2025 Yamaha sled release

[RAMSOMAIR]

Sleds are on the way out, look at the winters shorter and shorter. Yamaha just ended it first

 

[gamemaster]

You do make some good points. But I see the cat atvs and Tracker Off Road(bass pros atvs) as competitors. There are alot more bass pros and cabelas around than cat dealers. All those car companies work all the time together. Some disappear, but new ones are always appearing. I have to look into it farther, but many car companies are teaming up together to work on electrical cars. And yes I would prefer an all yamaha sled, but I would rather have yamacats than no yamaha snowmobiles.

When textron bought cat, they bought it to have production capacity. They needed the capacity in order to bid on a government project. I found this before online. They bought cat, and shortly later put in a bid. They didn't win the bid though. So maybe textron only cares about keeping the plant producing?

 

[yamajammer76]

Sleds are on the way out, look at the winters shorter and shorter. Yamaha just ended it first

Best winter in the Black Hills we've had in years and years. I just got in from an awesome ride today. I even managed to get my Viper buried. lol

 

[Stubbs]

Seriously?

At least the poll has some intelligent questions…….

 

[captainruss99]

I would assume, not being an engineer, that there would be more to dropping a SXS engine in a sled, than just dropping it in and hooking it up. Sleds run at such a constant high rpm, that you would need a real engine company, such as Yamaha to get it right. Their decades of experience are hard to beat. Imagine introducing a new engine platform, by a less experienced company, and have it fail? Cat needs Yamaha to supply them with 4 strokes. Now does Cat still want to offer 4 strokes in the future? Is it even possible to shoehorn one into the Catalyst? Just thinking out loud, here.

 

[yamajammer76]

I would assume, not being an engineer, that there would be more to dropping a SXS engine in a sled, than just dropping it in and hooking it up. Sleds run at such a constant high rpm, that you would need a real engine company, such as Yamaha to get it right. Their decades of experience are hard to beat. Imagine introducing a new engine platform, by a less experienced company, and have it fail? Cat needs Yamaha to supply them with 4 strokes. Now does Cat still want to offer 4 strokes in the future? Is it even possible to shoehorn one into the Catalyst? Just thinking out loud, here.

Cat is now and has always been a sled manufacturer that offers a 4 stroke option. They did with Suzuki before the Yamaha partnership. They are not going 2 stroke only when both Ski-doo and Polaris now have 4 stroke options. The Yamaha 4 stroke is something they have been proud to offer their customers for the past 10 years. Honestly I don't see them walking away from that. If they and Yamaha want it it'll show up in a future Catalyst variant. The Catalyst will need to be re-engineered and a wider variant will need to be offered to accommodate the 998 turbo and 1049 NA. It can be done. Anything like this can be done, however Yamaha is going to have to sign a long term commitment and put down some cash to make it happen.

I've heard a lot of good stuff about the Catalyst. If it can be adopted to Yamaha 4 strokes it'll be a hit. Lots of "ifs" for sure. We won't know for awhile.

 

[bleedyamaha]

When I can take my 2017 to my local dealer and trade for a new 4 stroke on the floor and agree on a price close to a 2017 I would buy one up. Ha ha!

 

[Fast Lane]

I would be interested in a Yamaha powered Catalyst. It’s a sharp looking sled. Everyone is belly aching that it’s only coming with a 600 but I would be fine with that power. I just would rather ride a 4 stroke. 1049 would be fine if it ran a Japanese ecm. A snowmobile is useless if it won’t start in the cold. Toss on some Fox QS3’s. A Yamaha instrument cluster. That would be a sweet ride in my books.

 

[srx700lt]

I talked to a AC dealer and they have had a meeting with Troy Halvorsen when they introduced the Catalyst to the scandinavian dealers. One question that came up is the relationship between AC and Yamaha. And according to Troy it realy doesn't matter if it says AC or Yamaha och the sticker just as long as they move units out of the factory.
Take it for what it's worth but that is what he said.

 

[VK540V]

I talked to a AC dealer and they have had a meeting with Troy Halvorsen when they introduced the Catalyst to the scandinavian dealers. One question that came up is the relationship between AC and Yamaha. And according to Troy it realy doesn't matter if it says AC or Yamaha och the sticker just as long as they move units out of the factory.
Take it for what it's worth but that is what he said.

That’s interesting! Unfortunately Yamaha seems to have regulated itself into a reseller of Arctic Cats. But, I mean, that’s cool… we’ve got small, independent grocery stores in our area that resell Costco products. I can buy a case of Kirkland toilet paper or paper towels for more money at the independent grocery store. Costco isn’t close by so at least I can buy in bulk. We have way more Yamaha dealers in my state that AC dealers. I guess this is the Textron way, copy Costco?

 

[74Nitro]

Sleds are on the way out, look at the winters shorter and shorter. Yamaha just ended it first

The "prediction" is 1-2 degrees over the next century and winters are over....?

 

[jonlafon1]

Sleds are on the way out, look at the winters shorter and shorter. Yamaha just ended it first

I hate to say I agree but this IS REALITY. Only a matter of time before lots just give it up due to winter not being winters of past.. I think this is a major factor in the near future

 

[earthling]

The "prediction" is 1-2 degrees over the next century and winters are over....?

The 1-2 degree rise is not a linear rise. I think the climate scientists or media outlets probably are doing themselves a disservice talking about it this way as it doesn't tell the real story. The reality is a more general variability in weather with the average rise of 1-2 degrees over time. There will be less consistent weather and extremes on both sides but the general macrotrend will be a rise. We will just have to wait and see how it plays out, some locations may get more snow than ever, others will have variable winters that alternate between snow and melt during the season.

 

[74Nitro]

I hate to say I agree but this IS REALITY. Only a matter of time before lots just give it up due to winter not being winters of past.. I think this is a major factor in the near future

While there may be some truth to that, there are other factors at play.
Sure, we can look at the seventies and say those were great winters.
What else has changed since the seventies? Lifestyles and the higher standard of living that today's society demands. That's liesure and snowmobiling falls into that category.
If Yamaha and/or Cat *wanted* to be number one in sales again in sleds, they could be.
The market is there for the taking. But they have to WANT it.

 

[jonlafon1]

While there may be some truth to that, there are other factors at play.
Sure, we can look at the seventies and say those were great winters.
What else has changed since the seventies? Lifestyles and the higher standard of living that today's society demands. That's liesure and snowmobiling falls into that category.
If Yamaha and/or Cat *wanted* to be number one in sales again in sleds, they could be.
The market is there for the taking. But they have to WANT it.

For sure.. Im not saying its over in "X" amount of years but we will slowly see attrition as people just give up and we have more and more sleds crammed into smaller areas where the snow is. Have seen some change in only 8 years of owning a cabin in the UP snowbelt. Granted this area is always going to be a hotbed for sledding but rains, southwest winds, and traffic are changing the snowmobile landscape in this area. Guess we better enjoy it while it lasts!