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E start on Catalyst

IDspud

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Some of y’all should’ve tugged over a kk900 with high compression domes and twin jaws at -32 to grow some shoulders.
 
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kanedog

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Your cat was hard to pull?
My daughter pull started her alpha at age eleven when she inherited it from her mom from divorce.
Tell more about the divorce. Just the juicy stuff
 

hansenmac

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got e start on my 600 catalyst mainly since my wife has started riding more but i will never have another sled without it. The sled is so well balanced that you wont notice it. i put a lightweight battery in it and a trail can so back to stock non e start weight but the battery is centered and behind the seat so its really not in a noticable spot. i think on the older sleds that were heavier you really didnt want MORE weight but this new sled is so easy to ride you wont notice it. also any less work you have to do the more energy you have to ride.
 

turboless terry

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got e start on my 600 catalyst mainly since my wife has started riding more but i will never have another sled without it. The sled is so well balanced that you wont notice it. i put a lightweight battery in it and a trail can so back to stock non e start weight but the battery is centered and behind the seat so its really not in a noticable spot. i think on the older sleds that were heavier you really didnt want MORE weight but this new sled is so easy to ride you wont notice it. also any less work you have to do the more energy you have to ride.
What did the stock muffler weight and whose did you put on? I'll be putting an ibexx muffler on my 858
 

hansenmac

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What did the stock muffler weight and whose did you put on? I'll be putting an ibexx muffler on my 858
i didnt weigh either of them, should have though. I have the speedwerx trail can so could have gone lighter but didnt want it too loud. It sounds pretty good and i think its supposed to be 11 lbs lighter according to speedwerx. I really like how cat did the muffler mounting, soooo easy to change and they dont move like the can on my 18 would slide back and rub. they really looked at every part of the sled and improved even those little things like muffler mounting.
 

boondocker97

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My high compression 900 Suzuki will lift the opposite side ski off the ground first start on a cold morning. The supercharged ctec can be pretty tough too, but not as bad as the 900. I'm 35 and I'll probably stick with the pull starter for a while. If it was something like SHOT for 2 extra pounds I'd be all over it. The center rope pull location on Cats makes it easier to get to in off-camber stuck situations than some others so that helps stick with it for me.

My dad is 63 now and he has gotten E-start on his sleds since 2016MY. Also, if it was for a wife or girlfriend to ride it a fair amount, then no question get the e-start. High school or college kid with a good, strong back: pulling the rope is just character building lol.
 

IDspud

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My girls pull the alphas easier than the Suzukis. I don’t notice, but the Suzukis will pull them into the bars cold sometimes.
 

Hawkster

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That Ctec really is different, besides the rope pull the idle is not the Suzuki, it's also gotten a bit louder since new.

Try pulling over an Indy Dan long rod in sub zero weather, it has to have a synthetic rope and IF it kicks back god forbid you AREN'T planted. Fingers, rotator cup, back, hip and what ever else not knowing what's coming will never be unprepared next time. :)
 

BeartoothBaron

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To me it's silly that Cat only sold the 600 Catalyst for this year with e-start. It's like a step-side to get into a Subaru Forester. Of course, that's coming from a perspective of weight being king, but if you're in good enough shape to ride the back country, pulling over a 600 should be nothing. Now, a high-compression 800 - let alone a big bore - I understand a little more. I also have a Indy long-rod with more compression than I realized (I'd never checked the squish until I recently put it back together; it was .050, and I probably need a little extra octane...). Cold starts are indeed a workout.

Still, I'm sticking with pull start a while, plus everything newer I've rode has been easy to pull over by comparison. Where it gets a little aggravating is when people keep stopping to talk for a minute or long just enough that I don't want to keep idling - like last weekend when the other two guys I was with had SHOT and e-start respectively. But even pulling over twice as often as necessary, it wasn't a big deal. I'm 40, so I'm sure that attitude will change soon enough. When pulling the rope feels like a chore, I hope I'll be wise enough not to get worked up over the weight. For now though, adding at least 10lbs, plus the cost and complexity isn't worth the convenience. SHOT is a little closer to a no-brainer though.
 
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