Sick of all the hype

[Sasquatch]

Quite simply I just want a boosted model, Cat is doing it apparently it has been successful in sales. I'd love to boost my Apex but at 5000 for ulmer kit... plus installation time and the wear and tear afterwords and fuel consumption etc etc HEADACHE for me. But if factory came with and it was set up to run nice of course if they sell it off the show room floor plus wasn't too bad on fuel and was in the 170 + hp range WOW sign me up here's the card.

Yep Cats turbo is neat but not all that fast out of the box, they are quick but not fast! But its real calling is the ability to crank up the boost and add a little Meth injection to get the power levels up to the 300hp range. That I think is a huge seller of the sleds. 300hp with less dollars then the Yami.

Stock to stock the Yami will stay with the Cat. That does say alot for a sled with less hp! I have'nt heard to many Cat guys bragging mileage on their turbos but one simple fact remains It takes so much fuel to make so much hp. Make more hp burn more fuel its quite simple really. You add a turbo to the Yami and boost the hp up by 50 hp you need to burn more fuel. 200hp needs x amount of fuel as does 250 or 150.

Want better fuel economy slow down. Flipper control will burn less fuel just by easing into it to gain speed rather then to the bar after every corner. I've rode with the hammer crowd and got better mileage just by that alone and showed up at the next fuel stop at the same time.

 

[copo427ss]

Your gonna have a huge smile on your face when you hit a mogul wrong and twist the chassis. Then spend $200+ apiece for the nuns. Bent spindles, a arms, steering stems, and the occasional kinked tunnel in semi extreme cases. Does weight matter. Yes. To a point. I have spent a lot of time and money upgrading my suspension on my apex. Am I as fast in the tight woods as a light rev xp? No. But anywhere else on the trails we are battling for first. But at the end of the day my (heavy) sled isn't sitting twisted on my shop floor from catching a whoop wrong. I'm a motorsports tech for a living. I work in a universal shop so we take in everything. So I'm not talking out my @ss here. I have had to rebuild more rev and xp chassis do to there lightening than I care to count. I've seen nuns twisted just from trying to cross a waterhole with a lip on the other side. My friend had a actual race rsx 600 xp that he bought snd converted to trail. He bent more stuff on that thing. He actually used to carry spare spindles in a back back with him trail riding, and change them out on the trail. After one season and the motor grenading he sold it. He said he put as much money into riding one season as he paid for it. My other friend has a 2010 TNT 600 etec. Not gonna lie. Nice sled. Lots of mid range power. Handled nice. We were out riding one day. We had to cross an overpass on the side of the road. It was slushy on the side and he clipped the curb that came out at about 25-30mph. He rode it back to the trailer dropped it off at my work. And we totaled it out with the insurance company for $9600. All nuns twisted and cracked, a arms, ball joint, bent shock rod, steering stem, broken bracket that goes between the clutches. Damaged ski. And a twisted tunnel. The sled never flipped over. Just bounced off the curb and stopped. Theres a reason why all of us at work dont own revs. With that said, I'll take my weight and reliability. I don't need to be the fastest sled to the bar. I'm happy that my sled gets me where I'm going in comfort EVERY time.

 

[whitedust1]

I don't think anyone wants YMC to rival Doo with weight reduction. I know my thinking is a new platform that has a weight reduction going in the lighter direction. This can be done if YMC wants to do it. So far EPS & Air shocks has been as heavy or heavier than previous year sleds. It takes a new platform that is strong & lighter maybe some new engines & turbo to move forward. EPS can stay or go really don't care as long as new platform has improved handling & ride quality. Whatever engines YMC uses wil be great so no worries with that. Entire lineup needs updating to stay competitive or Yam owners will stray to AC & Doo for new 4s sled just to buy a new ride.

 

[Rockmeister]

Why I love my Yamaha:

IT RUNS.

 

[charger0926]

Why I love my Yamaha:

IT RUNS.

if i remember right, it runs really well

 

[Rockmeister]

Hhahahhahaa! Yes it does!
Thanks Dude!

Should turn 20,000 miles this year.

 

[stomper]

Glad t see everyone lovin the yammahas. My current sled is an 03 RX1. It is the first yamaha sled that I have rode and my first big engine sled. I have not rode many newer sleds and I am the kind of guy that will most likely never buy a brand new sled or any vehicle for that matter. I just refuse to pay the price of new. But I ride with guys that do buy new and I have rode there stuff. Now I realize that a few rides on a sled doesn't make m an expert but I do know what I like. I have rode my buddies 2012 polaris 750 turbo and my brothers 2009 AC F1000 and a few others. I wouldn't trade my 2003 13,000 mile RX1 for either of them. They just didn't seem very solid and it was kind of unnerving at higher speeds. The best part of it is I can beat both of them, out of the hole and on top end. Yes I have done a few mods on my sled to get it where I like it and I always will no matter what I have, thats just what I do, I do it to my quads and boats also. I am a tinkerer. I love the yammahas so much that I picked up an 06 attack last year for my wife. I am extremly happy with the old school technology of 2003 up against the 2012 and 2009 tecnology, I can't imagine driving a brand new yamaha. Like I said before I have not rode many different sleds, especialy newer sleds, so I am not an expert but my RX1 and the wifes attack have me so hooked on yamaha 4 strokes that I can't wait to upgrade to a newer one in the future.

 

[Rockstar]

If your a person who buys a new sled every year, then most reliability and mechanical issues aren't going to bother you. Face it all the new sleds cost a ton of money. If you ride on a budget then your going to want a Yamaha. Yamaha has the best engines on the market. Yamaha still has the best fit and finish. Yamaha has always put reliability and longevity of their products above the flash in the pan mentality of the other 3 builders. The Mono-shock rear skid IMO is the best rear skid ever developed for the mass trail rider. You won't snowcross with the Mono but stutter bumps are amazing and it tackles medium sized bumps extremely well. If there was ridable snow from Michigan to the Pacific Ocean I could get on my Yamaha with 8,000 miles on the odometer and leave tomorrow morning and I know it'll get me there with no break downs. Perception and reality are 2 different things when it comes to what sled is better. The perception of of most people is they're ditch bangers, snowcross jumping and Jackson hole climbing racers. The reality is most people are slightly aggressive trail riders and exploring boondockers. And 80 to 90% of the time weight doesn't ever become an issue. Basically 80 to 90% of the snowmobilers don't have any clue, experience and balls to take a snowmobile to the extreme limits. Does Doo and Polaris and Cat make a good sled that's better than a Yamaha in some ways? Yes they do. But its not like they're better than Yamaha and I'd walk into a courtroom and argue that Yamaha is still better in the most important catigories. Hey when I look at used sleds all the way back to the 1970's I always look for Yamaha's almost exclusively. Why? because most of the craigslist ads you see consistantly say "always starts first or second pull".

 

[Cubby]

It was hard to find a used Yamaha where I live. The most listed sleds for sale was/is Arctic Cat, followed by Skidoo, Polaris, and then Yamaha. Everytime I send a link to a Yammy for sale to my buddy who's looking its sold by the time he calls. Yamaha sleds hold their value - at least in Canada.

Reliability as the most important thing for me and I am very happy with my Phazer. Sure I'm not the fastest sled crossing the lake but they can't catch me on the twisty trail!

 

[LJ 452]

Everyone talks about weight and "tin can" sleds but to me it's more about the handling and suspension. All three Yamahas I've had, and three others that friends have had required revalves, two of mine required welding and reinforcement of the arms. Cracked tunnels, oil tanks, rad mounts, suspension brackets, and don't even get me started on the exhaust systems. I've probably spent (in parts and time) enough to top end a two-stroke three or four times. All I'm saying is that, Yamahas do not hold up ( at least for me) any better than the others. In fact I would have to say in my case the Cat chassis and suspension has held up better. Yamaha has the engine and an efficient drive system, they really need to work on the out-of-box handling and suspension. People will deal with having to add bracing, torque links, ect, they will not tolerate poor handling, and that's not opinion it's fact, look at how many 08' and up Nytro owners still own one. Probably could say the majority of guys that turned in a Nytro went with a Doo, and most of those may be E-Tecs at that. So from the most reliable engine/drive, to the least reliable but best/better handling (opinion but certainly a popular one) brand.

 

[copo427ss]

I agree there. The handling out of the box is a joke. Yamaha had there heads in a hole in that department. How do you tell a customer that just dropped 10k that he needs to buy new skis, revalve shocks, then spend half a season doing major adjustments instead of fine tweaks to get the sled to stay on the trail. Yamaha has always lacked in the suspension department. IMO that's where it counts besides reliability. I ditched my yam suspension and couldn't be happier. Rev xp handles great right out of the box. I like riding them just not fixing them. Number one sled in our shop every winter? Ski doo for repairs. Next is ac with electrical problems. Mostly stators. Polaris? Depends on the model. Don't see to many yams in. Besides routine stuff. Had a Rs vector last yeah that was a doosy. Chased an electrical component frying gremlin for half the season before the entire wire harness got replaced. Problem solved. Only weird thing was the old harness completely checked out in the continuity tests. Number one atv? Polaris. Those things are garbage.

 

[AKrider]

I was temporarily banned from this site twice for being so outspoken and critical about the ride and handling problems with my Nytro. I looked for solutions, tried to improve the flawed front end geometry and tried so many different skis it was ridiculous. At the end of the day (4 years actually) I test rode my buddy's Cat Sno-Pro and a Polaris Pro-R 600. They rode and handled SO much better and felt noticeabiy lighter that I just went a bought a Polaris. The Nytro and my old '05 Vector simply didn't hold a candle to my Polaris in the ride and handling dept.

Unfortunately it wasn't a perfect experience. I lost a crank bearing and had to spend a bunch of money to get my Polaris up and running again. What did I do this year? Bought another Polaris! Why? Because I discovered that for my style of riding, ride and handling are far more important and I forgot how much more fun it is to ride a light weight sled.

I do not care for Yamaha's total lack of innovation and improvements when it comes to upgrading their current models. EPS? Who cares, its just a way to try and mask the weight. That said, Yamaha makes a very reliable sled when it comes to the motor, clutching and drive chain. The suspension isn't very durable when pushed hard and ridden aggressively but a guy has to be willing to reinforce things.

I think Yamaha's strong points are weighted towards the long distance, groomed trail rider. They are a great sled for that and would be my first choice if I lived in an area that featured that type of riding. I can see where guys would be unhappy with 2-stroke engine BS and their lighter weight, better suspension and handling benefits are not as important on smooth groomed trails. I think a majority of the members on this site are groomed trail riders and I can now see their point of view why the things that bothered me about my Yamaha are not as important to them. I hope Yamaha makes some drastic changes in the future so they will not lose more riders to other brands. I'm very happy with my Polaris sleds but readily admit they are not as reliable and do not have the build quality or fit and finish of a Yamaha. I find myself checking this site for any rumors or hints of a new chassis that is lighter and better handling. When one comes out I'll be interested.

 

[yamahamm]

i love my nytro mtx. and with the mcx 270 its even better i dont care about trail riding, but the nytro is ok on the trail and my setup is for climbing/boondocking. it is heavyer then a 2stroke but compared to my old mountain max its not bad(couple of kg difference) yamaha is the best

 

[copo427ss]

I test rode the new yams when they came out at the snow days we had. Honestly, with pilot skis on my apex it was hard to tell between mine and the eps. I do wish when I did my suspension swap I would have gone 136. But I had already purchased my track beforehand. Quite a few guys have come into the shop that complained about the fx nytros handling out of box. I didn't care at all for my buddies 08 he bought. But he scoured this site and came up with solutions. It was better the next time I rode it. Speaking of reliability. My neighbor is a big doo guy. And wants to start riding again. He asked me what mileage he could expect out of a xp engine before it needs a top end. I said top end or complete rebuild? I honestly didn't have an answer for him. I've had rotax engines with bearing failure at 2200 miles. Had a couple that made it to almost 8000 miles.
I fixed my handling issues with my apex. And I am finally happy with it. I never worry about riding by myself anymore like I used to on my cat. Cat left me stranded in bad spots a couple times.

 

[thor452]

amen and if you want to brag up a doo do it on their site.