Kanedog discovers a Clutching CATastrophy, again. Pics!

[snochuk]

For me its the fear of the unknown. You are making a long pull on a hill thinking I wonder if my clutch is going to let go. No difference really when the drive axles were breaking in 2008 on the XP's. Is the axle going to go at the wrong time and my sled is cart wheeling down the hill? With this is you wonder if your leg is going to be amputated in the backcountry somewhere and bleed out? Cat needs to get ahold of this.

Truthfully I am not worried about getting hit by shrapnel while driving.
Clutch shield, secondary, pipe position and the hood will block air born debris in a major explosion.
Stand on the sled and have a serious look, I'm not worried about debris shod it happen.
It would be a pain in the ars retrieving the sled from were ever.
Every time I fill with oil sled gets a check regardless of what brand I have owned.
Check your chit before you ride for any flaws in clutches, frame, A-arms, bulkhead, what ever on all brands, if not well you get more catastrophic failures ......
My primary cracked progressively, kept an eye on it, even rode it more while new clutch was on order.
Took sled in and got it back in 3 days - with my old clutch kit reinstalled - on warranty - all of it.
I did not get any where near this type of OEM service with the previous lemon.

And yes there should be a recall review, sooner than later.

 

[jpmez69]

Truthfully I am not worried about getting hit by shrapnel while driving.
Clutch shield, secondary, pipe position and the hood will block air born debris in a major explosion.
Stand on the sled and have a serious look, I'm not worried about debris shod it happen.
It would be a pain in the ars retrieving the sled from were ever.
Every time I fill with oil sled gets a check regardless of what brand I have owned.
Check your chit before you ride for any flaws in clutches, frame, A-arms, bulkhead, what ever on all brands, if not well you get more catastrophic failures ......
My primary cracked progressively, kept an eye on it, even rode it more while new clutch was on order.
Took sled in and got it back in 3 days - with my old clutch kit reinstalled - on warranty - all of it.
I did not get any where near this type of OEM service with the previous lemon.

And yes there should be a recall review, sooner than later.

Say what you want about supporting cat. IMO It's a sub par product for the money people spend for this brand. There are endless cat theads of homegrown fixes to make these machines reliable from new. Cat's fit & finish and QC is dead last of all four brands. Do they have good ideas and perform? Sure they do. All brands do. But I don't think it offsets the amount of tinkering a guy needs to do when these issues should have been looked after at the engineering/ factory level. I'm way passed the days of working on this junk just to go riding. Cat needs to pull up their socks and get there house in order.

As for you're other lemon, Your dealer let you down. I don't doubt you had issues with your 17 G4. They should have supported you better. Is the G4 850 a bad design? Overall I don't think so. The 17's did have a few teething issues as it was almost a completely new sled. Lots of 17's running out there as reliable as the 20's. I know of a couple personally with over 5000km's in stock form. It doesn't take a rocket scientist at a dealer level to do a proper alignment and add some venting to an air tight clutch area while the factory come up with a permanent solution. In any case, hope to see you on the hill this season! Happy riding!

 

[snochuk]

Say what you want about supporting cat. IMO It's a sub par product for the money people spend for this brand. There are endless cat theads of homegrown fixes to make these machines reliable from new. Cat's fit & finish and QC is dead last of all four brands. Do they have good ideas and perform? Sure they do. All brands do. But I don't think it offsets the amount of tinkering a guy needs to do when these issues should have been looked after at the engineering/ factory level. I'm way passed the days of working on this junk just to go riding. Cat needs to pull up their socks and get there house in order.

As for you're other lemon, Your dealer let you down. I don't doubt you had issues with your 17 G4. They should have supported you better. Is the G4 850 a bad design? Overall I don't think so. The 17's did have a few teething issues as it was almost a completely new sled. Lots of 17's running out there as reliable as the 20's. I know of a couple personally with over 5000km's in stock form. It doesn't take a rocket scientist at a dealer level to do a proper alignment and add some venting to an air tight clutch area while the factory come up with a permanent solution. In any case, hope to see you on the hill this season! Happy riding!

Haha
Interesting opion and assumption from some one with no personnel experience with either sled.
Your deep concern is appreciated however.
Happy trails.

 

[Powpowpow]

all cat has to do is fix the issue. its sucks i am selling my sled and waiting who knows what i will get now. if cat would fix the clutch properly i would keep it

 

[lilduke]

all cat has to do is fix the issue. its sucks i am selling my sled and waiting who knows what i will get now. if cat would fix the clutch properly i would keep it

get another doo. that turbo would look good on you.

 

[0neoldfart]

Let’s sift through the BS. Yes, there are team clutch failures. Yes, there was Doo clutch failures. Yes, there were a couple Polaris 800 engine failures. My point is this: they all have their problems, no matter the brand. Anything that is built by people( and usually the lowest bidder) is going to have issues. You want a bulletproof / light / powerful sled? No problem, just be prepared to pay huge dollars to have one built. Oh, you want it to be affordable too? Lol.
EVERY manufacturer has pros and cons in their product. Yes, things should be addressed, but frankly I don’t see any manufacturer willing to go above and beyond unless they are made to do so. This includes autos / light trucks, etc.

 

[NoBrakes!]

a couple 800 failures?!! are you high?

 

[0neoldfart]

a couple 800 failures?!! are you high?

That was sarcasm. My point is that every manufacturer has issues. Some faults are overlooked as teething problems or accepted depending what color your goggle lenses are. Only difference between today and 20 years ago is that the machines are strung tight as a banjo to get every last ounce of performance out of them, and the internet allows people to blow sh*t out of proportion immediately. If EVERY machine sold had the same issue and injuries resulted, you can bet there would be a class action lawsuit, and the powers that be would force the manufacturer to recall the product. Any product has an engineered lifespan, and failures are expected from a certain percentage. I don’t believe that ANY manufacturer warranties clutches, 4 corner seizures, wear bars, belts, etc. They don’t offer heli rides off the mountain when the engine grenades, either....

 

[Powpowpow]

Don't feel like using x5 as much oil.

 

[2kDoo]

All I am reading is the same BS when people argue about which diesel is best; they all have pros and cons.
Ford nice truck **** motor (6.0), Duramax nice motor **** suspension (IFS), dodge good motor (sub par everything else)
yes I have owned all 3 as some point

This thread I enjoy because I had no idea about the new machines basically from 2010+, it is nice to read how all have different pros/cons

 

[Cat401]

Haha
Interesting opion and assumption from some one with no personnel experience with either sled.
Your deep concern is appreciated however.
Happy trails.

now, I could be wrong and this is definitely not a scientific theory but .....

After reading through all the "muck" it appears that there are more BRP owners concerned about Cat issues than Cat owners. Are they genuinely a concerned bunch of guys .....or just happy to be able to point fingers and "softly" ridicule another brand for a change?

 

[acesup800]

now, I could be wrong and this is definitely not a scientific theory but .....

After reading through all the "muck" it appears that there are more BRP owners concerned about Cat issues than Cat owners. Are they genuinely a concerned bunch of guys .....or just happy to be able to point fingers and "softly" ridicule another brand for a change?

I know right? We have 4 Alpha's in our group (and a bunch of Doo's) and not one Alpha clutch or rail problem. Yes its only a small sampling, but we just pin it to win it. Not seeing any cats getting dragged off the hill either due to clutches. I guess it's happening, but not seeing them coming off in droves.

 

[Clode]

I haven't seen any failed clutches yet but several cracked ones. The dealer here has warrantied them. Cat needs to step-up and find a real fix.

 

[pano-dude]

There is a difference between a sled that fails and a sled that fails and could seriously hurt you.

 

[tex78]

now, I could be wrong and this is definitely not a scientific theory but .....

After reading through all the "muck" it appears that there are more BRP owners concerned about Cat issues than Cat owners. Are they genuinely a concerned bunch of guys .....or just happy to be able to point fingers and "softly" ridicule another brand for a change?

I'm watching cause I'm considering jumping ship to a cat

 

[acesup800]

There is a difference between a sled that fails and a sled that fails and could seriously hurt you.

How about a sled that could seriously hurt a bystander, like a catastrophic track failure....

 

[jhurkot]

I know right? We have 4 Alpha's in our group (and a bunch of Doo's) and not one Alpha clutch or rail problem. Yes its only a small sampling, but we just pin it to win it. Not seeing any cats getting dragged off the hill either due to clutches. I guess it's happening, but not seeing them coming off in droves.

Have you looked closely at your primary? I was told to ‘check it before each ride’. How’s that for confidence?

 

[snochuk]

Have you looked closely at your primary? I was told to ‘check it before each ride’. How’s that for confidence?

I rode mine about 6 more days in mountains after first crack in primary appeared.
Now if you never check your sled you won't know until it comes out the side panel.
I have a strange suspicion that the detonated ones see no inspection and then the whining starts.
Not all are cracking.
But it is an issue that needs HQ's attention.

 

[acesup800]

Have you looked closely at your primary? I was told to ‘check it before each ride’. How’s that for confidence?

Yep I check it everytime I blow them out. Not every ride and lose zero sleep over it when I don't.

 

[kanedog]

Another clutcheroo explosion. All that rust color is from vibration of parts. But we knew that.

In other news, my US Consumer product safety commission(CPSC) complaint went thru to Cat on Wednesday, 1/29/2020. I received a confirmation from Cpsc. I will post the complaint and Cpsc confirmation email later. All they did was forward my complaint to Cat. No order for recall or any recommendations or nothin. Seems like a joke. I shoulda opted for Cat to contact me so at least I could give them an earful. Let’s see if any action is taken.

I’m kinda worried about Cat tho. This issue combined with a personal injury lawsuit could end them.