Arctic Cat's New 2008 Race Sled

November 12, 2007

Arctic Cat introduced its 2008 Sno Pro 600 at its race school on Nov. 9.

For the first time in many years, it’s not a snocross-first sled: it’s a machine built with both snocross and cross-country racing in mind.

Cross-country racer and Arctic Cat engineer Brian Dick said the Sno Pro team’s goals included versatility, reducing chassis scrub in deep holes and building a competitive 600 engine for stock racing.

There are no plans for a consumer version of this Sno Pro, but some of its concepts are under test for potential transfer to consumer models.

Engine


The sled uses an altered F-series 600 laydown twin. Changes to the mill include a lighter crankshaft (5 pounds less), dual 40mm TM flatside carbs with throttle position sensors in favor of EFI, a V-Force Reed Valve system, a cylinder head, a ceramic-coated exhaust pipe, adjustable timing module and Hot Start button. Heat exchangers mount on the front end and on the tunnel. As for fuel, it needs premix oil (32:1) and 92 octane fuel.


Chassis

The chassis is totally new for this machine. It’s a pyramidal structure with a tubular design made of chrome-moly and extruded aluminum. According to Arctic Cat, the tubular chassis was used over the traditional bulkhead to increase chassis rigidity, which is needed to withstand race track conditions. It also uses self-piercing rivets rather than welds, also in the name of chassis rigidity.

The new tunnel is wider to accept a 15-inch track, with revised running boards that are wider and flatter than other models, and that have a snow-shedding, open-hole design

Front Suspension

The front suspension was redesigned using ball-joints rather than a spindle-and-housing configuration. Shock mounts relocated to the lower A-arm and A-arm geometry changed.

“We went with a single spindle with ball-joint operation to shed weight, and because it allowed us to use a longer spindle, which also raised the sled’s ground clearance,” Dick said. “The new geometry has the spindle travel in an up/down trajectory, rather than sweeping rearward during compression, for improved cornering.”

The front suspension uses Fox IFP shocks.

Rear Suspension

The rear suspension is mounted 2 inches more forward in the chassis in comparison to last year’s Sno Pro. This helps give a tighter turning radius. The sled uses a tweaked Slide Action rear suspension with increased traction from a more aggressive rail profile. The Camoplast track is a new 15 x 128 x 1.7-inch design with an optional 1.25-inch Cobra track for cross-country applications. The rear suspension uses Fox IFP shocks.

Other Features

• It uses an Arctic Cat drive and a TEAM driven clutch

• An all-new seat is slightly wider and softer than the previous Sno Pro

• The Progressive Steering System and dual-position steering post mounts return

• Ground clearance increased by 2 inches

• Rider positioning is nearly identical to the Twin Spar chassis

• Speedwerx has a kit to turn the sled into an open mod racer. The kit includes revised cylinders, new cylinder head/domes, billet exhaust valves, a new exhaust system, and carb/clutch calibration.

• A short nose is intended to reduce scrub and scooping

Other Stats

Length: 113.5 inches

Height: 46 inches

Width: 49.5 inches

Dry weight: 450 pounds

Fuel capacity (rated): 6.5 gallons

Fuel capacity (actual): 7.23 gallons

Alternate tank: 12-gallon tank available for cross-country

Bore x stroke: 2.906 x 2.755 inches

Skis: C&A Pro

Build: 300 units, all pre-sold

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