I have been asked about my new M1000 lots.
So thought maybe I would do a short write up of my impressions thus far.
Please understand, these are just my thoughts and experiences.
Every sled is different, and every person different....this is not to bash or endorse the M1000.
Just my 2 cents as an owner.
I have not thought about what order to write my thoughts in, or how to make it a good read....so just bare with me and read on if you like, or skip to another post if not.
First of all the dealer I bought it from sucks at set up....i basically had to fix all the crap they should have already done.
But onto life as it is now.
On last sunday it was parked into my trailer at the end of the ride with the odometer reading 1,018 kms...or roughly 630 or so miles....that may not sound like much, but all of them have been hard mountain riding.
I have not treated this sled easily, and i ride it hard.
I broke it in with WOT hillclimbs after 10 minutes of new.
I always break my motors in hard and fast, they seem to be the best ones for me.
I was pissed off at its extreme lack of power and bad clutches when new.
Once i raised the belt up in the secondary, and switched to a 44/40 helix and 68gram weights it was clutched pretty good.
The motor took a while to loosen up and pull, but finally did so at around 130 km mark.
I am running it on amsoil eliminator oil after the initial fill by the dealer of artic cat oil.
I have the 153 inch track, and its not nearly enough for this sled and my riding style...I wish i had the 162 for sure.
From day 1 it has had the large mouth intake installed, and SLP side panel vents and slp flowrites in the shock towers.
I have ridden in a lot of deep powder this winter, as we have been geting huge dumps of snow.
So far just minor heat spots showing on the APV cables where they run under the pipe, but i did heat tape everything after the first 2 riding days.
Next i added a wet nitrous system, and D&D y-pipe, and 2 bullseyes to the airbox of it.
I reclutched it with more weight to account for the NOS....and was using a 60 hp shot.
I hated it, unless i was on the button.
So since have reduced to a 40 hp shot and its much better....i can run clutching like it does not have NOS, and then it just slightly over revs when on the button...so its not for sure that more is always better.
Next i tried SLP powder pro skis...I hated them.
The stock ones throw too much snow back into my face and piss me off, although they handle not too badly....I have "MOD" skis on it now and love them....I have the same skis on both of my M7's and i swear they are far superior for my riding style than any other ski made.
I have now installed a Whitelightening can to it and like it.
I feel no power gain or loss, but dang its nice to lose 14.5 pounds that easily....oh ya did i mention the M1K is a front heavy pig.
I actually had the limiter straps all the way out, and have since added longer ones and let it out another inch.....much better.
I have checked my APV cables, and the clip is not rubbing and cutting them.
I have broken the rear idler wheels, and since replaced them with carbon fiber idlers, and so far they are good to go.
I have bent 2 steering posts on it.
Broken the throttle cable.
Wrecked the winshield in a roll over....ya i have rolled it a few times, and each time was multiple rolls, not just one.
The running boards are snow and ice magnets, much better since i put snow eliminators on the sled.
I have knocked the screens out of the hood too many times to count while playing in the deep deep powder...and it fills up under the hood so badly i cannot open the hood to even fill the oil tank.
I have to bring it into a heated shop after every ride and defrost it, so i can open the hood.
I wish cat used a finer screen in the vents , and put them in better so they saty in.
I have worn right through the side panels from the clutch rubbing, and melted the other side to a crisp from it touching the suitcase that cat installs and calls a can.
My hood is cracked at the front.
The seat is too slippery and needs to be made of something that my ass will not slide off.
The bars are insanely low if you are more than 4'9" tall.
The gas gauge is a joke....it reads empty, and its still got 18 litres left in it, or over 1/3 full still for theose that do not know litres.
That said thins sled is very easy on both gas and oil....it use way less than my M7's or any of the other sleds i regularly ride with except other M8's or M1000's.
Its not easy to start as most cat EFI sleds are...and when its hot after its been ridden hard its a B I T C H to start up again.
Also I flipped it over backwards one day on a steep climb, and that broke the tail light, and slightly bent the rear of the tunnel.
Every time i back up the damn flap gets sucked into the track to.
And i also turned my idle speed up, i like it better ,and it vibrates less.
According to cat mine should not be able to engage reverse since it now idles at 2,600 rpm...but it does, so maybe the rpm sensor to lock out reverse is toast, i have no idea.
I like the quick detach seat, and when i get to an area of extreme hills i tend to pop the seat off and leave it lie on the ground somewhere....then put it back on for the ride out.
Its a lot easier to maneuver quickly from side to side without the seat in my way, and it shaves off pounds to, and as we all know in a steep hard climb the less weight the better.
Oh the gas line still leaks where it exits the tank.
I have changed the line to some fancy silicone high pressure fuel line , and have the new clamp really tight, it leaks less than before but still leaks....makes me wonder having a gas leak in a hot engine compartment, but i am at a loss how to stop it all the way.
My headlite HI/LOW selector switch binds since new when i try to use it, so you almost need to stop and slowly toggle from one to the other.
Hand grip warmers work very well.
I wish cat would make the gas rack fit a five gallon jerry can, not that pathetic excuse of a gas rack they use.
I took mine off and threw it in the garbage....I just drilled holes and stuck U bolts in to hook a bungy cord to for carrying gas...the gas can slides around lots, but still its better than the crap cat has on it stock.
I added extra hood hold down straps hoping the hood will stay closed when it rolls, and so far its been good....it gets ugly when they roll and the hood comes open...yikes !
Oh ya the winshield is tiny, so I ordered a taller cobra windshield in chrome to replace the stock one that broke last time i rolled it.
And i suggest always carrying many spare push pins, because when they roll the pins pop out and are lost in the snow....then the windshield flops around the rest of the ride, so i usually carry about 20 spare pins in my backpack.
Well i am out of thoughts for now...please add to this if you have an M1000, i like to hear experiences from owners.
Cheers
Marty
So thought maybe I would do a short write up of my impressions thus far.
Please understand, these are just my thoughts and experiences.
Every sled is different, and every person different....this is not to bash or endorse the M1000.
Just my 2 cents as an owner.
I have not thought about what order to write my thoughts in, or how to make it a good read....so just bare with me and read on if you like, or skip to another post if not.
First of all the dealer I bought it from sucks at set up....i basically had to fix all the crap they should have already done.
But onto life as it is now.
On last sunday it was parked into my trailer at the end of the ride with the odometer reading 1,018 kms...or roughly 630 or so miles....that may not sound like much, but all of them have been hard mountain riding.
I have not treated this sled easily, and i ride it hard.
I broke it in with WOT hillclimbs after 10 minutes of new.
I always break my motors in hard and fast, they seem to be the best ones for me.
I was pissed off at its extreme lack of power and bad clutches when new.
Once i raised the belt up in the secondary, and switched to a 44/40 helix and 68gram weights it was clutched pretty good.
The motor took a while to loosen up and pull, but finally did so at around 130 km mark.
I am running it on amsoil eliminator oil after the initial fill by the dealer of artic cat oil.
I have the 153 inch track, and its not nearly enough for this sled and my riding style...I wish i had the 162 for sure.
From day 1 it has had the large mouth intake installed, and SLP side panel vents and slp flowrites in the shock towers.
I have ridden in a lot of deep powder this winter, as we have been geting huge dumps of snow.
So far just minor heat spots showing on the APV cables where they run under the pipe, but i did heat tape everything after the first 2 riding days.
Next i added a wet nitrous system, and D&D y-pipe, and 2 bullseyes to the airbox of it.
I reclutched it with more weight to account for the NOS....and was using a 60 hp shot.
I hated it, unless i was on the button.
So since have reduced to a 40 hp shot and its much better....i can run clutching like it does not have NOS, and then it just slightly over revs when on the button...so its not for sure that more is always better.
Next i tried SLP powder pro skis...I hated them.
The stock ones throw too much snow back into my face and piss me off, although they handle not too badly....I have "MOD" skis on it now and love them....I have the same skis on both of my M7's and i swear they are far superior for my riding style than any other ski made.
I have now installed a Whitelightening can to it and like it.
I feel no power gain or loss, but dang its nice to lose 14.5 pounds that easily....oh ya did i mention the M1K is a front heavy pig.
I actually had the limiter straps all the way out, and have since added longer ones and let it out another inch.....much better.
I have checked my APV cables, and the clip is not rubbing and cutting them.
I have broken the rear idler wheels, and since replaced them with carbon fiber idlers, and so far they are good to go.
I have bent 2 steering posts on it.
Broken the throttle cable.
Wrecked the winshield in a roll over....ya i have rolled it a few times, and each time was multiple rolls, not just one.
The running boards are snow and ice magnets, much better since i put snow eliminators on the sled.
I have knocked the screens out of the hood too many times to count while playing in the deep deep powder...and it fills up under the hood so badly i cannot open the hood to even fill the oil tank.
I have to bring it into a heated shop after every ride and defrost it, so i can open the hood.
I wish cat used a finer screen in the vents , and put them in better so they saty in.
I have worn right through the side panels from the clutch rubbing, and melted the other side to a crisp from it touching the suitcase that cat installs and calls a can.
My hood is cracked at the front.
The seat is too slippery and needs to be made of something that my ass will not slide off.
The bars are insanely low if you are more than 4'9" tall.
The gas gauge is a joke....it reads empty, and its still got 18 litres left in it, or over 1/3 full still for theose that do not know litres.
That said thins sled is very easy on both gas and oil....it use way less than my M7's or any of the other sleds i regularly ride with except other M8's or M1000's.
Its not easy to start as most cat EFI sleds are...and when its hot after its been ridden hard its a B I T C H to start up again.
Also I flipped it over backwards one day on a steep climb, and that broke the tail light, and slightly bent the rear of the tunnel.
Every time i back up the damn flap gets sucked into the track to.
And i also turned my idle speed up, i like it better ,and it vibrates less.
According to cat mine should not be able to engage reverse since it now idles at 2,600 rpm...but it does, so maybe the rpm sensor to lock out reverse is toast, i have no idea.
I like the quick detach seat, and when i get to an area of extreme hills i tend to pop the seat off and leave it lie on the ground somewhere....then put it back on for the ride out.
Its a lot easier to maneuver quickly from side to side without the seat in my way, and it shaves off pounds to, and as we all know in a steep hard climb the less weight the better.
Oh the gas line still leaks where it exits the tank.
I have changed the line to some fancy silicone high pressure fuel line , and have the new clamp really tight, it leaks less than before but still leaks....makes me wonder having a gas leak in a hot engine compartment, but i am at a loss how to stop it all the way.
My headlite HI/LOW selector switch binds since new when i try to use it, so you almost need to stop and slowly toggle from one to the other.
Hand grip warmers work very well.
I wish cat would make the gas rack fit a five gallon jerry can, not that pathetic excuse of a gas rack they use.
I took mine off and threw it in the garbage....I just drilled holes and stuck U bolts in to hook a bungy cord to for carrying gas...the gas can slides around lots, but still its better than the crap cat has on it stock.
I added extra hood hold down straps hoping the hood will stay closed when it rolls, and so far its been good....it gets ugly when they roll and the hood comes open...yikes !
Oh ya the winshield is tiny, so I ordered a taller cobra windshield in chrome to replace the stock one that broke last time i rolled it.
And i suggest always carrying many spare push pins, because when they roll the pins pop out and are lost in the snow....then the windshield flops around the rest of the ride, so i usually carry about 20 spare pins in my backpack.
Well i am out of thoughts for now...please add to this if you have an M1000, i like to hear experiences from owners.
Cheers
Marty
