Cat AWS1 chassis

[mnstang]

Got one of the cooler aws1 sleds, a 92 prowler special.  Got some nos shocks for it, an accessory nos low windshield, the accessory plastic skis with green loops.  Motor now on bench because I found the stator side crank seal completely smoked so it's getting a full reseal and Suzuki pistons.  

Big summer project.

 

[Ambush]

I had a ‘91. Got it as a holdover. Hated that sled, but have a lot of memories. The ‘91 had single ring pistons that wore out quickly. Cat replaced them with twin ringers under warranty. That sled had the unnerving tendency to rotate to either side when airborne. I broke one of those aluminum spindles because of that. The side of the tunnel buckled on me where the spring arm mounting brackets were riveted to the tunnel. Apparently it was a common issue because The ‘92 had bigger brackets.

In the off season, my dealer let me go along  to pick up some sleds. While there we went through the salvage department and I picked up a headlight assembly from a 92 and put on it. Took the sled to black magic and had them do a port job on it. I won my class in every speed run I entered that second year as a result. No one cared though because that was the year the zr debuted. Interesting enough, I think I still have the original pipe off that thing if anyone needs it. It is different than the ‘92 however.

Ah, the days of my youth…

[mnstang]

15 hours ago, Ambush said:

I had a ‘91. Got it as a holdover. Hated that sled, but have a lot of memories. The ‘91 had single ring pistons that wore out quickly. Cat replaced them with twin ringers under warranty. That sled had the unnerving tendency to rotate to either side when airborne. I broke one of those aluminum spindles because of that. The side of the tunnel buckled on me where the spring arm mounting brackets were riveted to the tunnel. Apparently it was a common issue because The ‘92 had bigger brackets.

In the off season, my dealer let me go along  to pick up some sleds. While there we went through the salvage department and I picked up a headlight assembly from a 92 and put on it. Took the sled to black magic and had them do a port job on it. I won my class in every speed run I entered that second year as a result. No one cared though because that was the year the zr debuted. Interesting enough, I think I still have the original pipe off that thing if anyone needs it. It is different than the ‘92 however.

Ah, the days of my youth…

Cool!!  I've been looking through the performance manuals and parts diagrams, I've noticed quite a bit of changes from 91 to 92.  The suspension was all different, the skid was totally different.  I noticed the pipe being different also, you can visibly see the difference.  I'd be interested in the 91 pipe but I can't imagine ever actually using it.  I like the 92 because it has the fixed windshield and I was never a fan of the turning windshields.  It's interesting, all the old cat advertisements and even the 92 cat "action" promo video show the 92 with the turning windshield.  Same with bosscat legacy site.  It must have been a very late change.  There's so little info and recognition of these sleds.  Even in the Cat history books I have, the ZR overshadows anything in this time frame so nothing else gets mentioned.  I kind of like that they're a super niche/forgotten sled that most people don't even know about.  I'm excited to ride this thing, we have a blast on our fan coolers in this chassis so this will be similar but also very different.

Do you know the difference in cylinders?  The 93-94 had different cylinders, then the 95 had its own cylinder also (that sled has small carbs for new rules).  I should probably just leave the sled be but I wonder if bolting a later cylinder on would be an easy bump up in power.  Country cat has 2 nos 95 cylinders for cheap, like 200 each.

[Ambush]

If I remember correctly, I believe it was just minor porting differences in the cylinders. Those things were really over carbed and didn’t  make any power down low. I think my clutch engaged about 5 grand to try to overcome it. You have to remember these were the days before power valves, so they really were chasing top end power. If my memory serves me right, the standard prowler made 62hp. The 91’ special, which supposedly had the same bottom end as the 550, made 68. As far as the rest of the sled, you are correct, they had many, many changes. The ‘91 specials were recall and update queens. The dealers hated those things as so much had to be redone. I remember gussets being put on the lower a-arms and oil pumps being replaced just to name a few. I remember piles of steel plates at my dealer that had to be welded on the skis of most 91 sleds back in the winter of 92. I wish I could remember all of the updates, but that was quite a while ago…🫣

[mnstang]

20 hours ago, Ambush said:

If I remember correctly, I believe it was just minor porting differences in the cylinders. Those things were really over carbed and didn’t  make any power down low. I think my clutch engaged about 5 grand to try to overcome it. You have to remember these were the days before power valves, so they really were chasing top end power. If my memory serves me right, the standard prowler made 62hp. The 91’ special, which supposedly had the same bottom end as the 550, made 68. As far as the rest of the sled, you are correct, they had many, many changes. The ‘91 specials were recall and update queens. The dealers hated those things as so much had to be redone. I remember gussets being put on the lower a-arms and oil pumps being replaced just to name a few. I remember piles of steel plates at my dealer that had to be welded on the skis of most 91 sleds back in the winter of 92. I wish I could remember all of the updates, but that was quite a while ago…🫣

The first year prowler in 90 had 62.  They changed carbs and cylinders and exhaust and the 91+ 440 had 68.  The Prowler special in 91 had 72 and I'm not sure if the 92 was much different, probably very similar.  Yes the specials were a different motor from the other 440lc motors, it used the 550 cases and motors mounts, not the engine plate.  

In the 92 performance manual they talked about alot of the updates for 92.  It did talk about the new oil injection pump.  Also updated carb settings for 92 as it mentioned 91 was lean between 1/4-3/4 throttle and could cause engine burn down.  They mentioned welding the rear parts on the skis in the racer setup tips and I think I saw a bulletin in there about new a arms too!  I asked about the 95 cylinders on a zr Facebook group and a few guys said the 95 had porting changes and were faster so I bought those 95 cylinders to try.  Maybe after a season of getting a good baseline I'll put them on to see if they're a good improvement or not, they were cheap.