Catalyst 998t rumours

[Upstater57]

IMHO building an engine to equal the 998 now that they know what to strive for would be fairly easy task this day and age. 998 is in its 8th year in the sleds , been a great motor but could be matched in a heart beat, possibly bettered.

Sadly, the marketplace numbers for Tcats and Sidewinders cannot sustain the cost of making a special built engine and triple 4 strokes are expensive. The base engine needs to be made in large enough numbers to provide enough ROI to the manufacturer. I would bet that component cost is the most important factor not performance. Sleds that cost 22-23K are not sustainable. I would expect the next time we see sleds with the power of a boosted 998 will have electric motors.

 

[74Nitro]

I personally haven't seen 1 Sidewinder I've come across over the past 7-8 years that has not been tuned. That tells me that "most" want to go fast. If you don't want to go fast there are many other slow options out there.

I service plenty of Winders, and many are not tuned.

 

[sideshowBob]

Four SWs in our current regular riding group right now...2 tuned...2 completely stock.

 

[hibshman25]

A 998 in a Matryx chassis may work well? I'm told it's out there and Yamaha is willing to deal.

Polaris sure could use a good 4 stroke. My prostar 4 stroke is downright pathetic.

 

[biffdotorg]

Sadly, the marketplace numbers for Tcats and Sidewinders cannot sustain the cost of making a special built engine and triple 4 strokes are expensive. The base engine needs to be made in large enough numbers to provide enough ROI to the manufacturer. I would bet that component cost is the most important factor not performance. Sleds that cost 22-23K are not sustainable. I would expect the next time we see sleds with the power of a boosted 998 will have electric motors.

This engine will still be part of the engine supplier agreement in the NA form for the Wildcat XX. Which just so happens to be the same as the YXZ, so the engine will be produced plenty.

The Wildcat XX has been overdue for a revamp as well. Customers are begging for the 998T in that wildcat xx since it's release. And AC needs to build that machine to compete with the likes of Polaris and BRP's latest offerings. Riding in a Wildcat XX with a boosted 998 is unbelievable. It truly is a trail weapon in NA form, let alone boosted.

 

[vmxrdr]

Couple weeks ago before the melt that finished the season in Quebec we spent a week in Mont Valin area. Amazing riding area I highly recommend by the way. One observation I made is that before Yamaha bowed out of sled market they succeeded in changing the performance trail riding part of the industry. Big fast trails that are kind of hard to get to so the guys riding there are serious. If you added up Tcats, Winders and Skidoo turbos we saw they easily outnumbered all the two strokes. Lots of the Yamacats had oversized muffler outlet pipes so big percentage are tuned. Not looking for oil and stress free high speed trail touring is what our sleds are made for. I honestly blame the brain trust at Yamaha for their lack lustre sales and inevitable exit from the industry. No innovations since 2017 and lazy marketing spelled their demise. Skidootrax tv dissed on the crazy weight of our sleds for years with no response even in social media from Yamaha. Lo and behold a fully loaded Doo two stroke 850 weighs 30 lbs less than the Yamacat one tons in reality? Who knew. Shooting the #*$&@ with a Winder guy from Maine at Lor Piste resort summed it up succinctly. He said in front of all his Doo buds that his favourite thing about eco tuned Winder is that it drove his buds crazy that he can reel them in and leave them for dead whenever he wants lol. His buddy on 24 850 XRS chimes in and says sure they are fast but do you even know what those pigs weigh? I got my best smartass know it all out and said as a matter of fact I do know. 30 more lbs than your two smoker. He said I was full of #*$&@ and went into the restaurant. Old rumours die hard. Skidootrax recently gave last Winder xtx a pretty positive review. Skidoo and Lynx guys are starting to ride off trail on turbo four strokes so here we are you can actually ride a powerful four stroke sled off trail? Janzkak already proved Winders aren’t bad in deep snow. You watch their Yamaha crossover reviews from yrs ago and the small digs about four strokes being totally unsuited for off trail were nonstop. Lynx and Doo start doing it and suddenly it’s okay. Big marketing dollars really do steer the industry. Sorry for long winded grump session

 

[fxnytrortxkid]

A 998 in a Matryx chassis may work well? I'm told it's out there and Yamaha is willing to deal.

Could hope. That would be my next dream combo. But a 850 is 20-22k a 9r is 23-24k and boost is 24-25k. What would thus new sidewinder Polaris be 27-28k?

 

[RAMSOMAIR]

$30K

 

[STAIN]

Could hope. That would be my next dream combo. But a 850 is 20-22k a 9r is 23-24k and boost is 24-25k. What would thus new sidewinder Polaris be 27-28k?

not a big fan of that chassis. Ridden @8 of them in various lenth's, I dont really care for them.

 

[fxnytrortxkid]

$30K

lol right. That needs to stop before Industry implodes

 

[RAMSOMAIR]

It has begun.

 

[NYTurbo]

With tax in Canada their already at the $30k mark. Too much for a sled IMHO with the limited ride time these days.

 

[KnappAttack]

However, the days of full MSRP priced sleds is behind us again with the poor winter we are coming off from. I see all kinds of new machines for less then used sleds were going for just a year or two ago. Lots of good deals out there right now on new or low mile Winders and Cats. Same for Poo's and Doo's. Auto prices have also come wayyyy down too so the markets are now stabilizing.

I remember back in 78 when the a Yamaha SRX was like $2400 and my Dad thought that was absolutely F'n crazy, but it's all relative really. For comparison, $2,400 in 1978 is worth $11,423.04 today, would you give that much for that old technology today in comparison to the offerings of todays SRX? That old 78, does it really have $11,423.04 worth of value to offer in todays dollar? I know I would not want one to ride at half the cost of the 24 SRX if it was offered.

A new Corvette was about $9,500 for comparison in 78, a 78 Camaro was about $4,500. Dad thought all these prices were stupid high. Now look at where the pricing on all these items have gone.....

I just looked up the average 78 salary and found it was $13,500 depending on where you look, and adjusted for inflation thats $65,204.91 in 2023. Funny how people have said the same thing over and over for years how the price of things is getting crazy. Guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.... I too think the pricing is getting to high, and it really was during the COVID period, but seeing the DEALS out there right now this spring, they are really really good if one wanted a newer machine.

 

[fxnytrortxkid]

However, the days of full MSRP priced sleds is behind us again with the poor winter we are coming off from. I see all kinds of new machines for less then used sleds were going for just a year or two ago. Lots of good deals out there right now on new or low mile Winders and Cats. Same for Poo's and Doo's. Auto prices have also come wayyyy down too so the markets are now stabilizing.

I remember back in 78 when the a Yamaha SRX was like $2400 and my Dad thought that was absolutely F'n crazy, but it's all relative really. For comparison, $2,400 in 1978 is worth $11,423.04 today, would you give that much for that old technology today in comparison to the offerings of todays SRX? That old 78, does it really have $11,423.04 worth of value to offer in todays dollar? I know I would not want one to ride at half the cost of the 24 SRX if it was offered.

A new Corvette was about $9,500 for comparison in 78, a 78 Camaro was about $4,500. Dad thought all these prices were stupid high. Now look at where the pricing on all these items have gone.....

I just looked up the average 78 salary and found it was $13,500 depending on where you look, and adjusted for inflation thats $65,204.91 in 2023. Funny how people have said the same thing over and over for years how the price of things is getting crazy. Guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.... I too think the pricing is getting to high, and it really was during the COVID period, but seeing the DEALS out there right now this spring, they are really really good if one wanted a newer machine.

Correct but we now have vehicles that cost our yearly salaries that are the avg vehicle, homes are now 4-5x your salary, we add in cable, internet, cell phone that were never even a thing then that cost about 3-400 a month combined. Travel distances to buy things have increased so yearly driving is way up on average because local dept stores are not a thing any longer and you need to go to nearest city for a mall or strip mall. Just alot of little stuff tacked in as well as the prices.

 

[Simplespeed]

However, the days of full MSRP priced sleds is behind us again with the poor winter we are coming off from. I see all kinds of new machines for less then used sleds were going for just a year or two ago. Lots of good deals out there right now on new or low mile Winders and Cats. Same for Poo's and Doo's. Auto prices have also come wayyyy down too so the markets are now stabilizing.

I remember back in 78 when the a Yamaha SRX was like $2400 and my Dad thought that was absolutely F'n crazy, but it's all relative really. For comparison, $2,400 in 1978 is worth $11,423.04 today, would you give that much for that old technology today in comparison to the offerings of todays SRX? That old 78, does it really have $11,423.04 worth of value to offer in todays dollar? I know I would not want one to ride at half the cost of the 24 SRX if it was offered.

A new Corvette was about $9,500 for comparison in 78, a 78 Camaro was about $4,500. Dad thought all these prices were stupid high. Now look at where the pricing on all these items have gone.....

I just looked up the average 78 salary and found it was $13,500 depending on where you look, and adjusted for inflation thats $65,204.91 in 2023. Funny how people have said the same thing over and over for years how the price of things is getting crazy. Guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.... I too think the pricing is getting to high, and it really was during the COVID period, but seeing the DEALS out there right now this spring, they are really really good if one wanted a newer machine.

Yup there are good deals on new sleds if you can find a dealer willing to part with a sled at lower than current market prices and in my case a price lower than he had in it or so they stated.. Iam guilty of stating that most sleds are overpriced and we are not making a smart investment when we support these overpriced machines, but life is short and as we age its all about living life to the fullest .. Whats even more ironic is spending another couple of thousand on a tune and parts to go with that… Now times it all by two … Two Winders in my case… Both still stock but seriously thinking of tuning one of them… Talk about Looney Tunes ……lol…