2014

[Blue Dave]

I hate to say it but whatever yamaha has up their sleeve it better be great because bombardier is watching. Right now, I think ski-doo is working fast to counter yamaha with a new turbo fourstroke sled (not the 1200). Will ski-doo get their clutching straightened out before yamaha can drop their new iron? As a yamaha loyalist, I hope not.
Yamaha needs a homerun to gain market share;ski-doo just needs something to stir the hype.

Skidoo is a more powerful force then most realize. All at once they may release a full line of 4 strokes that make yamaha look ancient and 2 stroke that don't fail. They just know how to play the dance of profit/advancment/cost of development
Yamaha has the lead in four strokes so hopefully alll this time they've been working to keep that lead and don't fall short

I find this post interesting. I heard a similar rumor today from a guy that supposedly works the assembly line for BRP. He said that they are working on a turbo for next year. If they put a turbo 4 stroke in a XM chasis I am snow-checking one. I love my Nytro but a factory turbo with the reliability of Ski-Doo.

"Reliability of Ski-Doo"? Are you F'n kidding me? Reliability and Ski-Doo should never be used in the same sentence. Apparently you haven't towed as many XP 800's with blown motors as I have. My Ski-Don't buddies always want to race across the lake. I always tell them that I will race them to the end of the weekend and I usually end up winning by the length of a tow strap! LOL!

 

[nbsledder]

I find this post interesting. I heard a similar rumor today from a guy that supposedly works the assembly line for BRP. He said that they are working on a turbo for next year. If they put a turbo 4 stroke in a XM chasis I am snow-checking one. I love my Nytro but a factory turbo with the reliability of Ski-Doo. [/quote]

"Reliability of Ski-Doo"? Are you F'n kidding me? Reliability and Ski-Doo should never be used in the same sentence. Apparently you haven't towed as many XP 800's with blown motors as I have. My Ski-Don't buddies always want to race across the lake. I always tell them that I will race them to the end of the weekend and I usually end up winning by the length of a tow strap! LOL![/quote]

X2

 

[7 skulls]

Reliability and ski-doo haven't gone together since the pre-epa era.
I read somewhere that bombardier pushed ahead the release of rev because they knew yamaha was coming with the rx-1. Ski-doo plays the marketing game better than anyone and would love to release something to kill any buzz yamaha can create.
My bottom line: a new chassis, significant weight loss and it's a spring order.

 

[pat the rat]

Ski doo and reliability,funniest thing I,ve heard in a long time,keep it coming

 

[Stone9]

haha

 

[clatla]

You guys are almost as bad as the Cat guys. I have spent about $3k to get my Nytro to handle as good as any other brand does out of the box. No amount of $ can fix the fact its heavy. I do love the Yami 4stroke power and reliability. That is the only reason I put up with the weight. Yami has overbuilt and over engineered almost every part of the sled. Really do we need the hand warmers to turn off so the battery charges at an idle? I recall a lot of hype a year or two back about big changes coming. I am still waiting.

There were a few Doo 800's that had bad cranks but for everyone to go on & on about how you are pulling them out every time you ride is ridiculous. If there are so many problems with their motors why do they hold such a huge market share? The E-tec's are so far ahead of all the other brands it's ridiculous. The 4-tec has had no issues to date. Lets not forget that the parent company Bombardier makes just about everything out there.

Ya the Yami motor is bullet-proof but the time for a major change has come and passed. I still love my Nytro and am not bashing but if the other brands are moving forward why not get on board? Will have to see what to see what comes out in Feb.

 

[Bpatch50]

You guys are almost as bad as the Cat guys. I have spent about $3k to get my Nytro to handle as good as any other brand does out of the box. No amount of $ can fix the fact its heavy. I do love the Yami 4stroke power and reliability. That is the only reason I put up with the weight. Yami has overbuilt and over engineered almost every part of the sled. Really do we need the hand warmers to turn off so the battery charges at an idle? I recall a lot of hype a year or two back about big changes coming. I am still waiting.

There were a few Doo 800's that had bad cranks but for everyone to go on & on about how you are pulling them out every time you ride is ridiculous. If there are so many problems with their motors why do they hold such a huge market share? The E-tec's are so far ahead of all the other brands it's ridiculous. The 4-tec has had no issues to date. Lets not forget that the parent company Bombardier makes just about everything out there.

Ya the Yami motor is bullet-proof but the time for a major change has come and passed. I still love my Nytro and am not bashing but if the other brands are moving forward why not get on board? Will have to see what to see what comes out in Feb.

A few bad 800's?? Not even close. My last 800 blew up 3 times in one winter. They are disposable sleds...bottom line. Ski-doo knows their customers aren't buying sleds based on reliability and as long as they continue to make them look good on paper they'll continue to sell. I would take a 800 Rush or a 800 cat before a 800 doo any day. I agree, the Nytro takes some $ and tuning to get right, but it gets you home every time. Winter is too short to change pistons and cranks.

People are creatures of habit, and they buy 2 strokes because that's what they are use to. If the auto industry started selling 2 strokes that blew up every few thousand miles nobody would buy them. Leave the 2 strokes for the weed eaters where they belong

 

[maxx]

I'd be happy to have enough snow to ride from mid december to mid march, with an average of one good snow year out of five in the upper midwest, at least in Minnesota, I would like to get some decent riding in before worrying about dropping another $12k for the latest and greatest technology. I'd like the chance to wear out my 2012 Nytro a little first.

 

[AKrider]

I very much doubt Ski-doo sees Yamaha as a threat. Yamaha's been #4 for years and years. They briefly squeezed into #3 ahead of Cat for a year, maybe two back in '06, '07 or '08, somewhere around there but have held firmly onto #4 ever since. I used to ride Ski-doo's from '94 to '04 and they are nice sleds. Better built than Polaris or Cats of that era and better performing than the Yamaha's of the time, at least the MX-Z's and Summit 670 that I had.

Doo used to offer very reliable engines. The rotary valve motors were much more reliable than any of their recent 2-strokes except for the original Series 3 600. That engine had some recent burn down issues due to too lean of jetting because of the EPA regs but that was corrected.

There is a reason they are and have been #1 for the past 10 years and that's because, by and large, their sleds work, run well, are light weight, good handling and ride nicely through the bumps. I'm no fan of their greased crank bearings but those don't effect your riding pleasure every minute like the piss poor handling of the Nytro or the weight of any 4-stroke Yamaha.

The current Yamaha's remind me of the late 80's, early 90's Dodge pick-ups when the Cummins was introduced. Everyone I knew said they liked the motor but were bummed out it came with a Dodge wrapped around it. I think that in '14 there is a good possibility that Yamaha is finally changing that. I hope so! There are many things to like about a 4-stroke Yamaha.

 

[Pstn head]

Another doo went down first ride out 2 hrs into the ride, it's so easy to get a nitro to handle well and replace sliders in 30 min etc. etc. All little fixes that seem minuscule to enjoy a weekend riding, I used to ride ski doo, I bleed yellow and my buddies thought I even wore yellow boxers, now I ride a nitro and love it !!!! Best sled i'v ever ridden, sorry about the rant but in opinion they frigen suck.

 

[maxx]

Even though I haven't much seat time on my 2012 nytro XTX, it has towed 2 ski doo 800's home last year.

 

[low slung]

Juicey rumours here......... http://www.snowtechmagazine.com/pure-sp ... 14-yamaha/

 

[clatla]

That's the beauty of living in a country where you can choose to say and spend your money any way you choose. My point was and still is if Doo puts a factory turbo on their 4stroke in a mtn chasis I will be seriously looking to jump ship. Especially if the "New" Yami model is only available as a trail sled (rumors). Yami needs to really get off their a$$ and get back into the game. Reliability can't be the only good part of a sled. The Nytro's are not even considered when the magazines put the mtn sleds in a comparison.

 

[7 skulls]

Ski-doo sees every other manufacturer as a threat. They will do what it takes to try and preempt yamaha just like they did with their 1200 (a cosworth engine and a weight target meant to screw the nytro).
Yamaha needs to streamline the sled division with their other motorsports arms. By that I mean, lights, levers, gauges, handlebars, even suspension geometry. Don't let the sled division waste limited resources when the yamaha company parts and development bin has so many common components for which the tooling and development is already done.

 

[AKrider]

it's so easy to get a nitro to handle well

I can't help it, that's a hilarious statement. Your definition of "handle well" and mine (along with most other people) are drastically different. Spend some time on Dootalk and see how many threads there are about people complaining about their MX-Z XP's handling. Look to see how many aftermarket companies are offering a-arm kits and different spindles for the XP to get them to handle better.

Clatia,
I agree, the Yamaha engineers need to drop the whole program of trying making each model special and individualized from the next. Their efforts need to be focused on performance, handling, light weight. I don't care how fast a Yamaha can go in a straight line, eventually I'm going to need to turn and I just want the sled to turn, no drama, no head shake, no bars twitching from side to side from the bumps, just go around the damn corner like a Polaris, Cat or Doo. If the money was redirected from styling and trying to make the sleds look so futuristic and put into performance they'd gain customers. I almost wonder if there is a generation of engineers that look at the '84 Phazer and think, "Wow, I really need to come out with something that is totally revolutionary looking". But they forget it was the performance, the light weight and ability to float on top of the snow that made the original Phazer the best selling sled of that time.

Good to see Snowtech posting something about the 14's. I'm curious to see if there might be a reborn Yamaha coming out. I'd hope that the total lack of real updates and innovations to the Phazer and Nytro over their production run was justified and they instead were focusing their money and efforts into something much better and lighter.