Know your warranty and what Yamaha doesn’t do.

[swampcat]

Speaking of gaskets. Was just in a HUGE multi line dealership, sells both Cat and Yamaha among other things. Did not have a exhaust gasket for the turbo muffler . This is a common service item shared between TWO brands. Bang head here.

 

[20/80]

My Dealer just had one of their mechanics certified by Yamaha, he had to complete 4 blocks and pass from Yamaha, I believe, it took him 2 years to complete, its just not a regular mechanic working on Yamaha warranty, he received a pay increase after being certified, he is a very talented mechanic for sure, my dealer is lucky to have him

 

[Turboflash]

YOU would not trust anyone to work on your motor. Right? Neither would I. So really what good is a engine warranty other than for parts? Chassis and drivetrain is a different story.

Exactly. That's why when it was time to replace the head on my 998 while still under warranty, I did it myself. Knowing my dealer, there was no way I was going to let them even try. Would have been another "Kinger" story for sure. Fortunately, my dealer did get me a new head under warranty. He was mad at me but still did it. He didn't believe his guys couldn't do it. Well, 1 year later I got to watch his guys working on doing a valve job on a '19TCat and I saw with my own eyes why I didn't dare let them work on my engine.

 

[cannondale27]

The guy at my dealership was mechanic for a Pro Superbike race team for years. Wanted to raise a family so took a regular job. He has taught me many things and is one of the best mechanics I know. Bruce. Is alot of those guys out there with history and they are also just looking to teach others. Just have to find the right guys and then reward them. A 12er or food goes a long way with all the guys!

 

[cannondale27]

Speaking of gaskets. Was just in a HUGE multi line dealership, sells both Cat and Yamaha among other things. Did not have a exhaust gasket for the turbo muffler . This is a common service item shared between TWO brands. Bang head here.

Getting parts is quickly becoming a nightmare. If you are passing by me on way up stop in I believe I have one.

 

[rtx moose]

This is a good one. When you buy a Yamaha spring order and they offer unlimited miles/unlimited hour warranty for the 4 or in my case 5 years know that it is limited!!!!!

Once any repairs on that sled equal the price you paid for it they will no longer cover anything and you’ll be
Left with a boat anchor!

my 2017 ltx-le purchased in October of 2016

brought it in for a recall in feb. For turbo bolts in which they fixed that and apparently the turbo showed damage too and was replaced.
Following December 2017 my starter goes and they replace that
Then feb of 2018 the motor looses a cylinder.... which they rebuilt.... rebuilt the motor! Yamaha doesn’t offer a short block?
Didn’t get the sled back till May.

dec of 2018 7 miles into the first ride and click snap.... the chain on the oil pump broke.... more weekends go by.....

feb 2019 electrical problems

feb 2020 day 1 of a 7 day backpack trip... 6 miles from the start point going 20mph thru a parking lot and boom I’m on two cylinders!!! After having it looked at they said it appeared the timing jumped. ???

so they say the repairs to rebuild this again are 11thousand dollars..... but given the repair bills Yamaha has paid out... they will only cover 3,000 dollars of it....

I have 5 friends that ride these and we all ride the same way/style and mine has been the only problematic one......

When I bought that sled their slogan was
“Roundtrip reliability”. obviously I feel different..... thanks for the boat anchor Yamaha!!!!!!

That sounds more like you were sabotaged,thats the craziest streak of breakdowns i have ever heard of

 

[sideshowBob]

That sounds more like you were sabotaged,thats the craziest streak of breakdowns i have ever heard of

Couldn't agree more.

 

[mikextx]

Getting parts is quickly becoming a nightmare. If you are passing by me on way up stop in I believe I have one.

That has been ArcticCat 101 for many years. Give a warranty, but dont carry parts for repairs

 

[kinger]

I am a post graduate degreed engineer and certified in Lean Manufacturing (some call it JIT, but that is only one component of continuous improvement methodology) and a HUGE proponent of it. I have saved companies MILLIONS helping them implement. Never in any part of the process improvements do we say we’re going to sacrifice the customer experience.

If anything it would make a long block available within days. I really thought when this went down I would have a motor within a week and be back on the trail to break it in within a day of it landing at the dealer. The dealer was ready to work late at night to swap it out. Nope order every part one at a time. Start assembly, measure all your bearing clearances, order those, then wait for weeks. This was after a 6 week “diagnostic “ process to figure it out which was painstakingly slow. Thank god @Turboflash sent me a picture of his head cracked or we would still be waiting. They don’t even make it easy and provide a total list for a engine. My service manager literally spent 7 hours writing every single part number down and typing it in one at a time.

Don’t blame JIT they run their inventory way to low on engines. If they are going to play percentages of failures then make sure to increase inventory to adjust for it, or engineer the problem out so they can run lean.

I wish I could help them. Not that I am the master expert but being able to prove we could fix so many issues and it would SAVE them money would be fun and even if we left the issues in place and enhanced the customer experience it would be a win. No one hates riding a sidewinder. They have an amazing product and that can’t be said for a lot of projects I have been on. I won’t be buying a new one again until they can prove they care about customers.

 

[1nc 2000]

Back in the winter of 10/11 my nytro blew up and had a hole the size of a softball in the front of the block. I was back on the trail with a new engine in one and a half weeks.
They had extra engines complete here for the snow cross team and that what's in my nytro ever since. It had throttle bodies on it and just had to put my clutch on it.

 

[Turboflash]

I am a post graduate degreed engineer and certified in Lean Manufacturing (some call it JIT, but that is only one component of continuous improvement methodology) and a HUGE proponent of it. I have saved companies MILLIONS helping them implement. Never in any part of the process improvements do we say we’re going to sacrifice the customer experience.

If anything it would make a long block available within days. I really thought when this went down I would have a motor within a week and be back on the trail to break it in within a day of it landing at the dealer. The dealer was ready to work late at night to swap it out. Nope order every part one at a time. Start assembly, measure all your bearing clearances, order those, then wait for weeks. This was after a 6 week “diagnostic “ process to figure it out which was painstakingly slow. Thank god @Turboflash sent me a picture of his head cracked or we would still be waiting. They don’t even make it easy and provide a total list for a engine. My service manager literally spent 7 hours writing every single part number down and typing it in one at a time.

Don’t blame JIT they run their inventory way to low on engines. If they are going to play percentages of failures then make sure to increase inventory to adjust for it, or engineer the problem out so they can run lean.

I wish I could help them. Not that I am the master expert but being able to prove we could fix so many issues and it would SAVE them money would be fun and even if we left the issues in place and enhanced the customer experience it would be a win. No one hates riding a sidewinder. They have an amazing product and that can’t be said for a lot of projects I have been on. I won’t be buying a new one again until they can prove they care about customers.

Kinger, I think you pretty much hit it right on the head. I was certified as a Master of the Lean Enterprise and one critical element to drive improvement was VOC (Voice of the Customer)! It was always important to keep checking in with the customer to see if you're working on the right things. IMO, in today's power sports arena, it really seems VOC is missing and most/many manufacturers don't even realize it and if they do, they don't care. Really a shame. They think they know it all so they don't have to check in with the customer, or they think they know better than us what we want!

 

[ClutchMaster]

I am a post graduate degreed engineer and certified in Lean Manufacturing (some call it JIT, but that is only one component of continuous improvement methodology) and a HUGE proponent of it. I have saved companies MILLIONS helping them implement. Never in any part of the process improvements do we say we’re going to sacrifice the customer experience.

If anything it would make a long block available within days. I really thought when this went down I would have a motor within a week and be back on the trail to break it in within a day of it landing at the dealer. The dealer was ready to work late at night to swap it out. Nope order every part one at a time. Start assembly, measure all your bearing clearances, order those, then wait for weeks. This was after a 6 week “diagnostic “ process to figure it out which was painstakingly slow. Thank god @Turboflash sent me a picture of his head cracked or we would still be waiting. They don’t even make it easy and provide a total list for a engine. My service manager literally spent 7 hours writing every single part number down and typing it in one at a time.

Don’t blame JIT they run their inventory way to low on engines. If they are going to play percentages of failures then make sure to increase inventory to adjust for it, or engineer the problem out so they can run lean.

I wish I could help them. Not that I am the master expert but being able to prove we could fix so many issues and it would SAVE them money would be fun and even if we left the issues in place and enhanced the customer experience it would be a win. No one hates riding a sidewinder. They have an amazing product and that can’t be said for a lot of projects I have been on. I won’t be buying a new one again until they can prove they care about customers.

Agree 100%
All those different manufacturing techniques (kanban, optimized, material requirements) are great if used with a little common sense.
Many times the disadvantages out weight the advantages, and some parts of the process need to be modified or scrapped. You many times have some hardcore top brass idiot who has been brainwashed by some glorified “Business professional” saying my way or the highway.

In this case it’s a question of how much money is Yamaha saving? It’s pennies compared to the amount of business they are loosing in future sales imo.

Yep the classic saving pennies, losing dollars.

 

[20/80]

Agree 100%
All those different manufacturing techniques (kanban, optimized, material requirements) are great if used with a little common sense.
Many times the disadvantages out weight the advantages, and some parts of the process need to be modified or scrapped. You many times have some hardcore top brass idiot who has been brainwashed by some glorified “Business professional” saying my way or the highway.

In this case it’s a question of how much money is Yamaha saving? It’s pennies compared to the amount of business they are loosing in future sales imo.

Yep the classic saving pennies, losing dollars.

I also agree 100%, its sad really, you pay big money for a Yamaha product $20 grand plus here in Canada for a Winder, you buy all the warranty they offer to have that piece of mind only to be left completely frustrated when something major happens to your machine like a engine failure, by rights a loaner sled should be given to you to use while your sled is being fixed by your dealer, but in Yamaha world today it seems they frown on any warranty work they have to do for you after they get your money, it seems like the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing and the person you are dealing with from upper management at Yamaha is a functionable Idiot and nothing more than a bean counter and has the personality of a turnip, Yamaha has not alway's been that way, at one time they would go out of their way to help one of there costumers very pleasant experience, that model does not exist anymore but they are selling sleds on that concept.

 

[RAMSOMAIR]

With Yamaha sales and engine failure rates so low compared to the others, you would think they would try to save the little consumer base they do have. How much would they be out of pocket compared to Polaris and Ski-Doo?

 

[kinger]

Back in the winter of 10/11 my nytro blew up and had a hole the size of a softball in the front of the block. I was back on the trail with a new engine in one and a half weeks.
They had extra engines complete here for the snow cross team and that what's in my nytro ever since. It had throttle bodies on it and just had to put my clutch on it.

What happened to this type of service!? This is what should be the norm. I’m sure your still a Yamaha fan even after a failure! As a company you can turn these experiences into positives!