Tested: iKat

Here's what you get in the iKat kit. You can see we received ours as they were making the transition from the iCat to iKat name.

By Jeff Kardas

When it comes to after-market hop-up goodies for a modern 4-stroke off-road bike, the list of choices is endless. Unfortunately, and unlike the days when 2-strokes ruled, many of these options are bit on the spendy side. Typically an exhaust system is one of the first items on the list, and will set the 4-stroke owner back $500-$1,200, often resulting in only very modest performance gains while shaving off a bit of weight at the same time. Another popular upgrade is an item such as the Boyesen Power Shot which, for about a C-note, can make a noticeable difference in the throttle response in some applications.

What’s an iKat?
Standing off on its own is a product that has seen a fair bit of press over the past couple of years, yet remains a bit of a mystery to many in the marketplace. The iCat (or iKat as it is now called) is a very simple solid state and relatively inexpensive enhancement to the stock coil’s ability to provide a healthy spark for combustion. According to iKat’s website (www.ikatusa.com), the iKat is designed to increase the power of each spark, while extending the duration, thereby making a bigger ‘boom’ that lasts longer, which in theory would more effectively burn any combustible material in the combustion chamber (i.e. fuel). Of course it’s easy to derive from this theory what the benefits of installing an iKat may be, before ever kicking the bike over: increased throttle response, easier starting, and a crisper, more efficient ‘feel’ to the engine’s performance in general. In addition, iKat also claim increased fuel efficiency and decreased emissions, which also means that, relatively speaking, the iKat is “good for the environment”. Right on.

The device we tested was designed specifically for the modern 4-stroke motocross engine (model M02015) with the coil located directly above the spark plug cap. It is nearly the exact same size as the stock coil/cap, and actually works in unison with it once installed. The installation is no more difficult than removing the stock plug cap, inserting the wire end of the iKat into the stock cap (where the spark plug had previously been inserted), then placing the iKat onto the spark plug just as the stock cap had been. The most difficult part of the entire process is removing the rubber boot from the stock plug cap and placing it onto the iKat, although they even help in this regard by providing a bit of grease to ease the transition (did we mention the high quality handy-dandy carrying case that came with it?). After re-installing the tank/shrouds and seat, we were ready to rip.

The Ride
The test mule for this evaluation was a 2007 Kawasaki KX250F, equipped with the venerable Pro Circuit Ti-4 GP exhaust system and jetted to Pro Circuit’s specs, although richened just a tad for our locale. Otherwise, the bike was bone stock, and we relied entirely on this reviewer’s butt to provide the feedback for evaluation – in other words, this is about as ‘seat-of-the-pants’ as a test could possibly be. We did a simple before/after, at four different tracks, on many different days, and kept the rest of the bike precisely the same (even down to the 93 octane pump gas we used). The only other changes were cleaning the air filter before each ride and changing the oil in between.

So, how was it? It was exactly as iKat described, and precisely what we’d expected based on other reviews of the same product. The bike was easier to start – particularly when hot – but not that this bike is tough to start anyhow. Without the iKat installed, we’d occasionally have to kick multiple times to get the engine lit when hot, despite strictly following the 4-stroke hot starting drill. With the iKat, this never happened. It always started in at most two kicks when hot. Most noticeable, though, was that the performance and overall ‘feel’ of the engine was just BETTER. It felt like we’d had Mitch Payton come spend a day with us, jetting the bike perfectly and optimizing everything to make it just right – in short, it made the bike ‘bark’. Throttle response was noticeably better as well, in fact we were able to ride the bike a bit more aggressively too, since it seemed so snappy and responsive, and it was just plain more fun to ride. If there were any downsides, we didn’t experience them – not in any way, shape or form. If forced to come up with a potential downfall, it’s safe to say that whenever an additional device is added to an already complex system, it’s just something else that can fail. We aren’t aware of any issues with the iKat failing, so that doesn’t appear to be an issue after all.

The Finale
We like this thing - a lot. When it wasn’t on the bike, it was missed. Having used it on and off for several weeks, it was definitely something we looked forward to using again once it was taken off. For $200, the price seems a tad steep for such an unusual performance device, but the results make that price fairly justifiable. While it didn’t make for the dramatic performance improvement that our Pro Circuit exhaust system did, it certainly equaled the bang-for-buck value which we felt from that $900 add-on. Perhaps most importantly though, iKat’s aren’t necessarily machine-specific (they only make two models), so chances are good that when you get a new 4-stroke in the future, your existing iKat will fit on the new bike as well. Heck, consider it a hand-me-down for your kids’ future bikes, too. This is a great performance enhancement for a relatively low sum of money, and we highly recommended it.

Click the following link for additional installation photos on the iKat installation.

For more info, check-out www.ikatusa.com

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