My Venture MP Experience

[YukonMP]

Update on Yamaha's response, dick all(can I say that on TY). I sent this note on the 20th, the first letter was on the 16th.


Good Morning,
I would appreciate an update on your progress in this matter and an estimate of how long this process is likely to take. I truly would enjoy "bragging up" Yamaha Customer Service, thanks for your assistance.
Ken

Monday (March 1st) will be two weeks with no response other than their initial acknowledgement of my letter. The following is my latest prod.

Good morning,

It is now two weeks since my initial contact with your offices and there has been no constructive communication. Do you know I have never stood at a customer service counter or been on hold on the phone with a customer service representative for two weeks before? I get better service returning a five dollar widget at Canadian Tire on a Saturday morning.

I have done you the courtesy and service of pointing out an error on your website that has been confusing and misleading customers for two years. It seems little more than common courtesy to explain the process that my complaint will be subjected to and the estimated timetable for resolution.

Yours with ebbing patience,
Ken

 

[Mooseman]

They're still thinkin . Maybe having trouble translating their site from English to Jengrish to understand what you're saying.

And not to be a smarta** but today is march 1st

 

[YukonMP]

I should have looked before I leaped!

 

[YukonMP]

Good afternoon Ken!

As mentioned in my previous email, I provided a copy of your letter to our factory liaison however I am afraid factory is very tight-lipped about those information. If there is any any possible changes, the moment we hear ...... we post it! Keep in mind, not all suggestion are feasible


The above is the response I received this morning. It appears that at least in this instance the guy or gal that has to put up with my impertinence has little or more likely, nothing to do with forming the solution. Nice corporate design ... NOT! In the mean time, if your MP came with Tuners don't forget a snorkel and water wings if you are going off trail. We want you safe even if the ship goes down and is never seen again.

 

[YukonMP]

I believe that the most difficult thing for a snowmobile is running on deep fresh powder. But, running in that kind of snow is also the greatest joy of snowmobiling. When you look at it in that way, Yamaha's snowmobile development mission may be thought of as the mission of conquering deep fresh snow. I intend to continue struggling with, and enjoying, that challenge. And at the end of the day, I want to be able to give the customers snowmobiles that protect the natural environment, bring them fun and fire up the spirit.

The above is an excerpt from Yamaha's Snowmobile Magazine on the ocassion of 10 years of four stroke sleds. The writer is Takuji Nakano, a Yamaha Project Leader and employee since 1983. I wonder what he thinks of Dual Keel Tuner skis on my MP. Actually, I wonder if he still works there.

This 10th aniversary magazine makes for a lot of good reading and does a nice job of describing the challenges of sled design and Yamaha's philosophy. Too bad they missed this one by a mile. Another week has passed and no progress with Yamaha Customer Dis-Service. Very lame.

http://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/4st-snowmobiles-10th-anniv/edition1/tech-talk/

 

[Pat tremblett]

Last week when I talked to customer service about starting legal proceedings and small claims court the guy gave me the address and said good luck.

 

[YukonMP]

You have to credit Yamaha Canada for consistency, the same misleading information regarding the skis on MPs is on their website for the 2016 model year. Clearly their corporate structure includes a sound proof padded room where complaints and complainants can be ignored until they are irrelevant and exhausted respectively. Very lame.

 

[Mooseman]

At the end of the day, this particular fight might not be worth the trouble. Maybe just buy a set of skis of your choice and sell off the tuners to someone who would appreciate them for what they are, a great trail ski.

Now for anyone contemplating buying this sled new from a dealer, this can be a negotiating point to ensure you get the ski you want prior to the sale. Point the discrepancies in the description and ask for the wider skis.

 

[YukonMP]

I'm with you Mooseman, if this was actually causing me any bother ... well, I wouldn't bother. The only reason I haven't got the Simmons Gen IIs on the sled is I don't need them now. My only point in persisting is to see if Yamaha Canada has any sense of responsibility in this matter and any sense of urgency given they have errors on their website and they are still selling MPs with Tuners.

When I was researching and shopping the used market I found a 2014 MP for sale with 300kms on it. It was too far away but after exchanging a few emails the story came out. An older gent, newly retired, had treated himself to a new sled with plans to accompany his sons on some longer trips. It sounded to me like the guy spent the whole trip stuck and didn't even take the sled home with him. One of the sons was left with the sled to sell.

But at this point it does seem to boil down to buyer beware. If you are considering purchasing an MP the dual keel Tuner will turn the sled around in a phone booth on ice and is a real nice trail ski. AND if you ever venture off trail I'd suggest you have a shovel, ropes, a come-along and a couple hours.

 

[YukonMP]

My season ended suddenly and I've been busy as heck ever since. My last day was a long(for me) ice fishing trip of 80kms. I had better conditions than I expected going out and worse coming back. Pretty much bare ice so I had too take it easy but still warmed up the sliders pretty well. When I got home the seasonal creek just off our property had suddenly appeared and was a foot deep. At least it cooled the sliders.

It took two days before I was fishing again out of the small freighter canoe I have.

Blue is lifted and blocked up, the tank full of premium(no ethanol) and stabilized. I hope to build a shop this summer so most of the maintenance will be done in the fall. Not my first choice but I can live with it. The oil only has 1500 kms on it. Have to get the battery out.

I regret to report Yamaha Canada has yet to say, never mind do, anything about the tuner skis. By way of a reminder, two and a half months ago I contacted them to express my extreme disappointment with the tuners (which are great skis for some applications) and pointed out that up to 2014 the MPs had come with a VK style ski as indicated on their website and that is what I would prefer. Whatever - I'm not losing any sleep over it but I am underwhelmed by their response. I know Yamaha spends a lot of time and money building and maintaining their reputation and image and I just think this kind of thing is low hanging fruit, ie. easy,cheap and hard to screw up. Whatever their reason was after this long it is an excuse. Too bad, I wish I had a better Yamaha story to tell on the trails.

Thanks to everyone at TY and especially the VL/MP forum. It is obvious to me that many of you are keen enthusiasts and damn fine people. Have a good summer and I'll talk to you in the fall.

Best,
Ken

 

[Mooseman]

Well, at least you haven't totally given up and gone to the yellow side like Rayclar. This forum does give some added value. Can't say the same about Dootalk. Not the friendliest bunch over there.

Good summer and see you in the fall.

 

[YukonMP]

Seems like a few words are in order now that my MP has been joined by a 2020 VK Pro. For now the MP is parked but in the long run I expect it to be the ice fishing sled. But because this is a bit of a milestone I thought I'd give a summary of my Venture MP experience.

In a nutshell I have to say I really like this sled. It has its quirks but it has done an outstanding job of what I ask of it and an OK job of what occassionally comes up. I do very little trail riding and we don't get a lot of snow. I once went up the mountain with the mountain sleds and I could get around up there but I had to be careful.

I think the main thing that I want to put out there is how easy to own, maintain, and reliable this sled has been. More demanding users of high performance models provide a lot of the content on this site and I just want to talk a bit about the other side. My MP has 14.5K km on it, that is about 9K American. It still has original sliders and only one wheel was replaced early on. The skid has never been out and I have never cleaned and repacked the bearings. When a wheel feels glitchy I give it a little grease with a needle.

All I have ever done to the clutches is clean them. I got 6500km(4000miles) on two belts. Neither failed. The entire steering and front end is original and my steering slop is moderate. I attribute this to my use of 80w90. When the sled is in the shop I warm up the oil and drizzle oil in the joints.

All of that said I have to emphasize that I take it easier than most. Not that I haven't pinned it across the lake or bush wacked with the Scandics but I like riding more than wrenching and buying gas more than buying parts.

Thanks to everyone in the forum who has contributed to my overall positive experience of owning a Yamaha. Here is a picture of the old guy and his new 2020 Yamaha VK Professional ll.

 

[Mooseman]

Excellent op-ed of your experiences with the MP. I have just one question... How the heck did you make your sliders last so long without any mods? When I bought mine from the original owner with 800km, they were worn down to nothing at the front curve and pretty worn elsewhere so right away, I put bigger idler wheels and low snow wheels up front. Just last year I replaced them and were basically worn in between wheels.

Mine is currently up for sale as I have moved on to a 2010 RS Venture GT. I mostly trail ride therefore this new sled is better suited to this, as well as more comfortable. Double the CC doesn't hurt either

 

[YukonMP]

This is all I can say about the sliders. I have run scratchers most of the time. I once made a bit of a fast run, two up, on nearly bare ice to get a little closer to some caribou and I did not have my scratchers down. One side got hot and there was instant noticeable wear. If not for that they would still be 80 percent.

Basically I never let them get hot, with that one exception. If I am wondering how they are doing I stop and check if the track clips are warm. If they are I slow down ... not everyones choice I know. I run my track just a little loose but I don't think that makes much difference. I will say that I wear out a set of scratchers every year so it is about the same money wise, it is just easier to bolt on scratchers than pull sliders.

 

[vttrailboss]

Ok... so i'm pretty new here, but have had my MP ('16) for a couple years now. Last year I added camoplast mountain skis to help it in the powder, but that wasn't much help. I'm sure a big part of it is my inexperience, but out of several sleds I've been on the MP is very tippy. I'm going to try the adjustments mentioned above... Tighten the strap, maybe loosen the sway bar, etc. I'm still not clear on the weight transfer, though. Is it "transferring" to the skis, or front of the track?