| Thundercat
1000 H2 Links |
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| Arctic
Cat 700 H1 Links |
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| Arctic
Cat 366 ATV Links |
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Several months ago, Arctic Cat sent us their
three new utility ATVs for 2008, the Arctic
Cat Thundercat 1000 H2, 700 H1, and 366, and
after many hours of trails time, we are finally
ready to share our thoughts on these three new
units, and I wouldn’t be a good gear head
if I did not discuss the ATV industries largest
big bore ATV, the Thundercat 1000 H2. This high
performance sport utility ATV is the big daddy
of them all and the first machine everyone wanted
to throw a leg over. Sitting on this beast will
get you thinking you’ve possibly climbed
aboard something that won’t be at home
in the tightest of woods, but it is pretty comparable
to other large displacement machines on the
market.
| Arctic
Cat - Thundercat 1000 H2 Sport Utility ATV
Review |
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Arctic Cat Thundercat 1000 H2 ATV |
A turn of the key and a press of the starter
button fires this monster to life as it sounds
more like a healthy street bike then an ATV!
Now I have been on some pretty stout machines,
but slamming the thumb throttle forward for
the first time and watching the front cargo
rack take off like a jet and keep it up until
you decide you have had enough is pretty impressive.
The power isn’t as abrupt as other high
displacement models, but it seems to be a very
broad power curve and usable power that seems
to never end.
Settling into a cruising speed of between to
fast and mach 1, I learned one very important
lesson about Thundercat and that is it has inadequate
braking especially if you’re going to
ride it like a mad man! Hey, it’s a powerful
and large ATV and doesn’t stop on a dime
at speed especially if you just stomp on the
foot brake, but for average riding at speed
below 50mph, the brakes worked fine, but we
all agreed it would be nice better rear brake
stopping power and a right hand brake as well.
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| We
ran into 2 issues on the Thundercat with
a bolt falling out of the brake pedal
and we had a battery connection issue,and
both appeared to be dealer prep related,
so always inspect your ATV before riding
even when it is brand new |
Taking the Thundercat 1000 H2 into the woods
with various riders found our first issue, and
that was with the foot brake lever. A bolt backed
out allowing the pedal to get stuck under the
floorboard. This is a dealer prep item and one
that probably should have been found in our
pre ride inspection further pointing out that
no one is perfect. A quick search turned up
the bolt and we were back in business.
Putting the Thundercat through its paces were
three riders that varied in skill level and
two of the riders are equally comfortable on
a utility quad as they are a sport quad, so
we had a pretty well rounded staff on hand to
wring out Thundercat along with the 700 H1 and
366.
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| The
Thundercat 1000 is right at home on wide
open trails where you can unleash the
beast and grab a handful of throttle |
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| Spike
Load Dampener is a drive line clutch system
that is designed to slip if the drive
line receives a spike in torque from a
harsh landing or impact, which could otherwise
damage the drive line |
With regards to the Thundercat’s power,
well it has plenty as described earlier. The transmission
handles power transfer smoothly, without any of
that lugging at low speed that is common on many
machines, thanks to its shaft drive configuration.
In fact, Arctic Cat describes the hefty CVT tranny’s
include what they call a “Spike Load Dampener”
that allows the “Spike Load dampener”
to slip enough to take some of the stress off
the driveline when the power of the big V twin
engine meets a situation where damage could be
done, which is a great feature.
