L-to-R: Aaron Scheele, Mike Fanum & Jim Dimmerman.
Last month I went for a nice ride with Tom Rowland, Aaron Scheele and Mike Fanum.
We trailered some sleds up to Silver Bay, Minn., and rode to Finland and Isabella on the CJ/North Shore trail.
The loop was about 120 miles. I rode a 2015 Arctic Cat XF 6000 Sno Pro.
The ride for me was significant enough to compel me to write about it. The inspiration for my comments is the new 6000 C-TEC2 engine.
I have been anxious to drive one since the release of this new mill at Hay Days. There I talked at great length with my friends – Arctic Cat engineers Donn Eide and Greg Spalding, as well as their colleague Andy Olson – about this huge endeavor in designing it. So many clever details went into the package. But as they say “the proof is in the puddin’.”
Well, I was totally impressed on my ride.
The engine starts and runs smoothly. Engine sound is minimal, with quiet intake & exhaust notes. Clutch and throttle calibration are also very smooth.
But what really impressed me is something that it didn’t do: SMOKE!
I really didn’t notice this until we stopped to have a burger in the Trestle Inn. I was taking off my snowsuit and realized that I did NOT have that all-too-familiar smell of burnt 2-cycle oil permeated in my clothes.
I went to the table where the rest of the suits were and… nothing. No smell at all.
I thought about the days in snowmobiling’s past when a quart of oil mixed with 5 gallons of fuel was the norm
Now, on the new 6000, there’s no blue smoke!
Just in case you’re wondering, I’m NOT some kind of tree-hugger. I like the smell of two-stroke as much as anybody. I just want to give credit where credit is due. This is an impressive package…
I think the Arctic Cat Engine group did a fine job on the new 600 C-TEC2.
Now, if I could just convince them to build a 3-cylinder Dual-Stage Injection engine and put it in a chassis that’s about 5 inches lower with a…
There I go dreaming again.
-Jim
Jim, I agree with you, the heck with the 800 twin DSI, just add on another cylinder and associated crankcase, and have a 900 triple. With this one being as light as it is already, I would guess a 900 triple wouldn’t be much more weight than a current 800 twin. I wouldn’t need triple pipes either, a good single would be plenty sufficient. Using current parts from the 600 should be more cost effective than tooling up new castings for cylinders and such…..
I have a sneaking suspicion that the legendary Phanton Sir Jim was riding a 2015 that said “600” on it, but was actually loaded with Mr. Eides 950 instead. Who better to test a new engine than Mr. Dimmerman? Hopefully it will be released in bold, new RS (Roger Skime) graphics and hopefully I get the chance to snocheck it 🙂
Your close Mark….but no cigar. You can only guess what’s going on up at the Skime SkunkWorks division…………..Jim
Well then, that’s the 2nd time I’ve been wrong today! I just caught h&ll from my girlfriend for wrecking one of her pans by cooking eggs with a little oil in it. Some kind of special pan I guess. If you read a 40 year old Prior Lake man’s obituary, it was me. Some days you just can’t win (unless you’re on a Cat 😉
You guys keep up the good work! I’m now hoping its going to be the 1100 2-stroke Cat never released (or 1200… two 600s side by side). I too am a dreamer!
Mark, next time your frying eggs and don’t want them to stick in the pan…use C Tech 2.
Tom-
I actually started laughing out loud! But I think if I replaced the Canola with C-Tech I’d be wearing the frying pan as a hat, which would bring much humor to our 5year old daughter…but not much to me. Thanks for the laugh! (And I think one of my buddies bought both his 50th anniversary 1100 XFs from you. If it was, I want you to know he is extremely happy with them.)
Thanks again and take care.
Could someone explain the gap in engines. No “3000” series yet. Any insight why the lynx wasn’t called a “3000”. I’m guessing there is another new entry level power plant around the corner.