2024 Arctic Cat Catalyst 'Chassis' details?

[taperk600 105]

5 hours ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

@taperk600, can you post your review here?

Sure....be warned, it's long....

 

Warning.....long winded report below...

Went to the Catalyst demo rides in Old Forge today. We got there at 845 because of the posted show starting time of 9am and had heard slots for the rides were gone fast at other demo rides They had started sign up for rides at 8:30 and we were the last 2 slots in "group 2" leaving at 10:15. I rode the ZR 129 IFP first, then the R-XC, ZR 129 ATAC, and lastly the Galaxy Blue ZR 137 ATAC.

Well.....I wish the conditions were different.... how often do you hear someone wanting bumps instead of flat trails. And the trails were a mix of frozen granule ice/snow and ice. So no studs and stock carbides didn't help to really get a feel for the chassis. Also really couldn't tell how well (or not) the new suspension works because it was flat.

Unfortunately for Cat, I personally can not see buyers of a competitor being swayed based on the demos today....mostly because we are all becoming more and more accustomed to the rider forward style. But also because of the flat conditions and there not being a way for the chassis to shine. On the trails next season is where this sled will convert people.

But from what I could tell, this chassis is a huge step forward for Cat...even as good as the ProCross is/ has been. The new motor does seem stronger. I would have loved to have had some real traction to get a decent feel just how much stronger. But you can tell it is more responsive than the current 600 mill. Even with track spin, you could feel the sled wanting to accelerate. Hitting the throttle at 40/50 mph it would shift and you knew it wanted to go, but you knew it was all track spin showing the immediate jump to 70/80 mph. But again, you could tell there was more than the current 600.

I tried pretty hard to get some ski lift out of the chassis, but it stayed planted. But it didn't feel front heavy / biased like the Procross can. This is definitely a planted Cat front end. The seat is great (but isn't almost anything compared to the ProCross seat?). As is the seating position. Ergos around the console, side panels feel about perfect. But not sure about the open foot wells to be honest. I can see when really leaning in a corner how the force on your outside foot could make it slip out. Especially being on the shorter side (5'7") and the taller seat causing my knee / upper leg to be higher...if you can follow my thoughts there. The switch gear has a few minor changes, like there is more plastic around the start/ reverse switch which made it noticeably harder to push. Not sure if they are, but the bars felt slightly more narrow than on the ProCross. Could just be the way they had them adjusted. It's nice to see a manufacturer including a tether AND a RCA / heated shield connector as standard features. And there is still the 12volt plug inside the storage compartment between the gauge and bars.... would be nice if it was an USB plug.

After reading about how "playful" the new uncoupled 129 skid is supposed to be, I honestly was hoping to see a noticeable difference between the new skid and the coupled 137. But again, couldn't tell with these conditions. Every time I shifted my weight back to see how the 129 would react / lift the skis/ etc....all it would do is blow the track out under me....so, again, impossible to tell. But the 137s did seem to need a little more steering effort in the corners than either 129 did.

The RXC 137 vs ZR ATAC 137 was a surprisingly noticeable difference. I fully expected the RXC to be stiffer. So no surprise there. But it also felt like the chassis was more rigid also. Not sure what additional braces, larger diameter hardware, etc there are on the RXC, but I liked the feel of the RXC. We all know the current ProCross R-XC is different than the RRs and especially the ZRs. But for some reason this seemed more noticeably different than in the ProCross chassis.

When we got there at 845 they did have a R-XC inside (missing a rear idler wheel that they did replace and then added the sled to the demo rides). People were crawling all over that, taking panels & hood off, putting them on. Looking under the hood, etc. Didn't pay attention to the secondary (should have) to see if it was still the TSS-04 or not. And the motor honestly doesn't look like it's mounted any lower or further back towards the bulkhead, but I bet if you measured it, it would be. However I did notice the clutch side belly pan had a small metal tab like piece with a button type end on it right next to the primary. Should have grabbed a picture of it to explain it better. It's to keep the plastic from contacting the primary when the plastic is flexed. Evidenced by the marks on the primary cover when it had rubbed at different times. Not what that thin (and already known to crack) primary cover needs is something rubbing against it. Hopefully this is one of those little things they catch with pre-production units and either add more support to the belly pan or something and not end up with this band-aid fix (in my opinion). Once that R-XC was added back to the rides the only Catalyst for people to look at, crawl over, was a M outside.

If I had to make any complaint about the Catalyst based on today, it would be the "deluxe" gauge that we are still stuck with. I asked one of the factory reps there when we were going to actually get the reported new "modern" gauge that could be a competitor to the Poo 7s or whatever Doo calls their new one. The response....."well I've seen it"...... What a response!! Lol !!

Overall, I am excited to get this chassis come fall. Based on today, this motor is ahead of the current Cat 600. Not near my 22 800 RR. And I'd question if it would compete with my 23 VR1 650. But without traction today, we will see about that next year when I get my sleds and they are studded, etc and compare them then. The chassis brings Cat into the modern era of where Poo and Doo are....even though I can't stand to ride the newer Doos... personally can not get comfortable on any of the newer Doos I've ridden. Going from my 23 Poo to my 22 RR you begin to realize how dated the ProCross really is. The Catalyst addresses this and I personally feel could leap ahead, especially once the new big bore 2 stroke (and other rumored motors) comes out.

Apologies for the long report.....

[mnstang 1,625]

7 hours ago, Not greg b said:

Production gauge on the non adapta

Interesting, I didn't know that.  I like the dual screen better, partly just because of the illuminated Arctic Cat logo, I liked that.  But I suppose this one does fit with the minimalist theme of this machine and it still has the info I'd want.

[Premium 218]

So guys really seem to like the 129, but I'm wondering after seeing a few reviews if I'll still be disappointed in the lack weight transfer. The current benchmark for me is my buddy's 2023 XC 850. That thing is a wheelie machine if you want it to be but rails if you want it to...just depends on where your weight is. I get that in a racing scenario you want the skis planted at all times...but that's not what I want out of a machine for everyday riding. 

I always laugh during early and late season riding when water holes are open, you'll pull up to a lunch spot and the Cat's always have the muddiest front ends because you cannot loft the skis over the water holes lol.

[Crnr2Crnr 6,845]

34 minutes ago, Premium said:

So guys really seem to like the 129, but I'm wondering after seeing a few reviews if I'll still be disappointed in the lack weight transfer. The current benchmark for me is my buddy's 2023 XC 850. That thing is a wheelie machine if you want it to be but rails if you want it to...just depends on where your weight is. I get that in a racing scenario you want the skis planted at all times...but that's not what I want out of a machine for everyday riding. 

I always laugh during early and late season riding when water holes are open, you'll pull up to a lunch spot and the Cat's always have the muddiest front ends because you cannot loft the skis over the water holes lol.

have noticed similar traits with the RXC... but also haven't monkeyed with the rear blocks on it.

if there's anyone here who I trust to compare the Procross to the Catalyst... it's Taper. 

 

Edited March 11 by Crnr2Crnr

[Litre1000 5]

On 9/11/2022 at 11:46 AM, ICG said:

That sled too. Was  ahead of its time

And still better looking than what's available today

[Crnr2Crnr 6,845]

1 hour ago, Litre1000 said:

And still better looking than what's available today

 

lmao, I had to go back about 30 pages to figure out wth you were referring to... 

in person they're not pretty to look at... but there was some serious engineering going on back then outside of the major manufacturers.    just look at that bar rizah...   

[mnstang 1,625]

Yeah I saw one at haydays and stopped to look how ugly it was.  Very ugly 

[Crnr2Crnr 6,845]

9 minutes ago, mnstang said:

Yeah I saw one at haydays and stopped to look how ugly it was.  Very ugly 

once you get past the ugly, there was some really great engineering going on in them

hideous though

 

Edited March 11 by Crnr2Crnr

[Not greg b 1,332]

4 hours ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

once you get past the ugly, there was some really great engineering going on in them

hideous though

 

I guess those are actually really shitty sleds to ride and were never “ahead of their time” even compared to sleds of that time. When the rev came out there was nothing good about the red line and it hadn’t even made it to the “production” date they claimed yet.

Edited March 11 by Not greg b

[Not greg b 1,332]

I should order me a new blade and be the cool kid on the block 

[mnstang 1,625]

1 hour ago, Not greg b said:

I guess those are actually really shitty sleds to ride and were never “ahead of their time” even compared to sleds of that time. When the rev came out there was nothing good about the red line and it hadn’t even made it to the “production” date they claimed yet.

But it's got tubes

[AK440 109]

13 hours ago, taperk600 said:

Sure....be warned, it's long....

 

Warning.....long winded report below...

Went to the Catalyst demo rides in Old Forge today. We got there at 845 because of the posted show starting time of 9am and had heard slots for the rides were gone fast at other demo rides They had started sign up for rides at 8:30 and we were the last 2 slots in "group 2" leaving at 10:15. I rode the ZR 129 IFP first, then the R-XC, ZR 129 ATAC, and lastly the Galaxy Blue ZR 137 ATAC.

Well.....I wish the conditions were different.... how often do you hear someone wanting bumps instead of flat trails. And the trails were a mix of frozen granule ice/snow and ice. So no studs and stock carbides didn't help to really get a feel for the chassis. Also really couldn't tell how well (or not) the new suspension works because it was flat.

Unfortunately for Cat, I personally can not see buyers of a competitor being swayed based on the demos today....mostly because we are all becoming more and more accustomed to the rider forward style. But also because of the flat conditions and there not being a way for the chassis to shine. On the trails next season is where this sled will convert people.

But from what I could tell, this chassis is a huge step forward for Cat...even as good as the ProCross is/ has been. The new motor does seem stronger. I would have loved to have had some real traction to get a decent feel just how much stronger. But you can tell it is more responsive than the current 600 mill. Even with track spin, you could feel the sled wanting to accelerate. Hitting the throttle at 40/50 mph it would shift and you knew it wanted to go, but you knew it was all track spin showing the immediate jump to 70/80 mph. But again, you could tell there was more than the current 600.

I tried pretty hard to get some ski lift out of the chassis, but it stayed planted. But it didn't feel front heavy / biased like the Procross can. This is definitely a planted Cat front end. The seat is great (but isn't almost anything compared to the ProCross seat?). As is the seating position. Ergos around the console, side panels feel about perfect. But not sure about the open foot wells to be honest. I can see when really leaning in a corner how the force on your outside foot could make it slip out. Especially being on the shorter side (5'7") and the taller seat causing my knee / upper leg to be higher...if you can follow my thoughts there. The switch gear has a few minor changes, like there is more plastic around the start/ reverse switch which made it noticeably harder to push. Not sure if they are, but the bars felt slightly more narrow than on the ProCross. Could just be the way they had them adjusted. It's nice to see a manufacturer including a tether AND a RCA / heated shield connector as standard features. And there is still the 12volt plug inside the storage compartment between the gauge and bars.... would be nice if it was an USB plug.

After reading about how "playful" the new uncoupled 129 skid is supposed to be, I honestly was hoping to see a noticeable difference between the new skid and the coupled 137. But again, couldn't tell with these conditions. Every time I shifted my weight back to see how the 129 would react / lift the skis/ etc....all it would do is blow the track out under me....so, again, impossible to tell. But the 137s did seem to need a little more steering effort in the corners than either 129 did.

The RXC 137 vs ZR ATAC 137 was a surprisingly noticeable difference. I fully expected the RXC to be stiffer. So no surprise there. But it also felt like the chassis was more rigid also. Not sure what additional braces, larger diameter hardware, etc there are on the RXC, but I liked the feel of the RXC. We all know the current ProCross R-XC is different than the RRs and especially the ZRs. But for some reason this seemed more noticeably different than in the ProCross chassis.

When we got there at 845 they did have a R-XC inside (missing a rear idler wheel that they did replace and then added the sled to the demo rides). People were crawling all over that, taking panels & hood off, putting them on. Looking under the hood, etc. Didn't pay attention to the secondary (should have) to see if it was still the TSS-04 or not. And the motor honestly doesn't look like it's mounted any lower or further back towards the bulkhead, but I bet if you measured it, it would be. However I did notice the clutch side belly pan had a small metal tab like piece with a button type end on it right next to the primary. Should have grabbed a picture of it to explain it better. It's to keep the plastic from contacting the primary when the plastic is flexed. Evidenced by the marks on the primary cover when it had rubbed at different times. Not what that thin (and already known to crack) primary cover needs is something rubbing against it. Hopefully this is one of those little things they catch with pre-production units and either add more support to the belly pan or something and not end up with this band-aid fix (in my opinion). Once that R-XC was added back to the rides the only Catalyst for people to look at, crawl over, was a M outside.

If I had to make any complaint about the Catalyst based on today, it would be the "deluxe" gauge that we are still stuck with. I asked one of the factory reps there when we were going to actually get the reported new "modern" gauge that could be a competitor to the Poo 7s or whatever Doo calls their new one. The response....."well I've seen it"...... What a response!! Lol !!

Overall, I am excited to get this chassis come fall. Based on today, this motor is ahead of the current Cat 600. Not near my 22 800 RR. And I'd question if it would compete with my 23 VR1 650. But without traction today, we will see about that next year when I get my sleds and they are studded, etc and compare them then. The chassis brings Cat into the modern era of where Poo and Doo are....even though I can't stand to ride the newer Doos... personally can not get comfortable on any of the newer Doos I've ridden. Going from my 23 Poo to my 22 RR you begin to realize how dated the ProCross really is. The Catalyst addresses this and I personally feel could leap ahead, especially once the new big bore 2 stroke (and other rumored motors) comes out.

Apologies for the long report.....

Thanks for the detailed write up but I only listen to what the factory sponsored ambassadors have to say. You had some criticisms of the new sled and not everything was positive. I don’t want to hear that. I prefer my info on new sleds to come in the form of flawless praise in Instagram posts. I mean the new 9R “cuts like a ninja through the trees”. That gets my wallet out! Not reading that there was evidence of the primary cover rubbing on something. Get that nonsense out of here. That kind of stuff can wait until next season where guys will bring it up and then other guys can bash them for riding their sled wrong and hitting something with it. 

 

 

[ZR6000RR 286]

These are pre-production, Engineering sleds. They ride them, test them to find issues. They don't do it the Polaris way. Recall them and slap on stop rides because the forgot to test them.

[jdsky 968]

8 minutes ago, ZR6000RR said:

These are pre-production, Engineering sleds. They ride them, test them to find issues. They don't do it the Polaris way. Recall them and slap on stop rides because the forgot to test them.

Except you rode the same fuckin' demo sleds and said they were all perfect.  Completely flawless.  Bestest things on snow ever to be dreamed up and of course only cat could do something so tremendously stupendous.  Fucking Dipshit.

[ZR6000RR 286]

5 minutes ago, jdsky said:

Except you rode the same fuckin' demo sleds and said they were all perfect.  Completely flawless.  Bestest things on snow ever to be dreamed up and of course only cat could do something so tremendously stupendous.  Fucking Dipshit.

The one I rode had less than 500 miles and was pretty much perfect. I went over the M they had with the plastic off and did not see anything that scared me. Sled I rode was not on a demo. The Cat rep let us ride it without a consent form. It's good to know the ones in charge. Fucking pile of Dog Shit!

Edited March 11 by ZR6000RR

[Deephaven 6,862]

55 minutes ago, ZR6000RR said:

The one I rode had less than 500 miles and was pretty much perfect. I went over the M they had with the plastic off and did not see anything that scared me. Sled I rode was not on a demo. The Cat rep let us ride it without a consent form. It's good to know the ones in charge. Fucking pile of Dog Shit!

Ok jimwit

[airflite1 641]

1 hour ago, ZR6000RR said:

The one I rode had less than 500 miles and was pretty much perfect. I went over the M they had with the plastic off and did not see anything that scared me. Sled I rode was not on a demo. The Cat rep let us ride it without a consent form. It's good to know the ones in charge. Fucking pile of Dog Shit!

Of course it was they copied Polaris…  Now say something else Stupid Jimmy..

[Hub 13]

ZR6000 you really are a idiot. One stupid ass statement after another. 🖕🏼

[ZR6000RR 286]

7 minutes ago, Hub said:

ZR6000 you really are a idiot. One stupid ass statement after another. 🖕🏼

Sure you are. have you ridden it? You do realize that Mountain sleds do get laid over in the snow, hence the additional protection. Right? Like dealing with a lump of coal. Carbon form, but no brain activity what so ever!

[SeaShark 154]

3 hours ago, ZR6000RR said:

These are pre-production, Engineering sleds. They ride them, test them to find issues. They don't do it the Polaris way. Recall them and slap on stop rides because the forgot to test them.

Apparently you forgot about the Cat 2012 released sleds and their issues.

[ZR6000RR 286]

Just now, SeaShark said:

Apparently you forgot about the Cat 2012 released sleds and their issues.

Thar was 2012 dipshit! Add 12 years and lots of new quality upgrades. Probably a little out of your outhouse. The 2012 was rushed to market as well. Not so much the Catalyst. 

[Deephaven 6,862]

4 hours ago, ZR6000RR said:

Thar was 2012 dipshit! Add 12 years and lots of new quality upgrades. Probably a little out of your outhouse. The 2012 was rushed to market as well. Not so much the Catalyst. 

Explains the production model and it's quality at haydays.  Not rushed at all.  Bet in 2012 you said the same.

 

[Deephaven 6,862]

You are dumb enough you probably said that in 13 and 14 as well

[Not greg b 1,332]

1 hour ago, Deephaven said:

Explains the production model and it's quality at haydays.  Not rushed at all.  Bet in 2012 you said the same.

 

Remember “staplegate” hahaha 

[Tripleflipper 95]

9 hours ago, ZR6000RR said:

Thar was 2012 dipshit! Add 12 years and lots of new quality upgrades. Probably a little out of your outhouse. The 2012 was rushed to market as well. Not so much the Catalyst. 

12 years to release a new sled, LMFAO, no wonder most of their customers ride Doo and Poo now

Edited March 12 by Tripleflipper
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