All OHV Forum

SBA800 · 05-16-2012, 03:22 PM

Here are snowmobile.om's thoughts on the new 2013 M800!

The mighty Arctic Cat M8 remains mighty in motor. Cat’s collaborative work with Suzuki continues to pay off with every slap of the loud lever. But, Arctic Cat’s 2013 ProClimb M8 is a vast departure from the M8 of year’s previous. Now the mountain-ready Cat has moved to a common platform shared by two motors – the 800 two cylinder two-stroke and a two cylinder four-stroke. Also, Arctic Cat wanted the trail and the mountain segments to share many components. By sharing platforms and limiting motor choices, Arctic Cat found a way to reduce production costs by streamlining the assembly line.
In our long time riding and reviewing of the 2012 M800, we found some quirks and newbie jitters: such as an out-of-sync steering ratio, a rear suspension that trenched-out the track rather than floating it, and some belly pan and side panel lines that were not as clean as Cat’s competitors.

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**nosbusa** · 12-11-2012, 03:46 AM

so im taking it, that it doesnt ride well?

SBA800 · 12-11-2012, 10:29 AM

its a cat, of course it dont haha.

but, as with any first year offering, wether its a sled, quad etc. there will be issues.
cat just seems to have way more than other manufacturers

**nosbusa** · 01-31-2013, 02:00 AM

too bad for suzuki, they should either take over, or drop them. its going to bring their name down.

aaron is my bitch

Mockstar · 08-27-2013, 04:21 PM

Did you guys even read the review? That little snippet of a quote u posted was referring to the 2012 M8. AC has improved all the downfalls of last years model.

lets talk about some other 1st year model cats........ahhh the Mighty 03 F7 FIRECAT! This sled turned the snowmobile world upside down....Polaris would still be using trailing arms today if it wasn't for AC....you're welcome.

**Maxx2893** · 08-27-2013, 04:33 PM

What size motor and what not does your sled have? Still going strong after this many years? Oh and if your pretty in to sleds, check out SBA800's rig. Pretty friggin slick

Mockstar · 08-27-2013, 04:44 PM

It was 700cc EFI Twin 2 stroke. AC rated them at 140HP. It was a beast back in the day, nothing touched it, but it definitely had it's share of first year glitches. I sold in 2009, and haven't bought another sled since. Too many other hobbies.......

**Maxx2893** · 08-27-2013, 11:30 PM

Wow, 140 is crazy. I've got a RZR with a 900 that puts out 88 stock. A fairly popular mod people do is swap to a Z1 snowmobile engine. It's a 4 cylinder that puts out like 170. Why do sled engines put out so much more?

Mockstar · 08-28-2013, 12:19 AM

Mainly because they use a 2 stroke engine. A 2 stroke engine makes combustion on every revolution of the crank unlike a 4 stroke that does on every other rotation. A 4 stroke can make the same amount of power, but usually takes twice the displacement. An advantage of the 4 stroke engine is the power curve starts down low, so you get the low end grunt as compared to a 2 stroke where it won't make its peak power until the top of the RPM range.

Also a 2 stroke doesn't' have valves to open or close during the rotation. No cams, no springs, no valves. No parasitic moving parts to rob HP from the start. Same deal with dirt bikes in the MX series. It takes a 450cc 4 stroke just to compete with a 250cc 2 stroke.

I think the Z1 is around 1100cc's and turbo'd. Forced induction increase HP big time in a 4 stroke application.

**Maxx2893** · 08-28-2013, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by Mockstar

Mainly because they use a 2 stroke engine. A 2 stroke engine makes combustion on every revolution of the crank unlike a 4 stroke that does on every other rotation. A 4 stroke can make the same amount of power, but usually takes twice the displacement. An advantage of the 4 stroke engine is the power curve starts down low, so you get the low end grunt as compared to a 2 stroke where it won't make its peak power until the top of the RPM range.

Also a 2 stroke doesn't' have valves to open or close during the rotation. No cams, no springs, no valves. No parasitic moving parts to rob HP from the start. Same deal with dirt bikes in the MX series. It takes a 450cc 4 stroke just to compete with a 250cc 2 stroke.

I think the Z1 is around 1100cc's and turbo'd. Forced induction increase HP big time in a 4 stroke application.

Good to know, thanks for the info!