RTX Is The Highest Maintenance Production Sled

I have to admit when Yamaha changed the skid in 07' I wasn't exactly happy about it. I thought after struggling with my mono bottoming issues that I sorta got ripped off. Having read all of the issues you guys are going through, I have to say I now feel lucky. I've had to put a ton of money for susp into the Mono as well but at least the simple stuff functioned and I wasn't breaking rails and straps. The worst part is the expense of it all. If the machines were 5-6 thousand bucks you could maybe chaulk it up to ridder style and sled use. If they're going to add the RTX badge and call it Rough Trail Extreme it should at least beable to handle some abuse. I don't want to beat a dead horse but have you contacted the dealer about these issues and have them document them? What's their response?
 
LJ 452 said:
I think adding grease zerts/zerks to the pivot is key to make either last. How does the ZX2 not require grease? Does it use bearings or something? I've never really looked at it up close so no idea how it functions.

The suspension is plastic and is made to be self lubricating!

I will have to look at adding zerts to the front, that would be much easier then changing bushings all the time.
 
I am not saying they are not without their problems. But when you spend the kind of money on R&D to build these units they are forced to cut and paste. I think sled sales peaked several years ago at 300,000 units for all 4 manufacturers this is a relatively small amount compared to 4 wheelers and other play toys that are used anywhere throughout the universe. When we keep demanding more power and reliable engines that can do what we want it has to go in phases. They have changed springs and rates and changed on models to the torsion suspension. The move from the no action to the mono was a leap forward and it is realy a problem to design one that works for all weight, style and conditions. It took me years but I now have sleds that nothing else can touch. The thing that peeves me is the front ends. The sway bar issue would have cost no more to upgrade from the factory to 13 mm and no-one is happy with the stock bars and the skis which have sucked since forever.

I just know that any sled I buy will be a yammy and I am faced with bargain hunting for skis, shocks and sway bar. the rest I can deal with.
 
Here is my list after 7200 Hard miles on a 07 RTX

1- Belt
2-sets of hifax. First set I changed to early. I got 5600 miles out of the second set.
2-Y pipes
1- Jack Shaft bearing
1- Skid wheel

Everything but the first two were covered under Y.E.S.

I have no complaint's. I was very disappointed in my RS vector but I love my Apex RTX. It is just as reliable as the polaris sled's I had before my Yamaha.
 
All I know is after breaking the Mono rails twice and RA cable 3 times and what seemed like endless hyfax in 6000 miles I was a bit disappointed to say the least in the Mono on the 05 had. I have to agree that it SUCKS they install a wheel with a non replaceable bearing as well. Thats lame. Rest of the sled was fantastic and from what I was reading here I was replacing my hyfax too soon. We'll see...because with this new leftover 07 GT...I will run these hyfax until I see metal. Once I do...I have a feeling the skid will be coming out and never going back in it. I will put something else in this sled if I can't get this thing to keep a set of hyfax on it for longer than 1500 to 2000 miles.
I love the Motor, and it's a great looking sled...but I will be watching what the other three are doing and I will jump if something else looks promising in the 4 stroke market when it comes time for a new sled.
 
It will bust!! They all doo.

When I initially came to this site in 06 everyone was glowing about how wonderful these sleds are. I was pretty happy 2. I have had : 80 tx 440, 91 rxl, 97 mxz 670, 98 Mxz 670, 02 zr 800, 06 Apex. They all bust. Usually it is not motor failure. Except '80 tx and piped 98 mxz. You leave a 2 stroke stock and maybe jet down 2 sizes and your good to go. Motors are great but Yamaha should come Out with a new chasis we could bolt are motors into for @ $5 grand and I'll buy one! Every 3 seasons. Sounds like the guy with the initial post knows how to beat the helll out of a machine properly.
 
Wilbust,

Welcome to TY! Please add your location to your profile.
 
I think a lot of folks wil be jumping ship in the near futur

I think a lot of folks will be jumping ship in the near future. Every year Cat and Skidoo both strive to improve on the previous years problems, geometry changes , etc. etc. etc. and there machines get better. They listen to the customers and improve on the problems, Yamaha DOES NOT! How long did we suffer with the ProAction crap rear suspensions in the 90's and early 2000's while everyone else went to the torsin spring versions long ago, then finally 10 years late Yamaha does this with the Mnt. sleds and rough trails sleds. The problem is they listen to desk jockeys not riders, you can guarantee half the current Apex owners are waiting and HOPING that the Doo 4tec is dependable because they'll own one in the next two years. I pay 12000.00 for a sled I expect to get what I pay for, PERIOD! I have had my share of issue with the Apex Mnt. and will also be jumping ship when Cat puts their 4 stroke into a Mnt. chassis or Doo does. Good luck and maybe if enough of us start squeeling Yamaha will actually listen to all these little Bullshizz complaints they should have addressed on there "premium" sleds years ago. :o|
 
You know they read this stuff. If there smart they will listen up. With the price of this sport...there is no reason to have the stupid "brand loyal" mentality anymore. Whoever puts out a rock solid (or as close to) sled for the money all 4 manufactures are charging WILL be getting the market share. Period!

Listen Up Yamaha...
 
Before I made up my mind to purchase a Vector, I read the Yammi forums for weeks on end looking at potential problem areas for each model. I likewise did the same for Polaris and Cat on their respective forums since they were also contenders at that time. I knew about the idler wheel / hyfax issues and overall rear suspension issues with the RTX sleds, as well as the tendency of the Apex models to break y-pipes and such. That is one of the reasons I chose the Vector. But, my point is, even after reading about these problems the Yammi crowd seemed the most pleased with their sleds and had the fewest complaints overall. The Cat guys were all upset in 2007 about the poor ecu calibration of their big sleds and were pulling their hair out trying to clutch the Diamond Drive system. Poo had a great 600 but a lot of people thought their 700 was a gas guzzling turd. I can't even count how many times I have heard about a Doo sdi motor letting go. The complaints here are legitimate, but on the other boards there is just as much if not more talk about "jumping ship" to Yammi or another mfg. That is not to excuse Yamaha for putting crappy idlers on our sleds or for not addressing the suspension issues though. Sorry for posting when I don't own an RTX and don't have your experiences with your particular sled. For about $120 you can replace all 6 rear idlers with Doo wheels and solve half of your issues from the sound of it. If you're lucky you'll find a friend who can machine your mounts, too. My dad did mine since he has a lathe in his garage.
 
GotJuice - I couldn't agree with you more. Though I've now been spoiled by the 4 stroke thing, and have my sled dialed in to the point I thought it was when I bought it, it's not going to last forever. If Yammi wants to sell me another one, they're going to have to figure out hw to build/calibrate a suspension that will work under real conditions, not just on a CAD machine. The 4 TEK does look good......

Metallicat - I thought I did my homework regarding the sled I purchased. There was very little negative regarding the Proactive at that point in time, and much positive regarding the Mono. I know the torsion spring type pretty well, figured if anyone could make it work, I could, so I went for it. Now, though I feel like a broken record at times, I'd just like to make sure honest feed back is available to those that are looking for it.
 
Metallicat said:
Before I made up my mind to purchase a Vector, I read the Yammi forums for weeks on end looking at potential problem areas for each model. I likewise did the same for Polaris and Cat on their respective forums since they were also contenders at that time. I knew about the idler wheel / hyfax issues and overall rear suspension issues with the RTX sleds, as well as the tendency of the Apex models to break y-pipes and such. That is one of the reasons I chose the Vector. But, my point is, even after reading about these problems the Yammi crowd seemed the most pleased with their sleds and had the fewest complaints overall. The Cat guys were all upset in 2007 about the poor ecu calibration of their big sleds and were pulling their hair out trying to clutch the Diamond Drive system. Poo had a great 600 but a lot of people thought their 700 was a gas guzzling turd. I can't even count how many times I have heard about a Doo sdi motor letting go. The complaints here are legitimate, but on the other boards there is just as much if not more talk about "jumping ship" to Yammi or another mfg. That is not to excuse Yamaha for putting crappy idlers on our sleds or for not addressing the suspension issues though. Sorry for posting when I don't own an RTX and don't have your experiences with your particular sled. For about $120 you can replace all 6 rear idlers with Doo wheels and solve half of your issues from the sound of it. If you're lucky you'll find a friend who can machine your mounts, too. My dad did mine since he has a lathe in his garage.

Agree 100%. Most of the problems with the RTX can be addressed quickly and inexpensively. Bottom line is the sled will not leave you stranded on the trail.
 
I don't think that anyone on here is blind to the fact that all the manufactures don't have there issues. But when you have to dump a thousand buck into a suspension to make it perform close to whats advertised only start breaking things anyway it becomes very frusterating. An F6 Sno Pro in our group (stock) I could ride that thing to death and not bottom. Why can't Yamaha just do the same. Now he (the F6 owner) has had MPG issues and the shock mounts need to be replaced due to wear/ design flaws, but at least it functioned as intended. I think that the real point here. If it's going to break anyway at least make it work at intended. Hopefully the Nytro RTX S.E. I ordered lives up to the hype, I really had to contemplate which way I was going to go this year. I will say that If I have to put in the money I did on my Apex Im not sure how loyal I'm going to be, just simply can't afford to redo every sled the year of the purchase. IF the Nytro skid works, they really need to think about putting it in the Apex RTX.
 
few more comments

I think I should add some positive comments instead of all negative. I did buy this Apex Mnt. when I could have bought any other sled, so that should speak for something. The sled is great in it's element and the 4 stroke power is awesome. I've ridden every other sled on the snow and the feel is unreplaceable ( the engine).
Cat and Skidoo have went through there machines and replaced all metal and bolts with the size that was strong enough to do the job but smaller & lighter then the previous materials. If Yamaha was to go at there sleds with this mentality they could be much lighter and have much better suspensions. Yamaha has always had the good enough mentality and I've owned Yamaha's for a LONG time. Why wont Yamaha do what Polaris did many years ago, go to a known performing suspension compainy and have them make or design the Yamaha suspensions in there sleds. THEN and only then would they own the market share, until this happens they will just be Yamaha and never the top of the pile.
( suspensions like Polaris did with TEAMFast, Polaris has had the best suspensions in the business since )
So a question for Yamaha, why don't you realize you have potential to be the best? Why won't you get the help needed to design a solid suspension for your sleds that perform the way your competitors do?
Like others have said Yamaha does listen but historically only to easily changed problems. example, Why change the geometry on the Nytro sleds EXCEPT the Mnt version, do the Mountain sleds not deserve to drive better, a lot of folks are trying to figure this one out.....LOL. :die
 
Im seriously considering placing the 07 Dragon suspension in my 07 RTX - for the cost of all the upgrades to the RTX suspension it would be a wash.

I have found the Dragon suspensin with Walker Evans remote rez shocks for 500 bucks.

Maybe no more wheel issues and hyfax wear.

But Im really really torn on this.
 


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