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New ski-doo


Yes I agree & they don't have a noisy #*$&@ clutch! I have a 2022 Sidewinder LTX GT EPS & clutch sounds like a machine gun!
 
ricks-rocket said:
That are out and very nice yamacats are falling behind
Click to expand...
That depends on who you ask I guess. I’d take EPS over any of Doo’s latest innovations. IMO, their sleds have become very plain and boring looking since the inception of the G4. You are offered two colors, one of which is black, with barely any decals. IMO, the G5’s are the ugliest sleds on snow.

We bought a 900T for my wife for this season. It rides very nice, I like the ergos better, and it is stellar on fuel.

However, the front suspension sucks. It is nervous, hard to turn, and it darts badly. If she didn't like the sled so much, I would move on. If I get a 998 with EPS, I know we will end up with two.

The Doo accessories are above and beyond what the other brands offer, though.
 
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Doo and poo are far ahead and why I changed
Suspension on any brand works
The navigation on poo is best and skidoo will catch up
Doo and poo offer something for everyone and like I’ve said before without Yamaha where is cat now?
998 is a great motor and pump gas king
They need an update to the chassis and I hope they do
I don’t think a catalyst holds the 998 but maybe it can
That would be neat
 
number1kyster said:
We bought a 900T for my wife for this season... "the front suspension sucks. It is nervous, hard to turn, and it darts badly".
Click to expand...

That pretty mush described both of my Phazers and both 900 ACE Doo's I bought later. They were so bad I couldn't believe any of the previous owners could ride them that way. All my sleds ended up with Curve skis and 4" Slim Jims, problem solved. They all turn easier now with no nervousness and ZERO darting. When these carbides wear out I'll most likely try a set of semi aggressive Trackers.

Proper setup, skis and carbides go a long ways to improving an unruly sled... of any brand.
 
ricks-rocket said:
That are out and very nice yamacats are falling behind
Click to expand...
Hmmm. I wonder if the answer you seek could be found at your local dealers?
I like both doo & poo for dash layout.
Nav does nothing for me.
Still....all are very good. Do you have a color preference? Just saying.....lol
 
Yes all true from experience. But if cat brings out the catylist it will be the new king of ulgy
 
I was a Doo guy for quite some time with the 1200's which to this day is the best four-stroke they ever had. Tuned and clutched properly they easily outrun the 800's and 850. There is nothing good about the Doo front ends however, they do not handle nearly as good as the Cat chassis. The R-Motion rear is a good suspension, but is a compromise handling wise as they can't keep the skis down decently. I guess some like wheelies and not being able to steer when the skis are off the ground.

Not sure how Cat/Yamaha is falling behind at all. The new power steering is out on the Cat and there's no way I'd be on a Doo again just because of their poor front end. Even though the Doo is a lighter machine, it steers and actually feels heavier riding it because of this. Sure is nice to move the Doo around in the shop on the lift or wheels however being lighter!

Have a friend with the new 850 and his fancy gauge works only part of the time. It keeps shutting off and killing his hand/thumbwarmers. He has to keep stoping to reset it. He's always fiddling with it. The dealer has done all they could but Doo's gauge is a POS and worthless if it doesn't stay working. So not only do I have to ride slower so he can keep up on the Doo, we have to stop so he can get his warmers and gauge back working as well. I will certainly not go back to a Doo anytime soon. They build nice sleds, but ignore the inferior front end and the 900 is a weak POS engine next to the 1200 they had.

The 998 can go to 300 HP for trail use on pump gas, the 900 about 230 and its not a good engine like the 998 is. The primary clutch on the Winder does need to go however. It's a weak rattle box!
 
The fact they can build a wide body G5 Ski-Doo and fit the 4 stroke tells me the same could be done with the new Catalyst platform. Will it happen? Doubtful since Arctic Cat says it's theirs and only theirs. Things can and do change, but if Yamaha doesn't get the new chassis I'd say you have another year or two of Procross based Yamahas and then it's lights out at the snow division.
 
KnappAttack said:
I was a Doo guy for quite some time with the 1200's which to this day is the best four-stroke they ever had. Tuned and clutched properly they easily outrun the 800's and 850. There is nothing good about the Doo front ends however, they do not handle nearly as good as the Cat chassis. The R-Motion rear is a good suspension, but is a compromise handling wise as they can't keep the skis down decently. I guess some like wheelies and not being able to steer when the skis are off the ground.

Not sure how Cat/Yamaha is falling behind at all. The new power steering is out on the Cat and there's no way I'd be on a Doo again just because of their poor front end. Even though the Doo is a lighter machine, it steers and actually feels heavier riding it because of this. Sure is nice to move the Doo around in the shop on the lift or wheels however being lighter!

Have a friend with the new 850 and his fancy gauge works only part of the time. It keeps shutting off and killing his hand/thumbwarmers. He has to keep stoping to reset it. He's always fiddling with it. The dealer has done all they could but Doo's gauge is a POS and worthless if it doesn't stay working. So not only do I have to ride slower so he can keep up on the Doo, we have to stop so he can get his warmers and gauge back working as well. I will certainly not go back to a Doo anytime soon. They build nice sleds, but ignore the inferior front end and the 900 is a weak POS engine next to the 1200 they had.

The 998 can go to 300 HP for trail use on pump gas, the 900 about 230 and its not a good engine like the 998 is. The primary clutch on the Winder does need to go however. It's a weak rattle box!
Click to expand...
That’s fair
I wonder what the issue is in the skidoo front end? I personally have my matrix set up in a way I feel it’s better on trail than any sled I’ve had. Procross is close but matrix is like a firecat you can handle meaning it goes where it’s pointed and very light feeling. I don’t mind the 998 at all on trail though either one bit. I think the narrow seat may be part of it on matrix
I like the previous cat front end geometry they still use on cross country sled
These 2 strokes will live and honestly the best part is pushing boundaries you never thought you’d see from factory
The 860 or 925cat catalyst I bet is turbo’d
 
KnappAttack said:
I was a Doo guy for quite some time with the 1200's which to this day is the best four-stroke they ever had. Tuned and clutched properly they easily outrun the 800's and 850. There is nothing good about the Doo front ends however, they do not handle nearly as good as the Cat chassis. The R-Motion rear is a good suspension, but is a compromise handling wise as they can't keep the skis down decently. I guess some like wheelies and not being able to steer when the skis are off the ground.

Not sure how Cat/Yamaha is falling behind at all. The new power steering is out on the Cat and there's no way I'd be on a Doo again just because of their poor front end. Even though the Doo is a lighter machine, it steers and actually feels heavier riding it because of this. Sure is nice to move the Doo around in the shop on the lift or wheels however being lighter!

Have a friend with the new 850 and his fancy gauge works only part of the time. It keeps shutting off and killing his hand/thumbwarmers. He has to keep stoping to reset it. He's always fiddling with it. The dealer has done all they could but Doo's gauge is a POS and worthless if it doesn't stay working. So not only do I have to ride slower so he can keep up on the Doo, we have to stop so he can get his warmers and gauge back working as well. I will certainly not go back to a Doo anytime soon. They build nice sleds, but ignore the inferior front end and the 900 is a weak POS engine next to the 1200 they had.

The 998 can go to 300 HP for trail use on pump gas, the 900 about 230 and its not a good engine like the 998 is. The primary clutch on the Winder does need to go however. It's a weak rattle box!
Click to expand...
New never necessarily means better. A few years ago I picked up a 2006 Avalon for a beater, with only 70,000 miles. My good friend and car restorer/builder who owns many new Toyotas, put tires and serpentine belt on it for me and said what a sweet ride! I drove a new Lexus a few years back and it was harsher and noiser than our 2008 ES 350 ...so new with fancy electronics on a basic car or sled chassis does not impress me one bit. Cats procross chassis, especially with the 998 is one "sweet" timeless ride. So much 'new' stuff has too many issues people put up with and keep buying (yes procross has issues). And no one at dealerships seems to know how to fix anything. But always respect ski doo for thier attention to quality, even though not necessarily the best sleds out there. We dont have to index our 998 spark plugs...lol!
 
Trailleader said:
That’s fair
I wonder what the issue is in the skidoo front end? I personally have my matrix set up in a way I feel it’s better on trail than any sled I’ve had. Procross is close but matrix is like a firecat you can handle meaning it goes where it’s pointed and very light feeling. I don’t mind the 998 at all on trail though either one bit. I think the narrow seat may be part of it on matrix
I like the previous cat front end geometry they still use on cross country sled
These 2 strokes will live and honestly the best part is pushing boundaries you never thought you’d see from factory
The 860 or 925cat catalyst I bet is turbo’d
Click to expand...

Doo front end, where to start. It rides poor compared to Cat & Polaris. It has quite a bit of bump steer built in, twitchy because of this. Lifts inside skis on cornering. Has poor plastic bushings that end up toast in just a few thousand miles, and it steers hard once you try to dial it all in and make it handle. Part of the problem is the rear suspension too. It like to lift skis at will, which make the inside ski lift easier and more pronounced. To make life even partially livable and make the Doos corner, means tightening up the front limiter, which helps inside ski lift and handling on them but make turning even harder. But to go harder and corner on them the ride suffers even more. Its really hard to make a Doo do anything well. The Cat chassis just works and works so well in most all conditions. You can go hard and fast all the time on it and ride does not suffer. Limiters don't need tightened to make it corner and handle well.

IMO the newest Cat/Procross sled just ride and handle so much better and it seems to get better ever year. This is the one area where I will really hand it to Cat. The 2012 ProCross was a real hot mess, Didn't think I'd ever own another ProCross after that shet box, but one ride on a 17 I knew I'd have to make the switch from Doo, even though my 1200 turbo was so light & fast. I hated the handling and ride of it. The 17 LE really won me over for a fat pig of a sled. The Doo guys just can't come close to keeping up with us if we want to pick up the pace. Two-Strokes or four strokes, doesn't matter. We have to ride a slower pace for them to keep up. I could give a F less about a gauge. I don't look at a gauge anyway when we run the pace we run. The gauge don't make a sled. If I want GPS I can add that above the gauge. All anyone talks about is the gauge it seems. F'n geek kid stuff is what that is. They need their Nintendo on a sled I guess......
 
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