New cats, WOW They hit it out of the park

[Mad Russian]

Its evrything else that falls apart on the cats the motors r made in japan like the yamaha but cats chasis is made here and thats where the problem starts! All my cats had never had motor problems but electrical and cluches freezing up and melting from the inside out problems. Been there done that. Yamaha to the end for me!

 

[AKrider]

Eh... I agree and disagree. I don't see many old Cats still running around in my area but I'm in a Polaris town. I actually see fewer new Yamahas than old Cats so.... I find that interesting.

Go to Arctic Insider and read about the guys running '79 Sno-Pros in the I-500. I think that says a lot about Cat building a decent sled.

All sleds have their problems. The high performance 4-stroke motor is what brought me over to Yamaha. Guess what, now the most of the other OEM's have 4-strokes and they have improved in areas where Yamaha has been lacking. In my mind it has to be hard on a Yamaha dealer to be selling sleds that have not been significantly updated since '08. Power steering? $15,000 Apex's? Not exactly what the market is asking for, IMO.

 

[pat the rat]

my dealer is closing down here,been in business for over 30 years,he told me that he was losing money with the yamaha franchise in the past cpl years,he sold alot of 4 stroke sleds since 2003 but people are not trading in every 2-3 years anymore,sleds are far more reliable and the price of the current stuff is almost not affordable,now,being an owner of 8 yamaha products,it will be a pain to have to go elsewhere for parts,this one was 2 minutes from my house,nest closest is 45 minutes away

 

[Mad Russian]

I dont ride a yamaha just for the motor they have. I ride them because they are built well and they are turn the key and go kind of sled. All the other mfg sleds were not! You get what you pay for. Just because the other mfg are coming out with new stuff it dont mean its better. Why change somthing that works well really well.

 

[phazerhawkdude]

Personally I find the look of the tall spindles and the huge gap between the a-arms to be drop dead sexy. The definitely nailed the look.

 

[pat the rat]

I dont ride a yamaha just for the motor they have. I ride them because they are built well and they are turn the key and go kind of sled. All the other mfg sleds were not! You get what you pay for. Just because the other mfg are coming out with new stuff it dont mean its better. Why change somthing that works well really well.

x2

 

[AKrider]

my dealer is closing down here,been in business for over 30 years,he told me that he was losing money with the yamaha franchise in the past cpl years,he sold alot of 4 stroke sleds since 2003 but people are not trading in every 2-3 years anymore,sleds are far more reliable and the price of the current stuff is almost not affordable,now,being an owner of 8 yamaha products,it will be a pain to have to go elsewhere for parts,this one was 2 minutes from my house,nest closest is 45 minutes away

My dealer closed down as well. The 4-stroke sleds just don't sell very well here in Alaska. Anchorage Yamaha was also having problems selling sleds. It is just a hard sell to convince people that a heavy, electric start only snowmachine is a good thing to own and ride. A lot of owners ride to a cabin over the weekend, miles away from civilization and have no way to keep the sled warm when parked overnight in -40F. This doesn't take into account all the people who live in the villages that are not on the main road system. You'd think a 4-stroke would be popular since it is good on gas but it isn't. Cold temperatures and electric start only are not a good combination.

The 4-stroke concept works great for me but I have a heated shop and live in the banana belt of Alaska.

 

[snowbeast]

I swore id never own a cat but.... I cant wait for the 2012 1100Turbo LXR all black to get here,just found a deal yesterday. I like how few parts there are in the steering to wear out. Mostly its becasue of the 3.0 pitch track(2.87 is much more traction than 2.52 on snow) and I cant argue with a factory turbo makes 260+ hp on 91 octane with a few bolt on parts.

Still keeping my 07 attak and I might have to tape the sweet sound of the 4cylinder so I can play it over the headphones

That is the cat,that most interests me,it has the 128 length track,coupled with it being the standard 1.25 ripsaw,i like that to,it has all the power the little turbo can give us stock,mods later,and it can come in black,now i like that,please keep us,or me posted on the do's and dont's of this sled. It dont have the fox float2 up front,but i am ok with that. very cool looking ride,and it comes with a windshield,that will work.

 

[snowbeast]

Ill take raw performance and handling any day over looks.

x2

 

[snowbeast]

I look at everything and appreciate anything performance related with Cat being my second choice however fit and finish is big to me as I like my stuff to look good. At this point nothing comes close to Yamaha in fit and finish and with the blinder's off I don't know how any one could not see the difference. Not only that but the Cat four stroke is still a twin and sounds gay.

Maybe,but try the poo dragon turbo,that little motor sounds like a leaf blower,i had one for a year and a half,i traded in an 08 poo for a 06 apexgt,just to get back on something that had performance,and how can you go wrong with the sound,but this new cat turbo in lx trim,has me interested,but it will be a couple years before i can do anything,so i will wait and watch.

 

[kviper]

Any one read all the post's about the reverse's not working on the new cat's? It's all that kind of BS that is ALMOST non existent on a new Yamaha. Sounds like the few that have there new Cat's had to take them back to the dealer because they could not back them off the trailer when they got home.

 

[RtxViper]

Quality and reliability are the only things that matter to me that's why I only ride Yamaha

 

[LJ 452]

Any one read all the post's about the reverse's not working on the new cat's? It's all that kind of BS that is ALMOST non existent on a new Yamaha. Sounds like the few that have there new Cat's had to take them back to the dealer because they could not back them off the trailer when they got home.

I'll agree that Yamaha has better fit and finish, maybe even less PPH on vehicles, but mentioning reverse issues is probably not a valid argument. Do a search, you'll find in every forum issues with Apex's, Nytro's, and Phazers not going in to reverse, reverse not functioning correctly, or the handle breaking off. Oddly enough the solution is nearly the same, adjust belt deflection. If I remember correctly the Nytro owners got to pay for a new handle as well.

While there has certainly been some issues with the new Cats. I think they (Cat) are dealing with the issues in a matter far better than that of the way Yamaha does. Cat is actually owning up to the problems, creating fixes and giving the dealers and buyers solutions in a timely manner. Yamaha denies it until the next model, then denies it for that model. Handwarmers, hi-fax wear, suspension issues, ice buildup, worn bushings, skis, hard steering, bent subframes, weak ball-joints (spherical ends), overheating, wet boot syndrome, do I really need to continue?

 

[kviper]

I am on my third Apex as of the start of this season 10k total on the first two with only a couple small issue's like idler wheel's on the 06 and the need for marginal snow wheel's to drastically reduce slide wear. I replaced the front end bushing's on the 06 at 4k, not what what I would call an issue when other sled's costing near the same money were rebuilding motor's by that milage. At this point Cat would be my second choice but when you look at all thing's considered the latest version of the Apex is still after seven year's the one to beat for trail riding which is what I do. I thought the new cat's looked nice as well but after looking again today at a couple on the dealer show room floor I was not impressed at all. Compared to a Yami the fit and finish is absolutely terrible and that front end would definitely have to grow on me as far as looks are concerned any way. But hay if one manufacturer made a sled that every one wanted we would not be able to afford one so it is all good.

 

[LJ 452]

After going through my new sled a few times there are definantly some things you just scratch your head about. But I also have to remind myself that it is a purpose built machine and it's less than half the cost of what I had I the past. The Apex was probably the best fit/finish sled I've seen in a while, the only real complaint would be the panned around the reverse lever. The Nytro was not really close to the Apex and the Phazer behind the Nytro, noticing a pattern. As cost drops so does true fit, however the Sno Pro I would probably place around the Phazer, there are a few things that are terrible but for the most part it's not bad. I have to say after putting about 15 miles on the 720 in the back 40, that thing is handling monster, if you ever get the chance to try one I would.