Phazer for the boy

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BlkHawk73

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First full winter of riding the RX1 and the boy on back has been loving riding with me. Been wanting to get him on his own and been thinking a Phazer would be good for him. Be 13yo next season so I can restrict the throttle a bit until he's ready for more. Been very patient and responsible when piloting the RX1 so don't see the Phazer being an issue.
Saving little by little and it's 1/2 there for a good used ('06-09) one. Wife is gonna let us toss the rest in for him so it's all but finding one and it's a go. 8)
Thinking '07 just so he can get it red - his favorite color - but a grey/black lie dad's wouldn't be bad. ;)
 
Has to be 08 up, too many recalls ,suspension , cold start, fan etc.. with 07's
 
3-UP said:
Has to be 08 up, too many recalls ,suspension , cold start, fan etc.. with 07's
Click to expand...

I disagree with that. I have an 07 and my brother has an 08 and there haven about the same amount of issues. Just make sure the 07 has the updates and your good to go.
 
Voda2000 said:
3-UP said:
Has to be 08 up, too many recalls ,suspension , cold start, fan etc.. with 07's
Click to expand...

I disagree with that. I have an 07 and my brother has an 08 and there haven about the same amount of issues. Just make sure the 07 has the updates and your good to go.
Click to expand...

I disagree with your disagree, if that makes any sense. I bought a 07 and was told all the updates were done. Yes the major ones were done by Yamaha but I found a ton of little improvements to solve known issues. They made changes to improve the sled as the newer ones came out. I took me quite a bit of time to discover these and update them.
 
Check in the 7 day classifieds. There is one in Maine. All updates and some improvements done. Looks like a good deal.
 
IMO I would think twice about getting him a phazer. I bought my son who is now 14 a phazer 2 years ago. He is not completely comfortable with it and I understand why. Phazers appear to be a perfect sled for somebody in that age group, fairly lightweight, not too poweful, modern looking. But, they can at times be VERY unpredictable in the handling department. After riding that 09 RTX off n on for the last couple of years, that thing can be downright scary. It doesn't bother me all that much because I have been riding for 30 years and have the skill and experience to adjust for its handling quirks. But for a new young rider I would not recommend one. I have even considered selling it and getting him something else like one of the 600 Ace doo's. I have made a number of changes and improvements to the sled over the last couple of years in an attempt to get that sled settled down so he can enjoy it more. And some of the changes have certainly worked. But it still can be very scary at times. Not the perfect situation to introduce a young rider to the sport. I bring this up after reading another members post about the handling characteristics of the phazer in another post. I am now at the point of trying to decide whether to keep dumping money into that sled in an attempt to improve the handling or sell it for something else.
 
Ruggybuggy said:
Voda2000 said:
3-UP said:
Has to be 08 up, too many recalls ,suspension , cold start, fan etc.. with 07's
Click to expand...

I disagree with that. I have an 07 and my brother has an 08 and there haven about the same amount of issues. Just make sure the 07 has the updates and your good to go.
Click to expand...

I disagree with your disagree, if that makes any sense. I bought a 07 and was told all the updates were done. Yes the major ones were done by Yamaha but I found a ton of little improvements to solve known issues. They made changes to improve the sled as the newer ones came out. I took me quite a bit of time to discover these and update them.
Click to expand...

We can all disagree with each other all we want, but we are all actually in agreement. Here is what I am talking about.

The '07's had issues that were all addressed by Yamaha or TY members here. So if you want to buy an '07 (or any one for that matter) get one that has all the changes documented. Anyone that pre-ordered an '07 could get the 5 year YES for dirt and were a fool not to buy it. Then all the updates are documented by VIN, and can be pulled up at a Yamaha dealer.

All the other changes/updates, you have to take the word of the owner. Buying from a TY member is strongly suggested, as any issues they may have had would be documented by their posts.

My '07 Phazer FX just turned 6100+ miles this past week since pre-ordering it in '06. All changes are documented (and I don't plan on selling it) The reason is my 12 year old loves it. I have had her on REV's, REV XP's, two different Apex's, 2-smokes. She goes back to her Phazer and loves it.

The kicker with putting a child of that age on it is being sure they have no issues standing up and using their body weight as it is not a riding sled, you drive it, and you have to use some body English.

Getting a test ride is strongly recommended. And when you do, start with the phazer as going from one to the other will be very odd for anyone that doesn't have seat time on one. Most of my friends have no issues riding her phazer for the day if they start on it, but they hate switching to it mid-day.

So to recap: Get a test ride, don't shy away from a well documented early phazer, and if your boy is a small 13 year old, you may want to consider a different sled till he has some more body mass. My 12 year old is taller than her mom! Girls are many times bigger than boys in that age range.

Good luck!
 

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I drove for hours to pick up a mint low mile 07 Phazer and he said all updates were done, I got the serial # and my local dealer said all updates/recalls were done. I got there and first thing I saw was the old style rear suspension link then the non updated ECU #, No fan , etc... Was not a happy camper, #$%&* wasted trip, it was mint though. Costs allot of cash by the time your done. 07's are cheap but there's a reason.
 
Macheater said:
IMO I would think twice about getting him a phazer. I bought my son who is now 14 a phazer 2 years ago. He is not completely comfortable with it and I understand why. Phazers appear to be a perfect sled for somebody in that age group, fairly lightweight, not too poweful, modern looking. But, they can at times be VERY unpredictable in the handling department. After riding that 09 RTX off n on for the last couple of years, that thing can be downright scary. It doesn't bother me all that much because I have been riding for 30 years and have the skill and experience to adjust for its handling quirks. But for a new young rider I would not recommend one. I have even considered selling it and getting him something else like one of the 600 Ace doo's. I have made a number of changes and improvements to the sled over the last couple of years in an attempt to get that sled settled down so he can enjoy it more. And some of the changes have certainly worked. But it still can be very scary at times. Not the perfect situation to introduce a young rider to the sport. I bring this up after reading another members post about the handling characteristics of the phazer in another post. I am now at the point of trying to decide whether to keep dumping money into that sled in an attempt to improve the handling or sell it for something else.
Click to expand...

Worst part of a Phazer is the skis, terrible darting with stock. Put a good pair of skis on and go.
 
Macheater said:
IMO I would think twice about getting him a phazer. I bought my son who is now 14 a phazer 2 years ago. He is not completely comfortable with it and I understand why. Phazers appear to be a perfect sled for somebody in that age group, fairly lightweight, not too poweful, modern looking. But, they can at times be VERY unpredictable in the handling department. After riding that 09 RTX off n on for the last couple of years, that thing can be downright scary. It doesn't bother me all that much because I have been riding for 30 years and have the skill and experience to adjust for its handling quirks. But for a new young rider I would not recommend one. I have even considered selling it and getting him something else like one of the 600 Ace doo's. I have made a number of changes and improvements to the sled over the last couple of years in an attempt to get that sled settled down so he can enjoy it more. And some of the changes have certainly worked. But it still can be very scary at times. Not the perfect situation to introduce a young rider to the sport. I bring this up after reading another members post about the handling characteristics of the phazer in another post. I am now at the point of trying to decide whether to keep dumping money into that sled in an attempt to improve the handling or sell it for something else.
Click to expand...

x2 you certainly need strength to whip that sled around. I love it but my kids won't be driving it anytime soon
 
biffdotorg said:
Ruggybuggy said:
Voda2000 said:
3-UP said:
Has to be 08 up, too many recalls ,suspension , cold start, fan etc.. with 07's
Click to expand...

I disagree with that. I have an 07 and my brother has an 08 and there haven about the same amount of issues. Just make sure the 07 has the updates and your good to go.
Click to expand...

I disagree with your disagree, if that makes any sense. I bought a 07 and was told all the updates were done. Yes the major ones were done by Yamaha but I found a ton of little improvements to solve known issues. They made changes to improve the sled as the newer ones came out. I took me quite a bit of time to discover these and update them.
Click to expand...

We can all disagree with each other all we want, but we are all actually in agreement. Here is what I am talking about.

The '07's had issues that were all addressed by Yamaha or TY members here. So if you want to buy an '07 (or any one for that matter) get one that has all the changes documented. Anyone that pre-ordered an '07 could get the 5 year YES for dirt and were a fool not to buy it. Then all the updates are documented by VIN, and can be pulled up at a Yamaha dealer.

All the other changes/updates, you have to take the word of the owner. Buying from a TY member is strongly suggested, as any issues they may have had would be documented by their posts.

My '07 Phazer FX just turned 6100+ miles this past week since pre-ordering it in '06. All changes are documented (and I don't plan on selling it) The reason is my 12 year old loves it. I have had her on REV's, REV XP's, two different Apex's, 2-smokes. She goes back to her Phazer and loves it.

The kicker with putting a child of that age on it is being sure they have no issues standing up and using their body weight as it is not a riding sled, you drive it, and you have to use some body English.

Getting a test ride is strongly recommended. And when you do, start with the phazer as going from one to the other will be very odd for anyone that doesn't have seat time on one. Most of my friends have no issues riding her phazer for the day if they start on it, but they hate switching to it mid-day.

So to recap: Get a test ride, don't shy away from a well documented early phazer, and if your boy is a small 13 year old, you may want to consider a different sled till he has some more body mass. My 12 year old is taller than her mom! Girls are many times bigger than boys in that age range.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I totally agree with all of that.

I really like that we can disagree about things on this forum and it's done in a polite and respectful manner. On a lot of other forums this would have ended with name calling. Also sorry if my post seemed short, typing this on my iPhone.
 
Worst part of a Phazer is the skis, terrible darting with stock. Put a good pair of skis on and go.[/quote]

I run shimmed Bergstoms on the front and it did help compared to the stock setup. Some people have had good luck with snowtrackers on stock skis. However, the stock track still sucks, not only for acceleration, but also for braking. I can't begin to count how many times I was hauling the mail down a fast hard pack trail and hit the brakes only to have the backend start coming around while the sled hardly slows downl. Certainly not an ideal situation for an inexperienced rider or child. To make matters worse when the backend is coming around, occasionally it loads (in my case) the left ski which causes it to bite hard and want to launch you over the bars. Had that happen more than once. #$%&*

Again, IMO the phazer (especially stock ones) are NOT a great trail sled for an inexperienced rider. There are some places where they do shine. Mostly at lower speeds running in and out of ditches is where I've found it to perform exceptionally well. Carving up fast trails is its weak point. Too high of a center of gravity with a mediocre track and unpredictable handling. Some people have put enough money into them to make them handle much better which, leads me back to my original statement. How much more money should I invest in a 6yr old sled in the pursuit of good handling. After fixing the steeing linkage issues, shock grommets, clutch kit, airbox, and several other mods. I am at the end of my spending on this thing. I'm fairly confident that if I put a freeride under it things would continue to improve, just tired of throwing money at the problem. :o|
 
Hi BLKHawk73
I have a 07 phazer I'm thinking about seller really like the sled going to move up to a viper I'm also in Maine if you're interested let me know and will and will send you all the info on it
 
Yup,

1.5" Freeride fixed the issue of the Ripsaw spinning. Of course the addition of Woody's Dooley's on the stock skis fixed the front end to our liking without having to replace the entire ski.

The track was the most expensive mod so far, but the one that made the most dramatic difference.
 
biffdotorg said:
Yup,

1.5" Freeride fixed the issue of the Ripsaw spinning. Of course the addition of Woody's Dooley's on the stock skis fixed the front end to our liking without having to replace the entire ski.

The track was the most expensive mod so far, but the one that made the most dramatic difference.
Click to expand...

A taller lug track will reduce if not eliminate the front heat exchanger icing and over heat issue as well. I think a track swap is almost a must on the Phazer. It really transforms the sled and lets you get the most out of it. The phazer also has to be one of the easiest sleds to do a track swap on. It really is an easy swap.

G.B.
 
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