Our family has been Arctic Cat from day one! First sled being a '68 Panther. I bought a '91 EXT Mountain Cat brand new and still have it. Last year found a '98 EXT EFI that was mint and brought it home. Awesome sled. The 580 Triple port was factory rated at 98 hp. But did have some reliability issues if you racked up too many miles. It needed new pistons at 3000 miles. Love that bottom end torque of the 580. Love the old Cats! And the new ones too!
Love this channel brings back so many memories. New sleds (or all toys for that matter) are becoming so ridiculously priced it's awesome to see these old girls with so much life left in them.
I had that exact sled when I was a kid. That 530 special was one of the best trail they ever made in my opinion. They were light so you could throw them around but I beat the heck out of that thing and it never blinked in all the years I rode it.
While not an EXT, I had an 1996 ZR580 and it was an absolute love and hate machine. It was the carb model and would fall into some sort of “safe” mode and I couldn’t get over 25 mph. That being said, when the sled ran great, man did I absolutely love that snowmobile! Albeit my thumb was sore as hell on that carb model because after a day of riding my thumb felt like it went through some sort of exercise regiment. Anyway, as much issue as I had with that 580, that thing had some serious torque! I have a soft spot in my heart for that motor and chassis! Love this channel! Keep it up!
Great to see you make a video covering the EXT! My 97 EXT efi deluxe is still great to ride after all these years. As for the extra weight on the 95, those metal skis weigh quite a bit more than the plastic ones you have on the other one. But the 95 will still be heavier. I wonder what the difference is because putting plastic skis on my 97 lightened the feel of the front end quite a bit.
my dads first sled was a EXT580 powder special. it was all black with white letters. a decent first sled but a dog. heavy heavy sled. my first sled was a 98 powder special 600 efi. still have it and its been great.
My first sled was a 1992 EXT Special. Fox Remote reservoir shocks, purple accents, and FLAMES! 550 twin, it split the difference between the ones here.
Nice Cats... I own a 94 and a 96 EXT. Both with carbs and the 121" track. A few differences between the two, but both can really rip down the trail or on a frozen lake. They may not be as fast as some sleds, but like you say... they ride well and they look cool. Thinking about adding more to the collection.
Man my first real sled was a 94 zr580. Loved that beast. Put aaen twin pipes on it speed raced 750 ft grass raced imp stock. Loved it. Sold it for the 98 battery less zr600 that I then traded in on a millennium zr600 . Mine was #443
I had a 1998 Indy 500 Polaris with the Fuji 488 liquid twin and my buddy had a 95 EXT 580 like the one in your video and when we used to drag race we were always neck and neck , I loved those old cats man ! Great video btw
Those mechanical brakes were shitty! Had a 91 wildcat. The adjuster nut would sometimes backout from vibration and you'd have no brakes at the end of a field. Not good! The wildwood hydraulic units were and still are great brakes. My wildcat weighed 585 with fluids. Great video!
The first long tracks from cat were EXT’s I believe. Idk what it meant after they used it on short track sleds. Always kinda confused me lol!! Cant believe how heavy they were think cat was still using steal bulk heads then but not sure. Man that low mileage EXT was a find omg. I found a 2011 Z1 turbo sno pro LMD with 180 original miles on it. Picked it up for $4000 couldn’t resist. Love the Z1 turbo once there set up correctly ride and handling is awsome. Im swapping all my aftermarket parts from my EXT Sno pro Z1 turbo to the 11. Now EXT means extended track on the 2010 Z1 144 skid. So ya kinda confusing lol!! Wish i could keep both Z1’s but i only have to much room and have a 2017 ZR 6000xc. My old ZRT 600 so maybe a CRF 1000 be cool for my another sled or firecat. Owned 3 F7’s back in the day still one of my favorite sleds ever. Great video keep up really enjoy old school cats.
Hey Rocky! Great channel, watch all your videos. One EXT you might consider is the 1993 EXT 580Z, especially if you can find one with the cheetah print seat in good condition. Yes. EXT does stand for Exterminator as in exterminate the competition and is a nod back to the original early '70s EXTs...
The 1990 was behind in the chassis/suspension department, they were jetted conservatively from what I remember, you could drop 1-2 sizes without trouble. The clutching wasn't great from the factory on this one. When Cat introduced the ZR Chassis it was the best chassis for a good while, suspension was very good and Cat won a lot of races at this time. The 580 motor was reliable but had some issues piston skirts cracking at 2-3k miles was common, stators tend to go bad and connecting rods. The 97's had problems with the rings spinning and catching the exhaust port. TPS was another issue.
I had the 95 zr 580 efi . When the sled ran it ran great but it had its issues just like you always had to have a good battery . But it always start 2 pull like you said . For most part it was a good sled but dam lol it had weird issues at times an then all the sudden fix it self lol and I went threw that whole sled with brand new stuff
I got a 1993 Arctic cat zrt 700 the is I'm mint shape and start's 2nd pull every time and a 1993 ext 580 In mint shape starts 2nd pull and I love love them great sleds
Verry cool vid.sir! Verry informative and fun to look back at those 90s cats. Your right on how affordable and fun the sport can still be . The new stuffs great, but these will get you ripping down the trail as good as anything. Thanks man !
Actually it came out in 70. The puma ext. then in 71 they had the engine stick out. In 72 they went to Alaska and needed a hood for testing. So they took a belly pan and turned it upside down. That’s how the 72 evolved. It had then evolved into the eltigre in 73.
I have a lot of memories riding an old 93 Ext 580 Z with my dad as a kid. We still have it it’s just about mint for its age. If I remember right the Z was only made one year. Glad to see I guy loving old cats
Yah the carb modles were great but when the 580 went to efi nuthing but issues for me lol but when it ran it ran great . I just wish the 580 efi zr went battery less like the later modle zr . And if they went further in production with exhaust power valves I bet the 580 would been a good weapon
I once had 93 ext580 supposenly mtn cat 136x1.5 lug cuz any longer lug would take out exchanger Piston port design motor with no low/mid power, constantly foul the br9eya plugs ,very hard on fuel 7 gal tank Spring tensioned chaincase , primary clutch, Stator, cable breaks , low nose cone all suck Dealers rotated fuel lever 15 degrees to help with poor mileage Un-insolated super thin pipe caused hp loss & holes everywhere moms 74 hp 488 indy efi felt stronger threw the rpm range while getting 2x mileage
