I just got back from steamboat springs, they had 50" of new snow in two days. Truly epic stuff. It was my second day on my brand new Alpha it was incredible. I've never been more reassured in my buying decision. Outperformed an 850 summit and '18 RMK consistently. Those riders admitted it, too.
I know im late today but I ride in northern ontario and we get around 10 feet of snow in the middle of winter and comparing on and off from my 16 163 3" summit Xm too a 2020 G4 expert and a 2019 Alpha, I still prefer my XM. I know i'm used too it but th alpha feels like it goes over too easily and I find myself not being able too ride in anything other than deep powder without overcorrecting, and the G4, man it's just so much harder on belts, it doesn't really have that much more horsepower, and it's a lot harder on gas. It burns slightly less oil than my 800R but it burns atleast 20% more gas riding in the same lines
That may be the best non bias review of anything I've ever seen. Needs to be more people like you that dont have skin in tha game and somebody their trying to impress. You said it best when you said still need a rider, not necessarily the sled. I know that's not exactly what you said but I think you get it. Again. Thanks for the review
Going to be interesting to see if the other manufacturers have single rail skids in their mountain sleds in the next season or two. Seems like this is the biggest thing to hit snowmobiling since the REV. Love to see one of these skids in the rear with the old Yamaha TSS suspension up front!!!
great review. i want that alpha! i have the 850 now but Im really not getting along with it while sidehilling in harder snow. I was thinking of get new front suspension or just trade it in for an alpha.
Thanks. Engine wise, the 165 Alpha Hardcore C-tec 800 with an SLP pipe I got feels just as strong as the 850 Doo. It pulls hard, and combined with the new clutch gives way better low down response and track speed than the older Cats. I haven't tried the new Doo front end yet, but I assume they have finally fixed the stupidity that was the old one. Changing the front sus on my Doo 850 was expensive but made a massive difference. Loved the sled once that was done. Add washers to the bolt to stiffen up the floppy skis.
@@208SledHead yes I bought the alpha -20. But I had alot of bad luck. The engine seized after a couple of hours riding. Snow got in the airbox, so make sure to do that mod. But after they fixed it during warranty (it took months) and I was ready for the next season, it got stolen... so right now I don't have a snowmobile. Arctic cat is easy to steal, I didn't have any locks on it, so he just rode away with it. And I barely rode it so I dont know if its better than the g4.
@@kribaska Oh. My. God. I'd be furious!! If there's one thing I can't stand it's thieves. They deserve to rot in hell. Sorry to hear about the seized motor...unfortunately no brand is 100% failure free, but Cat hangs their hat on reliability (minus their previous clutches) so I'm surprised to hear about that seizing. Thanks for responding man - hope you get back on the snow sooner than later!
@@208SledHead yeah everyone else's cat seems to run fine. I had to wait long for parts, but this was mid pandemic and I live in Sweden. So I can't blame arctic cat for that
Great review I rented alpha a few yrs back i never felt comfortable on it it felt to low i currently have 17 850 gen 4 i like it a lot came off 2015 m8000 i liked that a lot also doo is much easier to ride and much more power and much harder to get stuck .I like your videos entertaining and informative. i skied japan a few yrs back great trip i would love to get back to japan for sledding trip and some skiing as well let me know if you have any info for how to hook up with a possible sled rental guide ect. Thanks keep videos coming
another nice review, just viewing the video, it looks as though there is a pro Rider on the alpha. It looks so effortless. Looks like so much fun, can't wait to ride one...
Ken Molter II: Thanks. I’m looking forward to reviews by actual pros who can ride to the limit. Snowtrax has one coming soon. Meanwhile I’ll putter around.
I've watched this video several times and since moving to east Idaho where I ride Island Park, Yellowstone, Alpine etc etc, I think a fair statement is the Alpha is a better machine when the snow is DEEP. It gets on top better and requires less input from the rider. Power is NOT an issue. BUT - when the snow conditions suck - the G4 is the sled I'd want to be on. When there's no powder, that Alpha can get tricky to ride. It's also really hard on it's track (Alpha) and Cat doesn't have the financial support that Polaris and Ski Doo does. So when you bust your Alpha track - good luck finding a replacement. They're both great sleds but the Cat is an even MORE specific mountain sled where the Summits and RMK's can be tolerable when the snow sucks.
I agree. The Alpha eats powder but gets scary on hard spring snow. My only gripe with the G4 is its bump steer and tendency for the skis to fall into holes that the Alpha rides straight over. Much prefer the Cats in cut up junky stuff. Anyway I have sold the G4 and ordered a Khaos so will be comparing Polaris and Cat this winter (if the Khaos arrives…) Hope to ride the G5 too as I get the feeling all the mountain sleds are converging on a similar feel.
@@AkatarawaJapan I think you’re probably right. It all comes down to holding an edge and the amount of rider input required when it comes to the mountain segment. I think they’re all good machines - I’m a Polaris guy but I’d ride a Doo or Cat in a heartbeat. The new Catalyst chassis makes me REALLY excited for Cat…if they offered a twin rail in the Hardcore model, it *might* be enough to persuade me to do that over a Khaos. Polaris’s S7 display is still unmatched though…especially with the rider tracking not having to rely on an app. like Doo’s does. Honestly, I feel like the manufactures should actually work together and develop a tracking system that would interlink between all models - just from an ethical standpoint - but I doubt that’ll ever happen. Be sure to keep us updated when your new sled arrives!🙂🙂
Great vid,this changes alot...the flex , SLED evolution...shedding snow weight...ice..!...slush..!...can't imagine this on a smaller sled..250 or 350..?wow.land o' lakes,wi.usa.
What do you have your limiter strap set to on your g4? I'm on 3 and you seem to have more ski loft than I do. I think that would help me a bit on harder snow.
How much you get snow in year at Japan? I have heard you got many metres of snow. In Finland we normal have like 1 metre of snow, but this year is realy bad, because we just have like 50cm snow.
Reliability and fit & finish of the Doo wins it for me, hands down. That cat motor also just sounds like there's something wrong with it, just a noisey motor.
Dude, you sound EXACTLY like Korg from Thor Ragnarok haha. Hopefully, you don't take any offence to that because Korg is the best character in that movie ;)
@@reesewilliamson3346: My Summit hasn't tried to kill me yet but it feels weird until you get used to it. And the Doos surely have the dorkiest looking face on the market.
Dawson Gagnon: A lot of Doo riders struggle on Cat or Polaris because the Doo rides so differently. But they’re all great sleds, mate. Hope you’re getting some ride time this season.
Boon Docker: Why? Would be interested to know your reasons. I like my ugly G4 but the other sleds out there are all so very good. We’re the winners, except that in Japan the sleds cost 50% more than in the US.
M Brown: haven’t ridden the RMK 850 yet. Keen to try it. Just back from another day on the Summit 850. Great motor but man the steering is weird. Like a car with overactive self-centering.
Would like to see what that alpha can do in REALLY deep snow in the mountains .
saywen: Me too.
I just got back from steamboat springs, they had 50" of new snow in two days. Truly epic stuff. It was my second day on my brand new Alpha it was incredible. I've never been more reassured in my buying decision. Outperformed an 850 summit and '18 RMK consistently. Those riders admitted it, too.
Brent Zomer: 50 inches. Paradise.
YES! great VIDEO!
I know im late today but I ride in northern ontario and we get around 10 feet of snow in the middle of winter and comparing on and off from my 16 163 3" summit Xm too a 2020 G4 expert and a 2019 Alpha, I still prefer my XM. I know i'm used too it but th alpha feels like it goes over too easily and I find myself not being able too ride in anything other than deep powder without overcorrecting, and the G4, man it's just so much harder on belts, it doesn't really have that much more horsepower, and it's a lot harder on gas. It burns slightly less oil than my 800R but it burns atleast 20% more gas riding in the same lines
That may be the best non bias review of anything I've ever seen. Needs to be more people like you that dont have skin in tha game and somebody their trying to impress. You said it best when you said still need a rider, not necessarily the sled. I know that's not exactly what you said but I think you get it.
Again. Thanks for the review
Squirrel Chaser: Cheers for that. New two-stroke Yamaha review coming soon. Unbelievable.
Going to be interesting to see if the other manufacturers have single rail skids in their mountain sleds in the next season or two.
Seems like this is the biggest thing to hit snowmobiling since the REV. Love to see one of these skids in the rear with the old Yamaha TSS suspension up front!!!
Sean Nelson: That would be something. Or how about a Patriot 850 driving an Alpha skid with Ski-Doo SHOT ignition.
great review. i want that alpha! i have the 850 now but Im really not getting along with it while sidehilling in harder snow. I was thinking of get new front suspension or just trade it in for an alpha.
Thanks. Engine wise, the 165 Alpha Hardcore C-tec 800 with an SLP pipe I got feels just as strong as the 850 Doo. It pulls hard, and combined with the new clutch gives way better low down response and track speed than the older Cats. I haven't tried the new Doo front end yet, but I assume they have finally fixed the stupidity that was the old one. Changing the front sus on my Doo 850 was expensive but made a massive difference. Loved the sled once that was done. Add washers to the bolt to stiffen up the floppy skis.
What did you end up doing Kris? Did you get rid of your G4??
@@208SledHead yes I bought the alpha -20. But I had alot of bad luck. The engine seized after a couple of hours riding. Snow got in the airbox, so make sure to do that mod. But after they fixed it during warranty (it took months) and I was ready for the next season, it got stolen... so right now I don't have a snowmobile. Arctic cat is easy to steal, I didn't have any locks on it, so he just rode away with it. And I barely rode it so I dont know if its better than the g4.
@@kribaska Oh. My. God.
I'd be furious!! If there's one thing I can't stand it's thieves. They deserve to rot in hell.
Sorry to hear about the seized motor...unfortunately no brand is 100% failure free, but Cat hangs their hat on reliability (minus their previous clutches) so I'm surprised to hear about that seizing. Thanks for responding man - hope you get back on the snow sooner than later!
@@208SledHead yeah everyone else's cat seems to run fine. I had to wait long for parts, but this was mid pandemic and I live in Sweden. So I can't blame arctic cat for that
Thanks for that review. You helped me make up my mind.
Nathan Post: Cheers. Can’t go wrong with either.
Great review I rented alpha a few yrs back i never felt comfortable on it it felt to low i currently have 17 850 gen 4 i like it a lot came off 2015 m8000 i liked that a lot also doo is much easier to ride and much more power and much harder to get stuck .I like your videos entertaining and informative. i skied japan a few yrs back great trip i would love to get back to japan for sledding trip and some skiing as well let me know if you have any info for how to hook up with a possible sled rental guide ect. Thanks keep videos coming
Thanks. All the sleds are good. I just try to ride as much as I can and keep making new mistakes.
one tip for the summit, take the extra tip off your skis. the snowmobile became totally different. it helps me alot. but next week, i have Alpha 165"
There 's some kind of add-on tip? Didn't know that. Thanks--will take a look.
@@AkatarawaJapan yes it is. try to take them of, and tigth the center shock a bit. you must not have to much pressure on the skis
@@AkatarawaJapan let me know how it goes :-)
another nice review, just viewing the video, it looks as though there is a pro Rider on the alpha. It looks so effortless. Looks like so much fun, can't wait to ride one...
Ken Molter II: Thanks. I’m looking forward to reviews by actual pros who can ride to the limit. Snowtrax has one coming soon. Meanwhile I’ll putter around.
Knowing my luck I would hit a tree stump
I've watched this video several times and since moving to east Idaho where I ride Island Park, Yellowstone, Alpine etc etc, I think a fair statement is the Alpha is a better machine when the snow is DEEP. It gets on top better and requires less input from the rider. Power is NOT an issue.
BUT - when the snow conditions suck - the G4 is the sled I'd want to be on. When there's no powder, that Alpha can get tricky to ride. It's also really hard on it's track (Alpha) and Cat doesn't have the financial support that Polaris and Ski Doo does. So when you bust your Alpha track - good luck finding a replacement.
They're both great sleds but the Cat is an even MORE specific mountain sled where the Summits and RMK's can be tolerable when the snow sucks.
I agree. The Alpha eats powder but gets scary on hard spring snow. My only gripe with the G4 is its bump steer and tendency for the skis to fall into holes that the Alpha rides straight over. Much prefer the Cats in cut up junky stuff. Anyway I have sold the G4 and ordered a Khaos so will be comparing Polaris and Cat this winter (if the Khaos arrives…) Hope to ride the G5 too as I get the feeling all the mountain sleds are converging on a similar feel.
@@AkatarawaJapan I think you’re probably right. It all comes down to holding an edge and the amount of rider input required when it comes to the mountain segment. I think they’re all good machines - I’m a Polaris guy but I’d ride a Doo or Cat in a heartbeat. The new Catalyst chassis makes me REALLY excited for Cat…if they offered a twin rail in the Hardcore model, it *might* be enough to persuade me to do that over a Khaos. Polaris’s S7 display is still unmatched though…especially with the rider tracking not having to rely on an app. like Doo’s does. Honestly, I feel like the manufactures should actually work together and develop a tracking system that would interlink between all models - just from an ethical standpoint - but I doubt that’ll ever happen.
Be sure to keep us updated when your new sled arrives!🙂🙂
Does anyone else think this guy is living in a dream world? Living in the mountains of Japan riding sleds all day? What did I do wrong?
John Miller: In my dreams is correct. Back to work tomorrow...
You should quit your day job and be a snowmobile tourist guide. Sign me up!!!!
Only open space in Japan, that not populated. He riding sled in it. Lol.
lmtada: Most people are surprised at how much space there is in Japan. Just got to get off the plains and into the hills.
Great vid,this changes alot...the flex , SLED evolution...shedding snow weight...ice..!...slush..!...can't imagine this on a smaller sled..250 or 350..?wow.land o' lakes,wi.usa.
Thanks. Yep, the mono makes all the other minor changes on sleds this year seem boring, even though they are all great machines.
They make a 600 anything smaller cant get to the mountains so there is no market
What do you have your limiter strap set to on your g4? I'm on 3 and you seem to have more ski loft than I do. I think that would help me a bit on harder snow.
I don’t even know what it’s set at. Must take a look sometime.
Not a lot of people can explain how a sled Is behaving. 👍 for this review.
Cheers.
How much you get snow in year at Japan? I have heard you got many metres of snow. In Finland we normal have like 1 metre of snow, but this year is realy bad, because we just have like 50cm snow.
Freeride Prod: Plenty of snow in Japan now. Not a massive year but we’re cooking.
@@AkatarawaJapan okay 👍
Reliability and fit & finish of the Doo wins it for me, hands down. That cat motor also just sounds like there's something wrong with it, just a noisey motor.
Velislide: The Cat c-tec 800 motor is solid as. The new clutch roller bearing system does sound a bit weird but it works well.
How reliable are your belts in that Doo? Lmao
Flag Ov Hate So far no problem but could smell the burn on long uphill pulls until I fitted the 2019 vent kit upgrade.
@@AkatarawaJapan yea they should have come from the factory with vented side panels. I don't understand how they haven't figured that out yet.
im surprised there isnt a 2 stroke yamaha alpha sledd based on arctic cat chassi and 800 ctech 2 why not cat uses the turbo in thunder cat
Guess lots of Yamaha fans would like that.
Yamaha has a two stroke one finally
The end was funny lol. I would love an alpha. I would also love to snowmobile in Japan. If you ever in Colorado let me know and we will go riding.
ZX9 Green: Yay Colorado. Spent four winters there, but that was before I got addicted to sleds.
@@AkatarawaJapan awesome where did you live at?
ZX9 Green: Vail.
Awesome there's some great riding there. I ride a lot near Winter Park
Dude, you sound EXACTLY like Korg from Thor Ragnarok haha. Hopefully, you don't take any offence to that because Korg is the best character in that movie ;)
Jared Gulaga: Ha. He’s my brother (maybe).
Thought about it , not me...🤔🤧
Looks nice to ride in Japan! Is this in Hokkaido like ridejapan.ca?
Central Japan. Only a couple of hours from Tokyo.
Which one is better? I'm a ski Doo man but really looking at a cat.
kappersjohn: Tried to answer that at the end. But I’m sure you could make a convincing argument the other way.
The cat looks better (personally) and doesn't trap any snow, the skidoo constantly tries to kill you and traps alot of snow
@@reesewilliamson3346: My Summit hasn't tried to kill me yet but it feels weird until you get used to it. And the Doos surely have the dorkiest looking face on the market.
Just go with an alpha
Akatarawa Japan skidoo is also the most reliable
If you want to cheaply drop 30 or so pounds dump the stock can and dump the electric start
True. But I wish every maker had ski-doo's SHOT system. Best of both worlds.
Which one has more power?
Kaden Hopper: Don’t know the numbers but the Doo feels a bit stronger low down and they seem similar maxed out.
@@AkatarawaJapan alpha has 160 summit is165
The alpha sounds so much like the old 2001 Suzuki 800 twin.
Michael Johnson: For sure. Still a lot of Suzuki know-how in the C-TEC. Good engine.
I love the Skidoo summit, I want one-!!!!!
Cheers. I like the Summit a lot. Great motor and very easy to ride once you get the front end sorted out.
Crazzykuls 06 😂🤣
@@kristiankulsethkvernmo3413 FU!
alphatarawajapan > akatarawajapan
They both rip had an alpha n a doo in colorado for a month its basically a rider pref caus niether could get better
I agree. We're living in a golden era for sleds. But the Alpha needs SHOT!
Ur right it is also opinion
Arti cat alpha i want one
For sure. I ended up getting one so let's see how it goes this winter.
I have about 400 miles on my 2020 Hardcore Alpha now, I really like the sled.
I got one it is really nice niw I am waiting for the winter
I’ve road an alpha 1 and I have a summit and the alpha 1 is horrible compared to the summit
Dawson Gagnon: A lot of Doo riders struggle on Cat or Polaris because the Doo rides so differently. But they’re all great sleds, mate. Hope you’re getting some ride time this season.
Yea there all good but it is oppinion
Here is no snow😂😂
Bad luck. We've just had a massive dump.
Its better
Buck Bill which one????
Alpha
Buck Bill good choice
Good vid
Cheers. More stuff coming on Cats, Doos and the AlphaHawk.
We have summits there awesome
Good on you. I like mine too.
Ski Doo all the way
Take my Polaris over both those beats all day long
John McCrillis: I finally got to ride a Polaris 850 RMK today. Great machine. Surprised how similar it rides to a Cat.
Until the motor goes BOOM
Uh huh... have pulled out a blown doo and seen some blown alphas this season. But no Poos.... Poo, for the win@@boondocker1219
John McCrillis lol it’s no secret poo having motor issues
The 800 Pro ride yes. Had one, blew up. But My 18 is awesome, and the 850's even better. Strongest motor on the hill now.@@boondocker1219
Skidoo is still better hands down
Boon Docker: Why? Would be interested to know your reasons. I like my ugly G4 but the other sleds out there are all so very good. We’re the winners, except that in Japan the sleds cost 50% more than in the US.
Neither is as good as the Polaris 850
M Brown: haven’t ridden the RMK 850 yet. Keen to try it. Just back from another day on the Summit 850. Great motor but man the steering is weird. Like a car with overactive self-centering.
Good luck with that Polaris motor