2021 Release?

[cannondale27]

Why not just buy a Blast then, instead of paying more for the "looks" of the venom? It's cheaper, and the same sled. Lol.

How do you know what I paid? HA. I have always stated I will pay more for Yamahas warranty of which I used more on my Phazer than Viper by far by the way and not saying I paid more or less than a AC Blast. But I got Blue!

 

[cannondale27]

JHC A TEAM OF VIRTUALLY STOCK SIDEWINDERS JUST CAME IN 2ND IN CAINS QUEST. THEY ALMOST WON. Another Winder team was running in the top 3 for most of the race. Load up your Apexes and give that a try buckaroos. There has been no competitive Japan built sleds since the early SXR days. Thank god I have a Sidewinder with all the combined DNA that has been a freaking blast for 4 seasons with almost nothing wrong related to supposedly inferior CAT DNA. Which BTW includes Yamahas innovation of the most powerful factory snowmachine engine in history. Switches? Paint? The seat covering? The tail light? AYFKM? We, all sledders, are test pilots for all OEMs. So many of the potential foibles of the Winder/Procross are known. Incremental, iterative, improvements in durability are whats needed. And BTW these weakness are exposed and exaggerated because it so fricken easy to turn up the power, not necessarily the DNA. Quality is Free. Take Kingers' advice. Hell, just compensate Travis for his ideas that can be incorporated.

The main 2 things left to be fixed are the shaft spinning and upper gear bushing. My machine will be serviced to catch these things. The price to pay to play. I'm worried a little about the water pump and stator, but lost both of them on past all Yamaha sleds too. C'est la motoneige. That is snowmobiling. Only a lot F-in faster on my Winder.

Right On!

 

[20/80]

He just might, Nah... he's to cheap, I would say a lot of dust flew out of his wallet when opened it up and he forked over the money for a Winder

 

[cannondale27]

You guys sure know how to ruin a party. You win. See ya.

 

[TPAY243]

X2 It's been real it's been fun but it's not been real fun.

 

[Carbide]

This thread might hit 100 pages after all.

 

[stevewithOCD]

OK, i have to talk now.
My brain hurts from all this bi-partisan crap.
I do not currently own a Yamaha snowmobile, but i have been here since 2006 with more Likes than Messages, so i believe i can at least speak, if not sit, at the Roundtable.

There are some people here that like the ALL Japan sled...........................they are missing out on an AMAZING ride with the YamaCat.
There are some people here that have NO problems with their YamaCat & tell us stop "whining" cuz they ALL have problems. They are also missing the point.

I LOVED my Winder & am currently eyeing up some leftovers.
Although this sled is AMAZING, it's faults have been here for a DECADE. It's time to fix it.
I know i'm speaking the truth because the honest Jarret admits they fixed a few issues & are currently addressing the drivetrain" issues".
If there were NO problems, then why are they "addressing" them?

I am not, nor have i been, negative towards this sled or Yamaha for that matter.
This is the only sled i had to rely on aftermarket vendors to keep my sled running. Travis & i are on a first name basis. I think he's naming his grandson after me. If not, he should at least name the new wing i payed for after me.

Unfortunately since i bought the first year model, that learning happened after the fact.
I lost 1000's of miles when broken & worked on this sled FOREVER. My bud re-named his garage Steve River Falls.

I would like to thank Jarret for speaking here.
He seems to calm me which is quite an accomplishment considering i've been compared to a Hummingbird on Crack.
They did fix the skis, the tunnel hoses & the sight glass. Sounds like the chain case is being "addressed"

AND they TOLD us about it, most likely due to JMS, which is more then they've EVER done!

SO IN RETROSPECT: I believe the Cat/Yamaha deal is where the big Y will stay & i'm good with that. Just fix the decade long issues so i can come back!

P.S1: Sorry not much humor today, but i did make a reference to King Arthur's Court & threw a dig at Travis. I'm saving myself for next's week trip to Gaspe.
P.S2: I estimate i lost about 2000 to 4000 miles due to my sled being broken & i did ride 2000 miles on other sleds. That makes about 4000 to 6000 miles of down time. That's more miles then some have in total, so please don't call me a whiner.
P.S3: I'm seriously looking at the 2020 all Red Winder. It's like having that Farrah poster on the wall!
P.S4: Jarret may be too young to know who Farrah was, but i bet his dad knows!

 

[ClutchMaster]

OK, i have to talk now.
My brain hurts from all this bi-partisan crap.
I do not currently own a Yamaha snowmobile, but i have been here since 2006 with more Likes than Messages, so i believe i can at least speak, if not sit, at the Roundtable.

There are some people here that like the ALL Japan sled...........................they are missing out on an AMAZING ride with the YamaCat.
There are some people here that have NO problems with their YamaCat & tell us stop "whining" cuz they ALL have problems. They are also missing the point.

I LOVED my Winder & am currently eyeing up some leftovers.
Although this sled is AMAZING, it's faults have been here for a DECADE. It's time to fix it.
I know i'm speaking the truth because the honest Jarret admits they fixed a few issues & are currently addressing the drivetrain" issues".
If there were NO problems, then why are they "addressing" them?

I am not, nor have i been, negative towards this sled or Yamaha for that matter.
This is the only sled i had to rely on aftermarket vendors to keep my sled running. Travis & i are on a first name basis. I think he's naming his grandson after me. If not, he should at least name the new wing i payed for after me.

Unfortunately since i bought the first year model, that learning happened after the fact.
I lost 1000's of miles when broken & worked on this sled FOREVER. My bud re-named his garage Steve River Falls.

I would like to thank Jarret for speaking here.
He seems to calm me which is quite an accomplishment considering i've been compared to a Hummingbird on Crack.
They did fix the skis, the tunnel hoses & the sight glass. Sounds like the chain case is being "addressed"

AND they TOLD us about it, most likely due to JMS, which is more then they've EVER done!

SO IN RETROSPECT: I believe the Cat/Yamaha deal is where the big Y will stay & i'm good with that. Just fix the decade long issues so i can come back!

P.S1: Sorry not much humor today, but i did make a reference to King Arthur's Court & threw a dig at Travis. I'm saving myself for next's week trip to Gaspe.
P.S2: I estimate i lost about 2000 to 4000 miles due to my sled being broken & i did ride 2000 miles on other sleds. That makes about 4000 to 6000 miles of down time. That's more miles then some have in total, so please don't call me a whiner.
P.S3: I'm seriously looking at the 2020 all Red Winder. It's like having that Farrah poster on the wall!
P.S4: Jarret may be too young to know who Farrah was, but i bet his dad knows!

Absolutely, yes, spot on, what he said, on the nose and unimpeachable!
A perfect ending to a not so perfect thread! Now delete this post and close this dam thing so Mr.Sled can get some rest! I’m sure he’s tired of baby sitting all of us and would like to get some sleep.

PS. he’s the opposite of a bear and hibernates in the summer. I think?

 

[Farmer 73]

Absolutely, yes, spot on, what he said, on the nose and unimpeachable!
A perfect ending to a not so perfect thread! Now delete this post and close this dam thing so Mr.Sled can get some rest! I’m sure he’s tired of baby sitting all of us and would like to get some sleep.

PS. he’s the opposite of a bear and hibernates in the summer. I think?

No I believe he doesn’t go into hibernation because the YXZ is calling!

 

[slimjim2525]

Been a die hard Yamaha rider forever. SRX's of the triple days, 07 Apex, 08 40th anniversary Apex which I still have. 2011 Apex, terminal event in Quebec last year that could not be fixed. I was forced to buy a sidewinder in Quebec to get home. It was the best damn thing that happened to me, now looking in hindsight. Trust me, I defended the Apex to everyone. Always using the reliability argument, which went totally out the window Feb 1st 2019. Now that I have the sidewinder, it's night and day better. The seating ergonomics, no more sore knees and hips. The handling, forget about it. The suspension, what suspension in the apex. Are there some issues that need addressing, sure there are. Thankfully I read a lot, and it's not all porn. So I took the steps needed to make the winder as reliable as possible. When I consider the work, hour for hour between the apex and winder, it's about the same. Got sick of doing exhaust donuts on the apex. The exup valve, this all sucked. Got 7,500 miles in a little over a year on my winder, and it's been nothing but a joy. But really, what did you guys expect from Yamaha. They had an essentially unchanged apex for 12 years. I see tons of winders out there, so people must like them. I don't see poo or doo making wholesale changes to their sleds either.

 

[stevewithOCD]

Been a die hard Yamaha rider forever. SRX's of the triple days, 07 Apex, 08 40th anniversary Apex which I still have. 2011 Apex, terminal event in Quebec last year that could not be fixed. I was forced to buy a sidewinder in Quebec to get home. It was the best damn thing that happened to me, now looking in hindsight. Trust me, I defended the Apex to everyone. Always using the reliability argument, which went totally out the window Feb 1st 2019. Now that I have the sidewinder, it's night and day better. The seating ergonomics, no more sore knees and hips. The handling, forget about it. The suspension, what suspension in the apex. Are there some issues that need addressing, sure there are. Thankfully I read a lot, and it's not all porn. So I took the steps needed to make the winder as reliable as possible. When I consider the work, hour for hour between the apex and winder, it's about the same. Got sick of doing exhaust donuts on the apex. The exup valve, this all sucked. Got 7,500 miles in a little over a year on my winder, and it's been nothing but a joy. But really, what did you guys expect from Yamaha. They had an essentially unchanged apex for 12 years. I see tons of winders out there, so people must like them. I don't see poo or doo making wholesale changes to their sleds either.

There it is.
A die hard old school Yamaha guy that raced Yamaha dirt bikes i think back in the 70's.
Thousands of happy miles on the Apex that he thought was the best UNTIL he rode the Sidewinder.
Now he won't go back!

I must point out that the Apex that broke in Quebec that he traded in also had 40,000 miles on it.
Also, the day i met the SKINNYJIM, he had his Winder apart & was replacing a completely SHOT top gear with less then 4000 miles on it.
Thanks to this site, he caught it!

 

[Tony S.]

JHC A TEAM OF VIRTUALLY STOCK SIDEWINDERS JUST CAME IN 2ND IN CAINS QUEST. THEY ALMOST WON. Another Winder team was running in the top 3 for most of the race. Load up your Apexes and give that a try buckaroos. There has been no competitive Japan built sleds since the early SXR days. Thank god I have a Sidewinder with all the combined DNA that has been a freaking blast for 4 seasons with almost nothing wrong related to supposedly inferior CAT DNA. Which BTW includes Yamahas innovation of the most powerful factory snowmachine engine in history. Switches? Paint? The seat covering? The tail light? AYFKM? We, all sledders, are test pilots for all OEMs. So many of the potential foibles of the Winder/Procross are known. Incremental, iterative, improvements in durability are whats needed. And BTW these weakness are exposed and exaggerated because it so fricken easy to turn up the power, not necessarily the DNA. Quality is Free. Take Kingers' advice. Hell, just compensate Travis for his ideas that can be incorporated.

The main 2 things left to be fixed are the shaft spinning and upper gear bushing. My machine will be serviced to catch these things. The price to pay to play. I'm worried a little about the water pump and stator, but lost both of them on past all Yamaha sleds too. C'est la motoneige. That is snowmobiling. Only a lot F-in faster on my Winder.

Actually I’m not kidding. No one wants to see cheap finishing and parts for that price. And for the number of sleds in circulation and the age, the rate of mechanical issues is higher than previous Japan sleds (according to my dealer). And SW is way overpriced.

No doubt it’s good, but screams of not being Yamahas best effort.

I think that’s the point of frustration.

 

[03RX1-ER-LE]

I spent the last week riding the UP from the Soo to Muni to Marqutte, Grand Marais to Manistique (800 miles) and I know we had a TY event on the weekend with Yamaha's in the Muni area for that, but I will say in other areas not affected by the TY event there were a $hit load of Yamaha sleds everywhere in the UP.
Seems like every other sled was a SW, on trail or at hotels fuel stops etc. I seen several sleds towed, NOT a Yamaha (well 1 Nytro that blew a track which was his own fault).
Lots and lots of Apex's and Vipers (old and new) also seen Nytros and Vectors which were also very plentiful, along with several SXR, SRX, Phazers, Vmax and Ventures.
If you look at sleds for sale this week, CL is full of the end of season sellers and the least amount for sale is Yamaha, lots of DOO and POO as well as AC models without Yamaha motors.
This new Top Gear that is available (from Hurricane Performance) looks like might be the fix for the procross chain case and the BOP shim for the driveshaft bearing among other fixes are working so looks like most SW issues are resolved. I love my Apex's but I had exhaust issues twice this year on the 09 that are now resolved once and for all with the RX stainless pipes, and lubing the chassis bearings every season I have 6k on each of my sleds with all OEM bearings and belts.
*****Please read the following closely*****
If we keep up this bashing/crying and loose support for this website, and it goes away which it could, there will be a ton of information lost that we and future Yamaha owners have really benefited from.
Go troll around on other sites, there are issues with their sleds, it is not all puppy dog kisses there.
Tuesday there was a guy in Brimley trying unload his 2019 POO with 250 miles and it was spiting and backfiring and throwing codes, said he traveled here from mid Ohio to be screwed the second time as this has happened a few weeks ago and was told it was fixed.
******I think 2021 release was a huge diversified lineup of sled offering as requested by members on this site.*****
Were they all pure Yamaha, well no but I think they do have input to what is happening, especially the last few years.

 

[03RX1-ER-LE]

There it is.
A die hard old school Yamaha guy that raced Yamaha dirt bikes i think back in the 70's.
Thousands of happy miles on the Apex that he thought was the best UNTIL he rode the Sidewinder.
Now he won't go back!

I must point out that the Apex that broke in Quebec that he traded in also had 40,000 miles on it.
Also, the day i met the SKINNYJIM, he had his Winder apart & was replacing a completely SHOT top gear with less then 4000 miles on it.
Thanks to this site, he caught it!

Looks like new top gear testing complete from Hurricane Performance and ready for sale.

 

[Vmaxkid]

I am the only one left in my group of riders that owns a Yamaha. Everyone else either have been diehard SkiDoo owners or have switched from Yamaha to SkiDoo. It was the reliability, fit and finish as to why I’ve been a buyer of Yamaha for so very long. My 2011 Apex XTX I owned for about 5k miles. During that time I did routine maintenance and the only preventative repairs I made related to reinforcing the tunnel protector brackets and adding the red relay. That’s it. 5k flawless miles and never worried when in a remote area. My Sidewinder had less than 500 miles on it when I bought it. In an additional 500 miles that I rode it, it leaked oil as the seal at the oil tank failed due to the BOV freezing, upon opening up the Chaincase the bolts on the tensioner wheel already were backing out so I had them tack welded. I don’t know if I have bearings that are failing or if the driveshaft is not holding the brake side bearing properly. I ride in Quebec a few times a season where we do 1500 saddlebag miles in a week. I’ve only been stranded once on a Yamaha (Nytro with a starter that stuck on) and until heated up I’ve had frozen relays on RX1s but those didn’t leave me in the woods. I’d say my record for the most part has been fantastic owning Yamahas for the past 20 some years. But I can’t help but worry when I’m 8 hours from a vehicle on a saddlebag trip that my driveshaft or Chaincase will grenade and I’ll be towed by my buddies laughing the whole way and then stranded for the rest of my trip. I do have YES coverage until 2024 but what good is that going to do me when I’m far from home and parts aren’t in stock? I hear everyone who is concerned. We all should be. We all know the issues thanks to this forum. Some are minor, some are major.
As I’ve said before how about acknowledging and fixing these issues Yamaha on sleds you want to charge over $17k? “We are working on it?” What’s to work on? You’ve been building production snowmobiles since 1968. I’d say you should be able to quickly and publicly acknowledge there is a fix for the issues at no cost to your loyal consumers during the off season so machines are not tied up during the season. I’d say if you did that then a lot of people b!tching on this forum, including myself would be a lot happier. And as others have said would restore some faith in wanting to own a Yamaha.
How about a clear answer to this -there may or may not be a fix for the blow off valve problem on 2019 and older sleds but we are not clear if Yamaha will pay to fix the issue or not. There’s a kit available 90891-50166-00 but do we have to pay for it as some already have or will Yamaha pay to fix the issue so oil doesn’t leak all over my garage floor? I haven’t received any kind of recall notice about this.
To those saying BOP and Hurricane have fixes for a lot of these issues I say why would I need to go out and buy their products after spending so much for the sled to begin with? I appreciate they can come up with fixes but why do I need to shell out more money to fix known problems?

If you went out and spent $40k on a new pick up and were told about problems say GM had with the truck.. would you be adding aftermarket fixes on top of the $40k you just paid for that truck? And either paying someone or turning the wrench yourself? I’d say F that and park the truck in front of the service doors at the dealer and say FIX IT! And fix it right.
I’ve read every post on this subject. Yes would we like to see the things polaris and SkiDoo are innovating? Absolutely. The digital gauge pod introduced on the Viper in 2014 which was revolutionary doesn’t cut it in 2021 when the others have color displays with gps built into them. Having Yamaha luggage instead of us adapting Linq stuff. Yes it’s embarrassing when we hype up Yamaha to our friends who do nothing but belittle that we still own Yamahas. But when we are carrying parts from other sleds, it is embarrassing Yamaha couldn’t innovate something that simple. Not to mention the revenue they’d earn from the stuff. SkiDoo accessories cross over to their other divisions ie the bags and fuel caddy work on snowmobiles and pwc products . Yamaha has these same divisions. I believe it’s things like this we are all looking for.