Have you guys heard this news about Arctic Cat?

[OVR4D]

Seeing the specs on Cat's site I wouldn't call the Blast a kids sled. The 4000M has a 15 x 146 x 2 inch track. I'd like to see a photo of the Blast along side a full size sled for size comparison. But I think the Blast is going to be bigger than what most think of when they think of a mid-size sled. The Blast ZR has a 14 x 121 x 1 inch track with a 2.52 pitch ... the exact same as the Phazer trail sled. With that in mind MAYBE the phazer motor will return after all (in a Yami version of this sled).

 

[soldi]

I think money (short term) has taken away alot of the old business strategies witch have layed the foundation for where we are.. I remember my neighbour who had a Yamaha dirtbike, and in His garage ge had a poster of all Yamaha bikes, merch and all kinds of Yamaha stuff.. I was 10 and he might have been 16.. to me he was the coolest dude and of he liked Yamaha so did I.. and that's how you built a following.. brand loyalty and so forth.. now you just need to make revenue this quarter and you forget about building your brand long term..

This is a good step in the right direction.. Tucker Hibbert and this at the same time would be even better.. and in 20 years they will have parent only considering Arctic for their kids.

 

[Tarzan]

I am hoping Yamaha comes with their own chassi and engine that the 14-16 years kids can run.Something like the phazer that are way more nicer looking than this new cat sled.

 

[biffdotorg]

This is a good step in the right direction.. Tucker Hibbert and this at the same time would be even better.. and in 20 years they will have parent only considering Arctic for their kids.

This is my thought exactly. Have you seen the posts over the last month by Chris Burandt and his son on an EVO RMK. That stuff is what future sledders are made of. If AC/Yamaha get someone like Tucker back into promoting the industry at a younger level, who knows how much they will make bank when they buy their own.

And I agree 100%, this is the size chassis, the phazer motor should have been in from day one.

So many will shoot holes in a new sled being this tweener sled. But it fills a hole in the line up very well. Good for you AC, good for you. Now Yamaha, follow up with the Enticer 400. Don't use the Phazer name for all the bad reasons. But use the engine for all the good reasons.

 

[Tarzan]

Soon nobody will remember Yamaha as a snowmobile company,as Soldi is saying the kids that grows up now will buy Cat or Polaris when they are old enough to ride the bigger sleds. Yamaha is out Why should a 15 year old kid buy this chassi with a 4 stroke motor in that is likely heavyer than this 1syl 2-stroke engine?? Yamaha needs their own chassis to survive!!

 

[Wannaviper]

Cat has definitely gone after a segment of the market that has been forgotten, and, or, overlooked. The idea of a 400cc mountain sled is going to resonate with young teenagers that idolize Chris Burandt and the other extreme riders. Time will tell, but I think they got it right this time. I just hope that the Yamaha/Cat partnership gives Yamaha access to the new platform and that they make it their own with a Yamaha engine. I think that the Phazer was just to "quirky," temperamental, and funny looking, to ever become really popular. If Yamaha puts the Phazer engine, or some variation of it, into this platform, it will be the sled in Yamaha's lineup that the Phazer should have been. It will be lightweight and torquey, and fun.

 

[Joe blk viper]

Couple things I see with this. First I think and agree with many that this is an area that needed to be addressed. Polaris did it with there evo. From what it sounds like this cat has a bit more techy in terms of fuel injection, liquid cooled and what sounds like a nicer gauge package. It’s also a bit more costly than the Polaris but also may be a little larger. The Polaris can be beefed up but that does cost so they might be relatively close in cost. Either way both cat and Polaris are going after the right segment and that’s great for the future of snowmobiling in general.

As far as Yamaha goes I think we will have to wait and see. I am with many of you as to the 500 4s would be great. I think a lot of that depends on the cat Yamaha agreement which I think most of don’t really know what that is how it stand and so forth. Point being with that is the phazer motor is 20HP more than this new c-tec 2. That appeals to an even greater audience. In my opinion why would you buy the cat if you had virtually the same product from Yamaha with more power. Yamaha would be able to market as even a greater lower CC option than cat. People will grow out of a 65hp machine much quicker than an 85hp machine. This is where the agreement part that we know none of the nuts and bolts about comes into play. I guess we will see what Yamaha come out with in this segment if anything. My guess is the same thing as this cat but as a Yamaha which isn’t a bad thing necessarily.

 

[74Nitro]

Couple things I see with this. First I think and agree with many that this is an area that needed to be addressed. Polaris did it with there evo. From what it sounds like this cat has a bit more techy in terms of fuel injection, liquid cooled and what sounds like a nicer gauge package. It’s also a bit more costly than the Polaris but also may be a little larger. The Polaris can be beefed up but that does cost so they might be relatively close in cost. Either way both cat and Polaris are going after the right segment and that’s great for the future of snowmobiling in general.

As far as Yamaha goes I think we will have to wait and see. I am with many of you as to the 500 4s would be great. I think a lot of that depends on the cat Yamaha agreement which I think most of don’t really know what that is how it stand and so forth. Point being with that is the phazer motor is 20HP more than this new c-tec 2. That appeals to an even greater audience. In my opinion why would you buy the cat if you had virtually the same product from Yamaha with more power. Yamaha would be able to market as even a greater lower CC option than cat. People will grow out of a 65hp machine much quicker than an 85hp machine. This is where the agreement part that we know none of the nuts and bolts about comes into play. I guess we will see what Yamaha come out with in this segment if anything. My guess is the same thing as this cat but as a Yamaha which isn’t a bad thing necessarily.

This is a price-point machine so I think even if Yamaha had the same sled with the Phazer engine it would cost much more because of engine costs to manufacture difference.
I think the HP difference would be closer to ten as Cat is calling this 65hp plus, while the Phazer is 80.
So when you factor in the weight difference especially given the intended use of the sled as a crossover/mountain, the nod goes to Cat.
I'm a four stroke guy and wouldn't buy anything but a turbo fourstroke for myself given the type of riding I do, but if I had to buy one of my kids a sled, I'd have no problem buying one of these for them.

 

[OVR4D]

Maybe, but that would mean an entirely Cat sled in Yamaha stickers. Yamaha hasn't had a new 2-stroke in a long time. I don't see them doing that with this sled, but if they do it's definitely over, as to me that just shows a lack of any initiative or interest to make something their own ... even if that just means figuring out a way to put their motor in a Cat sled. If Yamaha offers this same sled in different colors just to get a piece of this market and maybe capture some of the demographic that this sled is geared to, it's a bad sign for the future of Yamaha snowmobiles.

 

[Chris Rose]

Maybe, but that would mean an entirely Cat sled in Yamaha stickers. Yamaha hasn't had a new 2-stroke in a long time. I don't see them doing that with this sled, but if they do it's definitely over, as to me that just shows a lack of any initiative or interest to make something their own ... even if that just means figuring out a way to put their motor in a Cat sled. If Yamaha offers this same sled in different colors just to get a piece of this market and maybe capture some of the demographic that this sled is geared to, it's a bad sign for the future of Yamaha snowmobiles.

As long as they keep selling sleds, that's great. GMC or Chev, same story. Pontiac or Chev? The platform is aging and needs upgrading. Don't forget, if a manufacturer makes things last a longtime they won't last long due to long intervals between purchases. Yes, the industry needs intermediate sleds at an affordable price to attract buyers.

 

[Joe blk viper]

This is a price-point machine so I think even if Yamaha had the same sled with the Phazer engine it would cost much more because of engine costs to manufacture difference.
I think the HP difference would be closer to ten as Cat is calling this 65hp plus, while the Phazer is 80.
So when you factor in the weight difference especially given the intended use of the sled as a crossover/mountain, the nod goes to Cat.
I'm a four stroke guy and wouldn't buy anything but a turbo fourstroke for myself given the type of riding I do, but if I had to buy one of my kids a sled, I'd have no problem buying one of these for them.

Points well taken. It does have crossover versions but it also has a trail version at 121. I do understand that there will be a slight weight difference and I should of stated that. As far as prices being higher I would hope if they put 4 stroke in Yamaha version it wouldn’t be much higher as that could be a way to price themselves out of play in many people’s eyes. I too would have no problem buying my kid this sled or even my girlfriend who is small and inexperienced. Like I said I think however it comes if it does come from Yamaha it’s a great thing. And I can imagine the people over at ski-doo will be bringing something to market In this segment as well. Looks like a win win for all consumers in this market. Ultimately competition brings good things for all of us.

 

[jjmoneysauce]

Slap an Enticer or Bravo name on these and take my money.

 

[VX1R]

Slap an Enticer or Bravo name on these and take my money.

Careful what you wish for.....

 

[CooperT]

https://www.snowest.com/2019/11/arctic-cat-announces-model-year

 

[CooperT]

Careful what you wish for.....

View attachment 150660

Enticer will be back!