Arctic Cat-Thunder Cat 1000 07-16-07
I had the very unique opportunity to test ride the new but not in production yet Arctic Cat Thunder Cat 1000 in Minnesota. This cat does not purrrrr it Rumbles!!!!!!!!! At first glance you notice right away that this is a very unique quad. Arctic Cat choose a new Metallic Silver paint scheme with an outstanding green Thunder Cat graphics kit.
I was skeptical at first thinking why in the world would any body need or want a 950 CC quad and how would you ever keep it on the ground? Well I can tell you first hand that This beast is definitely a monster but the people at Arctic Cat really did their homework on this machine. The sound of this machine is very unique. When you turn the key you can here the EFI primer kick in and within an instant the Cat comes to life. At idle it doesn't sound that much different but when you hit the throttle it sounds like nothing else I have ever heard. It sounds like a highly tuned sports car engine. This machine has so much power that even if you are riding along at 50 MPH and hit the throttle it will squat and break the rear tires loose as it launches forward. Even as powerful as this motor is you still need to control the beast. This is another area that Arctic Cat did their homework. The Thunder Cat has a totally new Performance Tuned Chassis to go along with their monstrous ground clearance.
Now on to the adventure ride. For this adventure we were able to switch between the Thunder Cat 1000, the 650H1 and the 700 EFI. We met early in the morning at a test facility on a bright sunny day at a secret location in Minnesota. After a briefing about what went into the engineering behind this beast we were shown a map of the riding area for our adventure. After the briefing we went out to the Artic Cat 18 wheeler set up displaying our ride for the day. Everyone's excitement was very high to say the least. After picking our machine we fired up and hit the trails. The first part of the trail was a very tight twisty trail system that went up and down hills. The trail was just wide enough for you to weave back and forth between the trees. Even though the power was incredible the quad handled very well. After this section the trail opened up and you could unleash the beast somewhat. I will tell you when you stab the throttle this thing would squat at the rear and launch forward. I expected the front wheels to come up but that did not happen. The suspension is so well balanced it soaks up the power and applies the power to the ground. I did some high speed passes in this area that had lots of turns and slight hills. It gets up to speed so quick you don't realize how fast you are going until you start into the corner. Then you say to yourself OMG I need to slow down fast, so with a stab of the breaks to slow down you then jam on the throttle to slide the rear and you are shot off again until you come up on the next corner. I will tell you I am not a racer but I could not get enough of this excellent powerful machine. It made even a guy like me look fast. I still have a smile on my face a couple of days later. We also tried out some of the 4x4 capabilities of this quad by climbing over logs and rocks. It came through with flying colors. Even though it has gobs of power it was very controllable when using it as a rock crawling 4x4 machine.
After lunch we all headed off on a long ride where we could test some other aspects of this incredible Thunder Cat. The terrain was varied and beautiful. There were hill climbs, sand, rocky terrain, wooded trails and gorgeous over looks of a large lake. When you get off the Thunder Cat and get on one of the other machines you have to look at the side paned to see what you are riding because the 700 EFI now feels like a 400.
I am looking forward to great things to come from the folks at Arctic Cat. They take great pride in their product and have stepped up the bar again.
BTW, we stayed at the Wendigo golf resort in Grand Rapids Minnesota. There are some photos of the lodge included.
You can read the extensive review for the machine on the all new ATVIllustrated.com
website, coming VERY SOON.
Read MoreI was skeptical at first thinking why in the world would any body need or want a 950 CC quad and how would you ever keep it on the ground? Well I can tell you first hand that This beast is definitely a monster but the people at Arctic Cat really did their homework on this machine. The sound of this machine is very unique. When you turn the key you can here the EFI primer kick in and within an instant the Cat comes to life. At idle it doesn't sound that much different but when you hit the throttle it sounds like nothing else I have ever heard. It sounds like a highly tuned sports car engine. This machine has so much power that even if you are riding along at 50 MPH and hit the throttle it will squat and break the rear tires loose as it launches forward. Even as powerful as this motor is you still need to control the beast. This is another area that Arctic Cat did their homework. The Thunder Cat has a totally new Performance Tuned Chassis to go along with their monstrous ground clearance.
Now on to the adventure ride. For this adventure we were able to switch between the Thunder Cat 1000, the 650H1 and the 700 EFI. We met early in the morning at a test facility on a bright sunny day at a secret location in Minnesota. After a briefing about what went into the engineering behind this beast we were shown a map of the riding area for our adventure. After the briefing we went out to the Artic Cat 18 wheeler set up displaying our ride for the day. Everyone's excitement was very high to say the least. After picking our machine we fired up and hit the trails. The first part of the trail was a very tight twisty trail system that went up and down hills. The trail was just wide enough for you to weave back and forth between the trees. Even though the power was incredible the quad handled very well. After this section the trail opened up and you could unleash the beast somewhat. I will tell you when you stab the throttle this thing would squat at the rear and launch forward. I expected the front wheels to come up but that did not happen. The suspension is so well balanced it soaks up the power and applies the power to the ground. I did some high speed passes in this area that had lots of turns and slight hills. It gets up to speed so quick you don't realize how fast you are going until you start into the corner. Then you say to yourself OMG I need to slow down fast, so with a stab of the breaks to slow down you then jam on the throttle to slide the rear and you are shot off again until you come up on the next corner. I will tell you I am not a racer but I could not get enough of this excellent powerful machine. It made even a guy like me look fast. I still have a smile on my face a couple of days later. We also tried out some of the 4x4 capabilities of this quad by climbing over logs and rocks. It came through with flying colors. Even though it has gobs of power it was very controllable when using it as a rock crawling 4x4 machine.
After lunch we all headed off on a long ride where we could test some other aspects of this incredible Thunder Cat. The terrain was varied and beautiful. There were hill climbs, sand, rocky terrain, wooded trails and gorgeous over looks of a large lake. When you get off the Thunder Cat and get on one of the other machines you have to look at the side paned to see what you are riding because the 700 EFI now feels like a 400.
I am looking forward to great things to come from the folks at Arctic Cat. They take great pride in their product and have stepped up the bar again.
BTW, we stayed at the Wendigo golf resort in Grand Rapids Minnesota. There are some photos of the lodge included.
You can read the extensive review for the machine on the all new ATVIllustrated.com
website, coming VERY SOON.
