Cat or Doo skid???

[4strokelover87]

So I did a search on which people like better, but they all seem to be pretty outdated and I found alot of work in progress threads and such. I want to go with either a Cat or SC-10III skid in my Warrior, and I'm looking for input as to which one is the better way to go. Also, for those who have experience with both, which is easier to install???

Thanks for any input here guys!! This is my summer update, so I will keep everyone posted!!!

Thanks!!!

 

[tkuss]

What cat skid?

 

[4strokelover87]

What cat skid?

Heck if I know!!!! Any recomendations???

 

[tkuss]

I would say if you upgrade your skid to any one, it should be pretty new, so you can hopefully notice a difference in ride over your last one. The latest cat skid in the F-Series sleds with the sliding front arm in suppose to ride awesome. I would go for that one over any other Cat skid.

 

[ahicks]

I would prefer the Cat over the Doo, but only because I'm more familiar? Would take the Poo over either for the same reason....

From what I can gather talking/working with a ton of guys that have done/are doing conversions the last few years - NOBODY misses the original suspension.

My point is, go with what you like/are familiar with. There are a bunch of guys doing these using skids from all the OEM's. I may be able to help you out once you settle down on what you'd like to do. Watch what shocks you're talking about as part of any purchase. They can represent the majority of the value when paying for the skid!

 

[4strokelover87]

I would prefer the Cat over the Doo, but only because I'm more familiar? Would take the Poo over either for the same reason....

From what I can gather talking/working with a ton of guys that have done/are doing conversions the last few years - NOBODY misses the original suspension.

My point is, go with what you like/are familiar with. There are a bunch of guys doing these using skids from all the OEM's. I may be able to help you out once you settle down on what you'd like to do. Watch what shocks you're talking about as part of any purchase. They can represent the majority of the value when paying for the skid!

I don't really have any experience with anything other than Yamaha, that's all I've ever owned, and that's why I'm looking for so much input on this!!! Thanks for the heads up on the shocks!! I'm not real sure what other OEM's use, but I will watch for certain shocks I recognize for sure!!!

 

[tkuss]

don't know what your budget is, but also look at aftermarket skids as well. AD Boivin Expert X's and ZX's are great skids that handle the big bumps very well. FAST M 10's are one, and probably thee smoothest riding skids out there, but just not as great in the big bumps. I got a good deal on a used ZX-2 early this year, and am super happy with it.

 

[4strokelover87]

don't know what your budget is, but also look at aftermarket skids as well. AD Boivin Expert X's and ZX's are great skids that handle the big bumps very well. FAST M 10's are one, and probably thee smoothest riding skids out there, but just not as great in the big bumps. I got a good deal on a used ZX-2 early this year, and am super happy with it.

Yeah, that's the problem is the budget...I don't want to dump upwards of $1300 on an M10, or I'd already have one on it....I rode sleddheadd's Warrior in Muni, and wow!!! He has an M10 on his!!! I've looked at the ZX-2's also, but it just seems like anyone with an M10 or ZX-2 doesn't want to get rid of them, or if they do, they ask close to new price anyway, so for a good used one you're still look at a grand....anyway....I just don't want to spend that, so I'm going to try to go with another OEM. Anything has to be better than the proaction. I'm actually looking at a 136" out of an '04 snopro with Fox shocks and only about 1,000 miles on it!! There are plenty of deals out there on Doo's too, that's why I'm looking for lots of opinions here!!!!

 

[kinger]

I had a polaris edge with a FOx PPS shock and it rode as good as a M10 no joke they are nice.

What are you looking for in a skid? Do you want to jump, handle trail chatter, big moguls, top speed, etc Do you want it to rail or wheelie. We can help you narrow it down. ahicks a good reference for OEM skids on the polaris side he helped me on my edge and fixed a problem I had when I installed it wrong, after that worked great.

Nothing makes the sled feel 200lbs lighter like the ZX2, seriously its worth every penny if you like to ride hard, jump, hit the moguls and in stock form is very tolerable on trail chatter. A revalve can be done to fix that as well. I too was opposed to a $1000 plus skid when so many OEMS are available chaper, but none of the conversions I rode made the sled 'feel' lighter like the ZX2 its amazing.

I have owned a edge conversion, rode a SCIII, and a F cat skid in a apex. All rode VERY nice but all the sleds felt way different then my ZX2 even the owners riding mine said it was amazing and wondered if I had a titanium chassis under the hood LOL. Two have since got a ZX2 and still cant beleive it.

I should work for Ad Bolvin! I'm skeptical about mods and would tell ya straight. The ZX2 is not perfect but its SOOOO close.

My complaints are:
-Bolt loosened up had to replace it at 2000 miles
-Coincedently to the bolt loosening the limit strap moved to one side causing the sled to twist to the left on hard take offs
-There is NO adjusting the revolver once you hit the trail, the ice builds up and some postions may work but I had to really work at getting the pin in the #1 postion in my heated shop! Took a 2x4 under the rear arm, and a LOT of grunt to make it work and ended with a little tappy tap from the rubber mallet.

I have a solution to each of the issues above so I think they are VERY minor. Also I never got 1000 miles on hyfax on ANY Sled or skid I just ride in crap too much, I have over 2500 miles on my ZX2 originals and got another year left!

 

[Mike Kroener]

I really don't have any experience with the doo skid, other than in a doo. The renegades (136" skids) with rebuildable shocks are excellent, but I wouldn't recommend an SC10 III with non rebuilable HPG shocks, or you will be paying through the nose for replacements.
The ultimate Doo skid is the SC10 IV or V, out of a 440 race sled. They have the ultra expensive piggy back shocks and are infinitely adjustable. If you can find one for under $800 complete and in good shape, you would be lucky. I looked for a year before going with the AC Crossfire skid.

The Crossfire skid is the same basic skid as the new style Fcat but without the sliding arm in the Front. The sliding arm is ultimately what gives the Fcat a more "cush" ride than the Crossfire. The Crossfire skid is 100% better in everything (stutters, G-outs, and big bumps) than the Electronic Ohlins mono with Hygear internals and springs that it replaced on my sled. I would recommend the Sno Pro skid because of the rebuildable Fox Zero Pro shocks, and heavier springs, which works well with Yammi's big waist line. The crossfire skid works GREAT in just about everything. Going from a 121 to a 136, I struggled for a while getting enough ski pressure to rail like it used to with the mono. A set of C & A pro skis, made light work of that. Now I have a sled that rails like a 121 and has the ride of a cat.....And I didn't have to recessitate my wallet when I was done.

With the crossfire skids you have to watch which year you get also. Some years do not have the coupler or transfer blocks. Mine is an 06 with the transfer blocks. I can set it up for excellent, ski raising weight transfer, or flip over the blocks and the skid is fully coupled and rails in the turns, and flattens out any bump you throw at it......the SC10's III through V have this feature as well. Without the couplers the ski would be in the air all the time...

If your decision is to go with the Cat skid, I can help walk you through it, and I believe there is a guy on here that put a similar Cat skid in his RX1 , Fullback, I think is his screen name.....

If you ask nicely I would venture to bet Ahicks would help with set up as well. He helped me out many times during my install, and I couldn't be happier with the results....

 

[4strokelover87]

I had a polaris edge with a FOx PPS shock and it rode as good as a M10 no joke they are nice.

What are you looking for in a skid? Do you want to jump, handle trail chatter, big moguls, top speed, etc Do you want it to rail or wheelie. We can help you narrow it down. ahicks a good reference for OEM skids on the polaris side he helped me on my edge and fixed a problem I had when I installed it wrong, after that worked great.

Nothing makes the sled feel 200lbs lighter like the ZX2, seriously its worth every penny if you like to ride hard, jump, hit the moguls and in stock form is very tolerable on trail chatter. A revalve can be done to fix that as well. I too was opposed to a $1000 plus skid when so many OEMS are available chaper, but none of the conversions I rode made the sled 'feel' lighter like the ZX2 its amazing.

I have owned a edge conversion, rode a SCIII, and a F cat skid in a apex. All rode VERY nice but all the sleds felt way different then my ZX2 even the owners riding mine said it was amazing and wondered if I had a titanium chassis under the hood LOL. Two have since got a ZX2 and still cant beleive it.

I should work for Ad Bolvin! I'm skeptical about mods and would tell ya straight. The ZX2 is not perfect but its SOOOO close.

My complaints are:
-Bolt loosened up had to replace it at 2000 miles
-Coincedently to the bolt loosening the limit strap moved to one side causing the sled to twist to the left on hard take offs
-There is NO adjusting the revolver once you hit the trail, the ice builds up and some postions may work but I had to really work at getting the pin in the #1 postion in my heated shop! Took a 2x4 under the rear arm, and a LOT of grunt to make it work and ended with a little tappy tap from the rubber mallet.

I have a solution to each of the issues above so I think they are VERY minor. Also I never got 1000 miles on hyfax on ANY Sled or skid I just ride in crap too much, I have over 2500 miles on my ZX2 originals and got another year left!

To answer the question of what I want it to do, I don't really do a whole lot of jumping, so that's not a big issue. What I want is something that will eat the little chatter AND the big G outs!!! I don't know if this is asking too much, but this is what I would like the find, the best combo of the two!!! Most of the time I ride only flat trails, but they can get chattery at times on the weekends. However, I also need it to handle the big stuff for the TY Muni rides!!! Nothin like two foot moguls!!!

I have looked into ZX-2, and although it looks very tempting, that's just a route I cannot take right now....thanks for the input though, Kinger!!!

 

[4strokelover87]

I really don't have any experience with the doo skid, other than in a doo. The renegades (136" skids) with rebuildable shocks are excellent, but I wouldn't recommend an SC10 III with non rebuilable HPG shocks, or you will be paying through the nose for replacements.
The ultimate Doo skid is the SC10 IV or V, out of a 440 race sled. They have the ultra expensive piggy back shocks and are infinitely adjustable. If you can find one for under $800 complete and in good shape, you would be lucky. I looked for a year before going with the AC Crossfire skid.

The Crossfire skid is the same basic skid as the new style Fcat but without the sliding arm in the Front. The sliding arm is ultimately what gives the Fcat a more "cush" ride than the Crossfire. The Crossfire skid is 100% better in everything (stutters, G-outs, and big bumps) than the Electronic Ohlins mono with Hygear internals and springs that it replaced on my sled. I would recommend the Sno Pro skid because of the rebuildable Fox Zero Pro shocks, and heavier springs, which works well with Yammi's big waist line. The crossfire skid works GREAT in just about everything. Going from a 121 to a 136, I struggled for a while getting enough ski pressure to rail like it used to with the mono. A set of C & A pro skis, made light work of that. Now I have a sled that rails like a 121 and has the ride of a cat.....And I didn't have to recessitate my wallet when I was done.

With the crossfire skids you have to watch which year you get also. Some years do not have the coupler or transfer blocks. Mine is an 06 with the transfer blocks. I can set it up for excellent, ski raising weight transfer, or flip over the blocks and the skid is fully coupled and rails in the turns, and flattens out any bump you throw at it......the SC10's III through V have this feature as well. Without the couplers the ski would be in the air all the time...

If your decision is to go with the Cat skid, I can help walk you through it, and I believe there is a guy on here that put a similar Cat skid in his RX1 , Fullback, I think is his screen name.....

If you ask nicely I would venture to bet Ahicks would help with set up as well. He helped me out many times during my install, and I couldn't be happier with the results....

Thanks for the input, Mike!!!

I am actually looking at an '04 Crossfire Sno Pro skid with Fox Zero Pro shocks. However, I'm not sure if the '04 has the trasfer blocks you speak of....the guy says it only has 800 miles on it, and he is wanting $750 for it. Seems a bit high to me, but then again if he's right on the mileage and with the Fox shocks, might not be too bad, about $250 more than the max I want to spend is the only problem.

I also am looking at two Doo skids. One is an '04 SC-10 3 out of a Renegade. It has about 4000 miles on it and he says it's in good shape. Original shocks. He wants $300 shipped.

The other one is an '06 SC-10 4 with about 1200 miles on it. It also has stock shocks, whatever they may be, and seems to be in very good shape. I haven't got quite as much info on this one yet. He is wanting $350 plus shipping, but seems to be a bit flexible on the price, I could probably get this one for $350 shipped.

I don't know which route I'm going to take, still kinda lookin around....I like the Cat skid I found with low miles and the Fox shocks and all, but I can't spend that kind of money. I'm kinda leanin towards one of these Doos, and between the two, probably the SC-10 4. With only a $50 price difference, it would be worth having the next generation, two years newer, and quite a few less miles. I have been discussing all this with Rockmiester as well, and I'm am waiting on a response from him to see what he thinks of the stock shocks because I'm pretty sure that's what he has in his SC10 3 under his Warrior.

Thanks for the input, any other suggestions/ideas appreciated!!!

 

[sleddheadd]

Wow! the guy goes on one TY ride and now he is doing all of these mods to his sled! lol.... it almost gets addicting doesn't it! I'm kind of partial to the M-10 and do not have any experiance with anything else besides strock. let me know if you need a hand throwing the new skid in! I'll run down for the weekend and help you out!

 

[4strokelover87]

Wow! the guy goes on one TY ride and now he is doing all of these mods to his sled! lol.... it almost gets addicting doesn't it! I ma kind of partial to the M-10 and do not have any experiance with anything else besides strock. let me know if you need a hand throwing the new skid in! I'll run down for the weekend and help you out!

Hey thanks for the offer sleddheadd!!!! I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but I think I have a little time!!! I want to take my time finding/buying one and try to get the best deal on the best skid I can!!!! But I will definetly keep that in mind!!! I would most likely go M10 after riding yours, but pocket book sure as hell ain't gonna let me!!! lol...

Your right, it is addicting!!!! However, in my defense, I had already decided I was going to do something with the skid, whether it me shocks or an upgrade long before now!!!! And the rough trails in Muni put the icing on the cake of that decision!!! So as I started digging in to it and looking around on here a bit, it sounded like it really isn't that hard to swap skids and definetly not any more expensive than shock upgrades!!!! Actually, it's probably going to end up being much cheaper, and I will have a fully adjustable skid and benefit from the mod much more than just some new shocks!!!! Those trails in Muni killed my back, the stutters and the big G-outs!!! If we're going to keep having TY rides in Muni, I have to do something!!!!

Well, thanks for the offer and I will keep everyone posted!!! Looks like people are leaning towards Cat, but I haven't quite decided yet!!!!

Later

 

[04rxw10]

Wow! the guy goes on one TY ride and now he is doing all of these mods to his sled! lol.... it almost gets addicting doesn't it! I'm kind of partial to the M-10 and do not have any experiance with anything else besides strock. let me know if you need a hand throwing the new skid in! I'll run down for the weekend and help you out!

Yes it is addicting I only went to one ride as well the Give Away ride and have started to tear into mine as well.

Im going with the SC3 121 extending it to a 136 in my sled as well but i also got a pair of ryde fx shocks that need rebuild for the skid cheap.