[maluchm]

My doo's that I have are now really outdated so I'm in the
market for some new sleds and I've always wanted to buy a
Cat. I'm looking at getting rid of my piped 700 triple
to get a ZR900 Snopro for myself and selling my 500 SLS to
get a F7 Snopro for my wife. I'm not to familiar with AC's
all that much so I'm looking for advice or feedback on these
models.

I haven't heard much, if any, bad stuff about the ZR900 so
it appears to me that it would be a good buy but the F7 is
what I'm a little concearned about. I absolutly love the
styling on this machine but somehow question it's toughness
and reliabilty since it seems that nowbody has ridden it
yet.

The REV is different and maybe a good change for the whole
sled market but I'm not sure it's for me.

Do you guys think that a Black F7 Snopro and a Black ZR 900
Snopro would be a good step in the right direction for me?
Especially since I'm coming over from the Doo camp!

 

[maluchm]

It's either going to be "Don't know what you got till it's
gone" or "Wow I've really been missing out". Either way I'm
ready to try out a new brand to see what they have to offer
to me. Polaris and Yamaha just don't appeal to me at all and
I've always said that If I was going to ride something other the Doo's that I've been ridding for years, it would be a
big bad @$$ Cat.

Anybody willing to sway me over to AC to make a faithful
convert?

 

[TaxiCat]

My brother traded from Cat to Doo in 01'. Although he is
happy with his purchase (MXZ700) he said "I really miss my old Cat". I have also concidered going over to Doo when I heard that Cat was dropping the Triples.
I then came to my senses and will just roll with the times.
I woluld go ahead with the ZR900 for yourself but would
consider a different modle other that the F7 untill it is proven.
Perhaps your wife would like the ZR500 or 600 and if she is really an agressive rider I would suggest the 800efi cross country.
No matter what you decide you can't go wrong!!!!!!!!
Welcome to Team Green!!

 

[maluchm]

Thanks for the input Taxicat!

Do a lot of you AC riders feel skeptical about the Firecat
line or do you think that It will prove itself to be a darn
good sleds with just a few bugs to work out? I wouldn't
normally buy a first year production but I really like the
F7 and my wife needs more ponies then a 500, at least a 600.
Both of these sleds with the 1.375" track would be just
perfect for our riding conditions. But how stiff does the
Snopro suspension actually ride and will the dealer revalve
the shocks for me if need be? Is there a difference betwene
the F7 Snopro suspension and the ZR900 Snopro suspension?

 

[SteveCZ]

According to Cat, the 500 is supposed to perform like a 600 and the 700 is supposed to perform like a 800..... so if your wife is an aggressive rider, and wants a 600 class machine, go with the F5.  But again, many factors can affect this decision.... some things to think about:

Weight of rider ( I know I know, NEVER ask a girl how much she weighs!!&#33

Years of Experience
Type of Riding (Trail, ditch banging, lakes, mountains?)


If you do mostly trail riding with the wife, then I would look into a ZL for her, maybe a 600 or an 800, depends.  However, if she is an aggressive rider, then go ahead and check out the F5 or F7.... I don't know what the price difference is between the two, but it can't be all that much, can it?

As for the revalving of the shocks..... they probably would do it, I know my dealer would if I asked them, but he might charge a small fee....each shop is different.... this is something to sit down with  your dealer and ask them.  If they can't give you a straight answer, then find a different dealer who can    

 

[maluchm]

Well the wife is a spinner at 110#'s or less and 5'4" tall.
She is an agressive rider, too much sometimes!  

Mostly trail, ditch banging and hitting the bowls and all
the untouched snow we can find. I think that the F5 wouldn't
be enough and the F7 would be enough for both of us.  

So I'm thinking that the F7 would be enough for her and
still be a fun ride for me coming off a ZR900.

Will anybody be test riding the Firecats this year like SDoo
is doing with the REV or is it going to be a 'order one and
hope it works like they say' kind of thing?

I've heard that the ZR900 is a joy to tune and that it's got
good power. Should be a big difference between that and my
piped and clutched FIII 700.

 

[jdsmi]

After looking at the Firecat, I have some concern about the strength of the front suspension.  This is just my observation without any data to back it up.  '02 Sno Pro owners would have a better educated opinion.  One thought is if it worked on the '02 Sno Pro, it should work for me.  Keep in mind we're looking at proto's and everything more than likely will be tweaked come production time.  Again, this is just my observation and opinion. I hope I'm wrong.  I'd still order one if I was buying.  That thing looks too cool not to.

The ZL might merit a good look though.  A friend of mine traded his '00 ZR for a '01 ZL 600 and loves it. The styling (finally) is on par with the ZR's and he says it rides great.  Over 2000 trouble-free miles.

 

[maluchm]

How long do you think the clutch bushings and the crank
bearings are going to last on the ZR900? Big power & big
torque but big displacement for a twin. But on the other
hand shouldn't stuff like this be covered under AC's 2 year
waranty?  

 

[jdsmi]

I haven't heard of any crank problems on the 800's.  I can't remember if the 900 is based on the 800 though.  A 2 yr warranty might be a good thing.

 

[Snow Monkey]

Customer Service, Reliability, Manufacturor Knowledge, Fit and Finish, these are all reasons why I will not be riding Cat next year. If I were you I would stick with Doo.

I'm a poet and didn't even know it

 

 

 

[maluchm]

Snow Monkey - Have you been a loyal cat rider for a while
now? Sounds like you've had some problems with you sled!
What do you ride? What were your problems?

 

[Snow Monkey]

I have been riding Cats for 8 years now. I ride a 02 ZR 800 efi C/C. I have had nothin but probs with it. Fuel pumps, bad starting, shocks just to make it short( been whining about this fror a while). I had the machine to the dealer last week for fixes on these probs and when I got it back and went for a ride, nothing has been fixed. I will never own another  machine from Cat due to the fact that when something goes wrong Arctic Cat and their dealers play stupid. Instead of putting out a recall, they play dumb. We spend good money and we deserve a product that works and if it doesn't work it should be fixed properly and promptly  

 

[maluchm]

Snow Monkey - Do you know of a lot of others that are going
through the same problems or do you think that yours just
was the lemmon of the bunch? I agree that a company should
stand behing thier product especially when It's brand new
and under waranty! Ski Doo was excelent for me in that
respect. Two rebuilds because of crank bearing failure and
this was at no cost to me except for a little lost time on
the machine. They didn't hang me out to dry or turn there
heads and play dumb. Is most of this coming from the dealer
or do you think that it goes straight back to AC as far as
how you've been treated? The last thing that I want to do is
buy something that is the latest and greatest or the cutting
edge of technology that has a waranty with it and have it in
the shop more then on the trails. Do you get the same
treatment from all your dealers in your area or just one?
I have yet to look into who's the best Cat dealer around me
because that itself will help me decide what I will doo.

 

[Snow Monkey]

The stupidity aspect of it I guess is coming from the dealer. But a dealer is a representative of the product. There have been many guys with the fuel pump problem and there should have been a recall on the machines to save a lot of stress when the machines quit on the trail. My suggestion would be that if you are going to go with Cat, Get to know your dealer, the mechanic that will be working on your machine and how your dealer operates. My problem is that the mechanic that worked at my dealer was very good but He quit and now I have no idea who is wrenching on the sled and how qualified they are. Its a tough decision but for me it was easy after this year. No more Cats for me.

 

[jdsmi]

A good dealer makes all the difference.

 

[Little green sixer]

Well I was out sledding with a bunch of friends a couple of weekeneds ago. Yes a lot of them ride Bombies, but in that weekened alone four of them broke down. The funny thing is they are always bugging me cause I ride a cat. I guess the jokes on them!!!!

 

 

 

[SnoProG]

With the ZR900, you are getting an 800 based motor only bored out to a larger size. I'd figure Cat would have all the 02 800 bugs out by the time you get your 9. I hate that they didn't offer remote resevior shocks (sno pro) on this one; maybe they will have a cross country by the time you get yours.  I doubt you will be unhappy with this sled. I'd love to jam one of those 9's into my 00 Sno Pro. Although the F5/F7 come with a Sno Pro option, it's unclear if this option actually does have remote resevior shocks. Obviously, this is a totally new sled and there might be problems; my thinking is that Cat is going to see how the Sno Pro racers held up this season and adjust accordingly. But, lets be honest, would you ever put an F5/F7 through anything close to what a racer endures, probably not. I would jump on the F7 for the wife if you can live with the idea that this is a new platform sled; I'd bet that little baby would be hard to make go away, with your wife's light weight, even the mighty 900 would have to work it a good bit to pull away from the F7, if all the hp hype is no lie. And about Cat's warranty questions, all I can say is when my bud's 00 ZR600 Blair Morgan special blew up, and completly destroyed the motor when a jug casting broke off into the crankcase, Cat fixed everything at no cost to my friend. Get this, his sled was 15 days out of warranty. I can only go from personal experience. Cat's got too much going on for me to change brands; however, I've got to admit, that REV rocks, looks and technology. I saw Morgan and Custer absolutely kick butt at the Pontiac indoor. Those REV's just flew!

 

[johncorneillie]

I have had a skidoo MXZX 440 and really enjoyed it, but I've always been a CAT MAN. I've rode POLARIS, SKI-DOO, and someday liked to try a YAMAHA but I know I'll always have a ARCTIC CAT in my garage. The fit and finish is great on the new sleds (ARCTIC CAT) . I have a 2002 ZR 440 snopro and I think that ARCTIC CAT really out done themselves this time. The ride is the best I've rode on yet! The handeling is perfect for trail ridding. The racers had problems with the turnning but as always they fixed it. I have many friends that ride all differant kinds of snowmobiles and when I let them ride my CAT they all really think it is a great ridding machine. The guy telling you to stay with DOO sounds like he works there and wants you to stay with SKI-DOO. I say give it a try and I think you will never go back to SKI-DOO. I have taken a few die hard POLARIS, and SKI-DOO riders and convereted them to CAT and not one of them ever went back. "GREEN IS THE COLOR OF MONEY,AND LIKE MONEY YOU CAN NEVER GET ENOUGH OF IT !!!!!!!  Nice talking to you and I know you won't go wrong with cat.  PS.   How come POLARIS, YAMAHA, SKI-DOO all went to a double wishbone front suspension like the ARCTIC CAT has had forever

? YOU CAN'T BEET THE RIDE OF A CAT...............

 

[SNORAT]

Hey Louie you will never convert me because I know what the best built machines are in the world and I have never been towed but yes I have towed the team green machines and we all know that is a fact.If Iwas going to buy a new sled today you know what it would be and so does everybody else on this form.I wonder if I can still get them Polaris underware.hehehe yes I am a diehard Polaris man and always will.Also as far as polaris having A Arms NOT TRUE.Who needs them I have been running trailing arms for ever and I can hang with anyone anywere.

 

[sledhead8923]

with your wifes weight, unless she rides really hard you may want to consider re-valving the shocks on a ZR as they may feel too stiff and a little uncomfortable under normal riding or long trips. just my opinion. ENJOY YOUR CAT'S you wont regret your purchase.