I'm getting Nervous

[billymx815]

I put on 974 miles this season (so far) including some off trail banging without any subframe problems. That includes launching off some steep drops to.
Now I don't want to be "Debbie Downer" but i'd be more concerned with getting the handling, handwarmers, and overheating issues dialed in before worrying about the subframe.

 

[Zakre]

I have never had a sled i have not bent something important on just from riding, not running into anything. I have bent my subframe twice this year, just bent it back into place and welded in a few more gussets, it didnt stop it from bending again but it sure slowed it down.

 

[LeeKo]

I have never had a sled i have not bent something important on just from riding, not running into anything. I have bent my subframe twice this year, just bent it back into place and welded in a few more gussets, it didnt stop it from bending again but it sure slowed it down.

What event do you believe bent your subframe? I have bent one, but I hit a tree stump under the snow hard enough to tip the sled over and bend the wear bar and ski bracket. The other couple thousand miles have been fine. I don't get snowcross air but I am not afraid to hold the sled wide-open through 1-2 foot moguls. I even hit a rock under the snow hard enough to put a S-curve in a 9inch carbide runner. Do the guys that bend these bottom their sleds a lot?

It hasn't appeared easy to bend the sub-frame to me unless you do something pretty bad. Although, in my experience if you hit stuff you will typically wreck something. I have bent a Viper spindle crossing a railroad track at 2mph, I have clipped a little tree stump under the snow with an rx-1 and bent the spindle and spindle assembly. These occurred pretty easy, where you wouldn't expect it.

 

[Zakre]

I have never had a sled i have not bent something important on just from riding, not running into anything. I have bent my subframe twice this year, just bent it back into place and welded in a few more gussets, it didnt stop it from bending again but it sure slowed it down.

What event do you believe bent your subframe? I have bent one, but I hit a tree stump under the snow hard enough to tip the sled over and bend the wear bar and ski bracket. The other couple thousand miles have been fine. I don't get snowcross air but I am not afraid to hold the sled wide-open through 1-2 foot moguls. I even hit a rock under the snow hard enough to put a S-curve in a 9inch carbide runner. Do the guys that bend these bottom their sleds a lot?

It hasn't appeared easy to bend one to me unless you do something pretty bad. In my experience if you hit stuff you will typically wreck something. I have bent a Viper spindle crossing a railroad track at 2mph, I have clipped a little tree stump under the snow with an rx-1 and bent the spindle and spindle assembly. These occurred pretty easy, where you wouldn't expect it.

I am not sure what i bent the frame on, the second time i caught a small something under the snow, but it was not a big hit, just enough to pull the bars to that side for a second and away i went again. I do jump the sled but nothing big as i couldn't seem to find anything snow all season to jump. I know i don't baby it so i am not surprised to bend something.

 

[mytro]

We put a 12 hour day on last week and I was sure my Nytro was going to be sold as I was beat up coming on the end with 45 miles of beat up trails. The next day the trails were perfect and the powder was great even for a 121" track. We put in another 12 hour day and no way was I selling my sled, I thought for sure I was getting a 600 Etec till I seen 3 down on the trail that day, one blown, one missing most Y pipe bolts and one wouldn't start......

I found my Nytro felt like a Sea Doo for the first few weeks, and then I figured out how to drive it, coming off a RMZ 450 MX bike I found you had to drive the Nytro the same way. You have to DRIVE the crap out of it but once you get on to this you can drive these things anywhere and they are fun. If you sit back and just ride it I'm sure it will throw you into the woods literally.....

Looks like the Nytro is staying and getting a 136" track and ball joints.... ( No excuse for these ball joints...........)

 

[arteeex]

I really wanted to buy a Nytro untill i started reading about all the issues with bent subframes and a arms. Are they bending where other sleds might not have bent from the same type of impact, or are they just really that weak. I ride about 90% unmarked ditch and hit things once and a while but hasn't been a problem with my current sled.

I have 6,895 miles on my '08 RTX and I'll probably replace it with another over the summer. Given all the sky-is-falling rhetoric found on sled forums it's amazing anyone would buy a sled - of any brand. You'll notice too how even after all the complaining about a sled the same crowd will turn on anyone that dares to claim superiority of a counter-brand. So, take what you read with a beer, do some comparison shopping and get whatever you want in a color that suits you.

 

[yamahabandit]

To Mytro, One of the things I installed was new drivers and 136 kit. I drive it more like a large 4 stroke dirt bike and still can't believe how much more fun my sled is after doing some mods and driving it a little bit differently. I know this might sound weird but I've owned over 40 sleds including race sleds and I've definitily had to learn how to ride all over again since getting on a Nytro. I mean this in a good way.
Ps thanks to ARTEEEX, your insight is very interesting and informative!

 

[multi sled]

If you are bending them you are hitting something...

We all hit something eventually, but small mishaps shouldn't bend a thing. What I'm saying is that today's sleds, with all the technology, superior manufacturing techniques, alloys, and high tech designs, these subframes shouldn't be bending that easily when bumping (I'm not talking crashing here) into something, be it a Rev or Nytro. These are rough trail sleds, not baby carriages. They should be built tougher. My Vector's (trail sled) front suspension was much stronger and took more hits than my Nytro (marketed as an extreme terrain sled when it came out) ever did, and never bent or went out of alignment. My 09 did though, at less than a few mph.

While Yamaha has strengthened the subframes for 09 and again in 2010, imo, it should still be stronger. 3 different subframes in 3 model years, I think that speaks volumes, don't you? Maybe the 2011 models are coming out with a stronger subframe, we'll see. I do hope that Yamaha has learned some lessons enough to do it right next time when they release the Nytro's replacement "Extreme Terrain" sled.

I will say this though, the Rev XP's front suspension "nun" or frame would scare me even more than the Nytro's.

a friend of mine runs a part time repair shop"for buddys"kind of thing,and you can't be buddy enough for him to put a nun in.

 

[fiddlersgreen]

We put a 12 hour day on last week and I was sure my Nytro was going to be sold as I was beat up coming on the end with 45 miles of beat up trails. The next day the trails were perfect and the powder was great even for a 121" track. We put in another 12 hour day and no way was I selling my sled, I thought for sure I was getting a 600 Etec till I seen 3 down on the trail that day, one blown, one missing most Y pipe bolts and one wouldn't start......

I found my Nytro felt like a Sea Doo for the first few weeks, and then I figured out how to drive it, coming off a RMZ 450 MX bike I found you had to drive the Nytro the same way. You have to DRIVE the crap out of it but once you get on to this you can drive these things anywhere and they are fun. If you sit back and just ride it I'm sure it will throw you into the woods literally.....
Looks like the Nytro is staying and getting a 136" track and ball joints.... ( No excuse for these ball joints...........)

Perfectly said! I couldn't agree more. The harder you ride it the better it feels. It seems tippy and heavy just coasting around but when you get on the gas it shines.

Strange ....I saw an etec missing the y pipe bolts as well.

 

[Nitrousman1]

The XP doesn't have a nun that was the REV. The XP has what they call an "S" module that I've been told is much easier to replace compared to the nun. I've had both an XP and Nytro and neither one would bend easy.

 

[fiddlersgreen]

I sold a cover to a guy who said he bought an Nytro after sold his XP cause he couldn't keep bulkheads in it. I hope he has better luck with the Nytro!!!

 

[flat sk]

I have never had a sled i have not bent something important on just from riding, not running into anything. I have bent my subframe twice this year, just bent it back into place and welded in a few more gussets, it didnt stop it from bending again but it sure slowed it down.

Hey Zakre (or anyone else) do you have any pics or advice on how to straighten the sub frame? Press or do you bolt it to the bench and tweak it.My bro hit a rock while borrowing my mtx,had to replace both A-arms and bent the shock. Would love to put some floats up front but have to straighten the sub as the shock spring is still close to the lower arm.He hit so hard it actually tweaked the frame also.

 

[Zakre]

I have never had a sled i have not bent something important on just from riding, not running into anything. I have bent my subframe twice this year, just bent it back into place and welded in a few more gussets, it didnt stop it from bending again but it sure slowed it down.

Hey Zakre (or anyone else) do you have any pics or advice on how to straighten the sub frame? Press or do you bolt it to the bench and tweak it.My bro hit a rock while borrowing my mtx,had to replace both A-arms and bent the shock. Would love to put some floats up front but have to straighten the sub as the shock spring is still close to the lower arm.He hit so hard it actually tweaked the frame also.

The first time i bent my frame, i twisted it back into place on the sled the best I could then took it off and redid all the bracing welds, I also put in a few new braces but they must have not been enough as the frame was tweaked again after another two weeks of hard riding.The second time i just put a large bar between the lower a arm and then on the back of the upper a arm (pushing @ the upper and lower balljoints). It was my right side that i bent backwards so i just kept bending it more and more till it was in the right spot. I am not sure if i am going to take it off the sled once more to gusset it more, but i am unsure (without putting 50lbs into the frame) where to place new gussets to be the strongest and maybe stop the bending in the future.

 

[northerndoc]

~3000 hard miles on my '09 XTX. Even hit a tree, bent both a-arms on that side- no bend in the subframe. I'm 220lb in gear and ride the snot outta my sleds. Agreed that people have bent subframes, but you have to watch these forums. They are a wealth of information and a great place to connect with fellow sledheads, but things get blown out of proportion easily when one or two people have unfortunate accidents and want to rant. Most of the time, you're not getting the whole story either. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Nytro. As others have said- if you understand what the sled was built for going in and how it was designed to be ridden (i.e.- **NOT** a sit-down, laid back trail cruiser) and are willing to play with it a bit to dial it in, it's a great sled.

 

[flat sk]

To get back to topic,For the many shortcomings (A-arms,sub frame and a poor aproach angle on the skid.) this sled is amazing once set up.The mtx is CRAZY fun in the powder. The most fun on a sled since I was a kid jumping drifts on an old fix-r-up elan .