2018 is coming early for Arctic Cat fans, in the form of the all-new early-release ZR 8000 Sno Pro 129/137 featuring the all-new Arctic Cat C-TEC2 800 engine with DSI.

Along with the early release M 8000 Sno Pro, the new machines will be at Arctic Cat dealerships beginning Feb. 1, 2017. See, demo ride and buy it then!

For now, click to ready all the details of the new ZR 8000 early release.

The wait is over! Arctic Cat has an all-new 8000-series C-TEC2 800 2-stroke engine for 2018. Arctic Cat is saying it's for the 160-hp class, and that it has more power than the Suzuki engine that it's replacing.

I've ridden this new engine several times over the past couple of seasons and I'm pumped to report that it's excellent. Three words to describe the new engine: Powerful, crisp & refined.

Grab a big ol' handful of interweb throttle to read all of the details.

Man I love listening to a Pro Open sled, especially when it's being ripped around a track by the fastest snocrosser in the world.

Tucker Hibbert claimed his 124th national snocross win in the Pro class this past weekend in Deadwood, South Dakota. Here are the video highlights.

Periodically I hear from Ross Spoonland, the uber Arctic Cat snowmobiler who consistently racks up more miles than anyone I know, and whose knack for documenting his travels is second to none.

Last Thursday Ross had another one of his big adventures, logging a whopping 334 miles on a big loop that took him from his home in Park River, ND, to Thief River Falls and back home.

Click to see some really cool pix from his adventure, as well as hearing his set-up for such rides.

We're two races into the 2017 USXC race season, and already Team Arctic has shown tremendous strength. If I were a marketing guru, I might even say they've been dominating the terrain.

Click to see what I'm talking about.

Here's a great story about a legendary Arctic Cat from Pennsylvania that was located and saved from the scrap yard, written by Arctic Cat aficionado Glen Mallory.

Enjoy this recap video of Team 68's 2017 Canterbury snocross weekend.

There's great snow over much of North America. For more detailed analysis of your area, hit the NOHRSC website.

At the Wednesday funeral service for his son Hunter, Steve Houle shared with a packed church his family's thoughts and story about Hunter's life.

Click to read parents’ words about their son.

Click to read about the Hunter Houle that I see.

Last Friday, while getting his sled and himself ready for this weekend’s USXC race on Pine Lake in Gonvick, Minn., 18-year-old Hunter Houle suffered a crash on his snowmobile and died a short time later.

For friends and acquaintances that want to celebrate his life and share their love with Hunter’s brothers Lucas, Jeremy and Larry, sister Jenna, his dad Steve and his mom Charlene, there will be a visitation on Tuesday, Jan. 10 from 4-8pm at Hosanna Lutheran Church in Forest Lake, Minn.

As well, Hunter’s funeral is from 10-11am on Wed., Jan. 11, also at Hosanna (9300 Scandia Trail N, Forest Lake, MN 55025).

I have some thoughts I’m going to share about Hunter here on ArcticInsider, but I’m not ready yet.

This past week I was part of a group that spent a day at Skime Ranch, the nearly 4,000-acre cattle farm in Skime, Minn. (yes, seriously) owned by Arctic Cat legend Roger Skime and his wife Bernice.

It was a day of watching Roger be Roger. It was perfect.

Click to see a few pix from the day.

Oh man, 2017 started out better than I could imagine, with a 140 mile snowmobile ride on Minnesota's North Shore State Trail with friends.

Either this is going to be the best year ever, or it's all downhill from here?

Regardless, winter is alive and well in Minnesota's arrowhead region. Click to see for yourself.

Since he burst onto the cross-country scene a handful of years ago, Zach Herfindahl of Eagle River, Wis., has been a veritable juggernaut of speed and success, notching wins at most venues and claiming multiple USXC championship titles along the way.

At the ripe old age of...(wait for it)...20, Zach heads into the 2017 season poised for continued success. This year he paused his college career in order to concentrate on racing full-time. He’s fitter, smarter and presumably faster than ever.

I chatted with the reigning Pro Stock champ about the season, his new Arctic Cat ZR 6000R XC race sled and what he eats for dinner with housemate Logan Christian.

Click to read the interview.

I'm thankful for the outstanding riding experiences of the past year.

I'm thankful we've made it through the detours, trail closures and rough patches.

I'm thankful we can still hang onto the handlebars while going WFO into the new year.

And I'm thankful it's the last Friday of 2016.

I've been diggin' the engine audio on this year's race recap vid's from Tucker Hibbert. Here's the latest edit from his dominating performance at the ISOC National in Winter Park, Colorado, last week.

Spend much time riding a Wildcat 1000/X? From a comfort standpoint, a pair of High Back seats are probably the most impactful upgrad.

Click to read about the new, premium cockpit items from the new Arctic Cat SPEED line of accessories.

Rideable snow within a trailerable distance for most of us. Pretty good for this time of year.

Click HERE for the NOAA site to get every kind of snow depth info you might need.

Wishing you a genuinely meaningful and peaceful Christmas.

God bless.