Proclimb Upgrades I have Done.

[spoon]

Keep finding it hard to pull trigger on new Cats when all parts from 12 to 21 are mostly interchangeable. I have a 13 800 Limited I got brand new in spring of 13 for ridiculous cheap. With all the mods I have done over the years I am still under the price of a new Alpha inc what I initially paid for sled. Currently has a 175 Camso 280 with Alpha drivers, modified rear skid with custom IceAge rails and Promotion. Vanamburg 174 tunnel kit, Modded 38" front with Evols, Zbros uppers and 2020 Riot spindles (1.5" longer). Did the guage upgrade from another member here and have A/F and all temp readings on factory guage. Also did C3 belt drive. Have a BD turbo kit I bought used that will be on soon. I wanted to try the track setup by itself against a N/A Alpha to see how it performs side by side before I turbo it. Clutching setup is the 2018 Primary and Secondary. Love this sled and how it handles for me and next upgrade wont be till second year of next big chassis change at Arctic Cat. I have always bought a new Cat every time there is a major chassis change since 1996 and usually the most radical or biggest sled they had at the time.

 

[bgraff1]

36" stance, ascender plastic, narrow running boards and a dropped case would make it perform much better. you may be under what a new sled would cost but your still a long ways away from a new sled. how do you like the riot spindles? what did you do in the rear to work along side the raised front?

 

[spoon]

I have 36 stance and am doing drop and roll on my 16 soon. Left the wider stance and running boards as with the longer 175 track it pivots further back on the rear idlers and I like it that way. The approach angle on the stock Alpha drivers (larger) with the 2.8 track is pretty flat and the rails I am using have different profile and front torque arm mount and work pretty good. My rear skid setup is not like anything Arctic Cat did in any of the twin rails and my front torque arm angle is closer to an Alpha. The increased torque arm angle worked perfectly with the raised spindles and I am in upper front mount hole in tunnel with limiter all way out and sled sits flat on track. It transfers instantly and with the crossbar behind rear scissor it keeps wheelie under control.
My 16 is going to be setup like a mountain cat and may do the Riot spindles on it too. I am going to put my 153 tunnel extension off the 13 on the 16. I am no expert and do what is right for my style of riding and I like modding and tinkering anyway. Going to use the 16 for tight tree riding and the 13 for deep and steep days.

 

[sno*jet]

nice build. is there a reason riot spindles would be less desirable on a 16+ front end that you can see? maybe that '13 a-arm setup is better with these spindles?

 

[spoon]

I already had the 16 layback spindles on the 13 with the Zbros uppers so I could keep my Evols. Stock 12-15 uppers wont work with the Riot/ZR spindles anyway. The Riot spindles are made to be in upright position same as 12-15 though so tie rods needed changing to style that a through bolt would work so a spacer could be used or tie rod tube comes into contact with lower A arm at less than full extension of travel. had to trim back of ski rubbers as it made it harder to steer with too much pressure on rear of ski. Trimmed 1/4" of rear of ski rubber and steering was good. Spindles are heavier than the mountain spindle but I have bent those so it doesn't bother me. Costs about 350$ to do with new tie rods and spindles.

 

[kidwoo]

I already had the 16 layback spindles on the 13 with the Zbros uppers so I could keep my Evols. Stock 12-15 uppers wont work with the Riot/ZR spindles anyway. The Riot spindles are made to be in upright position same as 12-15 though so tie rods needed changing to style that a through bolt would work so a spacer could be used or tie rod tube comes into contact with lower A arm at less than full extension of travel. had to trim back of ski rubbers as it made it harder to steer with too much pressure on rear of ski. Trimmed 1/4" of rear of ski rubber and steering was good. Spindles are heavier than the mountain spindle but I have bent those so it doesn't bother me. Costs about 350$ to do with new tie rods and spindles.

What do you think of the 36" front end vs. the riot spindles? The upright design of the older spindles seems better in my opinion. The layback spindles just push the skis instead of letting them bite.

Narrower is better obviously but they should have kept the upright setup.

 

[spoon]

I put the riot spindles in layback position. They are designed for upright but will not work with 12-15 uppers as ball joint design is same as 16 up layback. Extra height is noticeable improvement. I see Iceage kits are sold out so this might be a popular alternative.

 

[sno*jet]

What do you think of the 36" front end vs. the riot spindles? The upright design of the older spindles seems better in my opinion. The layback spindles just push the skis instead of letting them bite.

Narrower is better obviously but they should have kept the upright setup.

in my mind the layback spindle will handle better in sidehilling. better shock absorbtion. whereas the straight one will corner better on a trail, not give out as easy as the laydown.

 

[kidwoo]

in my mind the layback spindle will handle better in sidehilling. better shock absorbtion. whereas the straight one will corner better on a trail, not give out as easy as the laydown.

How much have you ridden a modern polaris?

When I haven't' ridden my cat in a while it's WAY harder to initiate for exactly the reason I mentioned, the skis push, they don't bite.

And my cat handles a million times better on trail than my axys. So basically the opposite of everything you said

I never owned a proclimb with the OG spindles though. I would like to stick a 38" front end on mine to see if I'm right. The angles on the 36" do make it feel lighter and after all the heavy front end gripes about the probclimbs I know why they angled them like that. I just think the general narrowing and everything else that happened with the 16/17 sleds was so good, no one questioned that bit of it.

 

[spoon]

How much have you ridden a modern polaris?

When I haven't' ridden my cat in a while it's WAY harder to initiate for exactly the reason I mentioned, the skis push, they don't bite.

And my cat handles a million times better on trail than my axys. So basically the opposite of everything you said

I never owned a proclimb with the OG spindles though. I would like to stick a 38" front end on mine to see if I'm right. The angles on the 36" do make it feel lighter and after all the heavy front end gripes about the probclimbs I know why they angled them like that. I just think the general narrowing and everything else that happened with the 16/17 sleds was so good, no one questioned that bit of it.

I rode the sled for 6 yrs with the 38 and stock spindles before switching last year to Zbros uppers and 16 layback spindles. Did notice the initiate issue but easier to hold a sidehill. The longer Riot spindles make it a little harder again to initiate but once moving and playing around sled feels lighter and more fun. On the trail it is a noticeable difference in handling from the layback to upright spindles (worse) but we don't have much groomed trail and with running 3" tracks it is not a concern. I guess that is why the new longer spindles come on sleds that are for trail riding mainly. Trying to run the Riot spindles before I cut the ski rubbers in rear was like driving a tank on the flat, once I trimmed the rubber 1/4 inch to let ski tip back down it was normal again. This could be likened to the difference between the angle differences of the spindles for different riding styles.

 

[kidwoo]

I rode the sled for 6 yrs with the 38 and stock spindles before switching last year to Zbros uppers and 16 layback spindles. Did notice the initiate issue but easier to hold a sidehill. The longer Riot spindles make it a little harder again to initiate but once moving and playing around sled feels lighter and more fun. On the trail it is a noticeable difference in handling from the layback to upright spindles (worse) but we don't have much groomed trail and with running 3" tracks it is not a concern. I guess that is why the new longer spindles come on sleds that are for trail riding mainly. Trying to run the Riot spindles before I cut the ski rubbers in rear was like driving a tank on the flat, once I trimmed the rubber 1/4 inch to let ski tip back down it was normal again. This could be likened to the difference between the angle differences of the spindles for different riding styles.

Yeah that kind of jives with what I was thinking. Once on edge the lighter steering caused by the layback spindles is noticeable. The axys is a little grabbier when you hit something or auger it in under some sun crust.

I just still get caught up every once in a while in funky snow where I go to get up on edge, the ski pushes and then I get pulled over the sled downhill because it doesn't actually get up on the ski.


Total weight distrubution on the cat is obviously going to be way different from another sled so I'm not sure how comparable they are. But I have it in my head that there's a combination of moving the skis forward (a la barcode) and straightening up the spindles that would be an improvement.

 

[spoon]

The Barcode setup is something I would be interested in trying in combination with the longer Riot spindle.

 

[sno*jet]

The axys is a little grabbier when you hit something or auger it in under some sun crust.

thats what i noticed too and why i think the layback spindles work good for sidehilling. i do need to ride the newer narrow axys front end, last one i rode was a 17. what year is yours?

 

[kidwoo]

thats what i noticed too and why i think the layback spindles work good for sidehilling. i do need to ride the newer narrow axys front end, last one i rode was a 17. what year is yours?

18 with zbroz 36" front end. I never rode it with the stock 39". And not a polaris owner until this sled (except for a 2006 fusion which we don't talk about)


both my sleds are on my flatbed right now and I went out and looked at them. The difference in angle is pretty severe. But yeah I think we're all saying the same thing at this point, easier to initiate but not as smooth/stable holding a sidehill.

I'd love to throw a slightly slacker spindle setup on the axys and a steeper spindle on the cat. I need a fabrication shop lol

 

[sno*jet]

Im reading jason nethercotts build in the magazine right now and it looks like he might have done just what you wanted by building his own upper arms. might be something cat could do for '22. i am a fan of keeping the skis under the sled, not putting them farther forward like bar code does to get it to initiate easier. edit, talkin about old barcode kit not sure about their new Lift kit.

 

[spoon]

Watching the RMR sled giveaway video and in the background is a white/black Cat with Riot spindles and mountain A-arms. Is that the Nethercott build you are referencing? I see on his facebook that he is selling his last year Mod Alpha with Riot spindles in upright position with custom uppers. The black/white one in vid looks to have the spindles laid back.

 

[kidwoo]

Im reading jason nethercotts build in the magazine right now and it looks like he might have done just what you wanted by building his own upper arms. might be something cat could do for '22. i am a fan of keeping the skis under the sled, not putting them farther forward like bar code does to get it to initiate easier.

Wow, yeah, exactly. Thanks for the heads up, I keep forgetting to look at the magazine. Rarely do they have anything other than pseudo ads for articles. Thanks!

I haven't seen a barcode setup in person, I was just referencing it as someone who's played with this for the same reasons.

You don't need to move the skis forward, just the upper A-arm. That would actually pull the skis back so keeping them in the same location you'd have to move the lower down a bit. But I like what nethercott did, that's what I'm talking about. His complaints about the ski angles when turned are what I've been talking about. Do you recognize what those lower A-arms are? I can't tell if they're the stock ones or not.

I'd probably want to stick a bunch of scales under each shock before doing anything. The skis are already pretty far forward on the layback spindles. My 153 cat is the same length as my 163 axys ski tip to back of the track.

 

[boondocker97]

Yeah Nethercott has been playing with those spindles since last year. Trying to get a more consistent handling feel over the Elevate kits on hard snow was part of it I heard. I've heard rumors of something coming to make the more upright riot spindle mod a bolt on deal. Just have to wait and see I guess...

 

[kidwoo]

Yeah Nethercott has been playing with those spindles since last year. Trying to get a more consistent handling feel over the Elevate kits on hard snow was part of it I heard. I've heard rumors of something coming to make the more upright riot spindle mod a bolt on deal. Just have to wait and see I guess...

Who do I call to hassle them to hurry up and take my money?

You know who built those upper a-arms?

I put the riot spindles in layback position. They are designed for upright but will not work with 12-15 uppers as ball joint design is same as 16 up layback. Extra height is noticeable improvement. I see Iceage kits are sold out so this might be a popular alternative.

What do you mean by "layback position?" Just on the 36" a arms?

 

[boondocker97]

Who do I call to hassle them to hurry up and take my money?

You know who built those upper a-arms?



What do you mean by "layback position?" Just on the 36" a arms?

Hahaha Calling and hassling is not going to speed up the process at this point! Planning to be released this season still was what I heard. That's all I'm going to say for now.

As for the upper a-arms he's running now I don't know if he made them himself or had a local fab shop do them.

to the OP: Nice sled. Didn't mean to highjack your thread.