gerard143
Pro
well i'm gonna start it off with a few pictures. I also have video clips if anyone has a decent server I can host them off of????????? that would be awesome, i'll send you the vids and you can post the links..
just for proof im not bullin no-one, i posted a pic of the stuff they give you after the ride and what you sign...notice the hat that says 07 test rider. i blacked out the name but you get the idea.
just for proof im not bullin no-one, i posted a pic of the stuff they give you after the ride and what you sign...notice the hat that says 07 test rider. i blacked out the name but you get the idea.
Attachments
gerard143
Pro
Bakemono
TY 4 Stroke Guru
You should just have the vid hosted on www.putfile.com.
The white Phazers look awsome by the way!
The white Phazers look awsome by the way!
gerard143
Pro
ok now let me say a few things first off. for one burr it was cold out, for two, we went on one heck of a ride. i rode the 06's and then the 07's.
i wish i brought my balaclava to wear because boy did my chin freeze! I put in about an hour riding time atleast and i was able to ride as hard as I normally would. we hit real icy terrain, flat terrain, some serious moguls, good high speed corners. just about everything you could ask for.
it was one heck of a real world trail conditions long test ride. i was very impressed.
now... lemme get started on the reviews....
and also I want to thank the yamaha team... they were real nice and professional. they were really good to the dealer riders and said hey guys... we realize your sled riders.... so were not gonna say you cant do this and do that. they were good and let us ride them.... and ride them we did!
i wish i brought my balaclava to wear because boy did my chin freeze! I put in about an hour riding time atleast and i was able to ride as hard as I normally would. we hit real icy terrain, flat terrain, some serious moguls, good high speed corners. just about everything you could ask for.
it was one heck of a real world trail conditions long test ride. i was very impressed.
now... lemme get started on the reviews....
and also I want to thank the yamaha team... they were real nice and professional. they were really good to the dealer riders and said hey guys... we realize your sled riders.... so were not gonna say you cant do this and do that. they were good and let us ride them.... and ride them we did!
I can't stand the suspense... how did they ride??
7 skulls
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
yes suspense is killing me type faster LOL
gerard143
Pro
remember all suspensions were setup for god knows what weights that i demo'ed and didnt do any adjustments, i just hope on and rode... adjustments can make a lot of difference. keep this in mind when reading the following.
well i wont touch on the 06's much. i rode the apex, the attack, the nytro. the nytro i liked the best overall in the 06 lineup. the motor on the apex and attack has a nicer throatier deeper sound and it is smoother. and has some nice A$$ punch to it. same can be said for the 07's in the 150 and 120 lineup. the attack was all over the place. then i got on the nytro and said now this is more like it.
it was predictable, took corners as i expected, landed off moguls predictable and where you are expecting it to. the attack had some very serious darting issues that reminded of my sx-r b4 my ski mods. boy that thing was all over. in fact the 07 apexs also felt this way until I got on the RTX. i didnt ride an 07 nytro. but im sure is as good as the 06.
the 07 apex rides awesome. those fox floats are great. and the sled jumps off moguls nice and lands predictable. corners pretty good as well...... although honestly i gotta say, none of the 07's including the phazer could corner like my sxr did with c&a's on it, but maybe with those skis its not a fare comparision.
that sxr could rip around corners doing 85 and stay planted and never ever leave me feeling like i was gonna wind up in the woods.
lemme bring up a side note though...... all these models for how i ride needed studs and some more carbide maybe even 60 degree carbides. man i never realized how unsafe riding without studs can be until i hammer across all that ice in old forge and said to myself damn.
so keep the stock skis and carbides and no studs in mind in my reviews.
now.... for what you'll all been waiting for, lets talk about the yamaha phazer. particularly the FX as thats what i rode. i made sure of it.
i switched back and forth about 7 times on the 07 ride. we were the last group. 4 of us split off from the regular group as we rode a lot faster. we took a longer route and put these sleds to the test.
on this run we had the RTX,GT, ER apex and the Phazer FX.
I liked the RTX and the phazer. i wont cover the gt and er other then saying they just didnt feel right in the rough or hmmm as well planted and in an essence in control or safe as the phazer and RTX did.
gt and er simply couldnt rip through the rough as well and didnt land as well, sometimes just jumped around a little too much, or didnt land good, and mainly i noticed a lot more darting.
ok back to the phazer,sorry for the ranting... i'm just trying to get this all out and not miss anything...
the phazer looks trick. its either love it or hate it. one older woman says wow it looks like the front is missing someone. one older guy just looked at me and smiles and said hmm thats cool, and i said we'll see how it rides, he said.... well it sure looks like it will ride good....
some people just hate the looks. i think its trick.
these models (phazers) are prototypes guys.
the cut out i have no idea way is there behind the seat on the tunnel, but production sleds will not have this. i was also told reverse didnt work and not to use it, maybe theres problems but it seemed to work. someone said there will be more foam in the seats and they are a lot harder then the apex's and nytros. those and noticably plushier.
the phazer sounds just like a 4 stroke quad at idle. i wish it sounded like the apex but it doesnt.
but its not all that bad. power wise i had it doing 80 no problem with room for a little more. all around it was decent. in the rough sometimes i'd hammer it to the bar and wait maybe 1/2 second if even for it to pick up a little, but really guys its not bad. impressive i'll say.
reverse is cool, push one button on right of the cluster and the reverse light lights up from normal green to another light red for reverse that are labeled.
wind protection i thought would suck for my knees, i didnt feel them cold at all. the windshield (little one) on the fx is great. it looks ok and works good. maybe my hands got a tiny bit colder then other models but barely. but my face especially my chin was so much warmer on the phazer then the apex rtx. the apex rtx just blows wind directly at my chin and turned it to ice. 2 hrs later my chin is still hurting and frost biten from that apex. but then again i wasnt wearing a balaclava so keep that in mind.
mainly coldest part on the phazer was hands. on longer rides in - temps it might be an issue.
now to cover suspension...
the phazer for starters transfers a lot more trail feel through the bars.... i mean compared to the apexs and nytros i felt like everything. good or bad, not quite sure..... riding position isnt bad at all, its damn good, stand up riding seems more comfortable or well natural. its great for that. it did seem harder to corner then the apexs. i got a little off mark a few times cornering fast in the rough.
i just didnt land where i wanted it to. i think the shocks need a little tweaking or just to be setup to me maybe. i weigh 170. im 25 years old. i noticed a lot of #*$&@ end kick after hittin moguls. its light and that helps give an advantage when toying in the rough, but honestly i think the apex and nytro made me feel like a better rider, becuz they landed and cornered exactly like i expected them too.
dont get me wrong...this phazer has so much potential, but suttin just wasnt quite right. not yet atleast. maybe production models idk. one or two times cornering hard i got tippy while the sled come off the ground and landed totally where i wouldn't expect, it just through me off mark and totally killed my chances of nailing the corner fast.... and few other times just hammering straight over moguls it got a little out of line then i wanted it too. i remember saying to myself o Fu$$#@ a couple times correcting it.
one other note. you feel vibration way more through the bars then the 3 and 4 cylinder 4 strokes. i asked myself on long rides would this vibration make my hands go numb. it just might.
but all in all the riding position is cool, its draws insane attention, its warmer then i thought, has good power, and the chassis is totally where hard riders and looking to go. this sleds needs a little suspension fine tuning but has the most potential out of there lineup for rough trail riding. tippier is just the nature of sitting higher and having more travel. its just nature of physics.
maybe just about 15 horse shy of being the best all around hammering thru a field then rough trail then field type sled.
one other note.... it was a workout believe it or not, but felt less heavier then the others. i didnt think heaviness at all on this. just tired me more for some reason... it took more body effort. the apex rtx and nytro all in all just felt cushier also yet could also take good bumps well.
twice i bottomed the phazer fx doing 40 hitting moguls going straight. at first i thought it was set wicked stiff since the #*$&@ end was kickin up so hard after hitting moguls, but then it bottomed so idk. i think they got some progressive valving adjustments to toy with still.
i will update more if i can think of anymore.
well i wont touch on the 06's much. i rode the apex, the attack, the nytro. the nytro i liked the best overall in the 06 lineup. the motor on the apex and attack has a nicer throatier deeper sound and it is smoother. and has some nice A$$ punch to it. same can be said for the 07's in the 150 and 120 lineup. the attack was all over the place. then i got on the nytro and said now this is more like it.
it was predictable, took corners as i expected, landed off moguls predictable and where you are expecting it to. the attack had some very serious darting issues that reminded of my sx-r b4 my ski mods. boy that thing was all over. in fact the 07 apexs also felt this way until I got on the RTX. i didnt ride an 07 nytro. but im sure is as good as the 06.
the 07 apex rides awesome. those fox floats are great. and the sled jumps off moguls nice and lands predictable. corners pretty good as well...... although honestly i gotta say, none of the 07's including the phazer could corner like my sxr did with c&a's on it, but maybe with those skis its not a fare comparision.
that sxr could rip around corners doing 85 and stay planted and never ever leave me feeling like i was gonna wind up in the woods.
lemme bring up a side note though...... all these models for how i ride needed studs and some more carbide maybe even 60 degree carbides. man i never realized how unsafe riding without studs can be until i hammer across all that ice in old forge and said to myself damn.
so keep the stock skis and carbides and no studs in mind in my reviews.
now.... for what you'll all been waiting for, lets talk about the yamaha phazer. particularly the FX as thats what i rode. i made sure of it.
i switched back and forth about 7 times on the 07 ride. we were the last group. 4 of us split off from the regular group as we rode a lot faster. we took a longer route and put these sleds to the test.
on this run we had the RTX,GT, ER apex and the Phazer FX.
I liked the RTX and the phazer. i wont cover the gt and er other then saying they just didnt feel right in the rough or hmmm as well planted and in an essence in control or safe as the phazer and RTX did.
gt and er simply couldnt rip through the rough as well and didnt land as well, sometimes just jumped around a little too much, or didnt land good, and mainly i noticed a lot more darting.
ok back to the phazer,sorry for the ranting... i'm just trying to get this all out and not miss anything...
the phazer looks trick. its either love it or hate it. one older woman says wow it looks like the front is missing someone. one older guy just looked at me and smiles and said hmm thats cool, and i said we'll see how it rides, he said.... well it sure looks like it will ride good....
some people just hate the looks. i think its trick.
these models (phazers) are prototypes guys.
the cut out i have no idea way is there behind the seat on the tunnel, but production sleds will not have this. i was also told reverse didnt work and not to use it, maybe theres problems but it seemed to work. someone said there will be more foam in the seats and they are a lot harder then the apex's and nytros. those and noticably plushier.
the phazer sounds just like a 4 stroke quad at idle. i wish it sounded like the apex but it doesnt.
but its not all that bad. power wise i had it doing 80 no problem with room for a little more. all around it was decent. in the rough sometimes i'd hammer it to the bar and wait maybe 1/2 second if even for it to pick up a little, but really guys its not bad. impressive i'll say.
reverse is cool, push one button on right of the cluster and the reverse light lights up from normal green to another light red for reverse that are labeled.
wind protection i thought would suck for my knees, i didnt feel them cold at all. the windshield (little one) on the fx is great. it looks ok and works good. maybe my hands got a tiny bit colder then other models but barely. but my face especially my chin was so much warmer on the phazer then the apex rtx. the apex rtx just blows wind directly at my chin and turned it to ice. 2 hrs later my chin is still hurting and frost biten from that apex. but then again i wasnt wearing a balaclava so keep that in mind.
mainly coldest part on the phazer was hands. on longer rides in - temps it might be an issue.
now to cover suspension...
the phazer for starters transfers a lot more trail feel through the bars.... i mean compared to the apexs and nytros i felt like everything. good or bad, not quite sure..... riding position isnt bad at all, its damn good, stand up riding seems more comfortable or well natural. its great for that. it did seem harder to corner then the apexs. i got a little off mark a few times cornering fast in the rough.
i just didnt land where i wanted it to. i think the shocks need a little tweaking or just to be setup to me maybe. i weigh 170. im 25 years old. i noticed a lot of #*$&@ end kick after hittin moguls. its light and that helps give an advantage when toying in the rough, but honestly i think the apex and nytro made me feel like a better rider, becuz they landed and cornered exactly like i expected them too.
dont get me wrong...this phazer has so much potential, but suttin just wasnt quite right. not yet atleast. maybe production models idk. one or two times cornering hard i got tippy while the sled come off the ground and landed totally where i wouldn't expect, it just through me off mark and totally killed my chances of nailing the corner fast.... and few other times just hammering straight over moguls it got a little out of line then i wanted it too. i remember saying to myself o Fu$$#@ a couple times correcting it.
one other note. you feel vibration way more through the bars then the 3 and 4 cylinder 4 strokes. i asked myself on long rides would this vibration make my hands go numb. it just might.
but all in all the riding position is cool, its draws insane attention, its warmer then i thought, has good power, and the chassis is totally where hard riders and looking to go. this sleds needs a little suspension fine tuning but has the most potential out of there lineup for rough trail riding. tippier is just the nature of sitting higher and having more travel. its just nature of physics.
maybe just about 15 horse shy of being the best all around hammering thru a field then rough trail then field type sled.
one other note.... it was a workout believe it or not, but felt less heavier then the others. i didnt think heaviness at all on this. just tired me more for some reason... it took more body effort. the apex rtx and nytro all in all just felt cushier also yet could also take good bumps well.
twice i bottomed the phazer fx doing 40 hitting moguls going straight. at first i thought it was set wicked stiff since the #*$&@ end was kickin up so hard after hitting moguls, but then it bottomed so idk. i think they got some progressive valving adjustments to toy with still.
i will update more if i can think of anymore.
gerard143
Pro
a little more to comment on the power..... really for most riding it would be fine. what you lose is the instant kick you feel when you first hit it like you have especially with the apex. its a nice little kick to have and make u grin everytime you smile, but all it all its not that hard to live without it.
lake racers well you wouldnt be happy. but most guys who rip through small field sections, then hammer woods and rough, then fields them rough... you'll keep up just fine and any distance bigger bore sleds gain in fields you'll pick back up in the rough once you dial the sled in and get used to how it rides.
that i believe.
lake racers well you wouldnt be happy. but most guys who rip through small field sections, then hammer woods and rough, then fields them rough... you'll keep up just fine and any distance bigger bore sleds gain in fields you'll pick back up in the rough once you dial the sled in and get used to how it rides.
that i believe.
gerard143
Pro
and someone said something about reverse and timing retard or something along that lines but i didnt catch all of it. anyways who cares... reverse is push button and will work on final models so thats cool. its nice.
gerard143
Pro
more notes on vibration, its no worse then a firecats bars vibrating. jesus some of those at idle i watch the bars shake like nuts. yamaha aint nothing like that.
also when i said that you feel more through the bars.... thinking about that makes me think stiffer chassis, thats a good thing. less give transfers more feel.
also...forget about putting a bigger motor in this sled without putting wider bodywork,becuz i $hit you not its like they put the motor in and then shrink wrapped plastic over it. its that tight of a fit. front end wrecks will hurt the motor nicely im guessing.
i was told officially that bender has a turbo kit rated at 110 horse made already.
also when i said that you feel more through the bars.... thinking about that makes me think stiffer chassis, thats a good thing. less give transfers more feel.
also...forget about putting a bigger motor in this sled without putting wider bodywork,becuz i $hit you not its like they put the motor in and then shrink wrapped plastic over it. its that tight of a fit. front end wrecks will hurt the motor nicely im guessing.
i was told officially that bender has a turbo kit rated at 110 horse made already.
gerard143
Pro
and the video clips are got are nothing great, just the pack coming back in from a ride and then a clip or two of the phazers at idle.
b4 i rode it i also listened to some riders and then asked a few. most honestly came off it with wows and excitement. a couple younger guys around 17-18 said wow that's insane. i'll never own a 2 stroke again was his exact words. i asked was it cold, some said no, one said make sure u wear ur gloves on that thing. all said the power isnt bad, and they were impressed when i asked.
b4 i rode it i also listened to some riders and then asked a few. most honestly came off it with wows and excitement. a couple younger guys around 17-18 said wow that's insane. i'll never own a 2 stroke again was his exact words. i asked was it cold, some said no, one said make sure u wear ur gloves on that thing. all said the power isnt bad, and they were impressed when i asked.
Bakemono
TY 4 Stroke Guru
Good review, gerard. I think Im going to wait and get an '08 Phazer. I will giving Yamaha a year to work out the bugs. Ive learned in the past that sometimes its good to not buy first-year because there are always bugs to be worked out. Besides, I really wanna try one out before I buy.
I appreciate you sharing your experience on the Phazer with us.
I appreciate you sharing your experience on the Phazer with us.
gerard143
Pro
my guess is in the next year or two the nytro will get a new chassis, the apex chassis is newer. just seems logical. 120 horse new chassis being based on phazer.
but please, lets not get into a future model discussion in this thread. lets stay focused. thats all i ask. i dont want the thread to ramble on pages and pages of i think the 08 will have this the 09's will that. my cat will smoke ur yamaha stuff like that.
i just want this post to be a good no biased information source for those wanting info on the new phazers. well prototype phazers demo rides.
these models didnt even have actual part numbers on the belt! and i still cant figure out why they cut the tunnel like that on prototypes. the exhaust doesnt even come close to routing thru there. i just makes me wonder what exactly yamaha is testing with that.
weird. maybe to cool the pipe but why. a colder exhaust pipe just kills horse. im not sure. could guess all day, just dont know why, no one did for sure.
i asked.
but please, lets not get into a future model discussion in this thread. lets stay focused. thats all i ask. i dont want the thread to ramble on pages and pages of i think the 08 will have this the 09's will that. my cat will smoke ur yamaha stuff like that.
i just want this post to be a good no biased information source for those wanting info on the new phazers. well prototype phazers demo rides.
these models didnt even have actual part numbers on the belt! and i still cant figure out why they cut the tunnel like that on prototypes. the exhaust doesnt even come close to routing thru there. i just makes me wonder what exactly yamaha is testing with that.
weird. maybe to cool the pipe but why. a colder exhaust pipe just kills horse. im not sure. could guess all day, just dont know why, no one did for sure.
i asked.
Bakemono
TY 4 Stroke Guru
I just hope they fine-tune the Phazer for '08 and dont make a radical change and raise the price.
Yamaha NEEDS an entry-level sled. That has been missing from their lineup in recent years and IMO the Phazer fills that void.
Yamaha NEEDS an entry-level sled. That has been missing from their lineup in recent years and IMO the Phazer fills that void.
gerard143
Pro
a few other notes i just thought of.
let me say i am not in any way putting down the phazer. these 07 sleds are extremely capable machines. and any of the are great at playing in the rough. i ride hard and tryed to take the emotion out of my ride of the new phazer and did tried to strictly take notes in my head while riding comparing the phazer to specifically the apex RTX and nytro.
all in all i walk away saying i'd probably go with the phazer giving it nods because its so trick, but i do ask myself maybe the nytro would be more well suited. i really would need more riding time to really know for sure.
i also try to take what yamaha reps say with a grain of salt, as some seem to know what they are talking about but it also seems so of them are just reciting hype.
suspension calibration is probably the hardest thing to get precise... and being this is a new model year i am suspecting that it wont be dead on this year.... they will need input from a large amount of riders in the thousands not just a few demo riders to really get things narrowed down. so im guessing next years models will be better in that aspect...but same goes for any sled i guess.
it still rides nice enough to not wait until 08's. i'm not. with some adjustments it will rock.
i will check back consistently. if anyone has questions on something i didnt cover just post it. i will write back as soon as i can.
hope the review was helpful.
let me say i am not in any way putting down the phazer. these 07 sleds are extremely capable machines. and any of the are great at playing in the rough. i ride hard and tryed to take the emotion out of my ride of the new phazer and did tried to strictly take notes in my head while riding comparing the phazer to specifically the apex RTX and nytro.
all in all i walk away saying i'd probably go with the phazer giving it nods because its so trick, but i do ask myself maybe the nytro would be more well suited. i really would need more riding time to really know for sure.
i also try to take what yamaha reps say with a grain of salt, as some seem to know what they are talking about but it also seems so of them are just reciting hype.
suspension calibration is probably the hardest thing to get precise... and being this is a new model year i am suspecting that it wont be dead on this year.... they will need input from a large amount of riders in the thousands not just a few demo riders to really get things narrowed down. so im guessing next years models will be better in that aspect...but same goes for any sled i guess.
it still rides nice enough to not wait until 08's. i'm not. with some adjustments it will rock.
i will check back consistently. if anyone has questions on something i didnt cover just post it. i will write back as soon as i can.
hope the review was helpful.
