ANOTHER Sidewinder Bent Tunnel

[TurboAddict]

Bought my XTX exactly a month ago, have done 3 good weekends of riding and put on roughly 800 miles. Had my first service done friday, went for a ride saturday, came home to my tunnel buckling in the centre and the rear of the rail pulling out.

I have not rode this nearly as hard as any of my previous sleds as I was still in break in and I am hesitant being a $20k sled...

Dealer tried to put it through warranty as they are just as miffed about this. No sign of damage anywhere, I live in Ontario so only groomed trails here. Needless to say they denied it, now I am dealing with Yamaha Customer Care... I was brand loyal to Polaris for 10 years, fell in love with the turbo and jumped ship... wishing I never stepped foot in that dealer. The sled will be fixed regardless, and sold. I will get out of this disaster of a sled as quickly as I got into it. Sad to think my $9k 2014 Indy tin foil tunnel held up to 12k miles of my abuse and a few "mishaps", the $20k winder lasted 800 miles.

 

[yamahaguy]

Can you post a picture of where its buckling at ?

 

[TurboAddict]

Having a hard time due to the file size.

 

[yamahaguy]

Just change the resolution of your camera or download " Picture resize Pro " From Google Play store for free, it's super easy to resize any picture in your gallery or album to 640×480.

 

[Finesy]

What the....??
Wow!

 

[kinger]

Is the TQ twisting the sled and bending it? I would love to see a picture as well.

 

[yamahaguy]

Is the TQ twisting the sled and bending it? I would love to see a picture as well.

Agreed, Lets see some pictures.

 

[Brian 2017 Sidewinder]

Bought my XTX exactly a month ago, have done 3 good weekends of riding and put on roughly 800 miles. Had my first service done friday, went for a ride saturday, came home to my tunnel buckling in the centre and the rear of the rail pulling out.

I have not rode this nearly as hard as any of my previous sleds as I was still in break in and I am hesitant being a $20k sled...

Dealer tried to put it through warranty as they are just as miffed about this. No sign of damage anywhere, I live in Ontario so only groomed trails here. Needless to say they denied it, now I am dealing with Yamaha Customer Care... I was brand loyal to Polaris for 10 years, fell in love with the turbo and jumped ship... wishing I never stepped foot in that dealer. The sled will be fixed regardless, and sold. I will get out of this disaster of a sled as quickly as I got into it. Sad to think my $9k 2014 Indy tin foil tunnel held up to 12k miles of my abuse and a few "mishaps", the $20k winder lasted 800 miles.

I'm having tunnel issues also... Tunnel is flexing/bending on the side near the end/back of the running boards. An Arctic Cat dealer in Hearst, Ontario (Yamaha dealer knew nothing of this) told me its a common problem on the Sidewinder/Thundercat and its due to ice buildup and a weaker bumper on the XTX models. The LTX model is a solid tube bumper vs the XTX which is open the last six inches. He is replacing all of them with the tow bumper which is a square tubing/steal pull bumper. Apparently it helps reinforce the side of the tunnel holding it in. He also told me to carry a rubber mallet to knock the ice out. My bumper is bent the last six inches and it also broke the gusset for the running boards to the upper part of the tunnel and bent one other brace due to the tunnel being pushed out. I have owned a lot of Yamaha sleds and haven't had to carry a hammer until paying 15k+.. I'm done until Yamaha parts ways with Arctic Cat if this isn't covered under warranty!!! I have treated this sled better than any other sled I've owned (due to price) and shouldn't have to pay for a repair due to a bad design. Its also embarrassing to be the guy in a group that does everything to make his sled reliable while other guys don't maintain their sled and have no problems on a 1,400 mile ride. The Arctic Cat dealer also told me the manufacturer is well aware of the problem but are insisting its a maintenance issue. Its so common at this dealer that he knew exactly what was wrong with my sled before he even walked out to look at it.

 

[yamahaguy]

Anyone have a picture of this?

 

[Brian 2017 Sidewinder]

Orange highlighted area is pushed out and green area is damage from tunnel pushing out.

 

[TurboAddict]

additional photo of broken gusset due to tunnel pushing out.

Brian this is the identical issue mine has. Pics look the same, and sounds like we treated our sleds the same. Have you opened a case with Yamaha about this? Which dealer did you use and are you having any luck? Already been a week and I have heard nothing from my dealer.

 

[Brian 2017 Sidewinder]

I called my dealer in East Jordan, Michigan and they talked to their rep who told them to submit it. No promises but he is hoping to get it covered. The only issue is my dealer is 4 hrs from my house so its going to be a week or so before I get it in.

 

[yamahaguy]

I called my dealer in East Jordan, Michigan and they talked to their rep who told them to submit it. No promises but he is hoping to get it covered. The only issue is my dealer is 4 hrs from my house so its going to be a week or so before I get it in.

They are the best dealer in my opinion. Randy will go the extra mile for you.

 

[Brian 2017 Sidewinder]

I couldn't agree with you more! Good honest people who do a great job representing Yamaha. Only wish I still lived in Elmira!!

 

[rbell14]

No reason this should not be covered, seems it's just gonna take some arguing which stinks.