2014

[AKrider]

AKRIDER I am truely get sick of your opions. All you ever do is bad mouth Yamaha and how shitty of a job you think they do. Im glad you sold your Nytro. You dont deserve it. You can ride whatever you want when ever you want. I dont care. May you have many miles without a blown motor, oh never mind didnt that already happen! Really sick of your bashing,go somewhere else. I hear HCS is a great place for people like you. We come hear to talk sleds, Not listen to you cry cause you couldnt ride a Nytro.

Sorry you don't like my posts, I think I can see why for a couple reasons. #1 they are accurate and true, yes they are critical but I also offer suggestions on how Yamaha could make their sleds better. #2, I see you've spent a small fortune in improving some very basic things to make your Nytro handle. You remind me of myself when I was younger and switched from Polaris to a '94 Ski-doo MX-470. I then had one of the only Ski-doo's in town and caught crap for it right away. That was the second year of the new F-chassis and on the outside it looked like an improved Indy and was supposed to weigh 470lbs dry. The build quality was a lot nicer than my previous '90 500 Indy. After riding it a few times I was really disappointed in how it didn't handle as good as my old Indy. That was further confirmed when I rode my brothers '91 500 Indy back to back with my Ski-doo. That sealed the deal and I knew in my heart I made a mistake but didn't want to admit it. I'd argue with anyone who said anything that I perceived as negative about my sled.

The big difference there is Ski-doo kept on making improvements to their sleds. Their changes were truly big improvements that worked and those factory parts were available to anyone for a reasonable cost. If I wanted to upgrade my '94 I could. That's one of my biggest criticisms about Yamaha. I've worked with others on this site to figure out the flaws with the stock Nytro front end. One would think after 5 years of production Yamaha would come out with something better than a set of Tuner skis that suffer from the same problems as every other dual keel, skag ski out there. If you want the utmost in cornering precision you aren't going to find it in a product that divides a carbides down pressure by 50% per ski. That equals push in the corners. If you aren't trying to go fast than no worries, happy day, but it isn't a cure for an aggressive rider.

In any case I suggest you don't read my posts if you don't like what I have to say. I'm excited by the prospects of 2014 because I truly like Yamaha motors (much more than the engines in my new Polaris sleds). I'm hopeful we are looking at a reborn Yamaha sled lineup. I think I'm probably expecting too much but its fun to speculate. If they bring a vastly improved sled to the market I'll be one of the first to snowcheck one. I'm not brand loyal to anything, don't get free stuff so I can say nice things about it and try to pass along what I've learned the hard and expensive way about what does and doesn't work.
Cheers

 

[low slung]

Interesting post on Hardcore sledder this morning:

http://www.hardcoresledder.com/forums/3 ... -2014.html

"not starting anything here Was up in N.WI and the speedwerx guys were on the lake we were riding on and have meet them a number of times through out the years. (they say ) 2014 Yamaha Apex and all long tracks and crossovers will be arctic cat (like) suspension front and rear. new line up will be all 3 cylinder, apex will have a cat (like) turbo on the current 120 hp 3 cylinder and put out 180hp stock. They have said things in past years to be true so who knows. "

Thats the worst forum to plant a seed thats yamaha related.There still over there mixing there gas/oil .Haters gonna hate.

 

[7 skulls]

"not starting anything here Was up in N.WI and the speedwerx guys were on the lake we were riding on and have meet them a number of times through out the years. (they say ) 2014 Yamaha Apex and all long tracks and crossovers will be arctic cat (like) suspension front and rear. new line up will be all 3 cylinder, apex will have a cat (like) turbo on the current 120 hp 3 cylinder and put out 180hp stock. They have said things in past years to be true so who knows. "[/quote]

Not saying it can't happen but not for a while. For that to happen next year, the yamaha/cat relationship would have to have been in the works for years. Cat needs engines, clean 2-strokes and yamaha has a DI system. I can't figure out what yamaha gets from the deal. Their sled manufacturing is solidly based in Japan. Can't see it coming to the US, too low volume. Why sell AC 4-stroke engines to compete with your own sleds?
I think any arrangement will be strictly patent rights trading.
Read this on another forum, think it sums up a merger pretty well: could be a new yamaha sled with lousy fit and finish would peak an interest from the knuckle dragging neandertal demographic, unfortunately resulting in clogged trails when they are confused by sleds which continue to run for an entire season.
Some funny #@$% right there.

 

[jp111]

I've read this topic since the start,
1: while a joint venture between cat and Yamaha might make sense from a manufacturing stand point I can tell you this being a motorcycle dealership owner selling both sleds side by side that have some of the same technologies is a recipe for disaster. You would focus your potential customer to only one location, you would want to park it at another manufactures dealership in an effort to steer them to your brand.
2: From being in a dealership environment for 10+ years, if a rumor is to be started there is no better place to start one than at a dealership. People tend to believe everything there dealer tells them, especially if its juicy or what they want to hear!
3: Truth be told sometimes the dealerships are truly the last to know of something new or they find out at exactly the same time the manufacture launches it on the internet so that there is less chance for the info to leak out.
And lastly, just about every article I have read regarding artic cat is that they have just spent a bunch of money and tooling and are looking forward to manufacturing their own engines.

I too like the rest of you want something new, or at the least improved so it can be rode right out of the box the way it should be.

I was out of trail riding for years while I raced sno cross, I had Yamaha's when I left and I always wanted a nytro when I decided to trail ride again. I love a four stroke and will never ride another 2 stroke, the smell makes me feel sick and the fact that I have 2 of them in my garage blown up to repair are just some of the reasons. But Yamaha does need to do something, like myself when its time for a new sled I will be venturing to another manufacture.

This is just my opinion, and we all know what they say about opinions!! Fortunately in a few weeks we will know for sure . Till then lets enjoy the winter we are having

 

[RoyalBlue]

Re: Jive Turkey

What I would like to know is who is going to Minneapolis

Hopefully this guy!

Maybe we could get the TY Spy Drone to do a Flyover

 

[ViperTurboPete]

I agree with AKrider on his points. He has offered his time, advice and insights on many issues. That is what this forum is all about. There are so many people here who bend over backwards to help other out to make their sled handle better. Heck, there are so many people here who even manufacture components to help us all because their little inventions helped them. So AK, if you have anything bad to say just say it. I don't see it as Yamaha bashing...I see it as constructive criticism. Many of us have spent a small fortune in order to improve our sleds. It is fun and addictive...not to mention expensive. I look at it as I now ride a customized sled. My Doo buddies do not spend a cent on their sleds. They are already set up out of the box. I just don't like Doo. I ride an Etec 600 Renegade at work and I just don't have the fun on it as I do on my Nytro.

My dealer does not have a clue on what is up and coming. I feed him the rumours I have been hearing on here.

I used to be hardcore Poo years ago. I could not imagine leaving Poo and switching to Yamaha...but I did. Yes, the Yamaha's aren't perfect, but I still think they are pretty darn good depending on what you want them for.

How someone could go from an Indy 500 to an MXZ 470 is beyond me!

 

[Yamahammer485]

Iv seen it done before on here, could someone check the U.S. Patent online recored to see if there is anything regarding yamaha engines in arctic cat sleds other than the SRX 120?

Also, IMO, the thought of a yamaha engine in an Arctic Cat makes me sick, and hopefully this is all simply rumors.. Arctic cat quality (everything) is on a totally different scale than yamaha

 

[sheetwright]

No one has really verified if it is a yamaha motor in a cat, but most reports point to yamaha direct injection from their boats on a new cat motor of some sort. Along with possible power steering rumors for their ATV's in trade for chasis suspension assistance. Maybe some cash to yamaha being the injection and steering are more valuable then the chasis....

 

[yamaha1973]

I still cant see the HPDI thing... They have drastically cut back the number of outboards offered ever since they came out with the SHO series. They only have 1 motor left with 3 different horsepower ratings, and I bet they wont be around very long either... Yamaha has moved past two strokes!

 

[Daranello]

Yeah, no more stand up jet skis. Period

 

[sheetwright]

As most would say when there is smoke there is fire. On month to go.....

 

[Sled Dog]

Seriously I dont think yamaha needs help in designing a suspension they just need to get serious about it and get it done.

 

[AKrider]

How someone could go from an Indy 500 to an MXZ 470 is beyond me!

Yeah... I know, learned that one the hard way! My 500 Indy had over 5000 hard miles on it and it was time for a new sled. I hated the way the Evolved Indy's looked and how they added all kinds of panels and switches to them and on paper the Ski-doo F-chassis seemed like the way to go. Plus it was a left over so the price was right. And yea... shoulda test rode one first. That would have told me all I needed to know.

jp111,
Thanks for bringing the perspective a dealer to the thread. If there was some type of merger or agreement I could see Yamaha still building some of their sleds in Japan like the Apex and Vector. But they could gain a lot by supplying Cat with motors and getting the Procross and Proclimb chassis in return. From what I understand, Yamaha builds the sleds in the same factory(s) as their other products so rather than build some of the sleds in Japan at an exchange rate disadvantage they could instead use the extra factory space to build motorcycles and scooters for the booming market in Asia. I'm just purely speculating about all of this but maybe that's why they've been so reluctant to improve their sled line up. The race front ends are built in the USA so maybe they didn't want to invest in any new tooling for the sleds because a deal with Cat would have been taking place years in advance. In Alaska most of the Yamaha dealers are single line dealers so it would only help them to sell a sled that would appeal to more people. A Yamaha motor in a Cat would help Cat to sell more sleds and Yamaha is still making money off the sale of the motors and parts.

Suzuki and Kawasaki did a similar thing around 10 years ago. They developed some models together and offered other models to one another to compliment their line-ups. I had a KXF400 which was just a Suzuki LT-Z 400 Quadsport with green plastic. That was a pretty cool thing if you were in tight with your Kawasaki dealer you could get a good deal on a Suzuki. As it stands right now today, Arctic Cat has sleds with more capable chassis than what Yamaha offers. Yamaha has more and better 4-stroke motors. Cat needs motors and Yamaha needs a new chassis. Seems like a logical arrangement. Plus, Yamaha would presumably gain the assembled or made in the USA badge and that is important to many existing Polaris and Cat owners. Fun to speculate!

 

[low slung]

Yeah, no more stand up jet skis. Period

Still being sold,just for closed course competition only like the YZ250,YZ125,YZ80 http://www.yamahawaverunners.com/superjet

 

[low slung]

How someone could go from an Indy 500 to an MXZ 470 is beyond me!

Loved the evolved body on my 98(only year with CRC front end).It handle great but the chassis was like a wet noodle(you could steer it with your feet on the running boards).Strange ergos.Shocks were beat to hell(expansion chamber started to crack when i let it go).Going to the RXwarrior was a major jump(still perfer the RX chassis for hard riding,just can,t jump it as high)Hopefully yamaha has something light for 2014 so i can get my brothers 06Nytro(theres a sled for the air)