Dear Motorhead:
I have been riding snowobiles for 40 years and I don’t understand why when you’re picking your sled of the year you don’t compare Arctic Cats 1100 turbo against all other brands.
I ride with every brand in northern trails where power rules and no 2-stroke can hold a candle to the turbo.
I am 53 years old and I have owned a 2009 turbo and now a 2013 RR turbo and there is no 2-stroke can come close on trail or lake and when we go on a trip I don’t have to worry about looking for oil.
Every thing I own is 4-stroke, ATV, Boat Cars, Truck, Bike, Seadoo and also my wife’s Vector GT. I do not want to go back to a 2 stroke ever because the engines don’t stand up and the fuel at the pumps with ethonal is crap.
So next year when you want to talk about sled of the year, lets go test them in Cochrane and we’ll find out that all your 2-strokes are blowing up and the 800 polaris are so slow you will have to send out a search party at the end of the day.
Sledders my age that I ride with want power, handling and no injector oil to worry about. Lets bring those facts up next year and stop talking about sleds with outdated oil burning 2-strokes.
I have ridden and owned all the brands. I ride with dozens of different sleds every week and there is no substitute for horsepower. So next year lets compare the turbo cat and not that old smokey 800 cat.
Thanks from an old guy that knows what a real sled is all about. Oh ya, I run my turbo at 230 horses on pump gas thanks to Birch Point Cats . I havent had a sled with less than 200 horsepower since 1999. I do still miss my Thudercats. That was a real 2-stroke.
Kenneth G.
Dear Kenneth:
Thanks for your email!
We appreciate your passion for 4 strokes and in particular AC’s 1100 Turbo. We have not had the AC turbo in the SOFTY competition yet because of a number of factors.
When the Turbo was in the old “F” chassis no one around here could get very excited about the sled. It was heavy and not particularly good handling – however it was unrepentantly fast. Now the Turbo resides in the new Pro-Cross chassis we have given it consideration.
It didn’t make the cue last year (its first year in the new chassis) as a result of some reliability issues both we and readers mentioned on numerous occasions. Not the least of which was belt life.
This combined with some calibration issues with the rear suspension and we choose to take another model as the nominee.
This year the Turbo improved and was given serious consideration. However, the 800 128 Pro-Cross was so impressive with its power and even economy it was unanimously picked as our AC nominee. So, the Turbo has been considered and has been given its due.
Let me say this – for MY 2014 AC’s new 137 inch skid in an XF Turbo package will be formidable – however there is the new 600 DSI Cat which everyone was blown away with in Yellowstone in Feb.
One more thing – the Turbo, although much lighter in the new Pro-Cross chassis, is still heavy – and that requires buyers to make a significant compromise – whether they know it or not.
The trade-off is the Turbo’s imposing power for almost 70 pounds of weight right over the carbides (vs the 800).
So, we are paying attention and appreciate your comments!
Thanks for watching!
Motorhead Mark
