[morrisond]

The list of recalls on these things is getting ridiculous. I've just about had it. I have no confidence that the Firecat will actually survive a long trip. This is only my second Cat(I had a ZR800 last year which I turned into a 925, but thats another story), and if it wasn't for the fact that when it works it's great, awesome power and suspension, it's basically what I wanted all along an SRX with long travel suspension and about 80-90 lbs less. I'm longing for my Yamaha days, when they got all the little things right. My family has a few RX-1's and I know when I ride them I should never expect any problems, and will be stunned if I do. When I get my F7 back(It's in for a blown mag side cylinder and piston), I'm going to be afraid to go out byself, for fear of not making it back.

What upsets me the most is that these sleds are going to worth 0 on resale and it's going to cost us a fortune to change. I hope Cat steps up to the plate and gives us some Cat cash towards an '04 to compensate us for all the problems and inconvienence(taking it back to the dealer for all the recalls, breakdowns) or pay us in Cat Cash for finishing the development they should have done in the First place.

There are recalls on almost every major system(other than the motor which seems solid). Recalls have effected the Cooling system, fuel system, oil system, starting system(recoil) and apparently there may even be one to reprogram the ECU to cure bogging(hopefully they don't tune it down).

It would be nice if Cat actually wrote us all a letter apologizing for all this and doing something to make it right.

 

[skydog]

I want one more year warranty!

 

[ridna7]

I want to applaud CAT for making me one hell of a snow rocket

 

[skydog]

Did get me wrong i LOVE my sled! :wub:

 

[rev them up]

Sorry to hear u feel that way..most of the proplem's seem to be
with dealer prep...not bleeding the cooling..oil..etc.As far as i
can tell the rest (blow up)have been from freezing up
could have been averted by using de-icer...not warming the
sled up right...and not giving it a good break in.And yes
some blew up for no reason...but all machines do this just not
this one.About bragging up the yammie's y freind has a new
(left over)1999 v-max 600..had to get new sleeve..piston's ..
defect's in the piston and the srx are NOT that relible around here either.
One question if u like yammie's so much WHY would u buy
a first year sled!!!!!!Go trade it for a viper i am sure there are lot's
left!!!!!I HAVE 300 TROUBLE FREE MILES ON MY F7.

 

[PA F7 RIDER]

they are working out these problems and fixing them.this is a racing sled out of the crate.many problems are not proper break in and warm up procedure,in my opinion.600 miles on mine no problems!every f7 ive seen on the trail their riders had smiles from cheek to cheek all i can say is this is an awesome sled no matter what people say :wub:

 

[zr900snowpro]

I KNOW OF A RX 1 WITH 2 BAD PISTONS IN IT THE GUY WAS UP IN CANADA AND GOT WATER IN IT.

 

[rob]

Originally posted by morrisond@Jan 4 2003, 11:20 PM
...I have no confidence that the Firecat will actually survive a long trip...

Just a reminder that I was on a 1040 mile trip last week where I was as much as 400 road miles away from the truck. I had no problems and I hadn't had any of the 'recalls' done. I have no hesitation going on a long trip with my F7.

 

[otterbob]

HA! i had a yamaha raptor 660R 4-wheeler. i bought the 01 model, the first year of em. the list of crap on those 01's is a mile long but here is the kicker, they never recalled a damn thing on them!!!!!!!! the transmissions are blowing outta ALL the 01's. they made a pile of changes to the 2nd year raptor including a stronger and different ratio transmission!!! the 01s are snapping axles like they are butter, their fix? a newer and stronger axle on the 02's they flat out deny any warranty too. i tell you what, yamaha is busting it off in our arses!! well not me anymore i got rid of my p.o.s and traded it on a harley. so these minor Firecat details are just that. minor. arctic cat is making it right with their customers, and they even list the vins as to which ones are affected. yamaha will not on their raptors. but then again, ive heard the same thing about their bikes too. theyve always had tranny problems on their bikes. i used to be a yamaha fan, i had a banshee before the raptor but man o man spend $6500 on a quad and to make a hundred changes to the next years model. sorry ive never ranted like this before on the craptor, er i mean raptor!

 

[Roadwarrior]

Quit whining and go riding. Or go back to the aftermarket sled of the year.... Yamaha.

 

[F-7 Team Green Sno Pro]

300+ On mine and I am very happy :wub:

 

[ghj]

Otterbob- I had a 2001 Raptor, with a full exhaust. I weigh 240lbs and I jumped the crap out of it, beat it senseless. It never broke down once. Including banging gears while racing Banshee's all the time! Maybe you need to learn how to drive one.

 

[green team7]

I second otterbob, blew the trans out of my Banshee, after a $400 repair bill I broomed the turd and never looked back. Funny, how the tech that repaired it said that the trans provides minimal lube to the 5th and 6th gear sets and in order to make them last you need to run the trans oil way above the full mark on the dipstick. If this was an Arctic Cat, they would have have at least provided a TSB. Everything that is mechanical will break given enough time, but how the problem is fixed is the most important part.

Not to totally bash Yamadog, but look at all of their previous top dog sleds. They have been hyped to no end pre-season but when the snow flies a majority of the customers are left dissapointed. Examples...VMAX4, SRX, Viper, and now the RX-1. I wonder if Yamaha wines and dines a majority of the snowmobile mags for a good product review....??

 

[born2sled]

Hey dudes relax about a few small recalls ,the sled can be fixed ,your back on the other hand would never be the same the first time you try to pic up a rx-1.

 

[SnoPro28x]

1200 miles on My F5 Sno pro and NO PROBLEMS cant get off the sled :lol: and cant stop smoking those 600's B)

 

[f-5snopro]

1,000 miles on my f-5 snopro, the only problem ive had is the pv cables fell off somehow . i love this thing ! :wub:

 

[Jamie]

If we all felt the same way as the morrisond, We may actually get something from AC for our time and frustration. But for some reason some people consider it winning when a customer complains about a product that he or she has payed a ton of hard earned cash for. :huh:

 

[otterbob]

what does learning how to ride have to do with blown transmissions, bent axles, blown rear shocks, and on and on. its no coincidence that yamaha made 100 changes to the second year quad and not one recall on the 01's go to www.bluetraxx.com and do a search on 01 problems and how pissed they are. i guess 100,000 01 owners just need to learn how to ride. for the record, i didnt have any problems with my raptor, good thing.

 

[adam12]

I have 400 miles on my F7 and haven't had any problems (with the exception of my snow flap getting sucked in about 7 or 8 times). My dealer is fantastic and did all the setup items they were supposed to. I let it warm up before riding it.... I don't know what some folks are so mad about....

 

[arcticf7]

:huh: Come on now...you've purchased a sled in it's first production year...as have I. There are bound to be gliches. And, if you're dealer is credible at all, they should help you out a lot. Mine has. I'm very happy with mine, and I'm glad to be part of the group who took the chance on the first production year. Overall, the experience for me is awesome. And, my stock F7 kicks the shit out of 800's. How cool is that???