Once when testing a prototype/pre-production snowmobile at the annual Rode Reports testing event several years ago, the handgrip slid off of the end of the handlebar at a very inopportune time and frankly scared the hell out of its rider – proving that you don’t realize how much pressure you put on the grip until your hand in flung out into space in the middle of a corner!
Owners of Arctic Cat Pantera snowmobiles built for model year 2018 and 2019 should take heed of a recent recall so they don’t find themselves in a similar precarious situation.
Through the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Arctic Cat and its parent company Textron have issued a recall of all 2018 Pantera snowmobiles (including the 3000, 600 and 7000 series machines) as well as select 2019 Panteras in the same three series but with VIN numbers ranging between 100529 and 100848. Between the two years, about 255 total snowmobiles are affected by the recall.
According to the recall, “the handgrip can break,” leading Snow Goer staff to presume the situation is most likely related to the passenger handgrips beside the two-up seat, rather than the ones wrapped around the handlebar that the driver holds onto – we’re not sure how one of those could break. For the sake of rider safety, get your Pantera checked out before the upcoming season.
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