I bought the Arctic Cat Pantera as a used sled in 1993. It had only 600 miles on it. At the time, the wifey said, “Buy a two-up sled and then I’ll go along!”
Yeah right! I think that she went maybe three times that year and that was it.
Anyhow, the Pantera was my main rider for a few years. Then my daughters would use it. In December of 2012, when my youngest was 19, we went for our inaugural first ride of the season. I tell her to follow me, and she doesn’t disappoint.
Well, there was a trail through a woods that had a swampy section that wasn’t yet frozen. I went through it, but she didn’t get the Pantera spooled up to the 100-105* mph range that’s sometimes needed for these situations.
Needless to say, she buried it in the sippy hole and father had to retrieve it.
My feet stayed dry for about the first 30 seconds of standing in that muck. Somehow I got it out with the help of a passerby. It started right up and away we went.
Good memories.
Actually, GREAT memories!
The sled now has just over 10,000 miles on the clock! It’s a spare and sees less than 100 miles a season. Never once had its trusty piston-port 440 engine split open. Just turn the key and go.
And when it goes…it goes over a hunnert*.
* The “100-105 mph” reference comes from a guy that used to snowmobile with us once in a while back in the 1990’s. He had a 650 Indy and all that you would ever hear him say was that he was going “A hundred, a hundred-five”.
You could be riding through a plowed field and HE was going 100-105. Quite the BS’er!
-Rodney Dragan
Post retrieval of the Pantera, we posed while sitting on the ZR, muddy as heck.
Thanks for reading.
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I think the 91 is one of the best looking Panteras ever! Rodney, are you sure that’s not someones drain field you’re trying to cross?
LMAO, hey Rodney was that mud pit just north of the Blue Overalls?
Rodney has some of the best sled pics on the web, he has one of me in the Arctic Cat Of The Day topic on a Panther I was selling at the Jefferson County swap meet and grass drags, the timing was perfect as I was in this beautiful cloud of two stroke smoke, I love that pic LOL
That trail was in the beautiful Northern Kettle Moraine Area of Wisconsin. Somewhere between Waucousta and Dundee. Early season conditions. Very picturesque, except for this black ribbon that we stumbled upon in the woods. That .625 paddle (if that) paddle on the Pantera does not do the greatest in that type of predicament. Adult ridden, stored indoors, second owner, well maintained, good runner. Caveat emptor.
Thanks for the compliment Vince.
Tom, we’ll see you at Haydays. I’ll be looking for a bigger hammer that a couple of years ago……….
Didn’t proof read too well, did I!