(Season 2007-08)- Yellowknife

[DITCHBANGER]

allen by stock do you mean you have the high alt clutch set-up?and the other nytro had the 22-40 gearing and sea level clutch weight..

 

[Yellowknife]

Yep, I have the high altitude clutch/gearing and the other one had the sea level clutching/gearing.

 

[Yellowknife]

As some of you may know, I am a member over on DooTALK and continue to post this stuff over there...couple of interesting questions raised that I had to research, thought you may be interested in some numbers:

11 mpg doesn't seem very good. How does it compare to other sleds you have had as far as mileage? I know 08 Nitro claims his sled is getting better than his SDI and thats also in not ideal conditions. It sounds like your starting to really like fourstrokes, do you think that your done with 2 strokes forever?

Today I put on 100 km's and I got 13 mpg. That was no towing and no trail breaking, however I was still dealing with overflow/slush.

Here's the numbers:

2008 FX Nytro MTX (not yet broken in): 12 mpg (average through 300 km's)
2007 Phazer Mountain Lite--------------: 15 mpg (season average - no towing - no sea level kit)
2005 MX Z Renegade 800HO PowerTEK: 10 mpg (season average)
2004 MX Z Renegade 600 SDI----------: 11 mpg (season average)
2002 MX Z Renegade 600 DPM----------: 9 mpg (season average)

Those may seem like low numbers, but I'm not cruising at 6000 rpm on a packed trail, i'm pushing 7000+ rpm's and in loose snow and sometimes towing (although not regularly)

So I guess looking back, the 4 stroke numbers aren't too bad.

I am definitely not done with 2 strokes - if a superior engine was made and suited my riding needs, I wouldn't hesitate to go back, but I don't think they can compete for reliability, and that's a big factor with the number of miles I ride and the fact that I want the sled in the shop as little as possible.

Don't forget about the sea level riding either, I bet if he consistently ran 400-500 rpm's lower his mileage would be better.

I forgot about that factor, you're right for sure.

That is a nice looking sled Yellowknife. For those of us who don't know much about you, could you tell us what you do for a living, and what type of riding you doo mostly. Looking forward to the '07-'08 "log". :righton

I work for CBC television, right now as a news director/switcher, still trying to get that role permanently. If you are in Canada and have Bell Expressvu, you can watch the two shows I switch/direct on channel 242 CBCNA. Airtimes are 4:00PM Mountain Time for Igalaaq, an Inuit Inuktitut Language newscast that is 30 minutes long. It repeats at 5:30PM Mountain Time, then at 6:00PM Mountain Time I direct a 1 hour English Newscast called Northbeat. If you have Starchoice in Canada you can watch at the same times on channel 333.

I ride mostly on lakes, staying off hardpacked trails and playing in the powder. No groomed trails so when we aren't on the lakes, the trails we ride are rough. I tow large boggan loads sometimes for hunting and fishing or just to take lots of fuel for exploring from one of our campsites.

Speaking of exploring...I worked an early shift today so got a few hours of afternoon riding in, headed to Jennejohn Lake. Usually I'm the first one into many out of the way places, but someone had already been into this lake. Lots of overflow out there still!

And finally an odometer shot on the Nytro when I got home...

 

[Yellowknife]

It was our coldest night of the season so far...although tonight may top it...

Where do I start in this next round of adventure???

I was able to compare the stock 'nose bag' with the accessory one for the Nytro's. The accessory one is a waste of money, the stock one is close to the same size and fits your belt and tools. That's good enough in my books...

Now, for some reason, Yamaha likes to put their tools in a bag that literally explodes around the freezing mark...they really should use something else...

Friday afternoon after work I headed out to see if I could get into Jennyjohn Lake, and had a beautiful moonlite ride...

All went well, so Saturday morning, 6 of us headed out as a group...

...and it only took about 2 minutes for our first catastrophy...remember that guy who I met who had the same MTX as me? Well he decided to strap some fuel behind his exhaust, but it wasn't too secure, made contact with the muffler and melted a hole through the fuel can....sounds familliar!!

We had to have a plane drop some supplies...

Just kidding about the supplies...but we had our second catastropy of the day only 20 minutes later...

You remember Greg? He's the guy who's secondary was a frisbee in last years mileage log? Well...one word: KA-BLEWEY!

Yes, his engine decided to stop running properly. We estimate it is a blown mag side but will be finding out early this week. That's Papasled's old machine making headlines again! LOL

He didn't let it spoil his day, I don't even think he got mad...we left the sled off the side of the trail and continued on...and he was able to do this:

Just a little trout...a yummy trout...

Stay tuned at the end of November for the second video installment...there's plenty of action that the video camera caught that the still camera's did not!

Of coarse, none other than the Nytro had to tow his sorry behind home...

Towing that sled really showed the torque of the Nytro's engine...but I didn't get off scott free during the day either...I had my first problem with the Nytro...

Error code '43'...
The machine wouldn't start. I pulled all the fuses and everything checked out, I re-seated them and boom, the error code was gone. Coincidence? I don't know, but it hasn't happened again and I've put a bunch of miles on since...

Sunday morning the project for the Nytro became cold weather testing and installations. We had our coldest morning at -32 C (-26 F).

Went out to try to start the Phazer with its new fuel mapping, and nope, it wouldn't go. That being said, it is still waiting on a decompression system update so we'll test again after that is installed.

Went out to try to start the Nytro. Effortless. It fired up instantly. I couldn't believe it. I have no idea why - it's a bigger motor, and the battery is the same...but she fired up like it was warm outside. Very pleased with that and curious to see just how low she'll go before needing to be plugged in.

Installation began of the Tall Windscreen and the Side Deflector Kit for the Tall Windscreen:

Stock Windscreen:

Comparison of Stock vs. Tall:

Tall Installed:

Side Deflector Kit Installed:

From behind the cockpit, it looks massive, like you are driving a Venture Multi Purpose, but from the outside, it doesn't look half bad. As far as purpose, it works very, very well. I was so much warmer riding at -30 C (-22 F) this morning. The wind even stays off my hands for the most part which was nice.

Only one problem - with the side deflector kit - it is designed to hook into the D-ZUS pins or whatever the heck they're called, and the kit even calls for a washer between the pin, the side deflector kit, and the cowling of the sled...but the Pin won't lock in, it isn't long enough...the thickness of the cowling, the washer, and the windshield takes up too much of the pins length to allow it to snap back into place. They must make longer ones, I'm gonna need a couple. I even tried dropping the washer out and the pin still can't reach far enough in to lock. So 2 of the 4 hood cowling pins won't lock in with the accessory wind deflector installed, but i'm leaving it installed anyway.

After all that fun, I headed out with the bonehead who ownes that other MTX and likes to melt fuel cans...we broke more trail...

My motor is all broken in now on the Nytro. She's a little jumpy in the tight trails with a 4000 rpm clutch engagement. I think I will be putting the sea level clutching in to allow for a lower engagement, but will leave the gearing for now, although my top speed is 110 km/h (69 MPH) with the current set-up, any higher and I hit the rev limiter at 9500 rpm.

After riding I got the sled into a garage and decided it was time to remove the tailight to maximize rack space...I need to put fuel back there, you know...the securly tied down kind...

I can relocate the tailight...question is where...here?

or here...I think I like it better here:

Anyway I left it off for now...I need to find out if I can just buy an extension for the tailight wiring before I go cutting stuff and doing a crappy solder job.

Doing so actually allows the shovel bag to fit further back...mine melted already...it was mounted too close to the exhaust pipe, but now further back it shouldn't melt, although, if you can believe it, Yamaha made the bag too big to fit in between the rack they sell. Guys - either wide the rack or thin the bag out a little...I can squish it to fit, but the zipper becomes a pain then...and I relocated the clamps that hold the bag in place...

And I finally got a shot of underneath the tunnel for the hitch...here's what the mounting looks like underneath...

And that concludes 600 km's of riding on the Nytro in my first week of ownership. All these pictures of mishaps don't do the video justice. Stay tuned!!

Cheers,
YK

 

[08NitroRTX]

Yellowknife

As for the side wind deflectors... just slightly squeeze the back side of the Dzus fittings and your good to go using the stock hardware. (your slightly bending the part of the dzus fitting you can't see while the plastic is in place..the anchor part...)

 

[Yellowknife]

Thanks for the tip! I will do that!

Ride Updates:

On the 26th I headed out looking for a spot to put the wall tent and had some fun. I was on my own and ice conditions were iffy on the big lakes. I was taking good measurements near shore and just followed the shore line. Check this out...it's as if the two were made for each other:

It's a rev fuel can in the nytro rack with the tail light gone...that brings the total capacity up to 40 litres. Not bad. lol

I got as far as Hearne Lake Lodge and ran into this guy:

I also ran into Don, the owner and he invited me into the lodge for a drink. We discussed Satellite Phones. I ended up ordering one from the U.S. and have an American Plan since they are cheaper.

When I started the Nytro up again to move it, the track was jammed. I thought it was ice, banged a bunch of it around, and still it wouldn't move. Don hooked up a tow strap to my front bumper to give the sled a pull in an attempt to free up the track...well, it didn't work and it bent my front bumper pretty good. Not his fault, he asked me first and I said it should be strong enough. I was wrong. I'll get pics of that Saturday. I have a replacement on order anyway, and it is a different one, a larger one that works in combination with a huge skid plate/floatation plate for the MTX.

In the end it wasn't ice, it was a track cleat, it had come loose and jammed in the rear idler wheel. It was in there good!!

I never did find a spot for the tent, but may continue that trek Saturday, not sure.

On the 27th I headed out breaking trail around the North Arm. That was great...

I ended up hitting a rock in one of the bays, it was covered up good. There's no obvious damage but I may have tweaked the front end. I'll have a closer look when I do the oil change. I can physically see that the shock tower is no longer perfectly centered on the one side between the a-arms.

GEEZ!! LOL

I'll get working on the November video now.

 

[Yellowknife]

Okay - some updates, ride info and maintenance info.

First off, hats off to everyone south who's getting loads of snow. It's about time you guys get what some of you have been waiting for, for years now. Crappy winters suck so its great to see cars stuck in snow banks in the south with sleds riding by!!

Sunday it was -32 C (-26 F) and the Nytro had not been started since the previous Tuesday. It cranked over a little stiffer but fired up without needing a second attempt. Great news for that motor.

We headed out to cut some trail despite the cold and had quite a few people out there. I didn't get any pics of trail cutting though - I forget I have the camera on me sometimes. I did get a shot of breaking some trail...

Ah yes, that bent bumper I have from the previous 'tow' gone bad...

I'll be replacing that with a larger bumper that goes with the new floatation plate soon I hope.

What about that rock I hit? Well I couldn't find any visible damage, except some aligning offset...here's what it should look like (left ski):

And here's what it looks like after side contact with a buried rock (right ski):

Despite the minor mishaps, and the low snow conditions in YK (we really haven't had much!!) I've been able to put on 829 km's in 2 weeks outside of work:

You know what that means? Oil change time.

Last year I had the dealer do the first service on the Phazer, but I figured I should do it myself this time to save some cashola...and I can say it is easy as pie, although I have a few design complaints to shoot to Yamaha, all in all it was a quick job and the filter couldn't be easier to get at. My shop manual isn't here yet, but the regular manual offers enough instruction to do the job yourself.

I started by removing the side panels and then the side under covers that are placed below the side panels:

Easy? Yes. Problems? Well...Yamaha uses a lot more plastic to hold things onto the Nytro's, which I don't care for very much. The use a plastic rivet, which can be broken easily when trying to remove them with a flathead screwdriver...I busted a handful of them. The side-under-covers are held on by these plastic rivets, as well as a couple of bolts. I prefer bolts myself.

As for the belly pan, it is held on completely by plastic rivets. I was suprised to find that, considering it is such an important piece of hardware...

Belly Pan:

Plastic Rivets and bolt assembly:

Upon removing the belly pan, here's the mess I had encountered:

That is a lot of snow/ice buildup between the steering column and the belly pan. In fact, that is solid ice that formed from melting snow. Where have we seen this before?

In no way do I intent to slam manufacturers for their designs since they do quite a good job and you can't have everything, but I am always surprised year after year at how SNOW gets into these engine compartments. I mean, it's a snowmobile - why aren't the front ends being designed with better sealing from powder snow? Often there's several pieces of plastic being riveted next to one another with gaps so large you can stick your fingers in between. Snow gets into these gaps and causes problems. It's happened on my Rev's, obviously the Phazer, and while I haven't had a real issue yet with the Nytro, I don't doubt it will occur without some preventative measures. One suggestion for the engineers, please try to put more thought into sealing out the snow - overlap shroud, install prefilter, created as many one-piece covers as possible to eliminate the gaps in the front end. Frozen steering, blown steering boots and a front end full of ice continues to be a problem with today's designs.

Now - this snow was getting in from a few locations...

There's a vent between the a-arms and the oil tank here that allows snow to pile right in. It's all fine to have some ventilation for the oil tank, but prefilter it at least! Look at the mess!

On the nose of the sled, there's a couple of spots snow can get in through the hood, but this is excessive:

This is how it should look:

While this picture isn't the greatest, what i've done is put a light below the nose of the sled to show you the gaps where snow piles in, now this is coming from under the sled, not even where the hood meets the cowling...

The picture I showed you earlier of snow between the belly pan and the steering? Much of it is coming in through these holes in the frame:

Those 3 holes above next to the a-arm assembly don't appear to serve a purpose to me. Maybe they do - but there's loads of snow getting in through there!!

Okay, I'm done bitching about the snow coming in...let's get to some positives...

Not that you'd need to get at the plugs much, but there is loads of room to work on this engine:

Nothing like the Phazer, you can access things right after taking the cowlings off...and the filter is in a spot where you could fit your arms behind the motor if you wanted...it is located between the front heat exchanger and the motor...

Easy to get at, and easy to drain things...like the crank...

And the oil tank...

Again, nicer to work on...thanks for all that room Yamaha!

Left to right is Allen Head for crank case drain, bolt for oil tank drain, and filler cap for top of motor:

All in all, with a thawed sled, you can get the oil and filter change done in under an hour. It really is easy.

I also took a shot of the huge rad in this puppy, it has a fan behind it...i haven't hand any overheating issues at all, even in low snow conditions, which is sweet, cause the Phazer would overheat in low snow in the spring time, even with the rad/fan...

So there you have it, everything looked good - I bend the mounts for the DZUS fittings (thanks guys) and gave everything a once over and it all looked good.

I'd love to start on that review but we need more snow - with the forecast of bitter cold and sun, i've purchased some scratchers to put on...not a good sign!!

I'll keep plugging away at the November 2007 Video - almost done!

Cheers,
YK

 

[Irondoghalf]

Freakin' awesome, YK, as always. I swear, if any of the manufacturers want to find out how their sleds work, they need send them to you.

Your pics, details, write-ups put ALL of the snowmobile magazines to shame, big time!!

Only one question? Are you sure that sample rear bumper/hitch is made entirely of aluminum? It isn't powder coated light gauge steel? It sure looks like it to me...

Keep up the thread...

 

[08NitroRTX]

Yes Nice right up Yellowknife! Thanks

 

[Yellowknife]

Freakin' awesome, YK, as always. I swear, if any of the manufacturers want to find out how their sleds work, they need send them to you.

Your pics, details, write-ups put ALL of the snowmobile magazines to shame, big time!!

Only one question? Are you sure that sample rear bumper/hitch is made entirely of aluminum? It isn't powder coated light gauge steel? It sure looks like it to me...

Keep up the thread...

Thanks for the compliments guys - I appreciate it!

I was told the hitch was aluminum, but I think you're right, and the latest accessory catelogue says it is steel as well.

 

[DITCHBANGER]

i covered those 3 holes with black duct tape,same with where the sway bar goes,and in the nose i stuffed some material that we have at work(pre-filter for gas turbine inlet)in the nose cone..a big handfull weighs practically nothing..i still get a bit of snowdust,but nothing like your pics above..btw nice pics keep em coming..

 

[Yellowknife]

in the nose you stuffed some material? Can you snap a couple pics or describe where the material is blocking snow from coming in? Are you referring to where the center hood meets the cowling or? Thanks.

 

[revster]

Great Thread Yellowknife!!

 

[DITCHBANGER]

in the nose you stuffed some material? Can you snap a couple pics or describe where the material is blocking snow from coming in? Are you referring to where the center hood meets the cowling or? Thanks.

yes in the nose..it blocks from the front a-arms,bumper slots in front nose cone,and there are 2 plastic flaps that flex in the nose above the a-arms and they let snow in as well..wont have a pic till late weds..due to work..

 

[tkuss]

Great write up! I don't even have a Nytro but love hearing what you like and what problems you end up with.