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?

 

I AGREE & DISAGREE with just about every statement here.
The SideWinder/Procross IS an excellent chassis & handles very well.
Could it be better if they redesigned it to "fit" the motor in? YEP! It sits 2 whole inches above the pan.
Do they HAVE to? NO
Should they? YES
The competition is moving forward.
Ride a new POO Matryx. You'll see.
I will NOT buy a POO yet cuz i just don't trust their motors, but that front end is AMAZING!!!!

I can't wait to get a Yamaha motor under my skinny arse again.
In the mean time, i have a Yamaha boat motor & an FJ 09 so like some say, Yamaha just needs to make enough Fazools to stay a 4 season company.

Yes there are some stories of some guys getting trouble free miles on Winders with no "fixes".
I don't personally know any, but i'm confident they do exist.
My drive shaft bearing disintegrated on my 600R after 5200 miles.
I think it was a cheap Chinese bearing not an ENGINEERING flaw though. Right there is the difference.
With a new 900R coming, i will inform you boys of EVERY problem that happens. They don't call me SCS. (Sugar Coat Steve)

As far as them moving some stuff to Canada:
BETTER then MEXICO

P.S: I will never disagree with Don the VX man. He's kinda of old i don't like to upset him since he still likes me
P.S2: Hey Don, i need some help with a wrap on my ugly Duckbill Sled. Tell your wife cuz she's the one with the taste

 

I AGREE & DISAGREE with just about every statement here.
The SideWinder/Procross IS an excellent chassis & handles very well.
Could it be better if they redesigned it to "fit" the motor in? YEP! It sits 2 whole inches above the pan.
Do they HAVE to? NO
Should they? YES
The competition is moving forward.
Ride a new POO Matryx. You'll see.
I will NOT buy a POO yet cuz i just don't trust their motors, but that front end is AMAZING!!!!

I can't wait to get a Yamaha motor under my skinny arse again.
In the mean time, i have a Yamaha boat motor & an FJ 09 so like some say, Yamaha just needs to make enough Fazools to stay a 4 season company.

Yes there are some stories of some guys getting trouble free miles on Winders with no "fixes".
I don't personally know any, but i'm confident they do exist.
My drive shaft bearing disintegrated on my 600R after 5200 miles.
I think it was a cheap Chinese bearing not an ENGINEERING flaw though. Right there is the difference.
With a new 900R coming, i will inform you boys of EVERY problem that happens. They don't call me SCS. (Sugar Coat Steve)

As far as them moving some stuff to Canada:
BETTER then MEXICO

P.S: I will never disagree with Don the VX man. He's kinda of old i don't like to upset him since he still likes me
P.S2: Hey Don, i need some help with a wrap on my ugly Duckbill Sled. Tell your wife cuz she's the one with the taste

I was wondering where and if the OCD was lurking. Hope your summer is good. Good to see you posting on here.

 

P.S: I will never disagree with Don the VX man. He's kinda of old i don't like to upset him since he still likes me
P.S2: Hey Don, i need some help with a wrap on my ugly Duckbill Sled. Tell your wife cuz she's the one with the taste

Hey Steve...You are on my short list of friends. I'm so old that I don't remember who's on the list anymore

I'll mention to my wife that you're looking for a wrap for you new sled but I already know what she's going to say...

Good to see you're back on TY this summer. This place is dead right now except for the hard core guys.

Shoot me a text or give me a call sometime to get caught up and bust my old ballz.

 

i still check it everyday...........when i'm not catching 40'' Stripers on Top water Plugs

 

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.

This is 100% spot on, 2 winders and 1 Tcat (all 18's) and all stock. All 3 have had top gear failures, drive shafts worn out, oil reservoir seals leaking and bogey wheels replaced. The Tcat is getting a new primary this year (warranty) because the original was close to exploding from cracks in the sheaves. Two seasons ago we addressed the drive shafts. On mine I had it chrome plated with zero interference fit on the bearing, the T cat had his welded with zero interference fit on the bearing and the other winder just went with a new OEM shaft. All 3 were installed with green bearing locker and BOP drive shaft savers. We have torn them apart this spring/summer and not one has spun. All 3 also put a new DMC top gear in last year and all 3 gears when back in this year with over 2500 miles from last season, they were all still tight with minimal wear if any. So to say it only happens on boosted sleds is false. Were trying the BOP ROV bypass this season, hope it works like everything else Travis designs.

 

i still check it everyday...........when i'm not catching 40'' Stripers on Top water Plugs

Jealous....just so much fun. Headed up to Michigan in a couple of weeks to do some night mousin for big browns though.

 

And this is not exclusive to the sidewinder, the Viper has all the same issues. We have 4 vipers in our group and all have had new drive shafts with BOP savers and new top gears and chaincase issues and bogey wheels. All 4 Vipers are stock with zero mods.

 

This is 100% spot on, 2 winders and 1 Tcat (all 18's) and all stock. All 3 have had top gear failures, drive shafts worn out, oil reservoir seals leaking and bogey wheels replaced. The Tcat is getting a new primary this year (warranty) because the original was close to exploding from cracks in the sheaves. Two seasons ago we addressed the drive shafts. On mine I had it chrome plated with zero interference fit on the bearing, the T cat had his welded with zero interference fit on the bearing and the other winder just went with a new OEM shaft. All 3 were installed with green bearing locker and BOP drive shaft savers. We have torn them apart this spring/summer and not one has spun. All 3 also put a new DMC top gear in last year and all 3 gears when back in this year with over 2500 miles from last season, they were all still tight with minimal wear if any. So to say it only happens on boosted sleds is false. Were trying the BOP ROV bypass this season, hope it works like everything else Travis designs.

The ROV is causing the oil seal to blow out.. Its not the best design(chain case/oil reservoir) and the gasket seems thin BUT if you either do the ROV bypass or some other mod(BOP) to relieve the pressure build up in tank its not a issue anymore.. Sounds like your very familiar with the FEW issues and fixes. Interested and hope your able Post results on the BOP oil tank mod.. Thanks

 

The ROV is causing the oil seal to blow out.. Its not the best design(chain case/oil reservoir) and the gasket seems thin BUT if you either do the ROV bypass or some other mod(BOP) to relieve the pressure build up in tank its not a issue anymore.. Sounds like your very familiar with the FEW issues and fixes. Interested and hope your able Post results on the BOP oil tank mod.. Thanks

Yep, we have been really lucky in the temps have been favorable for us, just hasn't been super cold for the ROV to freeze up and blow the seal out. We've just had the RTV silicone breakdown allowing the oil reservoir to leak. Mine just started to leak this past season so I used the BOP gasket instead of the RTV silicone. I will post on the oil tank mod for sure but I'm not fond of the real cold stuff to ride in either...lol. Been there way to many times. Woke up one morning in Wawa to -40, waited until 10 am, warmed up to -25 we decided to head out. Never got above -10 the entire day.....damn that was cold going across the magpie reservoir. Never again...that's what casinos are for.

 

This is 100% spot on, 2 winders and 1 Tcat (all 18's) and all stock. All 3 have had top gear failures, drive shafts worn out, oil reservoir seals leaking and bogey wheels replaced. The Tcat is getting a new primary this year (warranty) because the original was close to exploding from cracks in the sheaves. Two seasons ago we addressed the drive shafts. On mine I had it chrome plated with zero interference fit on the bearing, the T cat had his welded with zero interference fit on the bearing and the other winder just went with a new OEM shaft. All 3 were installed with green bearing locker and BOP drive shaft savers. We have torn them apart this spring/summer and not one has spun. All 3 also put a new DMC top gear in last year and all 3 gears when back in this year with over 2500 miles from last season, they were all still tight with minimal wear if any. So to say it only happens on boosted sleds is false. Were trying the BOP ROV bypass this season, hope it works like everything else Travis designs.

YEP
Again, we know a FEW have had "no" problems, but that is NOT the norm.
Some guys say we blow things up on this site, but the dozen or so Winder guys that i rode with, aren't even on this site & had NO idea what i told them was going to happen. And IT DID!
This includes DEALERS!
Friends are asking me for Stock advice now calling me Nostradomus, but the reality is , I LIVED IT, that's how i know.

Would i recommend a Winder?
YES

Would i own another?
YES

Would i pray & hope to be one of the lucky ones?
NO
I would have to rip a brand new sled apart to the core & "fix" all the questions that still exist.
I would do at least everything SNODEN did.
I was hoping to do just that to my SECOND Winder, but it broke so i got mad & "gave" it away to FLEECER.
When he opened up chain case, he found the screw almost all the way out. It wouldn't have made the year.
With 2800 miles & taken care of by real good dealers, i was hoping to make it just 1 year.
Luckily i had a back up 600 that saved me for the second year in a row due to Winder issues.

I've said this many times before.
AC/Yamaha do NOT need a whole new chassis.
Upgrade for better fit, fix the KNOWN issues.
That's it!
That's all most of us are asking.

With over 5000 miles a year, i'll be buying a new sled in 2 years.
BRING me BACK YAMAHA!

 

Forgot about needing to weld the screws holding the roller on the chain adjuster. Good call Steve!

 

Forgot about needing to weld the screws holding the roller on the chain adjuster. Good call Steve!

Yea this was a issue on some.. I ran mine for two seasons and never welded it until season 3.. Mine(2017) was tight and had thread locker. Guessing this was a quality control issue when the sled was built. The site glass was another one about the same as the screw. 12K and my site glass was tight.. I actually liked the site glass and feel its better then what we have now. Dip stick would have been good also.

 

The site glass was kinda cool & I only know of 2 guys that their site glass fell out.
SNOWARRIOR i met in Maine was stranded in a restaurant while his buddies were riding.
That alone says it's a HORRIBLE gimmick.
I never heard of a dipstick falling out or leaking, Plus, what good is seeing if you need oil & can't add oil without a tool box?

Now the DOO doesn't have a dipstick either keep in mind.
It has 2 Allen screws, one to be removed to see some oil come out. Like a boat.
Remove a cover at top on side to add oil. NOT great, but never a problem.

The new screw that replaces the site glass is ok at best as long as you bring a "Gear Oil" type cap with you in case oil is needed.
Still can't do a quick oil change though.

 

My first sled had tight chain case screws, but second didn't.
That's 50%
Relying on LOCTITE is a horrible lack of engineering that cost MANY to lose riding time. UNNACCEPTABLE
"Losing Riding Time" is the biggest issue with every thing now.
Short seasons, low snow & busy stressful lives. Can't have a downed sled because of dumb issues.

Failures
Yes
Poor Engineering
NO

 

"

Short seasons, low snow & busy stressful lives. Can't have a downed sled because of dumb issues.

Agree 100%