superlight Renegade. I cannot see her getting enthused about a sled 200 lbs. heavier that what she is on now. And I am not ready to give up on the VK. I pulled some 18" maples out of the woods over New Years which reminded me that weight and power is a good combination. I really love that motor.

We are headed up to St. Agatha in a few days for 1000 miles of trail riding. As long as I keep the beast on both skis, I'll be happy. I may swing by some of the shops up there to see what they have in stock...you never know.

 

[eric3793]

Hi Air19. Happy New Year!

Thanks for all the weight research. The difference between the various models is remarkable. The Expedition 600 would be nice to try out. My wife could use a new sled but she is really hung up on the superlight Renegade. I cannot see her getting enthused about a sled 200 lbs. heavier that what she is on now. And I am not ready to give up on the VK. I pulled some 18" maples out of the woods over New Years which reminded me that weight and power is a good combination. I really love that motor.

We are headed up to St. Agatha in a few days for 1000 miles of trail riding. As long as I keep the beast on both skis, I'll be happy. I may swing by some of the shops up there to see what they have in stock...you never know.

 

[crossbome]

Where the heck is Spring Lake, Maine?

 

[eric3793]

It is a small lake just north of Flagstaff Lake. We built a camp in '91 and love it for hunting, fishing and snowmobiling. ITS 89 runs within a mile of it between Eustis and Grand Falls. Check out springlakemaine.com

 

[eric3793]

Hey Eric,

I was checking out some dry weights on various websites:
Polaris Widetrack IQ - 730 lbs
Polaris 600 Widetrack IQ - 697 lbs
Skidoo Expedition 600 - 630 lbs
Skidoo Expedition 1200 - 690 lbs
Skidoo Skandic SWT 800 - 717 lbs
Artic Cat Bearcat Z1XT didn't have a weight on the website
and the heavy weight hog by a long shot, the Yamaha VK Pro - 782 lbs.

The Ski-Doo forum has lots of fans of the Expedition. Check out http://www.dootalk.com/forums/index.php?showforum=92
I noticed that my first utility sled, Polaris WT LX, is the lightest at 613. And I thought it was a tank! It has a reliable Fuji 488 liquid cooled that has been around for 25 years.


Lots of good discussion here. I think I may be the only user left who has a particular job that the VK Pro performs well with - pulling all day at slow speeds on predictable trail surfaces. I'm basically using my VK Pro for grooming 95% of the time and skidding logs or gathering firewood the rest of the time. For grooming I need a strong puller that doesn't overheat and after an extra $1000 spent on the second radiator I've got the cooling fixed. I also need good steering and improved floatation and I've fixed that with the superwide Flexi-skis another $400.

But like many of you I am waiting and hoping for improvements. Even on my predicatable ski trails where I am driving the same 20 miles every day I still have had a ski up in the air more than I wanted to as I did some drastic aerobatics to try avoid a tip. Once a month when it's tipped over and I'm thankful I haven't been caught underneath it yet, I don't even try to muscle this beast. I carry a come-along and straps all the time.

I hate all the ice building up in the tunnel. A couple times a week I pull it into a heated space to melt down all the accumulation.

I used to hate the shifting problems, but my dealer made adjustments on the chain tension and that is finally improved.

I'm hoping for two more years with the beast, that will be five and plenty of miles of grooming behind me. At that point I will probably make the switch over to an ATV with power steering and the latest track setup from Tatou. Many groomers have made the switch to Yamaha Grizzlys with EPS and are very happy with the results. It would work for me compared to some of you like Wayne because I'm always traveling at 20 mph or less and the tracked ATV can certainly do that. But I would miss the fun I always have when we get a foot of new powder and I can take the snowmobile out solo and pack trail before I hitch on a grooming implement. So I'm hoping in two years that I'll have better choices. But my hopes aren't high because I really don't want a new year model. It seems rare now a days for a first year sled introduction to come off successfully. And when it doesn't I haven't seen any manufacturers help out their customers. We will see. Again I have an easier dedicated use and after two years I know everything the VK can do and everything it can't.

Back to the original intent of this post...the Bearcat 570. I bet this would be an awesome sled with that 15"X151"X1.25" track. Too bad AC does not list weights because this looks to be in the 580 lb. range. You would need to build a rack and maybe add electric start. The gas tank is on the small side and the fan 570 is thirsty...probably good for 120 miles on groomed trails between fill-ups. Nice sled if you can get past that color...but that's just me. The price is right too.

 

[crossbome]

I just read a Canadian article that listed the 2009/2010 Bearcat Z1 at 340 kilos (or 750 pounds) dry. With 17.5 gallons of fuel on board that makes the machine wet at 859.4 pounds w/o driver or cargo.

I actually thought it was more than that!

 

[truth2ak]

4 stroke

I think if you are going to go with a long track wide track you might as well go with a 4 stroke. Especially the Bearcat anyway. If you get the weights on for example the XT 2 stroke and the Z-1 XT their is not much difference when you consider about a 500 cc increase the 4 stroke has over the 2 stroke. I notice that with the ski doo LT/WT machines the weight difference is even closer with the 4 strokes pumping about twice the HP.

 

[eric3793]

The Skidoo Expedition 600 etec is just over 600 pounds. The 4-stroke version is 60 pounds heavier. My VK is 750 or so. Big difference in handling and the lighter sled is much better in deep snow conditions. For pulling a groomer or large sled, the 4-strokes shine.

 

[pwa]

Sorry that you dont have Lynx Commander in US and Canada. I think its the very best WT out on the market for backcountry driving out in forrest.

The engine is 600 SDI, the weight is 593 lbs the math is 20" wide.

http://www.brplynx.com/sv/skotrar-2010/ ... 0-sdi.html


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[kotzebue]

Does anybody know the weight difference between the Bearcat 570 XT and the Bearcat Z1?
I like my vkpro, but I travel hundreds of miles to remote locations in NW Alaska - a 2 stroke is just safer when it's really cold...and a 17 gallon tank is a great concept.
I think somebody said a 2007 Bearcat weighs 560 lbs...if I had to estimate I'm guessing the new XT is maybe 650?

 

[yamahamaniac]

I'm a teen and like my powerful machines and not a utility machine but for a utility a flip up track would be a must. The new tundra may be a good machine for what you're looking for. It's light has a 500 engine and a pretty long track. I must say it doesn't look the best but I think it should perform well. For breaking the kind of roads you're talking about I would say the best thing is a mountain machine. I've tried breaking roads on dads skandic 600 and i hate it. When it wants to go out on it's side it's gone there's no stopping it. It was a hard task to do on dads for what's a very easy one on mine. In my opinion a mountain is the best for breaking roads against what 99% of all older people think.