I am thinking of buying my first 4 stroke.Wondering what the difference in handling,top speed,fuel milage,range,etc between the 07 jag and 08 tz1.I have heard of a few problems with the 07 jag,do the 08 tz1 have the same problems.Could owners please let me know the good and the bad about both and if you would recommend it. Thanks.

I'm not aware of any problems with either year. I almost bought an 07 then looked at an 08 and liked the changes better than the 07. The 08 has a fixed windshield a 7" longer track. No difference on handling, MPG or speed. Other than a few cosmetic changes they are the same awesome sled.

Snow1: All 08's have the updated Stabilizer Bar which is suppose to improve handling. I have not ridden an '08 to confirm, but assume the '08's still were unpredictable handlers, hence more changes to the '09's (spindles, tunnel angle, etc) to get them to go around corners. There were a host of other changes made to the '08's right across the board. Ice sheild on the drive shaft bearings, clutch guard improvements, rear suspension strength upgrades, A-arm strength upgrades and all kinds of other things I can't think of right now. The point is, the '07's were your typical first year sled no matter what the engine and the Z1 had a few of it's own problems, although nothing major.

It would appear '09 is the year Cat gets it as close as possible to correct. If it were me, I'd spend the extra bucks and skip right to the '09's. Especially when it comes to the Z1. They appear to be priced very well for '09. Also keep in mind you are comparing a one up '07 Jag to a 2-up '08 TZ1. I am not sure if you actually meant an '08 TZ1 or a Z1, but if you really need a 2-up sled, then the '07 Jag would be a total waste of money.

As always, I would advise ridding a sled before you buy. I know it is often difficult to do so, but when you are spending that kind of money your opinion is the only one that counts. Everyone, including me, is bias with their opinions. I have tried to point out the obvious facts. The rest is up to you. Good luck!

I drove a 07 jag and I wondered if the tz1 two was similar? Gas mileage and range did not seem to be good for a 4 stroke.

Snow1: I agree with you. The gas mileage of the'07 Z1 motor is nothing special. There is no reason to believe the '08's are any better. The '07 I ran for a day did 18 MPG Cdn. OK compared to Cat's 2-strokes, but not as good as the competitors 4 or 2-strokes. Combined with the smaller tank, range is definitely down. The Cat drive train is too inefficient to get good mileage from any of its engines. The nature of the beast. Personally, I didn't like the Z1 engine, but I tend not to like big twins. Anything over a 700 should be a triple. But that's just me. I am not brand loyal, so it doesn't bother me to look at the competition to get what I want. Yamaha and SkiDoo are making some pretty nice triple 4-strokes that put the Z1 engine to shame. You might give up a little bit in the ride department, but everything else is plus, plus, plus!

Well we all know Charles Hates the Z1 engine. I don't know his reasoning but everyone has their own opinions. I personally have ridden all the 4-stroke motors out there and the Z1 engine is easily my favorite. But I love big twins!! So Charles saying that the competition puts the Z1 motor to shame is his opinion, and according to everyone but him...it is the wrong opinion. As for the ride department.....you gain alot but all sleds ride fairly good now. Fuel economy is between 16-19mpg. This is good as far as I'm concerned, I ride with Yammis and Doo 600sdi and they lots of time do a little better then me, but we are talking a buck or two a fill. But if we are riding real hard the Z1 actually beats them sometimes. So the fuel economy thing is a nothing issue. The range of the Jag is about 120-130 miles but the Yamahas aren't any better with their baby tanks.

If you buy a Z1 I know you won't be disappointed but that doesn't mean that you would be with the competitors. Actually I think that new 4-tec sounds pretty awesome. I would want to ride it though for myself to make sure they got a better ride then last years XP chassis had. 4-strokes are here for good and I'm ashamed to say that makes me very happy!! LOL