rented a phazer..... not happy...long read..

[ZAKSTANG]

well first off let me preface this topic by saying i am a LOYAL yamaha owner and have owned many different yamaha products and plan on buying a mountain phazer next year and will argue with anyone who says yamaha isnt the most reliable and best built product out there but.....i have to say that i am VERY disappointed that yamaha released the phazer with this icing issue....it is not like yamaha to release a product with such a major flaw as this...so to my story--

went up the U.P. and decided what the heck, ill rent a phazer and see for myself about this whole icing issue everyone is talking about....wanted to rent a mountain lite but no deal so i rented a gt....first impressions were WOW what an absolute blast of a sled!!!! reminded me of my younger years hangin off the sides of my yamaha blaster 4-wheeler!!! hit a few powerline areas off trail and jumped the crap out of the sled and hit a bunch of drifts and was having a great time....VERY impressed with the sled and was great off trail as long as snow wasnt 4 feet deep...power was more than enough for the kind of riding i do...handling was awesome and it was perfect for stand up riding......got back on the trail for a while and the temp light popped on....hmmmmm...pulled over and chked the radiator and that was clear so i tipped it on its side and the area between track and front exchanger was completely plugged with ice/snow....i dont really care too much about the snow on the running boards as with any off trail riding that will be an issue...so i clear the snow from the exchanger thinking that the excessive build-up was caused by the deep snow i was riding and the exchanger would be fine riding on the trail so off we go again and this time i stick to the twisty freshly groomed trails and after 11 miles i pull over and wait for others (on polaris sleds) to catch up as they cant keep up in the twisty trails....and after less than 30 seconds of sitting the temp light comes on again....so i tip it over and there is a ton of ice/snow built up again blocking the front exchanger!!!!

well this is, in my opinion as a lifelong yamaha owner, never having EVER had an issue with any yamaha i have ever owned, completely unacceptable....now, i dont know if it was just an issolated issue with this sled but i dont see how that could be but who knows....yamaha needs to fix this issue before i will be buying this sled....i know not every sled is perfect but this is an issue that yamaha shouldnt have accepted in my opinion...they are better than that...

is this a problem for anyone else that has ridin or owns a phazer??? i think covering the hole would solve the problem but that is something an owner of a yamaha shouldnt have to do.....it is just not like yamaha so whats up???

opinions???

PS- cant wait for the 08s to come out!!!

zak

 

[Superman]

The Icing is My only complaint. I rode My Mtn Lite the last 2 days and its definately a pain in the butt. Honestly I would like runningboard exchangers and a better shield system that just lets the snow hit the muffler. Problem solved IMO. Don't know how they would plumb it from board to board but something could be done.

 

[Bakemono]

30 seconds of idle time is kind of a long time to let a sled sit and idle.
It just seems very odd that something like this wouldnt come up in testing.
I have a feeling Yamaha is going to close off that hole in the tunnel. It seems like it creates a lot of problems. Its not as if that holes saves them so much weight and if all the other 4-strokes dont need that hole in the tunnel (especially ones that run engines that are twice as big), I dont really see why the Phazer needs it.

 

[Yellowknife]

They all need fans. No doubt. With the fan, I can let mine sit there running in a heated garage and the heat light won't come on. lol

 

[Yamahnator]

They all need fans. No doubt. With the fan, I can let mine sit there running in a heated garage and the heat light won't come on. lol

This is not entirely true. I can leave mine idling for 10 + minutes and I've never had the light come on, in 30-40 degree weather and in sub zero weather. I've probably posted this more times than I can count. It was the same with the apex's and people did a lot of unneccessary things, it's the same with the Phazers, MOST should NOT need a fan, it doesn't matter if the radiator gets "clogged" I've had mine running for 10 minutes with the front end buried while we dug it out, snow completely packed against the radiator. it's an issue with your radiator mix. Everyone who's listened to this advice has had their overheating issues dissapear. You are correct that a fan will probably make any issue with it dissapear, but for most people this is just an unnecessary extra step.

As far as the icing, yeah it's annoying, but not a huge issue for me and for others. It's obvious that it's an issue for others. Enough have reported no problems with closing the tunnel or even just the sides of the tunnel (which is apparently Yamaha approved).

 

[BlueByYou2000]

Look for Yamaha to address the icing on the 08s. For now, you can get http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/produ ... etail.aspx

Tunnel enclosures from Yamaha. They come in Aluminum, Black or Blue...BBY

 

[Yellowknife]

Some of the pannel owners said the pannels don't cut it, and frankly Yamaha should be addressing the current owners icing issues NOW instead of fixing next years sleds.

They all need fans. No doubt. With the fan, I can let mine sit there running in a heated garage and the heat light won't come on. lol

This is not entirely true. I can leave mine idling for 10 + minutes and I've never had the light come on, in 30-40 degree weather and in sub zero weather. I've probably posted this more times than I can count. It was the same with the apex's and people did a lot of unneccessary things, it's the same with the Phazers, MOST should NOT need a fan, it doesn't matter if the radiator gets "clogged" I've had mine running for 10 minutes with the front end buried while we dug it out, snow completely packed against the radiator. it's an issue with your radiator mix. Everyone who's listened to this advice has had their overheating issues dissapear. You are correct that a fan will probably make any issue with it dissapear, but for most people this is just an unnecessary extra step.

As far as the icing, yeah it's annoying, but not a huge issue for me and for others. It's obvious that it's an issue for others. Enough have reported no problems with closing the tunnel or even just the sides of the tunnel (which is apparently Yamaha approved).

Well my mix is rated to -40, and without the fan I overheat.

 

[Bakemono]

Enough have reported no problems with closing the tunnel or even just the sides of the tunnel (which is apparently Yamaha approved).

Its a GYT-R accessory, so Id say its Yamaha-approved. Id agree with you about the coolant mix though. Running 100% antifreeze will definetely lower the coolant's boiling point.

 

[sobfrogg]

I was on the TY ride over the weekend. My buddies brand new FX overheated evrey 4.6 miles. we would look under the sled and a ice block was blocking the heat exchanger. This was happening all weekend. it got to the point we let the TY group go on so we did not hold up the group.
We have the Yami tunnel acces installed. We also tried closing off the tunnel holes.
I like the Yami kit, but I would not recomend closing the holes in the tunnel. On long runs the exhaust would get very HOT.
The sled has 800 miles and my buddie loves the Pahzer. He wishes his Gade was as much fun to ride.
The sled will be going into the dealer in the am. I will post what thy find.

 

[WINGNUTS]

MILES

I HAVE A FEW HUNDRED MILES ON MY FX AND ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT, NO PROBLEMS. HAVEN'T HAD ANY REAL ISSUES WITH ICING. SLED IS STARTING TO REALLY SETTLE IN. THROTTLE RESPONSE IS AMAZING. GOT MY SUSPENSION SET UP PERFECT. RIDES ON RAILS GOT RID OF THE TIPPINESS AFTER THE FIRST RIDE. NO OVER HEATING PROBLEMS EITHER. RODE IN SOME VERY MINIMAL CONDITIONS AT WIDE OPEN FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME AND HAD NO PROBLEMS. STARTS AFTER 5 SECONDS OF CRANKING IN EXTREME COLD. I THINK I GOT A ROSE TO EVERYONE'S THORN. -

 

[mlloyd]

What settings from factory position did you adjust to make it rail better?

 

[DaveRX1]

Pull up limiter strap one hole
Reduce ski shock preload 3/8" from stock
Increase ski shock comp damp 3 clicks
I run the rear springs on soft
4.5" shaper bars
96 1.175 studs
tunnel protectors

 

[sobfrogg]

Get some input on suspension settings from Mr. Sled.

He sugested leaving the limiter strap at the stock length. Also set the front shock springs to full hard or to the max setting as listed in your owners manual. Yes its backwards from what you would think but this things rails now.
We also moved the center shock spring adjust about 1/4"-3/8" harder than stock.
My buddie also put Pilot skis on it. He now wants more ski so he will be ordering the XT pros from Richierich.
Outside of the overheat problem this sled is GREAT. Eats bumps and corners. As for the overheat prob. Mrsled had his Phazer on the ride and he did not have any overheating probs

 

[BV1]

They all need fans. No doubt. With the fan, I can let mine sit there running in a heated garage and the heat light won't come on. lol

This is not entirely true. I can leave mine idling for 10 + minutes and I've never had the light come on, in 30-40 degree weather and in sub zero weather. I've probably posted this more times than I can count. It was the same with the apex's and people did a lot of unneccessary things, it's the same with the Phazers, MOST should NOT need a fan, it doesn't matter if the radiator gets "clogged" I've had mine running for 10 minutes with the front end buried while we dug it out, snow completely packed against the radiator. it's an issue with your radiator mix. Everyone who's listened to this advice has had their overheating issues dissapear. You are correct that a fan will probably make any issue with it dissapear, but for most people this is just an unnecessary extra step.

As far as the icing, yeah it's annoying, but not a huge issue for me and for others. It's obvious that it's an issue for others. Enough have reported no problems with closing the tunnel or even just the sides of the tunnel (which is apparently Yamaha approved).

I agree what your saying makes sense, however I told your advice to my dealer a month or so back and he told me my mix was 75/25 as it should be for our temps and that the addition of any non-yamaha approved products may affect my warranty. Im simply stating what I was told.

He then also imformed me that Yamaha is resolving the issue on "CASE by CASE" basis, IE free fan. I should be getting on shortly.

-Steve

 

[WINGNUTS]

My suspension set up.

Left limiter strap alone.
Decreased front track shock preload about an inch.
Medium setting on blocks.
Left rear track shock stock with five clicks from soft on the clicker.
Front shocks decreased preload about 1.5 inches.
All clickers on front, 6 clicks from soft.
May pull another half inch on front track shock for a little more pressure;
however, don't want the front of the sled to feel heavy.