I have had numerous PMs and people asking me to post up what i thought of the doo compared to my procross. I finally logged some serious miles this weekend and feel that i got a good feeling for the doo. So here it is:
Power: obviously the cat has a lot more power. the power of the doo is impressive though. I am pretty certain that the 0-60 is faster on the doo. The 60-100 on the doo isnt even in the same realm as the cat. I did miss the power of the cat on the grade a couple times. Not so much the top speed, because i can live with 100 mph, but the cruising at 80 mph and then mashing it will be missed.
Sound: when i first heard the cats, i hated the sound. However, after riding one, i really liked it. The sound of the turbo blowoff and the subtle whistle were never tiring for me. The same cannot be said for the doo. I think it sounds annoying. It sounds like a treadmill. Perhaps the reason is because there is so little actual exhaust noise, that it makes the engine noises louder? Not sure. Either way, i was tired of hearing it whine away by the end of the almost 400 miles i logged.
Engine braking: when letting off the throttle on the doo, the sled really slows down fast. I mean, really slows down really fast! I got used to it, but in all honesty, when just out cruising, not riding hard, i bet you could remove the brake lever all together. The cat did have some slowdown, but it wasnt as severe. One really isnt better than the other. You get used to it and learn to use it to your advantage while riding.
Ride: the doo rides very very nice. What i mean by that is everything about it, just seems a little more rider friendly than the cat. When sitting on the doo, your feet or a little bit farther out in front. You are able to really tuck your feet up in the sled, which feels good. Also, it seems like the handlebars are closer to the rider. I always felt like i was "reaching" for the bars on the procross. The doo feels much more natural. The seat is way softer than the procross, but it could be a little higher. I am going to install the x package seat to cure that. I had a 6 inch riser put on, but should have went bigger. When turning, the bars hit my legs and i gotta kick my leg out vs tuck it tight against the sled like i could on the procross. A larger riser and putting it more vertical will help that.
I didnt really notice any clear advantage of the longer track on the gade. There was a ton of snow and i probably wouldnt have made it through my yard with the cat, but on the trail...not sure, maybe a little.
I put the USI skis from my cat onto the doo. The steering effort on my cat was pretty bad. On the doo.....pretty close to as bad. Maybe a little lighter, but, my arms and shoulders are feeling it today. I think part of the reason for this on both sled, besides ski design, is the engine braking. When letting off the throttle on both the cat and the doo, the engine braking will cause more ski pressure. Gotta experiment with the steering thing.
Handling: i cannot completely fairly compare the handling. I have a base adrenaline, and i had a snopro procross. The doo, when driving aggressively through not so nice stuff, feels slow. I dont mean slow like in mph. I mean slow as in, slow to respond to the terrain. The procross, probably mostly due to the better shocks, was more "ready" for the next bump. When riding the cat aggressively, you find out why the sled doesnt "ride" as nice. The subtle differences that are a nuisance when out cruising quickly turn into God sends when you are ready to "give er" on some less than smooth trails. One of the biggest examples....the sitting to standing transition is much easier on the cat. To do that transition seamlessly on the doo, i first had to pull my feet back.
Reliablity: everyone here knows of the problems with the cats, dont need to rehash that at this point. I now have 400 miles on the doo and my belt looks awesome, idlers look new, and slides are looking great. I used my reverse numerous times this weekend as well. The main reason for buying the doo was to be capable of doing big mileage trips and not having to worry about wrenching. It does that well. Never missed a beat all weekend.
Misc: the handguards on the doo are nicer and they actually work. I very rarely had to use my warmers. Part of that might be the windshield as well. The seat is much stickier, which is good and bad. Good for when cruising or on the gradual high speed turns. Bad when you get to the rough stuff and want to give the sled some body english. It is hard to just slide over side to side.
So there it is. Which one is better in my opinion? Neither. They both so certain things better than the other. i will have to decide this spring whether to upgrade the renegade or leave stock and hope that cat has the procross dialed in by 2014. Will have to figure out if it is more cost effective to throw parts at the doo, or just wait.
Power: obviously the cat has a lot more power. the power of the doo is impressive though. I am pretty certain that the 0-60 is faster on the doo. The 60-100 on the doo isnt even in the same realm as the cat. I did miss the power of the cat on the grade a couple times. Not so much the top speed, because i can live with 100 mph, but the cruising at 80 mph and then mashing it will be missed.
Sound: when i first heard the cats, i hated the sound. However, after riding one, i really liked it. The sound of the turbo blowoff and the subtle whistle were never tiring for me. The same cannot be said for the doo. I think it sounds annoying. It sounds like a treadmill. Perhaps the reason is because there is so little actual exhaust noise, that it makes the engine noises louder? Not sure. Either way, i was tired of hearing it whine away by the end of the almost 400 miles i logged.
Engine braking: when letting off the throttle on the doo, the sled really slows down fast. I mean, really slows down really fast! I got used to it, but in all honesty, when just out cruising, not riding hard, i bet you could remove the brake lever all together. The cat did have some slowdown, but it wasnt as severe. One really isnt better than the other. You get used to it and learn to use it to your advantage while riding.
Ride: the doo rides very very nice. What i mean by that is everything about it, just seems a little more rider friendly than the cat. When sitting on the doo, your feet or a little bit farther out in front. You are able to really tuck your feet up in the sled, which feels good. Also, it seems like the handlebars are closer to the rider. I always felt like i was "reaching" for the bars on the procross. The doo feels much more natural. The seat is way softer than the procross, but it could be a little higher. I am going to install the x package seat to cure that. I had a 6 inch riser put on, but should have went bigger. When turning, the bars hit my legs and i gotta kick my leg out vs tuck it tight against the sled like i could on the procross. A larger riser and putting it more vertical will help that.
I didnt really notice any clear advantage of the longer track on the gade. There was a ton of snow and i probably wouldnt have made it through my yard with the cat, but on the trail...not sure, maybe a little.
I put the USI skis from my cat onto the doo. The steering effort on my cat was pretty bad. On the doo.....pretty close to as bad. Maybe a little lighter, but, my arms and shoulders are feeling it today. I think part of the reason for this on both sled, besides ski design, is the engine braking. When letting off the throttle on both the cat and the doo, the engine braking will cause more ski pressure. Gotta experiment with the steering thing.
Handling: i cannot completely fairly compare the handling. I have a base adrenaline, and i had a snopro procross. The doo, when driving aggressively through not so nice stuff, feels slow. I dont mean slow like in mph. I mean slow as in, slow to respond to the terrain. The procross, probably mostly due to the better shocks, was more "ready" for the next bump. When riding the cat aggressively, you find out why the sled doesnt "ride" as nice. The subtle differences that are a nuisance when out cruising quickly turn into God sends when you are ready to "give er" on some less than smooth trails. One of the biggest examples....the sitting to standing transition is much easier on the cat. To do that transition seamlessly on the doo, i first had to pull my feet back.
Reliablity: everyone here knows of the problems with the cats, dont need to rehash that at this point. I now have 400 miles on the doo and my belt looks awesome, idlers look new, and slides are looking great. I used my reverse numerous times this weekend as well. The main reason for buying the doo was to be capable of doing big mileage trips and not having to worry about wrenching. It does that well. Never missed a beat all weekend.
Misc: the handguards on the doo are nicer and they actually work. I very rarely had to use my warmers. Part of that might be the windshield as well. The seat is much stickier, which is good and bad. Good for when cruising or on the gradual high speed turns. Bad when you get to the rough stuff and want to give the sled some body english. It is hard to just slide over side to side.
So there it is. Which one is better in my opinion? Neither. They both so certain things better than the other. i will have to decide this spring whether to upgrade the renegade or leave stock and hope that cat has the procross dialed in by 2014. Will have to figure out if it is more cost effective to throw parts at the doo, or just wait.
