There is quite a discussion going on about the pros & cons of the REV in the 'doo Forums.

It will be interesting to see if the other 3 manufacturers follow this design trend or not. What do you non-'doo riders think? Especially the guys & gals that have tried a REV. What would you think if your brand came out w/ a REV clone to replace your favourite chassis?

Has anyone ridden a REV AND a Firecat? To me the Fcat is closer to a conventional sled & would be very easy for someone to jump on & ride.

I would think AC would pick up on it but Yam has always done their own thing and Pol hasn't changed their sleds much in years, why start now.

i thinks its good that the different manufactures have all different designs. not everone will like certian designs but other people will. I do see that the others (skidoo, and yamaha) r switching from there trac arms to the aws tupe suspension like cat. They must see something there thats good.

But let us not forget about Fast' Blade sled. The rev looks remarkably similar to the design they came out with several years ago. Don't want to make enemies , but I have tons of old magazines and found their pictures there.

Rev copycats? Seems to me like the one copied was Arctic Cat - eg. front suspension. Do you think A/C's F machine was put together over one summer after they saw the Rev's on the snowcross tracks.

i hope the other manu's come up with something like the rev. maybe even take the idea farther. competition is good. i love my rev, and when i'm done with it in 3 years, and looking for a new sled, i hope i have some choices out there. if i were looking today, after riding my rev, i couldn't buy anything else.

that's my $.02

lonestar, you are talking styling, i am talking design ie: ergos, motor placement....

konkinj, i agree with you on the front suspension. pol doo and yammi should have been running IFS for years, because it's better, period.

I think he is refering to the sitting position Konkinj.....I dont think he meant anything else......I hope cat sticks with the F series because it works good........and It looks good......Plus there has been enough copyCATing going on......get it??

AS consumers we all win when any of the manufactures come up w/ new technology as for copying I wonder where cat got the idea to put rave valves on thier engines , oops I meant power valves

I guess that goes bolth ways with the rotary valve....ooops I mean reed intake....Iwould have to say Cat modeled their system closer to yammie because of the servo motor controll instead of the outdated Rave valve system

All of the big four have done their share of "borrowing" designs. If the REV works and out sells the competition, only an ignorant designer wouldn't try to imitate (not copy) the concept. They all (at least the big 3) are trying to acheive the same things - less weight, centralized mass. Like it or not, Doo just may have done a better job (at least marketing-wise) on what works. Like them or not, I think both the REV and Firecat are good for the sport. Time will tell which platform works out and sells best.

I could see cat jumping into a similar design, it is a great sno-cross design and there is alot of money in that market for cat so I would bet that they will do somthing there. I agree with revrnd, the Fcat is a more conventional design. If I was racing a sno-cross race I think I would want the Rev you cant beat the forward design. I have rode both, and they are awsome sleds it would be a hard choice between the two.

you can keep the rev :p i ride for fun, not to get a workout.........

I agree with that powder, I have a Viper & wouldnt trade it for either.

I take it these last 2 posters have not ACTUALLY rode a REV. :p They are kidding themselves.

Polaris will be the first to "copy" the Rev, that's a given. I'm absolutley amazed that we haven't seen an Open Mod Poo "Rev-like" sled. The Pro-X 440 sno cross sled is a steping stone to a Rev-like chassis.

Sharkey.......Yes I have rode the Rev & said it is an awsome sled but I dont want to ride that style with my knees smacking the hood. If I had a choice between the Rev & F-7 I would take the cat because this fits my ridding style better and even better yet is the Viper for going to the UP & hitting well groomed trails. Sharkey..have you had a chance to ride all sleds? Like I said before If I was in the sno-cross I would take the Rev....But I'm not & I dont find the Rev as practical for riding long hours across the UP, It is much colder & my knees get stiff I like to stretch. I am not kidding anybody, I am very content with what I own, it fits ME perfect.

The only reason people smack there legs into the cowl is becasue they are driving it like a conventional sled.

People use there legs to stop them from going forward. On the rev you have to use your arms. Once i figured this out i went 300km through the crappiest trail with out comming close to touching it.

And the rev is not even close to the Blade or anyother sled ever made. It may look simular but the design is totally diffrent.

I guess there is only 1 question to answer here.

The "New" piece of technology from the REV is the frame with its pyramid (sp?) shape. Otherwise everything else on the sled is "standard" snowmobile equipment, example, skid, clutch, engine, etc... nothing new there.

So if the other manufactures come out with a pyramid shaped frame I would say that they have borrowed or copied the doo style. If they design a different frame that accomplishes the same repositioning of the engine and egros I would say it is totally new and not a "REV Like" design. Face the facts here people, all the Mfg's were moving towards central mass long before the REV came out.

My $0.02

seems to me that the only big difference between the rev and anything else is the seating position. the firecat has an unconventional engine position, and so does the blade. seems to me that the blade is the sled the big four are pulling ideas from. it was out before the firecat or rev. i do agree that competition is good for all of us, but i get tired of the hardcore doo guys that buy into bombi's marketing as though it's gospel. the rev is a great sled, but so is a firecat or a pro x for that matter. the rev isnt light years ahead of any other sled. i do think polaris' new 440 racer has a seating position similar to the rev. is that something they did only after seeing the early release revs? who knows. as far as the a-arm thing, is there any truth to the idea that cat had a patent on it and that is why the other manufacturers are only coming out with it now? seems like i heard that somewhere, but i dont know how true it is.

The "F" sled project started in 93-94, the rev project started in the mid 90's as well so I do not think that ski-doo copyied the blade design. The reason the cat mainly started the "F" design was for sno-cross and then they decided to make for production. IMO polaris will have the most to gain in the new sled war, because now that ski-doo and arctic cat have there models out they can see which one the people like best then make a sled that is as good or better. Sometimes it is better to wait and see then hit the showroom first. SnowTech had to issues which detailed both the rev and firecat history, get a copy and read. SWRules

Originally posted by sled-head@Jan 29 2003, 05:27 PM
I guess that goes bolth ways with the rotary valve....ooops I mean reed intake....Iwould have to say Cat modeled their system closer to yammie because of the servo motor controll instead of the outdated Rave valve system
rotary valve is not even close to reed valve design, rotax has an exclusive on rotary design , i'm not sure what point your trying to make, as far as outdated rave design ,rotax still has the only one that is bulletproof, everyone else is still trying to reinvent the wheel, and if your insinuating rotax has borrowed the reed valve design from someone ,you should maybe take a look at the history of can am motorcycles , which is and has been owned by bombardier corp.