The web magazine SledMagazine.com is proud to announce its participation to the development of a new edition of the Powerbloc 80 drive pulley for Arctic Cat Bearcat XT 1100 snowmobiles, in collaboration with CVTech-IBC. Available for a large number of snowmobile models on the market, the Powerbloc drive pulley was not offered for this type of vehicle. Arctic Cat sold a lot of these machines from 2008 to 2015 to many northern snowmobilers. Since that time, the useful life of the drive pulleys on these snowmobiles is over and it requires expensive maintenance. Equipped with a 20x156x1,25" track and a wider range of functioning than usual snowmobile, it was an interesting opportunity for CVTech-IBC to create a drive pulley with the appropriate settings for this type of snowmobile. So, it is with great enthusiasm that Sledmagazine.com team members put their knowledge and experience at the service of CVTech-IBC team on this joint project.
What could be better than to use the snowmobile owned by an experienced pilot on this type of machine, our columnist and test pilot Marc Thibault, who uses this sled as a beast of burden at his cottage since many years now. We know it, the Powerbloc drive pulleys mean durability and almost no maintenance, unlike technologies with rollers. This is quite a challenge because this type of vehicle is often used to pull heavy loads and the Bearcat XT itself weighs almost 800 lbs / 363 kg. But when CVTech-IBC’s engineers are challenged, they take nothing lightly. This is why when the partnership has been confirmed at the end of March 2015, a team of experts went to Monts Valin to install a first edition of the Powerbloc 80. For this first test, the skilled employees of CVTech-IBC have examined in a shop the specifications of the actual transmission and then adjusted the pulley directly on the terrain.
Even if the goal was to put the Powerbloc to test during the 2015-2016 season, the joint project team CVTech-IBC / SledMagazine.com had decided to use the last weeks of the 2014-2015 season to finalize a first series of adjustments. Overjoyed on the huge amount of snow fallen last March, we have been able to achieve a few tests in deep snow just to check the first settings made by the team members. When I say first settings, it may sound like “estimation” or else, as a first contact with the vehicle, without much expectation. I can assure you that it is much more than that. As soon as they arrived, the experts from CVTech-IBC put the “patient” under observation in order to calibrate the new drive pulley in accordance with the manufacurer’s specifications but also in accordance with the real conditions of usage. Results are already very impressive for a first series of settings. You will be able to read the first results of our tests in my next article to be published in November.
So, a first joint project between SledMagazine.com and CVTech-IBC is officially launched and many snowmobilers will benefit from the expected results as early as the next season. The ultimate goal is to offer an alternative to the large number of Bearcat owners who must proceed to the expensive maintenance of the drive pulley in a near future. While awaiting for the final version of this new Powerbloc 80, we will follow the development of these tests right from the opening of the season, until this new drive pulley is offered on the market.
