Ziemann

I understand that completely. I'm finding that the older I get, the less I want to tinker. I look back at the time I spent on testing/tuning, and the frustration of testing something only to find that it had a negative effect..... I understand your OCD statement completely. I hate to say it, but I lost out on a lot of good riding screwing around with sleds that were a lost cause..... Now? I want to just enjoy the ride....

@mnstang - most likely yes. Like any project sled, it was built to tinker with and see if I could make it work. I probably could have tinkered with that thing indefinitely, and never achieved what I was hoping to given the mismatch between the front and rear suspension. I addressed a lot of things, but didn't know enough about shock valving to do it right.

That is 100% correct, @Not greg b. The sharp angle of the skid combined with the decreased track making contact on the snow scrubbed a lot of speed off of the top end. Not to mention the increase in wind drag....

There was a ton of "Sit in" when you sat on the seat. The rear suspension would collapse to a near normal height, but it was still high enough to impact handling. The goal was to have the air pressure set to allow as much travel as possible without bottoming out. Even tho it rode great and felt like riding a pillow, the handling would "wallow" (as I called it), with excessive ski lift in the corners. It you put more weight on the front end to improve the ski lift, then it became too easy to over drive the front suspension. My solution was to add different dual rate front springs. Th

Correct- It was a FAST M10 Air Wave- adjustable air pressure- There was a ton of ride in with that suspension- probably sagged in roughly 50%. The ride-in reduced the height, but it was still too high causing ill handling. It was a cool toy tho....

Tastes like chicken.....

Don't knock it til ya try it......

This was one of my Franken-sleds back in the day. The 900 was and will forever be one of my favorite engines.

This kind of racing?

For someone like me or probably @ZR6000RR/ Jim, I suspect the belt drive will work fine. I'm skeptical still about longevity, but think it'll work well. Like anything else, we'll learn quickly what the service life is for the belts, and replace it preventatively like any other belt. I don't think it'll be a big deal. Stutter bumps cause some harmonics and rhythmic vibrations that seem to destroy sleds. Something has to give somewhere. If a person can grenade a chain case in those conditions, they sure as hell can grenade a cogged belt. I've heard enough feedback from people using t

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Oddly enough- you're not wrong about that. I think you can make a strong argument that they all have done a pretty poor job.

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I understand the definition of loyalty perfectly. For some reason you assume that I'm not a loyal Cat customer. I'm not sure where you got that idea. My garage and trailers are all Cat except for one sled: A VR-1 (which has been a great product). As a few people here on FS can attest, my Cat experiences range from the race track to my local trails. You know damn well that Cat's market share plummeted when they lost their core customers like me. Only a moron would marginalize 30 years of purchasing history, and 30+ new Cats, and think that's not the epitome of loyalty. Reality Check: Cat

Frankly- From a credibility standpoint, I'd value @favoritos feedback on the Catalyst more than anyone else. He has always been a straight shooter and is very insightful. I look forward to some pics once @favoritos takes delivery. I am also curious on the various accessories- tunnel bags, etc.....