Demo Rides? What a let down!

[cannondale27]

Sorry your Demo ride didnt go well.Not going to make excuses for that it shouldnt have happened.Lots of others have had great demo rides so something must have gone wrong at yours.Shame.

So you liked the ride of the 141" did you try the 129"?
So if you could have asked more questions what would you have asked?
How did it compare to your Modified Nytro?
Why is the Chassis Mediocre like you said?
I too hope they have fit and finish right but honestly I would be happy with cats fit and finish of the bodywork at least.Is Yamahas worse than current cats?

You used the example of feeling like 2nd grader who missed the bus.That 2nd grader feels like that because they WANT to get on the bus but it drove away.Dont let the bus drive away man run after it!

 

[lukesju]

Sorry your Demo ride didnt go well.Not going to make excuses for that it shouldnt have happened.Lots of others have had great demo rides so something must have gone wrong at yours.Shame.

So you liked the ride of the 141" did you try the 129"?
So if you could have asked more questions what would you have asked?
How did it compare to your Modified Nytro?
Why is the Chassis Mediocre like you said?
I too hope they have fit and finish right but honestly I would be happy with cats fit and finish of the bodywork at least.Is Yamahas worse than current cats?

You used the example of feeling like 2nd grader who missed the bus.That 2nd grader feels like that because they WANT to get on the bus but it drove away.Dont let the bus drive away man run after it!

I rode both the 141" and 129". The longer track was definitly nicer in the big bumps and didn't seem too much longer than the short track. After the ride I have been considering turning my rtx se in the xtx se.

I would have liked to know more information about production, performance changes, and different accessories. I'm sure that day I have much more specific questions. I know I can come one TY and get answers but I really like hearing it directly from the manufactuer.

As far as perfomance, my nytro would walk on that viper hands down. My nytro has so much more pull in every RPM range. Even a stock nytro seems a lot quicker and snappier than the Viper. It dissapoints me that Yamaha would release a sled and have demo rides if the perfomance wasn't up to snuff and still needed a good deal of tuning. It's a big reason I was dissapointed with Yamaha demo rides. It seems to me you would want those sleds tuned in perfectly before the consumer had a chance to ride it. Perfomance sells.

I feel the chassis needs to be stiffened up in a few areas to make it stronger. I felt like there was a lot of flexing during my ride. It seemed like the sleds were ridden pretty hard to that point. I liked the seat but I didn't care for the way my knees kept hitting the plastic side pieces. I felt that after afew good hard winters of riding those flimsy plastic pieces would need to be replaced because they don't seem too durable.

The fit and finish of a Yamaha is unlike any sled on the market today right down to the reusable zip ties! There's a certain standard of excellence Yamaha has set and it sure would be a shame to loose it!

I am a die hard Yamaha supporter! I love what they have done in the past but this move worries me. I guess time will answer all of my questions.

It seems that why buy a Yamaha when Cat has the same thing just a lot better upgraded options? My final question is this; besides the belt issue, why wouldn't you just buy a F1100 Turbo RR? It can easily be a 200hp sled running on pump gas with the best stock shock package on the market? I think Yamaha is going to have to step up their game if they are going to compete with "partner."

 

[actionjack]

I posted this in another thread. The guys at my dealer are serious about riding and performance. One of them rides a very trick turbo Apex. They love the Viper and accepted the lower level of refinement of the prototypes confident that the production run will impress. Because of their multi year familiarity with the motor they are sure they will have the Viper outrunning Nytros. For now that's enough for me but I want to see how the first year goes.

 

[Yamacat21]

They didn't build the demo sleds for the %10 of guys who are just there to pick them apart. They built them for the %90 there to give it a fare shake and possibly buy one knowing that these were one offs not production sleds. As far as why I won't buy a 1100 turbo. Belts and price, that's it!

 

[snoway]

It seems to me we all should be entitled to our opinions as long as there are no personal attacks, yet the few that are free thinking enough to say what they experienced at the demo rides face tremendous scrutiny that borders on ridicule.

To me the demo version of the new vipercat was as thrilling as a Vector minus a few pounds and HP.

For those of you that say you love it yet are wishin and hoping the production model is a step up, good luck.

 

[Clubin]

I wish we had the opportunity to ride one here in Canada but we were not. I have one coming anyway.

 

[lukesju]

They didn't build the demo sleds for the %10 of guys who are just there to pick them apart. They built them for the %90 there to give it a fare shake and possibly buy one knowing that these were one offs not production sleds. As far as why I won't buy a 1100 turbo. Belts and price, that's it!

Honestly, this whole post isn't even about picking apart the Viper. It's more about Yamaha not having their sh*t together for the demo rides. Demo rides are supposed to be informative and get people excited about their new products.

 

[yamahahaapex]

ill say this, its not a trail sled as i found my shins against the panels hard. i like the standup stance you get but till i get a ride on one i didnt end up ordering one since it wasnt all that impressive although i am intrigued on the new chassis whether or not it will hold up to some medium jumps with the yamaha weight on it.

Im pretty close to moving from my apex and Im leaning more towards the nytro since a couple add ons here and there would get it close to running long distance. But then thinking about all these new models that may be coming out in the next while is making me wait till the dust settles.

If i was to book one for next fall it would be a '13-'14 nytro xtx. I find it hard to believe that many vipers have been ordered but i guess time will tell next year.

 

[Tyloooor]

At least you got to try....When the demo rides came here, they had one viper xtx and no one rode it.....kind of a piss off

 

[yamahas]

It is unfortunate that the demo was not a good experience.

I think it is important to have someone that is knowledgeable on the product you are showing off.

The private demo I was on was extremely informative. It was a small group (3) with 2 reps and we got a little presentation about the Viper. The entire day felt like a 2 way conversation about the sled. Asking question and getting info both ways, he was very knowledgeable.

I think this is the reason there are not many demo rides here in Ontario. Actually I have only heard of one demo ride here. And one in Québec. I am thinking that they must not have wanted people going home unsatisfied with the answers they got/did not get. Unless there have been a lot of rides that I don't know about.

There has been a number of viper showings popping up at dealerships but not a lot of rides that I know of.

I do really like those reusable zip ties!

 

[Blu2U2]

Rode all three SE models today at the WI Rapids Demo event. My favorite was the LTX. With almost 1,300 miles on my 2013 AC turbo this past season I was used to the very nice ride of the Viper. The things I didn't like was the extra noise and the white looked dingy. Overall I really liked the ride of the Viper as it felt a lot lighter than my Cat. It handled the bumps great and seemed to float when I was able to launch it.

Besides the color (personal preference) and the noise I really liked the sled. The Yamaha rep. was asked about why the black and blue color combo wasn't an option. His reply was that they only had a limited amount of black and white tunnels made. I did say thay it would be very easy to swap the red plastic and seat with the blue. He agreed that this could be done. However, it sounded like you would have to find someone who wanted a red and white model since Yamaha wouldn't sell one that was blue and black.

Here are some pics from earlier today.

 

[cannondale27]

LukesJu thanks for your honest answers. I hear you. Your first post was very general and I just wanted to hear the real thoughts behind it.Hopefully this all works out.Big marks for Yamaha to aim for especially with the benchmark many of us have made with the Nytros and yes even my little Phazer.


Blu2u2 what was the extra noise you heard?

 

[snobill]

Im goin tomorrow to try one ! My budy went today and he said it was really nice .

 

[09nytro]

It is nice...have fun report back on your thoughts

 

[Blu2U2]

LukesJu thanks for your honest answers. I hear you. Your first post was very general and I just wanted to hear the real thoughts behind it.Hopefully this all works out.Big marks for Yamaha to aim for especially with the benchmark many of us have made with the Nytros and yes even my little Phazer.


Blu2u2 what was the extra noise you heard?

Loud exhaust noise. It was a lot louder than what I am used to.