I remember a King Kat poster at our Arctic Cat dealers shop when I was a kid. All i ever thought about was riding back then and I remember dreaming and wishing I could have a little time on one of those. Nice video. Love the vintage sleds from the 70's and early 80's.
What a monster! Reminds me of the Kawasaki H1 500cc 2-stroke triple motorcycle -- way more motor than the chassis could safely handle. That's what makes all those machines in the mid-60s to early 70s so interesting!
My uncle had a Kaw 500. That thing was wicked. My dad put a 25 Hp JLO 2 stroke in my mini Cycle. Had the original clutch but it had the smaller torque converter however that mini cycle could go 80 miles an hour as soon as you punched it I raced my uncles 500 Kawasaki I could beat him up to 500 feet and then he would fly by me. That 500 Kawasaki was the first crotch rocket made a friend of mine bought it and he was pulled over by a cop and the cop said he was doing over 130 mph. True story
My Dad owned a 290 and had a driver race it. A lot of races were with that sled! Along with the big brother 340! Years later the driver asked if I wanted some trophies. He had boxes full of them, many boxes! The 2 sleds were raced for only 2 years then they were given to the driver because our family moved.
This engine was custom built using two 440 Kawasaki 1975 Z mod top ends on a modified 800 four banger case from 1971, I think. I talked to the guy at this show way back when. Oddly enough our flapping mouths on a vintage site helped kick start this machine’s build. A bunch of us were chatting King Kats and the 800 Kawasaki four banger two stroke. It was only made one year and it’s a little underwhelming stock. Only 85hp in single plug skinny cylinders as uncrated. The stock carbs weren’t great and the stock pipes were brand new technology. The previous years most big Cat mods ran megaphones. Now as the 1971 race season progressed racers learned how to get the engine to the magic 100hp level, but we all felt the model was killed off before its time due to both rule changes and lack of development. So this night in this feverish chat room a bunch of us had a simultaneous brain fart: What if the screaming 1975 440 Z Mod top end had been developed for 1972 as an update to the KK? The Kawy Z was capable of 70 hp stock. So double that with two top ends on the 800 case or a custom mod case and stock it should be 140 hp. Even more would be possible with the factory mod kits for the 440. Well the owner of the Snow Rod here had a pile of 440 Z Kawasaki engine parts and he also knew where a basket case KK chassis was. 16 months of ass busting work later he hath created the monster here. Yes the engine has gobs of power that no 1971 open classer ever had. The clutching has been updated to modern standards because no vintage clutch will take that power. 880cc, eight spark plugs and four huge carbs and pipes. It’s a drag race symphony.
@@RyanBenbow Ryan, no harm, you just misunderstood me. I was talking about the build of this custom sled. As in the conversation kick started the idea to build this one off. This is one of one. 20 years ago a bunch of us old sled guys were chatting in a chat room for vintage sleds and almost as a group, like spontaneously, we mentioned the one sad thing was they never built a 4 cylinder out of the 1975 Showroom Stock Racer 440 Z Kawasaki engine. This owner said hey, I got enough parts to start this idea for real. So I think I sold him some parts books to help him chase parts or maybe we just chatted a lot at shows, and he ripped into the build. He merged two 440 Z motors together into a KK chassis. That's why the decals say 880. He's a very talented guy. The stock single plug FA 800 4 from 1971 was rated at 85 hp stock. With mods of that day they could probably squeeze out about 100 max. A stock 440 Z twin plug head FA from 1975 puts out 70hp. Now double that. I'm 63 years old and I lived this era. All my data comes from the books and racers of the period but hey, memories can be fleeting. It's all good. Thanks for reading and thanks for dinging me on the edit of the previous comment. I fixed it. It's all good.😁
This brought back memories of watching the races. They're off! King Kat pulls away from the group! Turns the first bend and "SNAP" there goes another belt! haha...love the sound of that engine, I grew up riding cats. Thanks for the vid brother!
These sleds are pretty rare, back then racers could order a race sled to their specs and most of those sleds are a little different from each other unlike today's race sleds which are all the same depending on what class it is. My cousin had an 800 king kat triple, I think it was a '71. Wasn't as nice looking as this one but it had the megaphones and not the tuned pipes and it was RIDICULOUSLY loud. He also had a '70 793 triple with the pipes, both were gorgeous sleds and sounded absolutely incredible in person, they were so loud you had to have hearing protection on standing next to them. They were his grandfather's sleds originally, Heard lots of stories from his grandmother about the places they used to go riding at back in the day, she was a tiny thing and rode her 440 jag.
Sold my Dad's King Cat back in 2021 in the Estate Sale. Along with several hundred Other used Sleds. Accumulated during a 40 year Dealer for Arctic Cat, Yamaha, Kawasaki and John Deere.
For sure checking that the throttle, and cable are free to move both ways. If they are “frozen” you’ll know right away, however it may take a few actions to ensure the throttle, and carbs are free moving, especially free to,snap closed when you let go of the thumb throttle. Been many riderless sleds seen heading across the terrain at full speed, stuck throttle.
You’re looking at at least 15k. Some guy had one of those and was offered 13k and turned it down. That was in 2005. Man I wish I had one. And many other Cat’s They are legend
I can’t imagine the excitement a person would have back in the day, buying an 800 king cat and taking it out for the first time after having ridden all the crap before it I mean, this sled still not perfect the 800 I mean 😅 I can see why their so sought after to this day crazy 1:33
So much YES in this video!..I've been forced to watch it several time's. Lol I just wish you could have blasted it across a lake, or field!...from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 👋🤠
I want to put custom skii's/suspension/track on one of these to give it modern ground clearance and suspension travel, but keep the retro style and power.
These things are pretty rare. Back when it was new did average people actually buy these and ride them with there buddies? Or was it like a limited amount made for special order? Like a snow pro sled
my dad had a 69 king cat 793 he raced and did extremely well with. our basement growing up had well over 100 trophies. in those days they made their own studs outta carriage bolts and he welded skate blades under the runners. very cool to see this machine.
How do you figure? Anything that can be applied to make four strokes lighter can be applied to two strokes. It's just physics. 4 strokes will always be heavier, more complex and less poweful per cc.
beast. the secondary clutch looks to be from a ZR, with an aftermarket helix. what is the primary clutch setup? any race times or speeds? also, how is the ignition set up? since it was originally designed to only house an ignition setup for 2 cylinders. great job on mating the 2 engines! its not an easy task.
They look bad, and were the fastest free air 4 cylinder 800 ever built. IIRC, AMF also had a 4 cylinder JLO 800, built in VERY small numbers. BUT, the 793 Hirth triple King Kat was nearly as fast as the 4 banger Kat, with much greater reliability, and won a LOT of races. So the Hirth was actually the KING King Kat......
Awesome machine. Does it really not have hood to cover the plugs and cylinders? I've seen a few different videos and I notice all are open. Looks sweet seeing all motor, but would think snow and elements would cause some issues? I'm probably over thinking it.
All I asked was what all the GAUGES for. Back in those days you were lucky to get a speedo & tach..... I remember when Polaris only had a red warning light for their liquid cooled sleds.
That is not a King Kat, It is a garage clone, very little original on it and it should be entered in shows as such. Most people have never seen a real King Kat if they think this is one. It is a nice sled but can not be judged as any kind of restored or original.
Thats exactly what I was thinking, if my info is correct, there are only 7 known to exist today and I know where 2 are. 1 is all chromed out and the other is all original, same owner!
Yep, the original king kat only had single plug heads and was a dedicated 800 Kawi motor, not 2 440s mated together...but it does also say open mod right on the sled, which means anything goes and likely nothing is original.
Snopro700 Can u tell me why it has so many gauges? Usually sleds (back then) just had a speedo & tach. Or temp gauge for liquid cooled sleds. This sled seems to have all the bells and whistles.
This sled is obviously modded for racing and my uncle has one so now u know where another one is upstate ny Cato to be exact he has about 15 of those old school sleds
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I remember a King Kat poster at our Arctic Cat dealers shop when I was a kid. All i ever thought about was riding back then and I remember dreaming and wishing I could have a little time on one of those. Nice video. Love the vintage sleds from the 70's and early 80's.
Absolutely beautiful piece of exotic history -- good job!!
What a monster! Reminds me of the Kawasaki H1 500cc 2-stroke triple motorcycle -- way more motor than the chassis could safely handle. That's what makes all those machines in the mid-60s to early 70s so interesting!
My uncle had a Kaw 500. That thing was wicked. My dad put a 25 Hp JLO 2 stroke in my mini Cycle. Had the original clutch but it had the smaller torque converter however that mini cycle could go 80 miles an hour as soon as you punched it I raced my uncles 500 Kawasaki I could beat him up to 500 feet and then he would fly by me. That 500 Kawasaki was the first crotch rocket made a friend of mine bought it and he was pulled over by a cop and the cop said he was doing over 130 mph. True story
That sound brought back so many memories..Mine was a 72 EXT 290..Thanks so much..made me a happy boy again..
My Dad owned a 290 and had a driver race it. A lot of races were with that sled! Along with the big brother 340! Years later the driver asked if I wanted some trophies. He had boxes full of them, many boxes! The 2 sleds were raced for only 2 years then they were given to the driver because our family moved.
Back in the 70's I thought a 440 was the biggest engines made, I had no clue these existed. Awsome!
This engine was custom built using two 440 Kawasaki 1975 Z mod top ends on a modified 800 four banger case from 1971, I think. I talked to the guy at this show way back when. Oddly enough our flapping mouths on
a vintage site helped kick start this machine’s build. A bunch of us were chatting King Kats and the 800 Kawasaki four banger two stroke. It was only made one year and it’s a little underwhelming stock. Only 85hp in single plug skinny cylinders as uncrated. The stock carbs weren’t great and the stock pipes were brand new technology. The previous years most big Cat mods ran megaphones. Now as the 1971 race season progressed racers learned how to get the engine to the magic 100hp level, but we all felt the model was killed off before its time due to both rule changes and lack of development. So this night in this feverish chat room a bunch of us had a simultaneous brain fart: What if the screaming 1975 440 Z Mod top end had been developed for 1972 as an update to the KK? The Kawy Z was capable of 70 hp stock. So double that with two top ends on the 800 case or a custom mod case and stock it should be 140 hp. Even more would be possible with the factory mod kits for the 440. Well the owner of the Snow Rod here had a pile of 440 Z Kawasaki engine parts and he also knew where a basket case KK chassis was. 16 months of ass busting work later he hath created the monster here. Yes the engine has gobs of power that no 1971 open classer ever had. The clutching has been updated to modern standards because no vintage clutch will take that power. 880cc, eight spark plugs and four huge carbs and pipes. It’s a drag race symphony.
@@glenmallory9982you can't kick start a two stroke four cylinder over
You have to pull it over. What is wrong with you
@@RyanBenbow Ryan, no harm, you just misunderstood me. I was talking about the build of this custom sled. As in the conversation kick started the idea to build this one off. This is one of one. 20 years ago a bunch of us old sled guys were chatting in a chat room for vintage sleds and almost as a group, like spontaneously, we mentioned the one sad thing was they never built a 4 cylinder out of the 1975 Showroom Stock Racer 440 Z Kawasaki engine. This owner said hey, I got enough parts to start this idea for real. So I think I sold him some parts books to help him chase parts or maybe we just chatted a lot at shows, and he ripped into the build. He merged two 440 Z motors together into a KK chassis. That's why the decals say 880. He's a very talented guy. The stock single plug FA 800 4 from 1971 was rated at 85 hp stock. With mods of that day they could probably squeeze out about 100 max. A stock 440 Z twin plug head FA from 1975 puts out 70hp. Now double that. I'm 63 years old and I lived this era. All my data comes from the books and racers of the period but hey, memories can be fleeting. It's all good. Thanks for reading and thanks for dinging me on the edit of the previous comment. I fixed it. It's all good.😁
This brought back memories of watching the races. They're off! King Kat pulls away from the group! Turns the first bend and "SNAP" there goes another belt! haha...love the sound of that engine, I grew up riding cats. Thanks for the vid brother!
These sleds are pretty rare, back then racers could order a race sled to their specs and most of those sleds are a little different from each other unlike today's race sleds which are all the same depending on what class it is.
My cousin had an 800 king kat triple, I think it was a '71. Wasn't as nice looking as this one but it had the megaphones and not the tuned pipes and it was RIDICULOUSLY loud. He also had a '70 793 triple with the pipes, both were gorgeous sleds and sounded absolutely incredible in person, they were so loud you had to have hearing protection on standing next to them. They were his grandfather's sleds originally, Heard lots of stories from his grandmother about the places they used to go riding at back in the day, she was a tiny thing and rode her 440 jag.
I still have 3 1971 Cat EXT 399's. Still ridden every winter. Turning down offers to sell them constantly.
Always preferred old Bombardiers, but that King Kay is badass!
Looks like a Peterbilt dashboard with all those gauges! So cool!!😎👍
Cool old machine, amazing how far they have come.
Sold my Dad's King Cat back in 2021 in the Estate Sale. Along with several hundred Other used Sleds. Accumulated during a 40 year Dealer for Arctic Cat, Yamaha, Kawasaki and John Deere.
You know you got compression when the ski on the recoil side is coming off the ground haha. Baddest sled ever built hands down!!
For sure checking that the throttle, and cable are free to move both ways. If they are “frozen” you’ll know right away, however it may take a few actions to ensure the throttle, and carbs are free moving, especially free to,snap closed when you let go of the thumb throttle. Been many riderless sleds seen heading across the terrain at full speed, stuck throttle.
That machine just pulled away from everyone on the straights ! Great history
That machine is gorgeous! It didn’t look that good when it was brand new.
I love the (lack of) a belt guard. You could stick you hand right into the driven pulley.
Very cool, what a terrifically clean sled, sounds awesome.
I love when people pump the throttle when there is no accelerator pump present.
HAL CASEY wow.
HAL CASEY some actually do. You obviously don't know your atv's very well.
actually I do. Name one that does for starters, and we will take it from there.
Jess Roberts atv? It's a snowmobile.
HAL CASEY 1999 yz400f for starters. Do I need to keep going.
Most of the early 70's stuff was pretty slow but those would move right along. Pretty rare to see one, even back then.
Now there's a cat. And folks. It ain't litter trained ;)
Sounds great! Invented by hearing aid manufacturers :O)
OMFreakin'G! This King Kat is just that.
You’re looking at at least 15k. Some guy had one of those and was offered 13k and turned it down. That was in 2005. Man I wish I had one. And many other Cat’s They are legend
I can’t imagine the excitement a person would have back in the day, buying an 800 king cat and taking it out for the first time after having ridden all the crap before it I mean, this sled still not perfect the 800 I mean 😅 I can see why their so sought after to this day crazy 1:33
@Turbojeep23
Maybe he used the original King Kat ignition, designed for 4 cyls, 90* firing order???. Who knows..
it wouldnt even run. This sounds like a 180 degree :big bang: engine
So much YES in this video!..I've been forced to watch it several time's. Lol I just wish you could have blasted it across a lake, or field!...from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 👋🤠
The 1974 Puma 440 was a Little Demon , an 880 , bow before Me !
I want to put custom skii's/suspension/track on one of these to give it modern ground clearance and suspension travel, but keep the retro style and power.
That's alot of spark plugs to change!
GOTTA LOVE THEM CATS!!!!!!!! What year was that?? I am a cat guy from way back and never heard of it???
What a jewel !!
I've seen other king kats with 4 spark plugs. Am I seeing 8 spark plug leads here?
These things are pretty rare. Back when it was new did average people actually buy these and ride them with there buddies? Or was it like a limited amount made for special order? Like a snow pro sled
Damn....what a beautiful monster.
This gives me an idea... How about a Honda CBX 1050 6 cylinder in a cat frame.
Not sure but few years back a guy in northern Minnesota, mounted a Harley 103 inch V Twin in an Arctic Cat.
my dad had a 69 king cat 793 he raced and did extremely well with. our basement growing up had well over 100 trophies. in those days they made their own studs outta carriage bolts and he welded skate blades under the runners. very cool to see this machine.
They only made King Kats in 1971.
Huh??? 69? No no no
"Where's the beef"!!
How do you figure? Anything that can be applied to make four strokes lighter can be applied to two strokes. It's just physics. 4 strokes will always be heavier, more complex and less poweful per cc.
Awesome, love those king kat's
Could not imagine starting one of these beasts
Wow the sound the sound
beast. the secondary clutch looks to be from a ZR, with an aftermarket helix. what is the primary clutch setup? any race times or speeds? also, how is the ignition set up? since it was originally designed to only house an ignition setup for 2 cylinders.
great job on mating the 2 engines! its not an easy task.
I’m pretty sure it’s a 800 King Cat with oversized pistons. That appears to be a roller secondary from a zr or newer.
Fantastic
Nice 👍
had a 340 Ext Mod, brother has 650 Triple Mod.. that was the day.... been awhile !
They look bad, and were the fastest free air 4 cylinder 800 ever built. IIRC, AMF also had a 4 cylinder JLO 800, built in VERY small numbers. BUT, the 793 Hirth triple King Kat was nearly as fast as the 4 banger Kat, with much greater reliability, and won a LOT of races. So the Hirth was actually the KING King Kat......
thing is running so nice. !
If I went through the BS on a cold day it takes to fire that beast up I'm shure as hell gonna ride it😫
Awesome machine. Does it really not have hood to cover the plugs and cylinders? I've seen a few different videos and I notice all are open. Looks sweet seeing all motor, but would think snow and elements would cause some issues? I'm probably over thinking it.
You are it is a free air cooled engine. It must be exposed to the atmosphere to cool.
That is Exactly how they were built. My 1971 EXT 399 are the same way. Have had them since New.
Freaking beautiful but I think it should be sideways and being driven like you stole it 👍That’s kind of what I was built for
Open mod. Damn cool vintage beast 👌
I NEED that!
All I asked was what all the GAUGES for. Back in those days you were lucky to get a speedo & tach..... I remember when Polaris only had a red warning light for their liquid cooled sleds.
Cylinder temp gauges would be my guess? DON'T want to burn up that old classic sled...from Wyoming USA 🔫🤠🇺🇸p.s stay safe
He was obviously probing for muscle tone and skeletal girth! We mock what we dont understand.
amazing sled
They ever put Montana pipes on a King Cat? That would be extremely cool.
You would loose power
That thing would go nuts
Kool Klassic!
Well see why it is so clean
Ooooh weird! Never thought of that, thanks for replying!
I was hoping you would open it up some and let it scream
I think there's room for a few more gauges on that dash
Nice machine
Cat-tastic!
Beautiful
I had a 440 puma that looked like that
whats one of these worth? they must be rare iv only seen like 3 on youtube lol
Awesome
....umm....AWESOME!!!!!
are you gonna ride it?
Is that the one they had at D&D years back?
Light weight. but 4 strokes are catching up in the weight department.
What engine is this?
thats quIT THE SLED
so cool!
Every snowmobile from this era sounds boggie I guess. Snappy throttle response came with liquid cooling of after magneto's. ?
Any sled that sits around, of this era, needs a little coersion to get started. Once warmed up and tuned up she's snappy alright. I've seen it run.
Arctic Cat 🏁
Where can I buy this sled!! Where is it located and is it for sale ?
Go lay down by your dish !!!!!
Nice
Does that engine have a 90 degree firing interval or 180?
nice
That is not a King Kat, It is a garage clone, very little original on it and it should be entered in shows as such. Most people have never seen a real King Kat if they think this is one. It is a nice sled but can not be judged as any kind of restored or original.
Thats exactly what I was thinking, if my info is correct, there are only 7 known to exist today and I know where 2 are. 1 is all chromed out and the other is all original, same owner!
Yep, the original king kat only had single plug heads and was a dedicated 800 Kawi motor, not 2 440s mated together...but it does also say open mod right on the sled, which means anything goes and likely nothing is original.
Snopro700 Can u tell me why it has so many gauges? Usually sleds (back then) just had a speedo & tach. Or temp gauge for liquid cooled sleds. This sled seems to have all the bells and whistles.
There is still a bunch of them around. They made 113 w/ the 650 JLO, 178 w/ the 793 Hirth, and 124 w/ the 4-cylinder Kawasaki.
This sled is obviously modded for racing and my uncle has one so now u know where another one is upstate ny Cato to be exact he has about 15 of those old school sleds
Bad to the bone 💥
is she liquid cooled? is she turbo diesel? is she 4 stroke?
👌
Where the hell are the air fillters
You don't need no stinking Air Filters.
Why are almost all snowmobiles 2 stroke?
Lighter weight for one. Power for another.
why didnt you drive!?
I what one . i have to find one .
Wanna sell it?
swag
What year is that
1971
beuty
There's compression
i CAN SMELL IT !!! ;-)
Castrol Racing Oil!
I will buy this cash in hand
drive it
sounds nasty,looks nasty,sounds like its gunna eat yer face off haha;)