I bought my daughter a 2009 Arctic Cat 150 a few weeks ago, and she loves the machine, it is built well, very sturdy, and something she can grow with for several years. However, Arctic Cat put restrictions on the machine out of the factory to be limited to 20 mph. I looked at numerous places on the web, and could not find any instructions about removing the restrictions. There were vague mentions of shims in the CVT, but no instructions to be found. I decided then to document what I did and post it so everyone else would see how to do this simple procedure.

The first picture is the machine (with my proud daughter on board)

1. Remove the black plastic mud flap/shrowd/foot compartment from the left side of the machine. (as seen in picture 2). Remove the vent hoses from the front and rear of the side cover. Remove the kick starter by removing the retaining bolt and slide it off.

2. Remove the several small 8mm bolts around the left side cover (CVT cover), then carefully pull out on the cover until it comes off. Be aware there is a paper gasket between the side cover and the case, so be careful not to rip it when removing the cover. Now you should see what is in picture 3. Set the side cover aside in a safe spot, and notice the front CVT pulley. There is a 17mm nut on the pulley that will need to be removed with an impact wrench, or other appropriate air tool.

3. After removing the nut, pull the small spacer off the shaft, then the outside half of the CVT pulley. See Picture 4. The two spacers between the halves of the pulley (brass color and black) are the restrictors. Remove both of these as seen in picture 5.

4. Replace the outside half of the CVT pulley, then the small outside spacer with splines. Replace the nut on the shaft and tighten (with a wrench or socket and ratchet, NOT with the impact wrench)

5. Carefully replace the side cover and tighten the bolts evenly to preserve the gasket.

6. Replace the vent hoses, then the side plastic shrowd and tighten all the bolts appropriately.

Afterthoughts:

1. I take no responsibility if you choose to remove the speed limiters and your child is not ready to go that fast. I suggest you let him/her get used to the machine before you follow any of my above instructions.

2. Arctic cat claims the machine can be limited at 20, 30, and 38 mph. I believe if you remove just 1 of the spacers, it will be at 30, remove both, it should be able to go 38.

3. This is a great little machine, and I would recommend it to anyone who has a child skilled enough to ride it. It is a good transition machine for those children who have outgrown the 50, but not yet big enough for a 250 or 300 class machine.

4. Anyone with questions or additions, I will be happy to respond.

 

Thanks for the great post. I bought mine new from Bass Pro Shops and they didn't even know about the spacers with the belt. I was told the throttle limiting screw is all there is to get the speed above 30 kph.

 

I am at the part where picture 3 shows, but i some how can get the bolt off to get to the restrictors. The clutch is only spinning so it prevents me from getting the bolt off. Can you help me?

 

Have you tried with an impact wretch ? It's the only way to remove that nut.
I can confirm my son reached 68 KPH with his buddy sitting behind him on my Arctic Cat 150.
All in all, a great machine !

 

sejust2005,
Great post, thanks for the information and photos too.
regards,
techoca

 

This is a little late, but i was managed to get the bolt off without an impact wrench. All you really need is something to jam and stop the rotators from moving. Then from there, you need a lot of strength to unbolt it. No damage was done to the rotators by jamming them to prevent movement. Tightening the bolts back on is no problem at all. Thank you very much for the post about the Arctic Cat 150 Limiter Removal. You are the only person my friend and i could find that shared this info about it. If anyone wants to see the Arctic Cat 150 without limiters in action. Click on the link i shared. YouTube - Arctic Cat 150 Limiters Removed [42 mph]

 

I have a line on an 09 for $1500. Seems like a great price. I'm buying for a 10 year old that has two years riding experience. He has ridden a 350 through tight woods successfully. I know with the spacer rings in he can't go faster than 20 mph. My concern is the weight of the machine. Dry weight is listed at 386 pounds. That is very heavy for a 150. A Honda 250EX is only 350 pounds. I'm concerned that if my son had a rollover the machine would be too heavy. Is this a concern? How stable is the machine? My son is a conservative rider but accidents happen.

 

Hey i was just getting these rings off and i got stuck at rebuilding when i couldnt get the belt back on. It seems way shorter then it should be. Anyone know what i could do?
thanks