This is the time of year...every year for the past 10 years...where I come back here to this site wishing and hoping that Yamaha would pull out of their tail spin and come up with something other than the trillion pound tank they call the Apex. I may even be called a "troll" here these days for all the disdain I spew on Yamaha snowmobiles. But I am not a troll because that may imply that there is actually something that Yamaha is doing that would warrant me to come here and stir pot. Seriously....some of you die hards might almost be better going on wheeler forums and defending the benefits of 1983 three-wheelers over modern day ATV's than you can do fighting for these Yamaha sleds. No motor sport industry sector has been abandon so badly as Yamaha has done to sleds since the law forced the outlaw of three wheelers. In my mind (and MANY others)...it's that bad. At least three wheelers had some genuine performance aspects you could get behind. Like.....(get ready for it...deep stuff here).....LIGHT WEIGHT and FUN FACTOR!
But, the dirty little secret here is that somewhere way down deep in my heart, I am a Yamaha sled man because I grew up strictly on Yamaha sleds. Back in the hay day. When they built sleds FOR SLEDDERS and not for themselves and whatever allows them to do the least amount of R&D and cost while they cater to 50 million Chinese riding mopeds in one single city....I used to love Yamaha sleds. Had posters on my wall. Had the hats and jackets. Argued about PERFORMANCE supremacy with my buds. These days...you guys sit around here and try once again to desperately find another reason why these out dated tanks are still okay. Well....they are not. It's as simple as that. Not even in the reliability department anymore. They are all just out dated tanks. Maybe someday Yamaha will listen to sledders other than the brand loyal sheep that you find still defending Yamaha on the internet.
And I say to Yamaha this...as hard as this post is on you...it is deserved. But you still have a place in the sled world. You still have a place in my heart. It's a old rotten faded place in my heart, but still there. And it's there with other sledders too. But you can't fake it. You need to build a genuine performance sled that doesn't try to market bullshiite down our throats on why your sled that weighs 100 lbs more than your competition is better. It is not. PERIOD. End of story. Put in a genuine effort at building what you already know we want. And if you do...I will be there to buy again. But your competitors are leaving you in the dust big time. I bought a Polaris Axys this year and my mind is blown by how much fun it is. I never knew sleds could be this much fun. It's got everything you don't. Light weight. Responsive chassis. Fun factor is off the charts. WHY CANT YOU DO THIS YAMAHA?????!!!!!!!
Yamaha...My nostalgic snowmobile heart continues to be ripped from my chest by you...
