jakehayamaha
Extreme
Anybody have the Yamaha hand guards on the black viper? Wondering if they will work with the stock medium windshield
Yamacat21
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
My dad has them on his. Took some fine tuning of the mounts but got them to work.
The availability issue is nothing new nor is it isolated to Yamaha. It's so common that you can almost count on NOT being able to get certain accessories in season ... from any manufacturer. I think it's because they have no idea which items will be in demand, and they don't want excess inventory so they let the market dictate what items are ordered ... literally placing production-run orders with their vendors during the peak of the season, when they know the lead times for these products will place deliveries at or near the end of the season. No amount of complaining will ever change this, as the bottom line is the manufacturer doesn't want to gamble on which items will sell because if it guesses wrong it will be left with excess inventory. Some dealers know their market well, and order certain accessories early so they have them on hand when their customers want them. These dealers are the exception. The lesson in this is to order what you want well in advance of the riding season, that is If the manufacturers have published a list of accesorries by then.
Mike1157
Extreme
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
- Messages
- 76
Accessories
You points are well taken.
Not complaining. Tried to plan in advance when I realized what windshield was coming on the XTX. I am sure that they had good reasons why they choose that one. I ordered the Medium Sport at the end of July. That's the way it goes. Then add the fact that temps have been below average in the UP so far this season.
My sled happens to be in shop for oil/chaincase tension so Dealer ordered up the Base Viper Medium and will have it Thursday. That should solve my windshield SNAFU.
You points are well taken.
Not complaining. Tried to plan in advance when I realized what windshield was coming on the XTX. I am sure that they had good reasons why they choose that one. I ordered the Medium Sport at the end of July. That's the way it goes. Then add the fact that temps have been below average in the UP so far this season.
My sled happens to be in shop for oil/chaincase tension so Dealer ordered up the Base Viper Medium and will have it Thursday. That should solve my windshield SNAFU.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying anyone here should know better ... and after all, you just said you ordered your shield in July. To me, that you have yet to receive your sheild is unacceptable. I feel your pain, and agree 100 percent that parts availability from all manufacturers is terrible. It's probably one of the biggest reasons people give for poor customer service/satisfaction ratings on after purchase surveys. And it's an especially hard pill to swallow when unavailable parts prevent you from riding. Can't tell you how many times I've been in your position ... stopping by the stealership every couple weeks to see if the stuff you ordered has come in. A month goes by, then two. By the time you get what you need, you're about ready to cancel the order because the season has passed you by. It's just so commonplace and absolutely should not happen, but year after year we complain and seemingly nothing is done to change the situation.
Its called LEAN and until tax laws are changed nobody wants to have inventory and the customer suffers. It sucks.
Mike1157
Extreme
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
- Messages
- 76
Windshield
No never thought you said anything out of line at all. You make good points. I just try to be careful because I know the moderators get irritated if guys go off too much. My Dealer has been with Yamaha since the 60's. He is a great guy who cares about his customers and always tries to make things right. Want's to keep you on the trail. I noticed that he is very loyal to Yamaha and gets irritated when customers complain.
He told me a long time ago that the whole industry is more complicated than most people realize. What looks like "how could they do that" or why did that do it this way" or "how could they miss that" has so many variables. So I just try to go with flow.
Be safe out there! Happy New year
No never thought you said anything out of line at all. You make good points. I just try to be careful because I know the moderators get irritated if guys go off too much. My Dealer has been with Yamaha since the 60's. He is a great guy who cares about his customers and always tries to make things right. Want's to keep you on the trail. I noticed that he is very loyal to Yamaha and gets irritated when customers complain.
He told me a long time ago that the whole industry is more complicated than most people realize. What looks like "how could they do that" or why did that do it this way" or "how could they miss that" has so many variables. So I just try to go with flow.
Be safe out there! Happy New year
Galoot
Newbie
I'm waiting for a medium sport windshield also..but..I have a red and white beer box that I may transform into a windshield.. 
jakehayamaha
Extreme
Haha. That works too.. I guess I'll just have to get that medium stock one for now at least. Just had the coldest 30 mi ride ever and then the left hand warmer don't work on high.. smh
It is not just yamaha, my friend bought a xf 7000 lxr and is waiting for a tall windshield he ordered in april.
jakehayamaha
Extreme
Well stock med windshield backordered til end of Feb.. so maybe by June we might receive one... beer box and duct tape I guess!!!
wot-75
Expert
OVR4D said:
As soon as someone can guarantee good snow conditions accross the northern states year after year it will get better... but until then there will always be shortages so everyone in the supply chain won't get buried in inventory.
The reality is that the snowmobile industry is volatile. In the two-step-distribution model the MFG's typically build only what is ordered by distributors + a little extra.
Distributor orders are typically placed in the Spring with add-on orders placed as the season nears and as dealers begin committing $$ to pre-season orders.
Smart dealers order conservatively because if it doesn't snow (which means we don't buy as much stuff) then they are "stuck" with the inventory and forced to move it often at a loss.
The bottom line is that it's a very weather-dependent industry and until we get consistent yearly snowmobile friendly snow conditions across much of the riding areas we will always have this problem. Either that or we (and all the casual riders who aren't on enthusiast forums) all need to keep buying accessories even when it doesn't snow... yeah like that's going to happen lol.
The Viper windshield "situation" could have a number of different issues going on. Yamaha may have simply not ordered enough because dealers didn't order enough because customers didn't order enough to indicate there would be this much demands. As mentioned, the smart dealers took one look at the windshields on the SE models and recognized an opportunity.
In my opinion, Yamaha (the distributor in this scenario) is to blame for simply not ordering enough. They pay people (buyers) to accurately forecast demand for many of the accessories they sell. Someone got this one wrong.
Is Sportec building these? Does anyone know? I know Sportec was in one of my local performance shops a couple of months ago taking measurements on the demo sled the shop had... I'm really surprised to see that Powermadd/Cobra don't have anything out by now.
Just ride the darn thing and don't worry about it - if your cold get good gear!
I am riding with Motorfist gear and I have to take off the mid layer jacket cause I am so hot. I rode today for 60 miles testing the new gauge setup and had the handwarmers off and all the vents open on the jacket. I was wearing mechanics gloves and only the base shirt at 5 deg F. I am leaving for the yooper tomorrow and will be about -30 for the next couple of days.
I ride standing up and no windshield is going to make it warmer.
I am riding with Motorfist gear and I have to take off the mid layer jacket cause I am so hot. I rode today for 60 miles testing the new gauge setup and had the handwarmers off and all the vents open on the jacket. I was wearing mechanics gloves and only the base shirt at 5 deg F. I am leaving for the yooper tomorrow and will be about -30 for the next couple of days.
I ride standing up and no windshield is going to make it warmer.
TurboJamie
TY 4 Stroke God
Yamadog said:
Let us know how that -30* and 60 + mph goes for ya. I bet you order a grandpa superduper extra high shield afterwards. The LTX SE is absolutely freezing in cold temps. We wear Klim gear layered properly are no strangers to riding in cold northern temps and quebec temps in early season. Its normal to get out on -40* if you have a destination run in mind. Its simply not doable with no shield. I don't care what gear you wear, you will freeze.
wot-75
Expert
TurboJamie said:
Old Scandinavian saying:
"There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear"
Just ask these guys:
http://www.snowmobile.com/blog/2013/02/ ... assic.html
Granted, they have taller windshields than the Viper SE! lol.
