Not to start a fight or anything, But where are Artic Cat's Hi-performance quads? They have some killer snowmobiles. But unless you like riding farm equipment,Arctic Cat isn't the way to go.

 

I often wondered the same...

 

it is kind of hard to start a fight with us because we do have a reputation of being the most laid back group on this forum. in truth, we all probably think the same as you in that we are baffled by ac's lack of a high perf quad. i think ac may sit back, watch the market, and let all the other manufacturers innovate new things then after a certain design is proven ac studies it, tweaks it, then applies it to their quads. it sounds bad but it is actually quite smart and ac is not the only one that does it. just look at the big three auto manufacturers. even yamaha does it. i was recently at a yamaha outboard dealer and he told me that yamaha lets omc and mercury innovate until they are blue in the face then takes a certain design, irons out the wrinkles, and applies it to their engines. he also told me that yamaha engines are basically omc powerheads over mercury lower units. you see history always tells the truth first omc came out with ficht, second mercury came out with optimax, third yamaha came out with hpdi (high pressure direct injection). yamaha may be the last in line but they are definitely first when it comes to quality, durability, popularity, and overall customer satisfaction. when i buy a boat i will surely get a yamaha to power it.

texascat

 

Define "Performance?"

I was riding the other day, taking a trail through the woods when I came face to face with another group heading the other way, lead by some guy on a Raptor. There we were, mexican stand off style, they were unable to back up because someone didn't have reverse on their Quad, and I had my son on his little sportsman behind me. The trail was WAY too narrow to go past them.

I scanned the woods, picked a likely path, and mowed down everything in my way to make a new "side" trail. As me and my son motered off, we left a troop of open mouthed sport riders watching us.

I can't jump like they can, and I certainly can't outrun them, my machine does not have that kinf of perfomance. But I can go a few places they can't and THAT is the performance I was looking for when I bought mine.

 

well put. i like the way my cat can climb 70 degree inclines in REVERSE and tow things with its hitch. i bought a utility machine because i wanted a high performance tractor so to speak. if i wanted to scream down straightaways at 75 mph i would have bought a high performance machine like a raptor but i opted for a tank so i could blaze my own trails and be able to carry my big *** wherever my big bald head wanted to go.

texascat

 

By looking at what they did with the youth quad, I think that they may take a shot at a sport quad. I think they will probably look at all angles before they do though. They have the engines to choose from, but designing a chassis that will actually sell or compete is another story. It would be nice, but I think they will have to veer far from the steering geometry of their current utilities.