Latest News from North American Yamaha Snowmobile and Minocqua, WI R&D July 15, 2021

I just ran across the latest Yamaha news release from Snow Goer Magazine's website:

Yamaha Shifts More Focus To Canada-Based Snowmobile HQ | SnowGoer

2022 Yamaha Sidewinder L-TX GT with power steering More control of Yamaha's global decision-making related to snowmobiling is being shifted to the brand's

snowgoer.com

Thoughts and Comments?

 

Yamaha is DONE we are going to the vintage slide of sport because it going to be all cat stuff from here on with doing all the testing

This has been going on for a while, hasn't it?
Yamaha has not come out with a new sled design since the 2007 Nytro.
Everything before the 2014 Cat agreement was old tech. They have basically been an engine supplier since 2014.
They haven't had any ground breaking suspension tech since.... 84 phazer????? The Mono skid was good but didn't really get the continued development it deserved.
I believe the biggest reason MOST people bought Yamaha in the past was their engines. I don't think anyone was buying them for the suspensions. Maybe they figured they were an engine supplier all along??????

I like my Yamaha sleds but if they go under it wont stop me from buying something else. I like snowmobiling too much to quit or go backwards. I am not going to pound my #*$&@ on old tech because my manufacture of choice bowed out of the game. Will it be a sad day?? Yes. I hope it doesn't happen.
I did my part, I bought the product.
Nothing I can do about it and I don't worry about stuff I cant control .

 

You must be 1 in a million, i'm happy for you, Amen!

If you count my riding buddy, then make it 2 in a million! Honestly, I meant no disrespect to your opinion, and I appreciate the blessing! I get it that there are some unhappy former and present Winder owners, who have had serious issues, but I don't think that design or mechanical issues are a problem unique to Winders or to Yamahas in general. Regular service with a good mechanic who knows what he is doing, and keeping our engines stock has worked well for us without requiring any of the modifications that are frequently discussed on this board. I can't prove it, but I have a suspicion that many of the issues we read about in Winders would not be as prevalent if everyone kept their sleds stock. Adding 25-50% to your horsepower has got to put a big strain on parts that were not designed to handle it. My Sidewinder may self-destruct this year, and make a liar out of me, but so far, I wouldn't change a thing.

 

IMO difficult to say the end is near Yamaha is profitable cost sharing endeavor for Textron. My question is will Textron share a new procross platform with Yamaha make engineering concessions for 4s engines for future platforms?

Question who going to the set ups an testing to see if they work O Cat will.

 

Has to be an Yamaha engineering presence at TRF at least 1 or 2 people during production runs. Doesn’t really matter where their base locations US , Canada or Japan but better be there during assembly months.

That will be Jar Job now know one left.

 

Question who going to the set ups an testing to see if they work O Cat will.

To be honest Yamaha historically never did well at suspension set ups better off with Cat doing shock and suspensions. 4s set ups should be mature by now Yamaha usually has a few more ponies available here and there. The Apex Ohlin EC mono was pretty darn good when set up properly too bad Yamaha gave up on it. Yamaha was very close with that skid. The SS was a complete bust totally whiffed on that set up.

 

That will be Jar Job now know one left.

You’re kidding right? Jared is marketing production engineering is a very different skill set. If Yamaha doesn’t want an engineering resource at TRF during production runs to protect their investment they completely trust Textron. I would think Yamaha will assign an engineer to TRF during production runs to make sure specifications are respected.

 

If you count my riding buddy, then make it 2 in a million! Honestly, I meant no disrespect to your opinion, and I appreciate the blessing! I get it that there are some unhappy former and present Winder owners, who have had serious issues, but I don't think that design or mechanical issues are a problem unique to Winders or to Yamahas in general. Regular service with a good mechanic who knows what he is doing, and keeping our engines stock has worked well for us without requiring any of the modifications that are frequently discussed on this board. I can't prove it, but I have a suspicion that many of the issues we read about in Winders would not be as prevalent if everyone kept their sleds stock. Adding 25-50% to your horsepower has got to put a big strain on parts that were not designed to handle it. My Sidewinder may self-destruct this year, and make a liar out of me, but so far, I wouldn't change a thing.

You know for the most part I am very happy for the Winder guy's, not only are they riding the fastest sled out there but with a tune they are unbelievable, just listening to some of the members and their miles of smiles from this sled, the only thing that kinda bothers me is you guy's pay big money for a premium sled for the love of speed and for the sport or just wanting the best, and issues that should have been addressed seem to keep happening or keep on getting overlooked from the engineers, wheels turn slow I guess, never took your post as disrespect, old T-Pay and I try to get one over the other all the time on this site, lol and thanks for sharing your experience with your Winder, glad you got a great sled.

 

This has been going on for a while, hasn't it?
Yamaha has not come out with a new sled design since the 2007 Nytro.
Everything before the 2014 Cat agreement was old tech. They have basically been an engine supplier since 2014.
They haven't had any ground breaking suspension tech since.... 84 phazer????? The Mono skid was good but didn't really get the continued development it deserved.
I believe the biggest reason MOST people bought Yamaha in the past was their engines. I don't think anyone was buying them for the suspensions. Maybe they figured they were an engine supplier all along??????

I like my Yamaha sleds but if they go under it wont stop me from buying something else. I like snowmobiling too much to quit or go backwards. I am not going to pound my #*$&@ on old tech because my manufacture of choice bowed out of the game. Will it be a sad day?? Yes. I hope it doesn't happen.
I did my part, I bought the product.
Nothing I can do about it and I don't worry about stuff I can't control .

Well said STAIN. You brought up some very good points and I agree with everything that you mentioned in your post. Yamaha is not going to be leaving the snowmobile business. They've proved that they do not have any intention to be the market share leader in the snowmobile business. Just look at what they are capable of in their other motorsport ventures such as the Side by Side market with the Wolverine R-Max series. They have the pedal to the metal on other areas, but the snowmobile division is getting by in cruise control.

IMHO their goal in the snowmobile business is to make enough of a profit to keep the mothership happy in Japan, but most importantly to be a four season recreational Motorsports player that can keep their dealers turning a profit in the snowbelt regions of North America. Simple as that. The supply agreement that they have with Arctic Cat/Textron seems to be keeping both parties happy and I don't see that as changing anytime soon, like it or not.

 

I can't prove it, but I have a suspicion that many of the issues we read about in Winders would not be as prevalent if everyone kept their sleds stock. Adding 25-50% to your horsepower has got to put a big strain on parts that were not designed to handle it.

bingo. My thought process also

 

IF they read this forum they might still have a job!
LOL

Many fixes on here for issues that arise on these sleds.

 

The POS roll over valve, the drive shaft wear, the flat sided stock rollers(2017), primary clutches blowing into pieces, the site glass falling into chaincase, cheap suspension wheels falling apart, the top gear bushing wearing out. NOT ONE OF THESE things have anything to do with boosted sleds.. THEY ALL happen on stock sidewinders! I love my Sidewinder but to say issues are from mod sleds is false.

 

The POS roll over valve, the drive shaft wear, the flat sided stock rollers(2017), primary clutches blowing into pieces, the site glass falling into chaincase, cheap suspension wheels falling apart, the top gear bushing wearing out. NOT ONE OF THESE things have anything to do with boosted sleds.. THEY ALL happen on stock sidewinders! I love my Sidewinder but to say issues are from mod sleds is false.

I've had suspension failures on my sidewinder, not boosted, only 300mi. Things happen. Is it perfect, no am I happy with it, yes. Move on, we have too much "mud slinging" here. We all know about things that are happening. If it's that bad, find something else to ride. Geez.

 

I've had suspension failures on my sidewinder, not boosted, only 300mi. Things happen. Is it perfect, no am I happy with it, yes. Move on, we have too much "mud slinging" here. We all know about things that are happening. If it's that bad, find something else to ride. Geez.

I ordered a 2022 so yea I like my Winders. I was pointing out the "mud slinging" guys on here that are claiming its because the sleds are not stock.. Its all good

 

The POS roll over valve, the drive shaft wear, the flat sided stock rollers(2017), primary clutches blowing into pieces, the site glass falling into chaincase, cheap suspension wheels falling apart, the top gear bushing wearing out. NOT ONE OF THESE things have anything to do with boosted sleds.. THEY ALL happen on stock sidewinders! I love my Sidewinder but to say issues are from mod sleds is false.

Understood, and I did not mean to say that ALL of the issues reported resulted from being boosted, but I think some of the issues you listed might be. For example, the only Sidewinder I have actually seen blow up a primary clutch was boosted, and not properly clutched to handle the boost. That was not a result of a design flaw in the original sled. I am not a mechanic or an engineer, but I would think that boosting your horsepower 25-50% would put significantly more torque and stress on the entire drivetrain. If the original design isn't perfect to begin with, then I would think failure is more likely with more power.

More in point with the original post, I am saddened that Yamaha is clearly giving up on being a sled manufacturer, but I am nonetheless heartened by the fact that their collaboration with Cat has produced the Viper and Sidewinder. I know the ProCross chassis isn't perfect, but it provided a huge step up in comfort and handling over my Japan built sleds, and I love my Sidewinder.

 

That will be Jar Job now know one left.

You’re kidding right? Jared is marketing production engineering is a very different skill set. If Yamaha doesn’t want an engineering resource at TRF during production runs to protect their investment they completely trust Textron. I would think Yamaha will assign an engineer to TRF during production runs to make sure specifications are respected.

I don't believe he meant Jared when he typed "Jar" as I suspect he meant to state "That will be our job now, no one left"