A quick trip to Thief River Falls over the past couple days provided some cool sights and interesting developments.

When Arctic Cat coaxed 160-plus hp out of its 800 laydown twin via new exhaust, pistons, cylinder porting, EFI calibration, ignition timing, APV valves and the good ol’ Greg Spaulding voodoo, it prompted the strong recommendation that owners use 91-octane fuel.

In Part I of this series we established that the 800 H.O. and 600 consumer twins don’t fit into the Sno Pro race chassis. The question I had is, “Why wasn’t the chassis designed to accept these consumer-friendly engines?”

Few sites are as entertaining and informative as the RVs section of your local Craigslist. Here is a classice example of what I'm talking about, along with my expert commentary.

THIS is the live link if you want to see it for yourself

The last year at its Forest Lake location was definitely one for the Haydays record books. Heat, sun and good laughs were on full-bore.

If you have a few spare dollars and would like to own what is possibly the single most valuable collection of vintage Arctic Cat snowmobiles in the world, you're in luck.

The biggest event in snowmobiling once again lived up to its billing, as throngs of sledders converged at the kickoff to winter. ArcticInsider was there to bring you sights, sounds and smells of this annual shindig.

In just his first season in the Pro snocross ranks, Polaris pilot Brett Bender scored three Open class wins, making the most of his talent, Tucker Hibbert’s hiatus and his dad Tim’s top-notch sled preparation. He also used an Arctic Cat rear suspension and track.

Seen deep inside Arctic Cat's engineering department, a three-plug head for the 1000 laydown twin.

Two-and-a-half years ago, snowmobile legend C.J. Ramstad and the Minnesota Dept. of Tourism created this wonderful short promo film about snowmobiling in Minnesota.

What does Arctic Cater/engineer extraordinaire Brian Dick like to do in his spare time during the summer?

Arctic Cat says there will be no Sno Pro 800 or consumer-friendly Sno Pro 600. The reason: not enough space for the larger engines. Can this really be true?

Arctic Cat Engine engineer Greg Spaulding, discussing the four liquid-cooled 2-stroke engine options in the Arctic Cat arsenal.