Catalyst Updates

[p51mstg]

I see Arctic Cat is trickling out some more details.  Arctic Insider had some new info a couple of weeks ago, but this article talks about the same stuff and goes into more detail:

Exclusive Insight on Catalyst Design from Arctic Cat Engineering

Just this week, the latest Snow Tech magazine had a nice writeup on it, as well.

Does anyone have more info?

If the stars stay aligned and I can ride one in the near future, what would you like to know?

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by p51mstg

[Premium]

On 1/6/2023 at 10:30 AM, p51mstg said:

I see Arctic Cat is trickling out some more details.  Arctic Insider had some new info a couple of weeks ago, but this article talks about the same stuff and goes into more detail:

Exclusive Insight on Catalyst Design from Arctic Cat Engineering

Just this week, the latest Snow Tech magazine had a nice writeup on it, as well.

Does anyone have more info?

If the stars stay aligned and I can ride one in the near future, what would you like to know?

 

Now that the Cat is out of the bag and we know you're one of the lucky few to be part of the Catalyst product launch, we definitely need to revive this thread!

1) How does the sled feel??- ergos, weight, power, ride, handling, and weight transfer specifically

2) Have they done anything to address the premature driveshaft wear at the brake bearing interface?

3) They've been talking up the belt drive and tighter steering system that feels like power steering, what's your evaluation of these systems?

[p51mstg]

23 hours ago, Premium said:

Now that the Cat is out of the bag and we know you're one of the lucky few to be part of the Catalyst product launch, we definitely need to revive this thread!

1) How does the sled feel??- ergos, weight, power, ride, handling, and weight transfer specifically

2) Have they done anything to address the premature driveshaft wear at the brake bearing interface?

3) They've been talking up the belt drive and tighter steering system that feels like power steering, what's your evaluation of these systems?

Working on it!  😎

Those are questions I can answer.

[racinfarmer]

Assuming they are ready, expect to see 1-3 Catalyst sleds racing tomorrow.

[Crnr2Crnr]

On 1/13/2023 at 5:55 PM, racinfarmer said:

Assuming they are ready, expect to see 1-3 Catalyst sleds racing tomorrow.

nope

[Premium]

Yeah, bummed to see they aren't racing them yet

[Crnr2Crnr]

43 minutes ago, Premium said:

Yeah, bummed to see they aren't racing them yet

terrain racing is where I feel most of us want to see them in action.

[mnstang]

I think instead of answering specific questions it would be better to just share your overall impression about everything with the sled.  Rider triangle/ fitment/ergos.  Riding impressions.  Walk around impressions.  Everything.

[Premium]

34 minutes ago, mnstang said:

I think instead of answering specific questions it would be better to just share your overall impression about everything with the sled.  Rider triangle/ fitment/ergos.  Riding impressions.  Walk around impressions.  Everything.

I want to hear specifics lol

But I definitely agree on the bold...so tired of my knees hitting the console

Edited January 16, 2023 by Premium

[Crnr2Crnr]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/832855321418501/permalink/922736809097018/

Troy Halvorson commenting... 

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Crnr2Crnr

[p51mstg]

3 hours ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/832855321418501/permalink/922736809097018/

Troy Halvorson commenting... 

 

That’s good information and not an exaggeration.  The new steering linkage - in my opinion - makes EPS unnecessary for two strokes.  The sled feels a lot lighter and the 600 feels stronger (even though I’m not sure the redesign added ponies).  Cornering is really, really flat.  I was hitting corners faster and flatter than I thought it was possible.  The lower center of gravity is noticeable immediately.  

The seating position allows you to put more weight on the skis a lot easier, even though you’re sitting more upright.  I can see a need for knee pads, however.  I didn’t have a problem, but another rider did.  I thought seating position was very good overall.

The seat is firm and flat on top, I would say similar to the Polaris seats.  Not like the Thundercouch or the beanbag chair on the current Riot at all.  It looks too small, but at 6’3”, I didn’t think it felt that way at all.  The front is really narrow, which helps when shifting your weight, while the back is wide for the straights and bumps.
 

One down side of being lower, it reminds me of the 70’s TX’s and elTigre’s, as far as wind protection.  Maybe it’s about the same as the ProCross, because I run the wind deflectors and a big trail windshield on my Riot.  But, the cowling feels quite a bit lower to me, and narrower.  I felt colder.  

Edited January 16, 2023 by p51mstg

[p51mstg]

I did ask an engineer about the brake-side drive shaft bearing and he looked at me like he didn’t know whether he was supposed to talk about it or not.  What he did say was that this assembly has been redesigned and there’s no way for the bearing to spin on the shaft like a ProCross would.

 

[Premium]

3 hours ago, p51mstg said:

I did ask an engineer about the brake-side drive shaft bearing and he looked at me like he didn’t know whether he was supposed to talk about it or not.  What he did say was that this assembly has been redesigned and there’s no way for the bearing to spin on the shaft like a ProCross would.

 

Praise the lord

3 hours ago, p51mstg said:

That’s good information and not an exaggeration.  The new steering linkage - in my opinion - makes EPS unnecessary for two strokes.  The sled feels a lot lighter and the 600 feels stronger (even though I’m not sure the redesign added ponies).  Cornering is really, really flat.  I was hitting corners faster and flatter than I thought it was possible.  The lower center of gravity is noticeable immediately.  

The seating position allows you to put more weight on the skis a lot easier, even though you’re sitting more upright.  I can see a need for knee pads, however.  I didn’t have a problem, but another rider did.  I thought seating position was very good overall.

The seat is firm and flat on top, I would say similar to the Polaris seats.  Not like the Thundercouch or the beanbag chair on the current Riot at all.  It looks too small, but at 6’3”, I didn’t think it felt that way at all.  The front is really narrow, which helps when shifting your weight, while the back is wide for the straights and bumps.
 

One down side of being lower, it reminds me of the 70’s TX’s and elTigre’s, as far as wind protection.  Maybe it’s about the same as the ProCross, because I run the wind deflectors and a big trail windshield on my Riot.  But, the cowling feels quite a bit lower to me, and narrower.  I felt colder.  

How tall was the other rider?  As you are tall, I wonder if shorter riders like myself are having the issue?

 

 

[Palu49]

Curious with not much changing in the skid is the front end still super planted like the procross or is it lighter like the axys/matryx

[Premium]

51 minutes ago, Palu49 said:

Curious with not much changing in the skid is the front end still super planted like the procross or is it lighter like the axys/matryx

Also curious on this

 

[p51mstg]

The Catalyst ZR's corner like a friggin slot car.  Trying to get a ski to lift in a corner is possible, but most of the time it's an exercise in frustration.  The three of us trail riders all had the same impression.  It made me look like a much better rider.

The rider in our group who said he hit his knees is about 6' even, and I'm 6'3".  We had various riders between 5' and 6' and none of them complained about it.  I just put 100 miles on my Riot yesterday and trying to ride that like a Catalyst, I banged my knees constantly.  So, I think it will come down to riding style, and is probably not as big of an issue as with the ProCross.

I'm going to need a favor from you guys.  I'm putting together a 9-ish minute video to highlight my thoughts on the Catalyst, and I need you guys to watch the entire thing to help my Youtube algorithms.  I don't care if you mute it and watch something else at the same time, I just need views and to watch the entire thing.  Will let you know when it's up and would appreciate anyone's help, if you feel so inclined.

[Premium]

39 minutes ago, p51mstg said:

The Catalyst ZR's corner like a friggin slot car.  Trying to get a ski to lift in a corner is possible, but most of the time it's an exercise in frustration.  The three of us trail riders all had the same impression.  It made me look like a much better rider.

How were conditions? All flat groomed trails or did you try a variety of terrain?

The rider in our group who said he hit his knees is about 6' even, and I'm 6'3".  We had various riders between 5' and 6' and none of them complained about it.  I just put 100 miles on my Riot yesterday and trying to ride that like a Catalyst, I banged my knees constantly.  So, I think it will come down to riding style, and is probably not as big of an issue as with the ProCross.

Good insight. Thanks.

I'm going to need a favor from you guys.  I'm putting together a 9-ish minute video to highlight my thoughts on the Catalyst, and I need you guys to watch the entire thing to help my Youtube algorithms.  I don't care if you mute it and watch something else at the same time, I just need views and to watch the entire thing.  Will let you know when it's up and would appreciate anyone's help, if you feel so inclined.

No problem!

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Premium

[p51mstg]

We rode all trail conditions.  That said, the trails aren't like Minnesota, where the ground is only a few inches below the snow.  They groomed most of the trails every night.  We rode in all conditions and the Catalyst did great.  It cornered flat in all conditions and handled the whoops much better.  

I didn't try to find the limits.  We were warned against doing that, because these sleds were 1 of 1, and they needed them in one piece.  I kept my promise and brought back every sled in the condition I found it. Still, we had a good opportunity to get to know the sleds and I still can't believe they picked me to do this.

[Palu49]

2 hours ago, p51mstg said:

The Catalyst ZR's corner like a friggin slot car.  Trying to get a ski to lift in a corner is possible, but most of the time it's an exercise in frustration.  The three of us trail riders all had the same impression.  It made me look like a much better rider.

The rider in our group who said he hit his knees is about 6' even, and I'm 6'3".  We had various riders between 5' and 6' and none of them complained about it.  I just put 100 miles on my Riot yesterday and trying to ride that like a Catalyst, I banged my knees constantly.  So, I think it will come down to riding style, and is probably not as big of an issue as with the ProCross.

I'm going to need a favor from you guys.  I'm putting together a 9-ish minute video to highlight my thoughts on the Catalyst, and I need you guys to watch the entire thing to help my Youtube algorithms.  I don't care if you mute it and watch something else at the same time, I just need views and to watch the entire thing.  Will let you know when it's up and would appreciate anyone's help, if you feel so inclined.

Put the link in here when you get it and I’ll throw it up in a bunch of the Facebook groups!

[Crnr2Crnr]

7 hours ago, Premium said:

Praise the lord

How tall was the other rider?  As you are tall, I wonder if shorter riders like myself are having the issue?

 

 

have you considered trying a SkiDoo yet?  they're midget approved!

3 hours ago, p51mstg said:

The Catalyst ZR's corner like a friggin slot car.  Trying to get a ski to lift in a corner is possible, but most of the time it's an exercise in frustration.  The three of us trail riders all had the same impression.  It made me look like a much better rider.

The rider in our group who said he hit his knees is about 6' even, and I'm 6'3".  We had various riders between 5' and 6' and none of them complained about it.  I just put 100 miles on my Riot yesterday and trying to ride that like a Catalyst, I banged my knees constantly.  So, I think it will come down to riding style, and is probably not as big of an issue as with the ProCross.

I'm going to need a favor from you guys.  I'm putting together a 9-ish minute video to highlight my thoughts on the Catalyst, and I need you guys to watch the entire thing to help my Youtube algorithms.  I don't care if you mute it and watch something else at the same time, I just need views and to watch the entire thing.  Will let you know when it's up and would appreciate anyone's help, if you feel so inclined.

otb, this I like to hear

if you want to sneek peek a preview of it before the final edit to certain people pm some of us, have done this in the past on other projects before going public.  the internet can be harsh...

59 minutes ago, Palu49 said:

Put the link in here when you get it and I’ll throw it up in a bunch of the Facebook groups!

ffs... Facebook?!!!!!!!!!!!

no, don't do it!

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Crnr2Crnr

[p51mstg]

I appreciate the assistance on the video and will let you guys know.  
 

I’m already forgetting who I told what, so just in case I didn’t say it….  we pressed them on demos, because all of us (the contest winners) told them they need to get these sleds into the hands of potential buyers.  This was at dinner one night, and they didn’t have the schedule within reach.  However, they did confirm that there will be demos scattered around the United States (I don’t know about Canada) this spring.  For sure, one of them will be at ERX on February 11 at the Ditch Banger Nationals.  I asked about other MN dates and they weren’t sure.  They said the full schedule is all but finalized and would be announced soon.  That’s the only date they knew for sure.

[Premium]

Fingers crossed they have a Michigan date...Cannonsburg Snocross would be perfect....hint hint AC!

[stinkipinki]

 

[p51mstg]

That's one of the sleds I rode the day after that video was recorded.

 

 

[wrinkly balls]

1 hour ago, p51mstg said:

That's one of the sleds I rode the day after that video was recorded.

 

 

Were there any 129 catalyst there when you were testing?