I miss the good old days of going to bed and hearing someone lighting up a triple triple on a straight away behind the house. Oh and the smell of a two stroke. Sweet dreams.
I have been waiting all winter for these videos. These are the videos that I enjoy. Not so much talking to the people that make them they’re biased lol you tell it how it is.
It’s all about balance and making the machine custom to you ! My sled is tailored for me , custom shocks , seat , skis bars etc . It’s heavier then this sled , and doesn’t tire me it out at all . I would get one , it just needs to snow earlier , and last longer to purchase another machine at the price they are going for now ….
Yamaha makes great motors period and very hard to beat in performance, reliability and longevity!! That’s why that Cat is fast. SRX has been the fastest for quite sometime maybe cat and Yamaha had some type of deal.. I like that they work together and would like to try one someday. I have and old but very nice SRX700 and some ski doo etecs
@@Welcometofacsistube ya a friend of mine has a 98 and I have the 99.. I took my windshield off and painted the back of it white which gave it extra pop from the blue.
@@goodbyemr.anderson5065 Arctic cat does make there're own engines at the engine plant in St Cloud Minnesota that was built in 2014. Both the 6000 and 8000 2 stroke series engines.
Just in passing, I have seen several dyno tests performed on the 998. All of those tests indicated beyond 200 HP for stock engines. The 998 does have loads more to give without changing the bones of the engine. For drag racers, the 998 is a dream come true! Believe it or not, there is tunning available out there with basic parts to go along that will elevate the 998 to over 375 HP. That is a package available to the consumer public. Insane! Fascinating but insane. In tight cornering through the woods, there is typically one way to operate the 998, nice and easy.
Kinda miss sledding. I quit probably 20 years ago but still have the sled 1996 zrt 600 141 track light weight hood and seat aluminum bulkhead psi pipes and lots of jetting and clutch work. But that was the fun part back then head to the mountain with handful different springs and weights and maybe a helix or two 🤔. There's nothing like the sound of a nicely tuned triple at 9600 rpm
I'd like to get into snowmobiling someday, but our winters here have totally sucked for the past few years. We don't get much snow anymore so it would just be sitting in the shed collecting dust. ATV's seem to be the more practical choice nowadays for our crappy weather. It's definitely not like when I was a kid when we'd get the occasional snow storm that would almost bring the snow to bottom of the houses windows. :)
Im still rocking a 96 Zed as well. Pa bought her brand new in fall of '95. Completely agree, nothing sounds better than a screamin 2 stroke. With my boy right on the threshold of riding by himself, we rock an '00 Triple Touring 600. Greasy Triple til Death!!!
My 2022 Tcat EPS was not delivered until March of 22'. This is my 5th and favorite Tcat by far. One big improvement not mentioned on the video is the new adapt clutch. It is a great unit that makes the sled faster than the previous models. If you have an older 998, I would swap out the clutch for an adapt.
Being a giant, this is my kind of sled. I Had a Thundercat of days gone by and loved it. If only I lived in an area I could use this everyday. the HD would be gone.
I think the industry needs to invent something that makes people less stupid on the trail. See if we can keep people on the right side of the trail around turns.
Dear god, do I agree. My boy just got his license this year and Ive preached this to no end. Cant tell ya how many close calls Ive had over the years with morons. Had on guy try to pass me in the powder to the right of the trail and watch him smoke a power pole. Long story short, his buddies caught up several minutes later, got him onto a sled to head to the hospital and the ones left behind were saying this was their last trip with him regardless. Reckless and stupid were the common descriptors of his riding.
@@32degreesretarded62 This is the same idiot that buys a Tcat. Got lots of dollars, not much sense. They are here in the east big time. It is why I ride in Canada. Too many that cause problems for the rest of us. Same for the "tuner" sleds.
@@oldwrench4213 I own several triples from the muscle era, 2 of which are Tcats. I use them for the trails and the occasional lake blast. But you are correct. Most that buy those machines think they can use the power on the trail. Maybe Im just old but I feel there is a time and place for playing on the big sleds. And its NOT on a trail.
I have a mint 2009 fastest production sled ever built, the 2009 Arctic Cat Z1 turbo. 180hp at that time was unheard of. It has studs so the machine will still leave a lot of todays trail machines in the dust on a wide open spot. The torque of the big 1100 cc 4 stroke with a turbo is insane. A lot have never rode it. But it’s well over 200lbft of torque. This thundercat is a beast and nice to see they are still at it. My favourite snowmobile I own right now is my mxz tnt. It’s so easy and light to ride and 600 etec is a amazing engine. 9578km and still kicking on no rebuild
Man let me tell you, I’ve got all td 4 stage tuner, intercooler, clutching, drives and all that jazz on my 09 z1 turbo pushing abt 300hp. Can’t say I’ve ever lost a race to this day, things insanelyyyy fast. Gotta love those big 4 stroke turbos
i'll stick to my my old xc700, there isnt a single sled made nowadays that justifies a price tag over $ 10,000, not too mention the required enclosed trailers and $70,000 trucks to haul them north just so you can find rideable snow, a fool and his money are easily parted
Need to bring back the full hood open concept, to hard to work on these new machines when u have trouble out in the boonies. And my nearest dealer is a good 1000 kms away with no highway here.
I haven't been the guy on the big numbers sled for a while, the last time I went out for that it was on a 2013 apex, and whereas squeezing that throttle was absolutely addictive riding the sled on trail was exhausting after a few hours. I'm sure the newer models in this segment have made improvements but the sheer scale of this thing makes me think touring on it is best done in a leisurely style. From the seat of my mxz 8, I have a hard time picturing spending a full day on a sled like the Thundercat. Though I am certain this thing has just about everyone grinning ear to ear when they punch it.
I remember when the Arctic Cat Pantera 1000 came out, my friend bought one. It was awesome on the lake he could take one hand off the bars and pass darn near anything while waving at them but on the trails after 100 miles it tired him out very quickly. He sold it a year later.
One major improvement that is needed on all manufacturers is a better drive system either more indestructible belts or a a transmission, belts are so expensive and just don't last in high power sleds
In March of 2019 at the snowmobile spring shows the adversited price to order a 2020 thunder cat..was $16,395. What has changed updated or been added since besides decals and power steering to the old outdated chassis. And priced way north of 20 grand today. To reflect the increase. Wages on the other hand do not keep up for the 22+ present increase. For the same old same old snowmobile.
Holy crap I’ve been out of the scene forever , they’ve come a long way since my 74 elan 250. Jeez these must be 30,000 $ wow would love to giver on one of these .
So ... i am one of those guys .. I bought my 09 Nytro brand new from a dealership in Barrie . Sled was a beast from the get go and i was in love . Then one day out with a group of guys for a run , literally just got 50m down the trail and there was a loud mechanical burp and that was it . No power and green and brown fluid all over the trail . Picked up the metal debris from the ground and many hours later at home i was able to reassemble the shards of metal i found into 2 things , the hole the connecting rod had punched thru the block that was shaped in an "H" pattern from the base of the connecting rod and the end of the rod itself. I took the sled to another dealership that shall remain nameless due to shoddy service and poor mechanical skills ( found out a few seasons later ) and showed them the parts i grabbed off the ground and the sled itself . I left and a few days later i was called by this dealership and told to come to meet them at the shop that day . I did and once i was in the office of the shop, i was greeted by two guys in suits that were from Yamaha Canada and wanted to ask me what i was doing when the sled broke etc . Thank goodness the dealership that the sled was at had done the last 3 services to the sled so the paperwork was good and they walked off to huddle up in the corner and discuss. A good while later they came back and said that Yamaha Canada has not seen this happen before and needed to take my engine and ship it to Japan to see what the cause was . Then i was told that i would be receiving a new crate engine from Japan to replace mine as mine only had 1200kms on it ( not 12k but 1.2k) and i had to pay for the labour which ended up costing 1500$ . Season was blown at that point and eventually 3 months later i was told to come and pick it up . I was a happy camper indeed . Right up till the next season as it was throwing codes left and right and was down in power and just not riding right . Took it to another dealership that figured out what was the issues in 5 minutes . The previous dealership had hacked up my wiring so badly then spliced into the wiring harness a huge section from an Apex that they soldered , taped and zip tied to the point where the current mechanic who i still only deal with and is a gem of a human being , started laughing and fixed everything and only charged me labour . Go Matt the Ginger at Markham Mowers !! 5 years of bonkers fun riding and the second engine is loving life and runs like a swiss clock . Cheers .
@@davidhudson3733 Cheers and as always you folks have eloquently and factually made my case easier to convince my wife that this sled or its twin ( SRX) needs to be in my garage :)
@@RICHIE_RICH89 Which is also why reps from Yamaha asked questions about how he was riding when the engine blew. Unlike domestic brands the Japanese take pride in their engineering. They took the engine to see what went wrong with it and "gave" him a new one. Because to them it shouldn't have failed in the first place. My friend told me of a similar story about a guy who owned an older Toyota Tundra, minus the engine blowing up. The owner took care of it with regular maintenance and oil changes and managed to get somewhere in the range of 2 - 3 million miles on it. Toyota of Japan got in contact with him and purchased the truck off of him so they could disassemble the engine and see why it lasted so long. It's good to take pride in your product, sadly not many companies do that anymore.
A friend of mines husband does fur-buying on the Yukon driving from the mouth up many hundreds of miles many times per year. He'll put 13,000-15,000 miles per year on his sleds. He buys a new one every year since the last years will be worn out. I have a 2000 XCR800 I bought off a doctor who was leaving my town for $1,500.00. The Polaris service manual is wonderful in the explanations, with photos of the parts and part numbers of the special tools; I just finished perfectly aligning the front suspension with NOS shocks I found on HCS. When it comes time, I think I could even rebuild the engine if I wanted: this manual shows exactly how to do it. So...what is going to happen in 5-6 years when your new, $21,000 sleds' electronics start to fail? Tracking down that broken connection INSIDE a connector in a wiring harness buried underneath an engine you practically have to completely disassemble the front of the machine just to get too. Electronic throttles, EFI, sensors, God forbid; electronic oil pumps. And parts? Every year the sleds are darn near new designs. Yes they are fantastic, but look at the long run...
People have been saying that for years, that the new sleds are to complex. The technology has proven itself over the last 10years, minimal failures, likely much less then old school machines. Yes more complex to work on an require certain tools, but that is the cost of riding new newer much more comfortable, user friendly machine. Much the same with cars, I could drive a 1974 Ford LTD that I can fix pretty well anything with an imperial wrench set and a flat head screw driver….. but drive ability and comfort, I’ll jump in my direct injected With eco-boost F-150 any day
@@BrokeNclassics Never said anything about the technology, which implies complexity, of which I specifically pointed out the complexity of the electrical systems needed to support this sensors and machinery needed to make the things work, and the concurrent probability of that causing difficulties. I live in the Bush, not in the Lower 48. I can't call the local shop only 20-minutes away to come and get my machine that needs a diagnostic computer only available from the manufacturer to tell me what's wrong. User friendliness? If you have someone else wrenching on your machine. Parts availability is another big guess with planned obsolesence. And you've never taken a ride in a 1974 LTD sir, to compare the plushness of that vehicle (1974 Lincoln-Mercury Monterey 4-door I drove at university, LTD with different trim package), to a truck tells me that. This is all I'll say on this.
I borrowed 2019 Thundercatfrom a buddy on ride last year's Northern quebec ride and loved the motor but was in desperate need of traction so I wanted a longer ,bigger lug track but cat didn't offer any models to fit my requirements but yamaha does a xtx-le sidewinder I'm thinking I'm going to luv it .hoping for snow
I run the Nome Golovin 200 race. 200mi in about 2hrs. There are a few people who have tried to take this machine (2021 models) and tune them for huge horsepower gains. They are the fastest out of the gate but none have ever finished the race. Something blows on em before the 200mi is up, ie tracks and bearings. Ski-doo 850 renegades and Polaris 800 switchbacks are usually the ticket
Great review Mark. Premium snowmobile. ATAC? I’ve already forgot the acronym….works great. I prefer my Sidewinder on Firm. As much as I hate to admit it….the TCat has a small edge across the lake on my Sidewinder. Put it down to gearing or whatever. Good looking sleds too vs the stub nose Doo. Everybody wants to see the big race. MachZ vs TCat vs Sidewinder. We had somewhat of a picture of what will happen recently with the credible Annual New York Drags (on grass tho with very little snow down there). TCat held its title in box stock. 2/10th’s over the Doo in 660. With a little tuning the tables were turned. I would like to see something longer & the results there. Another question is staging. Will the Rotax reliability accept, say, 270hp+? Will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
As a ski doo guy I can’t wait to see you guys put the mach and the thundercat head to head I think that’s the only true way to know which is the fastest
as a guy that is not a skidoo guy, but owns a skidoo. if the lesters say this is the fastest, then i have to take their word. unless they are lying. in which, well they wouldn't be a credible source for information from here on out. so which is it? snowtrax? your opportunity to set it straight. floor is yours.
The factory races were 2 weeks ago in New York. The Tcat was faster. You can find the videos on youtube. Do I still want see real world races? you bet.
@@billmustardproductions9443 Yes the cat had a faster et but the doo had a faster trap speed of about 3 mph. Also the doo did not launch very well as the driver had a tough time keeping the front end down. He also did not use the launch control option. The real world will tell the tale once we get snow this winter. Going to be interesting for sure.
@@twisterzman I think mine does about 80 m.p.h ( not sure however ). I was just curious if the newer 2022 model sleds go like 150 miles per hour that's all.
@@Hockeyfan9884 ... ahhhh. Understood. No, anyone who claims 150 is smoking some good stuff. Lol.. yours should do much better than 80 sir! Much better!
@@errolpoxleitner7901 Arctic dealer for 30 years, loyal thru bankruptcy finally got tired of mandatory inventory pressure even in no snow years. Loved the product but management????? Yeah.
We had an Arctic Cat back in 1989, we bought it from a guy who used to drag race it across the lake up Deep Creek Lake, it had studs on the track, they said they had it up to 140 mph. We had a Massey Ferguson, Yamaha, Ski-Doo and 3 others. That Artic Cat was by far the fastest one we had. This one guy we went to look at his snowmobile, he took me for a ride on his, that thing was fast, he reared up the front end and I was doing all I could to hold on, because I was younger and the guy was fat! Lol.
It blows my mind how there isn't a rail of some kind included on that tunnel for accessories. At this point in the market, tunnel rails should be standard.
Should be standard and at this point the other OEM's would be wise to just license linq from BRP. BRP would sell a crap ton more in accessories to people who won't buy BRP sleds. Unfortunately, whoever designed Cats abomination of an accessory system needs a knock upside the head. There are a few people making adaptor plates for BRP's linq system. I put two sets on my XF and couldn't be happier. Just measure up the fore and aft distance correctly for two sets of adaptors and most BRP linq products will fit.
Loved my Polaris growing up in the 90s. Unfortunately we don't get as much snow in western mass anymore. So snowmobiling as a hobby of mine no longer exists
I still have my 1997 Arctic Cat 900, mountain cat. Have not EVER did a speed test per say, only what's on the dial. Some say it does about 100 miles per hour. If that is so, (and by the way, at times I had death grips on those handlebars ), How much faster is the brand new 2022 top rocket compared to my " old girl"
Funny how all of these old sleds are coming back ! Mach Z ! now thundercat ! Yamaha are coming back to 2 strokes, will they revive the old Polaris Storm ? That would be so cool !
Thundercat's live rent free in Ski Doo fanboys heads. They just can't stand a 5 year old sled that still can't be touched by the latest and greatest Doo and its hilarious
WTF are you talking about cledus? first of all every arctic cat thunderchicken and Yamaha sidewider are clusterfucks with arctic cat chassis and Yamaha engine technology. That's right, Arctic cat had to borrow the engine technology from Yamaha just to be compeitive. Yamaha is using arctic cat chassis in the sidewinder's. 2nd, who the hell told you that the New Mach-Z can't "touch" the thunderchicken or sidewinder? show me one bit of proof that the New Mach-Z can't Touch the thunderchicken? I bet you can't.
@@cledussnow9507 YOU IGNORANT FOOL, The Ski-doo Mach-Z had the fastest MPH IN BOX STOCK RUNS AND QUICKEST ET AND MPH IN DEALER PREP RUNS. The mach only didn't win the box stock et because it had way to much weight transfer in pulled the nose way up in the air thus hurting it's ET, Once the dealer was allowed to adjust the suspension the MACH HAD THE QUICKEST ET AND FASTEST MPH IN BOTH DEALER PREP RUNS. IN Box stock runs the MACH STILL HAD THE FASTEST MPH.
This sled needs more traction. Amen! For many reasons, this is a requirement. The TCat/Sidewinder has too much power to go without. Truthfully, better traction starts with 144 studs. Don’t kid yourself.
How bout a thunder cat motor in a mountain sled and bring back the king cat. Or a big bore 2 stroke king cat, do something for us loyal customers on the mountain.
As a Ski-Doo guy, I have no problem tipping my hat to Arctic Cat if they have the fastest machine. That's been a claim to fame for AC for years. I choose Ski-Doo for other reasons. Still, a showdown with the Mach Z would be fun to watch.
@@ACatKrom watched that shootout, and yes in the 660 foot time, the yamcat was slightly faster, but slower in mph. Maybe the fact that the mach z was in the air for 40 feet and still managed to run faster mph, and if the sled was down, then it beats the yamcats time as well! And you say the mach didn't come close?
@@atikameg73 too bad i can't post pictures on here, would screen shot the yamcats times vs the mach z, we are talking a tenth of a second maybe, and the mach z was on a 45° angle because it pulled it's skis in the air for a good 30 to 40 feet, and still managed to run faster than the yamcat in mph and tenth of a second slower time wise🤣
Yes! These walk around videos are so much better without the script. Save the script and all those little slang terms you love to shower the “sno-mo-biz” with for the printed pieces. Keep the the more fluid and natural dialogue for the videos. Even Sr. here doesn’t look stiff and robotic.
At least they are both good engines to share. Both are very reliable in their respective market segment. Unlike that other company that used to have good motors until they added 50cc.
I miss the good old days of going to bed and hearing someone lighting up a triple triple on a straight away behind the house. Oh and the smell of a two stroke. Sweet dreams.
I have been waiting all winter for these videos. These are the videos that I enjoy. Not so much talking to the people that make them they’re biased lol you tell it how it is.
I'm soooo happy he started it 😅👏👏👏 I hate it when RUclipsrs show you something and don't even start it or rev it
It’s all about balance and making the machine custom to you ! My sled is tailored for me , custom shocks , seat , skis bars etc . It’s heavier then this sled , and doesn’t tire me it out at all . I would get one , it just needs to snow earlier , and last longer to purchase another machine at the price they are going for now ….
If I find 18 grand extra this is the sled I would have in the garage. You do a great job and speak clearly and at just the right speed.
Yamaha makes great motors period and very hard to beat in performance, reliability and longevity!! That’s why that Cat is fast. SRX has been the fastest for quite sometime maybe cat and Yamaha had some type of deal.. I like that they work together and would like to try one someday. I have and old but very nice SRX700 and some ski doo etecs
Ford Taurus sho was a Yamaha motor
@@Welcometofacsistube ya a friend of mine has a 98 and I have the 99.. I took my windshield off and painted the back of it white which gave it extra pop from the blue.
@@Welcometofacsistube one of the fastest coolest of all time
Arctic scrap have never made their own motor. Having said that I'm also very poor and can't afford one, not even an old one.
@@goodbyemr.anderson5065 Arctic cat does make there're own
engines at the engine plant in St Cloud Minnesota that was built in 2014. Both the 6000 and 8000 2 stroke series engines.
Just in passing, I have seen several dyno tests performed on the 998. All of those tests indicated beyond 200 HP for stock engines.
The 998 does have loads more to give without changing the bones of the engine.
For drag racers, the 998 is a dream come true!
Believe it or not, there is tunning available out there with basic parts to go along that will elevate the 998 to over 375 HP. That is a package available to the consumer public. Insane!
Fascinating but insane.
In tight cornering through the woods, there is typically one way to operate the 998, nice and easy.
Been a Cat rider since 1979. Still the best.
I drove an EXT, & was very pleased with its ergonomics!
Thanks for starting it. You guys are awesome.
My cousin just smashed multiple world records on one of these, 2125 miles in 24 hours with No issues.
Kinda miss sledding. I quit probably 20 years ago but still have the sled 1996 zrt 600 141 track light weight hood and seat aluminum bulkhead psi pipes and lots of jetting and clutch work. But that was the fun part back then head to the mountain with handful different springs and weights and maybe a helix or two 🤔. There's nothing like the sound of a nicely tuned triple at 9600 rpm
I'd like to get into snowmobiling someday, but our winters here have totally sucked for the past few years. We don't get much snow anymore so it would just be sitting in the shed collecting dust. ATV's seem to be the more practical choice nowadays for our crappy weather. It's definitely not like when I was a kid when we'd get the occasional snow storm that would almost bring the snow to bottom of the houses windows. :)
still riding my 02 zrt 600 and 00 srx 700 my 99 tcat is in storage
Im still rocking a 96 Zed as well. Pa bought her brand new in fall of '95. Completely agree, nothing sounds better than a screamin 2 stroke. With my boy right on the threshold of riding by himself, we rock an '00 Triple Touring 600. Greasy Triple til Death!!!
My 2022 Tcat EPS was not delivered until March of 22'. This is my 5th and favorite Tcat by far. One big improvement not mentioned on the video is the new adapt clutch. It is a great unit that makes the sled faster than the previous models. If you have an older 998, I would swap out the clutch for an adapt.
I am glad you started it!
Being a giant, this is my kind of sled. I Had a Thundercat of days gone by and loved it. If only I lived in an area I could use this everyday. the HD would be gone.
I think the industry needs to invent something that makes people less stupid on the trail. See if we can keep people on the right side of the trail around turns.
Dear god, do I agree. My boy just got his license this year and Ive preached this to no end. Cant tell ya how many close calls Ive had over the years with morons. Had on guy try to pass me in the powder to the right of the trail and watch him smoke a power pole. Long story short, his buddies caught up several minutes later, got him onto a sled to head to the hospital and the ones left behind were saying this was their last trip with him regardless. Reckless and stupid were the common descriptors of his riding.
@@32degreesretarded62 This is the same idiot that buys a Tcat. Got lots of dollars, not much sense. They are here in the east big time. It is why I ride in Canada. Too many that cause problems for the rest of us. Same for the "tuner" sleds.
@@oldwrench4213 I own several triples from the muscle era, 2 of which are Tcats. I use them for the trails and the occasional lake blast. But you are correct. Most that buy those machines think they can use the power on the trail. Maybe Im just old but I feel there is a time and place for playing on the big sleds. And its NOT on a trail.
Another wonderful video and fantastic content! Good job boys.
Thanks Jordan!!
Great job as always Mark!
Thanks Mark, again, as always, great content!
I have a mint 2009 fastest production sled ever built, the 2009 Arctic Cat Z1 turbo. 180hp at that time was unheard of. It has studs so the machine will still leave a lot of todays trail machines in the dust on a wide open spot. The torque of the big 1100 cc 4 stroke with a turbo is insane. A lot have never rode it. But it’s well over 200lbft of torque. This thundercat is a beast and nice to see they are still at it. My favourite snowmobile I own right now is my mxz tnt. It’s so easy and light to ride and 600 etec is a amazing engine. 9578km and still kicking on no rebuild
I have the 2010 ZR1 1200cc turbo custom built sled 2 mods plus lunch control ! Insane power!
@@chrisfischer8595 nice I bet that is crazy fast because factory stock it’s a violent machine
Man let me tell you, I’ve got all td 4 stage tuner, intercooler, clutching, drives and all that jazz on my 09 z1 turbo pushing abt 300hp. Can’t say I’ve ever lost a race to this day, things insanelyyyy fast. Gotta love those big 4 stroke turbos
So do I and my FIL. Those things are speed freak tanks.
I’d like to see a comparison between this sled and the Thundercat 2 stroke 1000. Just for fun.
I have a 2020. Did not put enough studs on.. need to add more. Studs are indeed very necessary.
Cant wait to see it rip on the next video!! Love the review.
MORE OF MARK PLEASE!
i'll stick to my my old xc700, there isnt a single sled made nowadays that justifies a price tag over $ 10,000, not too mention the required enclosed trailers and $70,000 trucks to haul them north just so you can find rideable snow, a fool and his money are easily parted
Looking forward to getting my hands on one for a test ride. I have to find out if the EPS is as much of a game changer as it was on my Yamaha Grizzly.
Works so good on the Grizzly.
I had the millennium edition thundercat back in the day. It was a beast and killed everything for so many years. Maybe I’ll try a new one out
Need to bring back the full hood open concept, to hard to work on these new machines when u have trouble out in the boonies. And my nearest dealer is a good 1000 kms away with no highway here.
Return of the clamshell hood.
Need a answer , not a link i dont want.
I haven't been the guy on the big numbers sled for a while, the last time I went out for that it was on a 2013 apex, and whereas squeezing that throttle was absolutely addictive riding the sled on trail was exhausting after a few hours. I'm sure the newer models in this segment have made improvements but the sheer scale of this thing makes me think touring on it is best done in a leisurely style. From the seat of my mxz 8, I have a hard time picturing spending a full day on a sled like the Thundercat. Though I am certain this thing has just about everyone grinning ear to ear when they punch it.
I remember when the Arctic Cat Pantera 1000 came out, my friend bought one. It was awesome on the lake he could take one hand off the bars and pass darn near anything while waving at them but on the trails after 100 miles it tired him out very quickly. He sold it a year later.
Its a Sidewinder in another dress. I Wonder how they try to set em apart.
@@Repend usually with clutching ski's and shock tune
@@zp9898 Thanks
@@Repend it’s actually cat chassis, cat shares there chassis while Yamaha shares there engine
One major improvement that is needed on all manufacturers is a better drive system either more indestructible belts or a a transmission, belts are so expensive and just don't last in high power sleds
Truer words have yet to be spoken. Sleds have come a LONG ways over the decades but belts are something that need attention. Direct drive CVT??
In March of 2019 at the snowmobile spring shows the adversited price to order a 2020 thunder cat..was $16,395. What has changed updated or been added since besides decals and power steering to the old outdated chassis. And priced way north of 20 grand today. To reflect the increase. Wages on the other hand do not keep up for the 22+ present increase. For the same old same old snowmobile.
Your wages may have not kept up but that's on you for not keeping pace with inflation!
Let's Go Brandon!! Anybody who voted for Sleepy Joe, gets what they deserve.
@@Mr1Tanker wow...Nobel prize of Economy right there...geez
Holy crap I’ve been out of the scene forever , they’ve come a long way since my 74 elan 250. Jeez these must be 30,000 $ wow would love to giver on one of these .
So ... i am one of those guys .. I bought my 09 Nytro brand new from a dealership in Barrie . Sled was a beast from the get go and i was in love . Then one day out with a group of guys for a run , literally just got 50m down the trail and there was a loud mechanical burp and that was it . No power and green and brown fluid all over the trail . Picked up the metal debris from the ground and many hours later at home i was able to reassemble the shards of metal i found into 2 things , the hole the connecting rod had punched thru the block that was shaped in an "H" pattern from the base of the connecting rod and the end of the rod itself.
I took the sled to another dealership that shall remain nameless due to shoddy service and poor mechanical skills ( found out a few seasons later ) and showed them the parts i grabbed off the ground and the sled itself . I left and a few days later i was called by this dealership and told to come to meet them at the shop that day . I did and once i was in the office of the shop, i was greeted by two guys in suits that were from Yamaha Canada and wanted to ask me what i was doing when the sled broke etc . Thank goodness the dealership that the sled was at had done the last 3 services to the sled so the paperwork was good and they walked off to huddle up in the corner and discuss. A good while later they came back and said that Yamaha Canada has not seen this happen before and needed to take my engine and ship it to Japan to see what the cause was . Then i was told that i would be receiving a new crate engine from Japan to replace mine as mine only had 1200kms on it ( not 12k but 1.2k) and i had to pay for the labour which ended up costing 1500$ . Season was blown at that point and eventually 3 months later i was told to come and pick it up . I was a happy camper indeed .
Right up till the next season as it was throwing codes left and right and was down in power and just not riding right . Took it to another dealership that figured out what was the issues in 5 minutes . The previous dealership had hacked up my wiring so badly then spliced into the wiring harness a huge section from an Apex that they soldered , taped and zip tied to the point where the current mechanic who i still only deal with and is a gem of a human being , started laughing and fixed everything and only charged me labour . Go Matt the Ginger at Markham Mowers !! 5 years of bonkers fun riding and the second engine is loving life and runs like a swiss clock .
Cheers .
Cool story. So what ya think of the cat lol.
@@davidhudson3733 Cheers and as always you folks have eloquently and factually made my case easier to convince my wife that this sled or its twin ( SRX) needs to be in my garage :)
Never heard of any nytros blowing there bullet proof.
@@RICHIE_RICH89 Which is why i bought it .. but since the new one went in and the rewiring , its been a swiss clock :)
@@RICHIE_RICH89 Which is also why reps from Yamaha asked questions about how he was riding when the engine blew. Unlike domestic brands the Japanese take pride in their engineering. They took the engine to see what went wrong with it and "gave" him a new one. Because to them it shouldn't have failed in the first place.
My friend told me of a similar story about a guy who owned an older Toyota Tundra, minus the engine blowing up. The owner took care of it with regular maintenance and oil changes and managed to get somewhere in the range of 2 - 3 million miles on it. Toyota of Japan got in contact with him and purchased the truck off of him so they could disassemble the engine and see why it lasted so long. It's good to take pride in your product, sadly not many companies do that anymore.
Great walk around review Mr. Lester … 👍👍.
Thank you!!
Thanks for educational posting, keep up these great videos👍
A friend of mines husband does fur-buying on the Yukon driving from the mouth up many hundreds of miles many times per year. He'll put 13,000-15,000 miles per year on his sleds. He buys a new one every year since the last years will be worn out. I have a 2000 XCR800 I bought off a doctor who was leaving my town for $1,500.00. The Polaris service manual is wonderful in the explanations, with photos of the parts and part numbers of the special tools; I just finished perfectly aligning the front suspension with NOS shocks I found on HCS. When it comes time, I think I could even rebuild the engine if I wanted: this manual shows exactly how to do it. So...what is going to happen in 5-6 years when your new, $21,000 sleds' electronics start to fail? Tracking down that broken connection INSIDE a connector in a wiring harness buried underneath an engine you practically have to completely disassemble the front of the machine just to get too. Electronic throttles, EFI, sensors, God forbid; electronic oil pumps. And parts? Every year the sleds are darn near new designs. Yes they are fantastic, but look at the long run...
People have been saying that for years, that the new sleds are to complex. The technology has proven itself over the last 10years, minimal failures, likely much less then old school machines. Yes more complex to work on an require certain tools, but that is the cost of riding new newer much more comfortable, user friendly machine. Much the same with cars, I could drive a 1974 Ford LTD that I can fix pretty well anything with an imperial wrench set and a flat head screw driver….. but drive ability and comfort, I’ll jump in my direct injected With eco-boost F-150 any day
@@BrokeNclassics Never said anything about the technology, which implies complexity, of which I specifically pointed out the complexity of the electrical systems needed to support this sensors and machinery needed to make the things work, and the concurrent probability of that causing difficulties. I live in the Bush, not in the Lower 48. I can't call the local shop only 20-minutes away to come and get my machine that needs a diagnostic computer only available from the manufacturer to tell me what's wrong. User friendliness? If you have someone else wrenching on your machine. Parts availability is another big guess with planned obsolesence. And you've never taken a ride in a 1974 LTD sir, to compare the plushness of that vehicle (1974 Lincoln-Mercury Monterey 4-door I drove at university, LTD with different trim package), to a truck tells me that. This is all I'll say on this.
I borrowed 2019 Thundercatfrom a buddy on ride last year's Northern quebec ride and loved the motor but was in desperate need of traction so I wanted a longer ,bigger lug track but cat didn't offer any models to fit my requirements but yamaha does a xtx-le sidewinder I'm thinking I'm going to luv it .hoping for snow
Great episode. Keep up the good work
Is it though ? Has it gone head to head with the Mach Z or the new polaris VR1 boost or the MXZ turbo ?
It´s like a Yamaha Sidewinder
i want to see a race between the Mach Z 2022 vs Thundercat 2022 :D!
How fast is it. I had a Yamaha exciter and I had it up to 90 before I ran out of road and had to slow down.
I run the Nome Golovin 200 race. 200mi in about 2hrs. There are a few people who have tried to take this machine (2021 models) and tune them for huge horsepower gains. They are the fastest out of the gate but none have ever finished the race. Something blows on em before the 200mi is up, ie tracks and bearings. Ski-doo 850 renegades and Polaris 800 switchbacks are usually the ticket
What's taking arctic cat so long come out with 2 stroke turbo trail sled
Great review Mark. Premium snowmobile. ATAC? I’ve already forgot the acronym….works great. I prefer my Sidewinder on Firm. As much as I hate to admit it….the TCat has a small edge across the lake on my Sidewinder. Put it down to gearing or whatever. Good looking sleds too vs the stub nose Doo. Everybody wants to see the big race. MachZ vs TCat vs Sidewinder. We had somewhat of a picture of what will happen recently with the credible Annual New York Drags (on grass tho with very little snow down there). TCat held its title in box stock. 2/10th’s over the Doo in 660. With a little tuning the tables were turned. I would like to see something longer & the results there. Another question is staging. Will the Rotax reliability accept, say, 270hp+? Will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
As a ski doo guy I can’t wait to see you guys put the mach and the thundercat head to head I think that’s the only true way to know which is the fastest
as a guy that is not a skidoo guy, but owns a skidoo. if the lesters say this is the fastest, then i have to take their word. unless they are lying. in which, well they wouldn't be a credible source for information from here on out. so which is it? snowtrax? your opportunity to set it straight. floor is yours.
The factory races were 2 weeks ago in New York. The Tcat was faster. You can find the videos on youtube. Do I still want see real world races? you bet.
@@billmustardproductions9443 Yes the cat had a faster et but the doo had a faster trap speed of about 3 mph. Also the doo did not launch very well as the driver had a tough time keeping the front end down. He also did not use the launch control option. The real world will tell the tale once we get snow this winter. Going to be interesting for sure.
@@edileo2112 are we forgetting it’s just a tune away from gapping sleds by seconds
@@edileo2112 if you cant hook on grass, what can you hook on?
Love this guy!
Would someone please put the Sled guys in charge of the SXS part of Arctic Cat?
I have a 1996 Arctic Cat Puma , will do at least 55 mph on a good day haaa !
Does it come with a walker
Need more riding footage.
good job again mark!
I will keep my two 2000 Thundercats. One still in the Crate. The perks of once Owning a Cat Dealership.
I own the 1997 , thundercat, mountain cat , 900 cc tripple. Does the new 2022 thundercat turbo go 150 M.P.H ?
Nobody has a stock 150mph sled, including you. Sorry man... but there is no way.
@@twisterzman I think mine does about 80 m.p.h ( not sure however ).
I was just curious if the newer 2022 model sleds go like 150 miles per hour that's all.
@@Hockeyfan9884 ... ahhhh. Understood. No, anyone who claims 150 is smoking some good stuff. Lol.. yours should do much better than 80 sir! Much better!
@@twisterzman Lol. Yup. Have a great New Year Man.
@@Hockeyfan9884 you as well! Enjoy that t cat!
Is Arctic Cat going to supply you guys with test sleds again?
HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE SO!!!!!!
Anyone know the range of the tiny tank ? How about starting in cold ? Cheers
EPS does seem to slow the TCat’s top end slightly.
Got my like 👍
im more a 600 2cycle guy but i would love to take a Blast down a open stretch just to clear out the cobwebs in my 66 year old head 👍🇺🇸😱
OK arms like Lou Ferrigno
So if traction such an issue how come you don’t get a new track design or at least studied from the factory
i hate 4 strokes butwant a buddytoget this nd let me gut it and long track it! be anew ditchpickel
remember when artic cat got banned in canada? does this still have bombardier copy parts on it?
It's hard to be excited by the same design for a decade. I hope Arctic-Cat do something big next year or they will be out of business.
I was a dealer for 40 years and they dumped not only me but 10 other dealers in the area so you know where that's going.
@@errolpoxleitner7901 Arctic dealer for 30 years, loyal thru bankruptcy finally got tired of mandatory inventory pressure even in no snow years. Loved the product but management????? Yeah.
Only thing they can do with that sled now is put wings on it, great video can't wait for the next one, luv my 22 with eps
Wonderful remarks on a nice sled. Unfortunately these sleds wind up in the wrong hands and we as snowmobilers pay the price for it.
I'd like to see this up against a new srx. They both have the genesis motor right? Why is this faster?
Where did they get the electronic power steering idea from mark? Just wondering? 16 xf 800 owner.
yamaha
We had an Arctic Cat back in 1989, we bought it from a guy who used to drag race it across the lake up Deep Creek Lake, it had studs on the track, they said they had it up to 140 mph. We had a Massey Ferguson, Yamaha, Ski-Doo and 3 others. That Artic Cat was by far the fastest one we had. This one guy we went to look at his snowmobile, he took me for a ride on his, that thing was fast, he reared up the front end and I was doing all I could to hold on, because I was younger and the guy was fat! Lol.
really cool jacket
The best part is no one will ever steal it👍
Way. To. Go. Nice
Is there going to be a regular show this year?
SnowTrax returns to television NEXT WEEK on OLN and Sportsman Channel in Canada and Outdoor Channel across America!
It blows my mind how there isn't a rail of some kind included on that tunnel for accessories. At this point in the market, tunnel rails should be standard.
Polaris had them and now went away from them in the matrix platform.
Doo has that Market cornered, totally forget other manufacturers don’t have that
@@prairiepirates1034 linq system is without a doubt the best system. i do like the mountain addiction rails i put on my polaris tho
Should be standard and at this point the other OEM's would be wise to just license linq from BRP. BRP would sell a crap ton more in accessories to people who won't buy BRP sleds. Unfortunately, whoever designed Cats abomination of an accessory system needs a knock upside the head. There are a few people making adaptor plates for BRP's linq system. I put two sets on my XF and couldn't be happier. Just measure up the fore and aft distance correctly for two sets of adaptors and most BRP linq products will fit.
I still liked it. I'm subd' nice job.
Arctic cat needs come out 8000 zr rr turbo trail sled
Loved my Polaris growing up in the 90s. Unfortunately we don't get as much snow in western mass anymore. So snowmobiling as a hobby of mine no longer exists
What do these things weigh, like 700lbs?
Does it drive?
So, you said it's the fastest, but never said how fast. What is the top speed?
I still have my 1997 Arctic Cat 900,
mountain cat. Have not EVER did a speed test per say, only what's on the dial. Some say it does about
100 miles per hour. If that is so, (and by the way, at times I had death grips on those handlebars ), How much faster is the brand new 2022 top rocket compared to my " old girl"
Where you guys riding ?
Funny how all of these old sleds are coming back ! Mach Z ! now thundercat ! Yamaha are coming back to 2 strokes, will they revive the old Polaris Storm ? That would be so cool !
Thundercat's live rent free in Ski Doo fanboys heads. They just can't stand a 5 year old sled that still can't be touched by the latest and greatest Doo and its hilarious
WTF are you talking about cledus? first of all every arctic cat thunderchicken and Yamaha sidewider are clusterfucks with arctic cat chassis and Yamaha engine technology. That's right, Arctic cat had to borrow the engine technology from Yamaha just to be compeitive. Yamaha is using arctic cat chassis in the sidewinder's. 2nd, who the hell told you that the New Mach-Z can't "touch" the thunderchicken or sidewinder? show me one bit of proof that the New Mach-Z can't Touch the thunderchicken? I bet you can't.
@@bobhirdes6725 youtube grass drags at Inlet, right there and it's all done with the same rider.
@@bobhirdes6725 lemme guess, you own a Ski-Doo?
@@bobhirdes6725 they should just change the names of the Ysmahas and Arctic Cats to Yamacats or something similar.
@@cledussnow9507 YOU IGNORANT FOOL, The Ski-doo Mach-Z had the fastest MPH IN BOX STOCK RUNS AND QUICKEST ET AND MPH IN DEALER PREP RUNS. The mach only didn't win the box stock et because it had way to much weight transfer in pulled the nose way up in the air thus hurting it's ET, Once the dealer was allowed to adjust the suspension the MACH HAD THE QUICKEST ET AND FASTEST MPH IN BOTH DEALER PREP RUNS. IN Box stock runs the MACH STILL HAD THE FASTEST MPH.
Wonder how fast my 157hp '03 Polaris 800 XCR woulda been with a Turbo? Sure didn't need one. It was my-t fast for 18 years ago!!
Did I miss how much it was?
This sled needs more traction. Amen!
For many reasons, this is a requirement. The TCat/Sidewinder has too much power to go without. Truthfully, better traction starts with 144 studs. Don’t kid yourself.
So many zippers on that suit! Team Arctic! The power steering ---grow some!
Why on earth would you eat your lunch on the trail? It’s over, you didn’t get the message?
Not enough snow anymore to justify a new machine unfortunately.
as much as i would love a new sled i love my beaters
How much? You know, Price?
Think around 25 CDN and 20 US?
How bout a thunder cat motor in a mountain sled and bring back the king cat. Or a big bore 2 stroke king cat, do something for us loyal customers on the mountain.
I wonder how many people who watched this know who Lou Ferrigno is.
lol I give ya a thumbs up
As a Ski-Doo guy, I have no problem tipping my hat to Arctic Cat if they have the fastest machine. That's been a claim to fame for AC for years. I choose Ski-Doo for other reasons. Still, a showdown with the Mach Z would be fun to watch.
@@ACatKrom I'll check it out!
@@ACatKrom I will run my 2022 Mach Z against it!
@@ACatKrom watched that shootout, and yes in the 660 foot time, the yamcat was slightly faster, but slower in mph. Maybe the fact that the mach z was in the air for 40 feet and still managed to run faster mph, and if the sled was down, then it beats the yamcats time as well! And you say the mach didn't come close?
@@ACatKrom I bet you are a liberal. Did you even watch the shootout? 🤣
@@atikameg73 too bad i can't post pictures on here, would screen shot the yamcats times vs the mach z, we are talking a tenth of a second maybe, and the mach z was on a 45° angle because it pulled it's skis in the air for a good 30 to 40 feet, and still managed to run faster than the yamcat in mph and tenth of a second slower time wise🤣
Yes! These walk around videos are so much better without the script. Save the script and all those little slang terms you love to shower the “sno-mo-biz” with for the printed pieces. Keep the the more fluid and natural dialogue for the videos. Even Sr. here doesn’t look stiff and robotic.
Fair enough. We have a couple more lined up. Stay tuned...
Top speed?
Stay tuned...
Arctic cat has the best front suspension in the business they pioneered it / just ask the copycats skidoo and polaris!!
Is the all new Yamaha 2 stroke going to be really fast also?
At least they are both good engines to share. Both are very reliable in their respective market segment. Unlike that other company that used to have good motors until they added 50cc.
yamaha dont have a 2 stroke its a cat engine in the yamaha the whole sled is a cat
@@michellemelanson357 read what he said a few more times. You will get what he meant.
Ruins my day? It ruins my whole winter!!!
Is that the guys dad from American pie?