2024 Arctic Cat Catalyst ZR 600 RXC Exclusive First Ride Review
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2024
- Luke gets an exclusive invite to the home of Arctic Cat to ride the brand new and highly anticipated Catalyst platform. You're not going to want to miss this exclusive first rip aboard Arctic Cat's 2024 Catalyst ZR 600 RXC.
#arcticcat #snowmobile #snowtraxtv #snow #winter
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Man, I love my cats. Never rode anything else. By far the nicest looking sledin every chassis they come out with. Thief river is always running on all cylinders when designing the sleds
Dash looks ready for new screen. Bet we see one for the next year with the new engines.
Would love to see it head to head with other 600 class sled. I know people just want the most extreme
Unfortunately you won't see that....they don't want to make Cat look bad during their comeback lol
I rode a riot and a ZR in eagle river and it was impressive for sure, I thought before leaving on the ride that the seat would be too hard and short but once riding, it was great. The sled did not feel like a 600 at all, pulled hard and the suspension felt just as good as my rmotion, I would guess because of the chassis more than the actual skid because i dont think it changed at all. overall, its a great sled and I think folks will love it.
The comment “just as good as my rmotion” was nice to hear.. always been a Cat guy, switched to a ‘23 Renegade Adrenaline 850 this year. Put my name on a 137” ZR 600 and everyone says it won’t ride as good as the Doo.
The sleds looked great at the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge
@@chaseanderson1289 I really think you will be surprised by the 600 engine just as much as the chassis, or maybe the chassis does it for the engine like it does for the skid? I would love to see a head to head with the 600R and the 650 polaris.
@@deanurbanek6577 I'd love to see that too 💪
@@deanurbanek6577 well that'd be a lopp sided comparison......for skidoo lol
For a trail sled a 600 is a great all around sled. I bet it will be a hell of a lot more dependable than big bore sleds
Nice sled. Great review! Have to keep this one on my radar.
"If you can put up with a 600", lol. That makes me laugh. When I was a kid riding a 340 and a 377, I dreamed of the day I could have a 600.
Lol. My puma 440 was the fastest thing on metal cleats and if i guess it'd do maybe 60mph before parts started flying off.. and that's with an oversize mikuni on it lol
Well said.
Yeah, I’ve got an 18 R-XC, and the day when my friends can stay in the gas long enough to run away from me on their 800s or turbo Yamies on the rivers or trails has yet to come. Maybe if we went riding out in eastern North Dakota, or guilessly bombed lakes all day, lmao. The suspension and the handing are what get you from A to B fast and let you ride all day without needing to gobble Aleve. Monster power is transformative in the mountains, but if you don’t have 150+inches of paddle track, it can change how fast you get going faster than you have the steering and suspension to handle, but that’s about it.
Great job luke,,love your feedback!!!!!! Also,,,,your video was longer than the amount of time before the "catalyst" snowmobiles were sold out!!!!!!!
I love ‘em .
Now Luke racing time again the Polaris 650 and the skidoo 600R and Yamaha also.👍🍺🇨🇦💪😎
You almost see an element of the twin-spar chassis in the the design - kind of neat. Its clean.
I'd love to try one of these. The problem with Cat is that the dealer network sucks around my area. I know many don't care, but a decent gauge and map system is important. The 7S has me spoiled now.
When Textron took over, there were a lot of Cat dealers that closed. The I went to visit Cat this fall for off-road, it seemed like the company had a renewed focus on the dealer experience. I'm curious to see how things will change or expand with this new platform.
@SnowTrax TV they need to come into my area and give the dealers a good kick in the rear end. My closest Cat dealer is so bad, I sold my last Cat because I couldn't stand how he treated the last of his customers.
Too bad, because I really like this Catalyst
The 7S is pretty awesome.
@@stevenloewen8875 the 7s is a great display. I wish the manufacturers would use a standard so we could see other riders on different brands on the trail. Same with groomers. Will save lives
@@PartTimeYooper Yes, would be nice if they worked together on that one
Awesome video man! And way to go Arctic Cat! Keep doing what you're doing! Your number 1 Arctic Cat fan🤟💪
I’ll keep my procross with my speedwerx kit
I can't believe how many people care about a guage so much? Fuel, trip, speed, rpm and engine temp is most guys need. Cat has a new guage, it's just not talked about in this review.
It's just an old gauge. We're certain there's a newer one coming, but I don't think Cat wanted to hold up the platform just to wait for the gauge. It might've come down to supply chain holdups.
Once again, great video! And finally thank you for not cutting the landings out. Most vids I see of new sleds sending it in slowmo but cuts the scene short and we never get to see them land hard. It was nice to see it land after taking a jump! That new chassis looks like it performs extremely well. So thank you for some quality editing of the catalyst in action.
Reminds of the 2009 factory race sled. I had one I trail converted, it was so much fun.
I could care less about the gauge but they obviously need a new one to keep up with the other manufacturers. Other than the windshield being too short I think the rest of the sled seems great. Looks awesome!
I appreciate this video
I see a lot of comments about the cluster, it is definitely less than impressive, I would of liked if they had better integrated in the new Garmin GPS offering. With that said, I think I’ve touched my gauge twice in the 10 years of owning my F800, if it displays the important functions and tells me the speed what else is there to see? I’m pounding a trail, not watching a movie.
Gauge is definitely due for an update. Pretty sure one is coming soon enough. Probably just supply issues.
@@snowtrax don’t know if you’ll have time to reply to this or not but I was wondering if you felt the new RXC on the catalyst platform was better than the outgoing RXC. I’ve found some leftover new 2023 RXC’s and was ready to buy one but was actually waiting for you to release this test ride video so I could ask your thoughts on each, because you’ve had the opportunity to ride both. One big question being did you miss that notch to put your leg on the new one. I’m 6 foot so the lower I can get while cornering at speed the more confident I feel.
Sled looks badass.
Dang. They have come a long way since I had my 2003 900 ZR. My 900 could toast my cousins 20k engine he had in his 800 Polaris. He had so much work done on it. His ran good tho.
I love my switchback polaris but I can't stop thinking about this artic cat
quote - ""I cant see anything that's a carry over"".....just the thing you look at a hundred times while riding....the gauge cluster
Except its a new gauge, might not be a 8 in full color you want but they did change the gauge and what is displayed.
@@coaa0801 So what is the difference, what does it display that the old same gauge doesn't?
@@Echoes- There are 2 gauges available. One is slightly smaller one that is the base one. It is all new but very simple. The second is the old one like you see in the video. I honestly almost ordered one this year due to the fear that next year I'd have to buy the ipad looking garbage the other brands use. I don't want to play candy crush while I ride, I want good basic info. The new cheaper screen is actually perfect for a what I want and then I can still use my old phone as my gps which is what I vastly prefer over the overly complicated Polaris ones I've used. This new basic one finally displays your hand and thumb warmer levels at all times which was my only real impovement I wanted over the last one.
@@Echoes- What do you want additional?
The gauge has a RPM, MPH, Altimeter, battery level, coolant temp, intake temp, clock, altimeter, fuel level, odometer, trip x2, engine hours. The sport gauge ridiculously tells you what level your hand/thumb warmers are at also.
Other than the GPS (most don't need anyways) but you can add a Garmin+mount for $600 right from AC, there's already more than a guy can look at. First world problems imo
@@coaa0801 You sound like the typical Arctic fanboy, last year the 10 year old procross was the best sled ever, "What do you want more? What can they really improve?", yet now somehow the Catalyst are the best ever and the procross are heavy and outdated. I am sure you will say the exact same thing when Arctic Cat someday release a modern display, it will be the best display ever and the old microwave display will suck, yet it was the best the day before and could not be improved.
I know one thing for certain, my 21' XCR 850 would've bottomed very hard on a jump half that size on full stiff.
The catalyst is an awesome youth sled, or a great sled for a very small rider. It’ll be cool if they ever put a 850 or larger motor in it for adults.
125hp in a youth sled? If people didn’t get so fat they wouldn’t need 180hp.
@@Ceemysix I picture this guy being one of those guys that rides the biggest bore sled he can find but still gets dusted by his riding buddies because he weighs 400lbs.
@@Ceemysix try riding at10,000 feet and tell me 125 horse is enough lol
@@johnbabb1138 It isn’t especially if you weight a lot. Even a naturally aspirated 850 will struggle at 10K. We have many riding areas in the country that are under 1000’ including Canada. So the point being, a 600 is not a kids sled. It’s also not the best choice in the elevation.
@@Ceemysix I think a lot of people get talked into big HP just because thats whats out there, being convinced bigger is better. Most of us grew up riding sub 100HP machines and had a great time. I ride a Z1 turbo. Heavy sled but I don't need 180hp. For the average guy trail riding, this thing will be more than plenty. I will be anxious to try one. I can't comment on mountain sleds but then again, the majority of people will never do that.
We need some reviews of the 2023 Arctic Cat Alterra line up.
Very excited to get one
Would be nice to keep the 800, but put a turbo on it to compete with the other 850's.
I love my cats ... but what's up those guages ??? Going retro to 95 watch style ??
Been reading and watching for years. You are an incredible salesman, I love reading between the lines kinda thing. And the best part is a year or two down the road when you will be able to voice the problems like you just did about prior arctic cats. I'm guessing you actually don't like the plastic components over metal, the gauge is outdated, not enough power, etc.
Not enough power? Have you rode a modern 600? This model in particular would chew up an 800 on a tight trail. Not to mention the new platform will likely have a small increase in power and definite increase in response with the change over from chain drive to belt drive.
@@BERGERJeah buddy I'm speculating on his opinion
@@Hassasin420 fair assessment.
I just rode this sled over the weekend in Old Forge and this sled does not disappoint. It pulls harder than some 800s I have ridden and accelerates much faster than my 17 RXC. I think it is interesting riders complain about gauges. Do you all stare at the gauges while riding? If the gauges provide all important information, does it matter if they look cool and modern? Also, remember these new fancy "modern" gauges cost a ton to replace out of warranty if a problem arises. Kudos to Cat for doing demo rides. No other manufactures were offering test rides in Old Forge.
@@keithburley1045 again, I am speculating as to the hosts opinion by reading between the lines. I see this is a sensitive topic for you
Man i really hope this chassis and engine hold up to the non mechanically inclined off trail and ditch banger crowd. wont know til next winter.
That gauge!
Kinda just kinda just the front area reminds me of a later Yamaha Nytro or a Polaris 600RR .?!
Yup. Looks like a Blast too.
i want one
My next ride !
My favorite color is ham
I really wish they would have covered up the wires going into the ECU
also there is holes in the "belt drive chaincase", maybe we will see a 998 in this thing.
Best 600 made hands down / doo or poo have nothing on this sled !!
What wear bars were being ran on these machines during your test rides?
Doesn't textron own arctic cat ? I also heard yamaha made motors. Is that still true? I love yamaha machines. I'm just curious. I've been out of the game for a bit, lol.
Yamaha builds a 3cyl turbo 4 stroke that arctic cat uses and in return Yamaha uses cat's chassis. Yamaha wanted back in the sled game, and cat said build us a 4 stroke and we'll share our chassis.
Welcome back! You're correct. Textron owns Cat and Yamaha makes the turbo 4-stroke and naturally aspirated 4-stroke. The 600 and 800 are both made by Cat.
What stud and carbide combo were you running during test rides?
I see they are still ignoring the gauge that was designed in the 90’s.
Definitely needs an update. Cluster on the left hand could use an update too. Think the electric start button should be a different colour to highlight it.
How is that laid down motor for maintenance, Spark plugs, etc?
Exhaust valves and plugs are still pretty easy to get to.
Lay down engine has been around since 03...piece of cake
Do you guys have your own personal sleds? If so what do you ride?
Does it come in Yamaha?
You can’t say that there will be no problems with the belt drive. No one knows what’ll happen until it’s in the hands of consumers. Cat only just XC raced this sled for the first time a week or two ago. That isn’t a lot of real world testing.
I’m very hopeful this new chassis will be successful and a home run for Cat. Unfortunately, they have a long history of turning out machines riddled with flaws that consumers discover and have to sort out.
People have been running belt drives in the mountains for years, it’s not a new concept, there’s a lot of R&D into them. One major benefit is less rotational mass and less overall weight
@@BERGERJeah not the same thing. The Polaris 600R uses a slipper drive axle to prevent the forces of full throttle landings from shock loading the chain. I’ve not seen anything about Arctic Cat offering a similar system to protect the belt on the Cataylist. Would I be surprised that they didn’t? Nope. Just like the TCL link didn’t work worth a sh!t on the Pro-cross chassis, I don’t have faith that Cat tested their belt drive adequately enough. Here’s the other thing, Polaris belt drives have experienced failures due to snow and ice build up around the belt under the hood. It’s not a perfect system and a guy is just trading out one set of problems for another set of known and unknown problems. Oh, and how could I forget all the chaincase problems Cat had with the Pro-cross. It’s great you believe the marketing hype from a company that managed to screw up 50 year old chaincase technology back in 2012.
What makes the RXC worth 3k over the standard ZR?
I'd say a lot of it is the shock package.
What thing you didn't like about this ride ?
There's varying opinion around our office. It is a great sled, but much less refined than a Polaris and definitely less refined than a Doo. It has a race sled feel to it. Handles great though. Very planted and very little trace of inside ski lift in the corners. 600 felt strong at 6000 feet when we rode it in Yellowstone. Look forward to opening it up at sea level.
Catalyst against 650 polaris.
Listen to these women cry about the damn dash cluster.
Cat better add a tampon dispenser option for you girls.
I agree. Too many people are used to staring at their electronics and not riding. I agree the cluster is overdue for an update but that does not make a sled. I don’t want to be pressing buttons when I’m riding. Most people complaining have no intention of buying anyways.
Exactly! All these babies crying about a Guage lmao...buying 850s and putting down the trail at 40...while guys on 600s dragging them through the ditches and curves through the trees...but wow look at that nifty Guage lol
The GPS touchscreens on sleds cost about $65 each to manufacture. If your buying a sled because it has a fancy gauge, your a fool. Also, Cat will have an upgraded gauge for all the woman that deem it nesseccary, and they have a nice looking add-on right now.
Enjoy your kids sled with 600cc and a 90's microwave gauge.
@Echoes
All I need to blow your doors off on any trail.
"This is an all new sled, I can't see anything that's a carryover"....looks down at 10yr old gauge package lmao😂😂
Better luck next year cat boys… maybe next year at the 24 spring check release you’ll finally get something worth buying. 😂
Please, elaborate.
Tell us your insecure and brand loyal without telling us your insecure and brand loyal.
@@burnzillablue 😂😅
@@burnzillablue pretty hard to sell people on top of line sled that’s only making 120 hp when competition has 180 hp especially when you know the 800 or 900 is coming the following year very poor marketing strategy
I’m actually a cat guy myself. Just sick and tired of driving a old wagon.. I finally had enough in the spring of 2021 and ordered a 2022 XCR 850… great sled and happy with it. It’s unfortunate after 20 years on a cat I had to buy something worth my money
The 600 is more sled then 95% of people need. There is no reason for anyone to be riding the trails or on a lake 70-80-90 miles per hour. No wonder the deaths on snowmobiles has climbed every year. Keep the race sleds on the race track.
$21k sled
Haters gonna hate...Cat could have developed a sled that levitates and poo and doo homers gonna hate on it...polaris is the worst sled on the snow always has been....recall kings...good job cat
Only took them 11 years to move on from the proclimb. Nobody wants a 600 mtn sled and the mono rail sucks. Cat is run by old farts that are clueless when it comes to what customers want or how to design a mtn sled. The catalyst is a irq/doo knockoff.
Polaris is always the worst
@@bertrenolds5 torque sensing link, extra travel tunnel, ifs, lay down engine, big bore 900/1000, batteryless efi..etc etc...all cat firsts and copied by the rest, gtfoh
@@corylee2261 and now textron owns them and is basically running the company into the ground. Go ahead and name some more stuff they did over a decade ago dumbass. What's that, cat only has a 600 mtn sled available for snow check? I would be surprised if anyone actually snow checked one haha. Cat is third at this point riding the mono rail train for the last 7 years. Cat reliability, went down the drain when they parted ways with suzuki. Now they are just over priced under powered turds that are half irq, half doo knockoffs.
@@corylee2261 everyone of those innovations happened in the 90’s. So you yourself admit Cat hasn’t done anything innovative in over 20 years.
So……..you just skipped over things that you regularly think are “paramount”, like the gauge package. Hmmmm….you guys are weird.
Luke talked about the gauge quite a bit in his walk-around video of this sled. Give that a look. There's nothing new to report about it so for time sake there's no point in talking about it further in this segment.
Why in the world does it have a steel bulk head?
That’s actually better from a long term strength point of view. Plus it’s way easier for Cat to make geometry tweaks with a tube bulkhead than have to invest in very expensive molds to make changes to a cast type bulkhead.
@@thatalaskaguy maybe so but the sled would more than likely be lighter if it was aluminum or carbon, etc. Steel is old tech.
@@smplyizzy if the bulkhead is chromoly steel, which I suspect it is, then it’s very lightweight AND strong. I’d rather have a tube steel bulkhead in my Polaris XCR than the cast aluminum, glued together bulkhead it came with.
KTM dirt bikes have stayed with chromoly steel frames and it hasn’t hurt their performance, race results or sales.
As a consumer...don't buy now. Be smart as a consumer. There aren't any deals to spring order.... Don't buy now
Luke-
You seem genuinely excited about this video. I know it's early, but would you say that Cat now has a chassis that can fully compete with Poo and Doo?
My biggest concern is how much have they closed the rear suspension gap?
Thanks
The guages suck.... i want to be able to watch a movie while im smashing into a pine tree...
Maybe try looking where you going instead of the guages🤷🏽♂️
That was the riding video ?it was the exact same as the walk around.... Hell I didn't even get here it idle. Boo!
Sorry cat but who in there right mind is gonna buy a 600 cc sled knowing full well the 800 is coming next year gain in. Market share you will not
Will never buy other arctic cat unless it as suzuki motor. All I can say there dealership as poor quality service
Same old dash
Your looking down to much, obviously a trail rider!
Still the old cluster!?? Know and love my ass!! I know you are sick of them.. other than that cat has a great platform now. But dammit that cluster is a big NO from me
It's easy to read at night and at day, sitting or standing. It's simple and easy to use. I don't understand why everyone wants an ipad for a dash. The GPS in the 7S display is solid, but you can add a garmin GPS to the catalyst for like 600 bucks, where the 7S is a 1200 dollar option I believe. I would rather have more built in storage than a big ass gauge
@@nate390 who says it need to be an ipad?? Have you seen what the motorcycle industry bring out in tft screens? A good 5" screen takes smaller space, more info and just as easy (actually alot easyer) to read and looks nice.
@@nate390 right, straight flatland trail riders watch the guages🤦♂️
@@hoigari76 that's basically what the cat screen is. Have you ridden a Cat with the dash? As far as standard gauges go it is easily the best and easiest to read. The base ski Doo and Polaris gauge are even more dated, and the the upgraded gauge adds $1500 to an already overpriced sled. Listen I'm not saying that Cat shouldn't offer something more advanced, I'm just making the argument that what they have to offer actually works very well. And no I have not seen what motorcycles use as a gauge, but I would expect them to be better because you actually need to keep track of your speed while moving.
@@mikehd3904 I'm a flat lander 😭😭...and even then I only occasionally look at my gauge to A) check what RPM I'm running and B) how much gas I have left.
I can’t stand this guy first thing I look is the spindle 🤦🏽♂️. No,no,no it the engine and horsepower
A lot of talking, not much riding, maybe time to change test crew. Sorry, the truth sometimes hurts.
Yup, we suck. We usually shoot most of these videos from our car now. No more riding. Who rides any more, right?!?!
SO cAT FINALLY PLAYED CATCH UP. TOO MANY BIG NO'S FOR ME
This sled, how it handles and its belt drive system have just made Polaris and SkiDoo look aged. The Polaris is running an 8 year old chassis and SkiDoo is running a 6 year old chassis, the Matryx/G5 aren't a new chassis.
Why ya screaming Karen 😆
The biggest no is likely your budget...
Why won't anyone answer how much it weights?
Because the information isn't available. We bought a scale and if we can get one of these sleds delivered to us soon we will to do wet weights and post the results.
Under 450 lbs🤷🏽♂️
Yes, please, put the most important parts of the engine closest to the part that is going to be hurt first!.. by all means.
THAT LOOKS FAST SITTING STILL!