2016 RUMORS.......

[wavemaster]

I am a huge yamaha fan. I own sleds, wanverunner, Rhino, dirtbikes etc etc. I can tell you this...If they do not come out with a PURE Yamaha sled next year, I'm buying an Axys!!! Love our Vector GT...Awesome ride for long hauls...Have a Nytro RTX that I am selling and looking at replacements now. For 2015 I think Axys is the ride! (as much as it pains me to say...) Give me something with Apex power, in an ALL NEW Yamaha frame that is light, and I'm sold. I don;t want to wait until 2018 : (

LOL - I WAS a huge fan of polaris. Quads, RZR, sleds etc. They have become a multi-billion dollar corporation that builds junk, and REALLY hates to fix/warranty anything. RZR - bushings every two hundred miles, brakes every hundred, cracks on every weld - sold the RZR with 750 miles on it and it looked like the old Rhino with over 3000 on it. It had a repairs list a mile long, literally pages of crap that was fixed. Same but worse with the 2011 850XP, we spent so much money trying to keep it running and repaired we never got the chance to spend on any upgrades. No matter what it was polaris always had some reason not to cover it. A dealer we have purchased a lot from, in their words it was polaris not covering it, not the dealer, he was actually quite adamant that they liked the service work and was not in business to turn it away.

It has been a while since I have owned one of their sleds however two more recent guys in our group had the misfortunes to purchase new polaris rush sleds in the recent past and it appears their new profit/corporation first - dealer/customer and warranty last business model now expands to every division. They each had a bunch of differing issues (one went through 3 motors in under 4000 miles).

If you do switch to a poopoo I hope you get the rare gem that can hold itself together and not require anything from them before you have sell it and when you do sell it (and you will) you don't take a beating on the resale value. For us up here the snowmobile season is so short, gambling on weeks of repairs on my sled is something I wouldn't do.

 

[Sully]

Yep...I hear you. So what do I buy? Every Yamaha toy I've owned has run flawlessly. That's why I buy them, but I'm not sold on the Viper. Motor, yes. ALL Yamaha. Maybe with some trail time, I'd learn to love the Viper. I want a "new" Apex and my fear is that they are going to take the Viper frame, dump a turbo on it and call it Apex...Arctic Scrap have the poorest build quality of them all....and they NOW MANUFACTURE our Yamahas' BRUTAL!!! Torn......... Honestly, I would spend $20k if that meant having a PURE, feature rich Yamaha power sled with the same build quality that I have in the Vector.

 

[wavemaster]

I personally have a 2007 Phazer, a 2009 NytroXTX and a new Viper. I would ride my Nytro for another 20 years if poopoo was the only other choice. Looking at something else I guess I would have to give the doo 1200 or ac 1100 turbo a look. What kind of riding do you do most?

 

[Sully]

Apex kinda riding 50% of the time (destination riding - 2-5 days trips), 50% day trips. So I have the Vector GT for long hauls and bought the RTX for rough local trails. Looking for best of both and having a hard time finding it...If I didn't think they were going to drop the Apex, I would probably buy an SE. But it's long in the tooth...Hoping that 2016 gives us something new. That said, I have never been on a Viper. I ride pretty aggressively, so first thought was Viper LTX or RTX SE (I ride 95% on groomed trails). There is a dealer locally selling a couple of LE's with the upgraded floats...just having a hard time getting past AC build....out of 10, how would you rate the viper compared to the nytro?

 

[wavemaster]

Unfortunately, all my viper miles have been in the shop, it is new this season. Good for the sled that I got it early and have had plenty of time to add goodies to it, but bad for the budget - lol.

My primary decision came from TY!!!!!! As well as seeing a pile of youtube videos on it. A ton of the videos are from the industry and offer little in the way of "actual" review. It is unfortunate that with only 4 manufacturers none of the sled publications or industry insiders can really afford to talk bad about any of them (fear of losing any advertisers) so you end up with a ton of what's good articles and little of what is actually bad. User reviews tend to be a lot more unabashed and honest and those run the range from good to bad for sure. Users from here are the best because they are hard core to begin with and discuss and deal with all the problems as well. So I came to the Viper knowing of possible issues and having my eyes wide open.

Knowing how I have loved the NytroXTX I can't imagine not loving the new Viper. Pride in ownership yes, but just sitting on it feels right.

My buddy bought a Apex XTX with the power steering last year and I have to say it is the finest trail sled I have ever ridden. He put the Simmons Gen3 skis on it and it rails. The power steering is hard to beat. So if I was looking for mostly trail with a little off trail thrown in I would go that route in a heartbeat.

 

[sheetwright]

Well being that the Arctic cat turbo engineers came by to pickup a few 7000's from the factory to tinker on a couple months ago, it makes me think they will have a factory turbo to replace their Suzuki model now. They get a better overall deal from Yamaha, then Suzuki is what I was told. It also simplifies the assembly, instead of two different engines going through the plant etc. All in all leading to the Cat/Yamaha purchase agreement maybe happening. If Yamaha was smart they would have the 185HP boosted Nytro motor, the new phazer in the lighter Cat chassis and a 100hp motor, and a Yamaha direct injection 2-stroke to truly compete in the mountains, and off trail territory. That will make them well rounded to kick Doo right in the jaw. Think about it. Cat has a brand new plant, a young following, race exposure, but can't get past the quality issues, and their poor summer toy lineup. All of which works right into Yamahas hands. They can get around costly shipping, and tax issues. They can buy them, their plant, and line of products cheaper than reinventing the wheel. All while adding quality, and a good line of non summer toys to their combined product line. Who needs c-tec when you can have Yamaha direct injection technology in the 800 motor? Who needs the Suzuki 9000 platform, when you can boost the Nytro motor? Who need the crappy old 1100 cat when you can get a 100hp Yamaha motor in their chassis for a Phazer? Never know....... Or maybe this Arctic cat thing was just something for Yamaha to gain time. Time to spend costly engineering dollars to come up with a new Japanese lineup. Doubt it... LOL

 

[Sully]

The economics make sense. I agree, however, my fear is that we will lose the build quality that has kept me a Yamaha owner for years. I've turned a blind eye to the weight, handling and cost shortcomings that have come with many of my Yamaha toys. I have continued to buy because EVERY time I want to use my Yamaha Sled (4strk & 2 strk), Wanverunner, Rhino, WR, YZ they work. I've never been let down. And when you park an Apex / Vector etc. next to the other manufacturers on the snow, they just look well built. If an AC acquisition happens, resale will drop to Polaris standards, build quality will suffer, fit and finish will suffer (ie: Apex vs Viper). I hope I'm wrong...

 

[Cubby]

I bought my Yamaha for the motor. Reliability was the #1 requirement on my list and it has never let me down (except when the starter relay froze one very cold night). I have worked on new Arctic Cat and Skidoo sleds and Yamaha's quality is head and shoulders above those (Cat is the bottom of the heap in quality based on my experience). I think off-shore manufacturing is hurting Yamaha. Too expensive to build in Japan and ship to North America. It would be hugely expensive to build a factory - a buy-out of an existing manufacturer would make sense financially and speed to market wise. It will take a while to bring the plant up to Yamaha quality but it is doable.

 

[yukon yamaha]

the biggest thing for me is the power plant, I don't mind a mixed yamacat or anything else that comes my way, with two companies building a machine parts are less, easier to find, more aftermarket options ect. The ONLY thing I care about with a mix breed sled is...... The engine and clutching must be YAMAHA!!! After owning a viper I am more open to joint ventures, huge fan of the viper even being a true blue man since 2008. (still work at a dealership)

 

[Nytros rule]

IMHO the sled most in need of a replacement is the RX1, it's been around a long time. It's had upgrades, it got fuel injection and a name change in 06 and EPS and EXUP in 11 and now performance damper, but it is still an RX1, it's time the flagship was that again.
As for the people that want a cheap entry level sled the only way that can happen is to continue the Phazer.
For those of you who don't understand Economics of manufacturing, R&D of a new motor and chassis, building tooling and assembly lines to produce that product, crateing and shipping, marketing and everything else that goes with cost pretty much the same for entry level or flag ship so give the people that want the big dog a new BIG DOG.

 

[Nytros rule]

The economics make sense. I agree, however, my fear is that we will lose the build quality that has kept me a Yamaha owner for years. I've turned a blind eye to the weight, handling and cost shortcomings that have come with many of my Yamaha toys. I have continued to buy because EVERY time I want to use my Yamaha Sled (4strk & 2 strk), Wanverunner, Rhino, WR, YZ they work. I've never been let down. And when you park an Apex / Vector etc. next to the other manufacturers on the snow, they just look well built. If an AC acquisition happens, resale will drop to Polaris standards, build quality will suffer, fit and finish will suffer (ie: Apex vs Viper). I hope I'm wrong...

I hope you are wrong as well.
I have talked to Cat/Yamaha dealers as well as Cat dealers that have both said Cats overall quality has improved since Yamaha has been there.
As far as Cat before Yamaha.
Since their engine redesign for 03 model year they have had by far the most reliable 2 smoke on the market and their fit and finish has been on par with Doo and (much) better than Poo.
The new chassis (2012 release) has had major issues with belt life, (that includes all not just 1100's) but has been very good other than that
I had faith that Yamaha would not let me down in this venture and replaced my wife's Rage with a new Viper XTX last year and she loved it.
Ride and handling have been great for her (she weighs 102 lbs in full gear) and she can ride off trail finally.
Fuel milage has been better than her Rage and much better than my Nytro.
She only made 1900 K but it's only issue has been a hot start code issue once.
The machine has been good enough to make me replace Nytro with an other Viper XTX.
I will end with, I have been rideing since 1969 and rideing Yamaha since 1973 and if my only option was Polaris, w e l l I quess it's time for SNOW SHOES.

 

[Yammie4life]

Was told going to be a multi purpose, Like a 4 stroke Bravo type sled.

 

[newfie09xtx]

It seems to me like a lot of people are holding their breath for something new from Yamaha. Not to be Mr negative but I think you will be hugely disappointed. I predict a buy out of Arctic cat and they will stop making sleds. the sled market is the smallest of their products and this would allow them to concentrate more on their money maker products aka motorcycles.

I hope this doesnt happen but it kinda looks that way to me.

 

[Jonesynl]

It seems to me like a lot of people are holding their breath for something new from Yamaha. Not to be Mr negative but I think you will be hugely disappointed. I predict a buy out of Arctic cat and they will stop making sleds. the sled market is the smallest of their products and this would allow them to concentrate more on their money maker products aka motorcycles.

I hope this doesnt happen but it kinda looks that way to me.

Fellow Newfie lol ^

 

[newfie09xtx]

Fellow Newfie lol ^

There is a few of us on here!