skidoo vs yamaha SERVICE

[Riceburner]

Only one Ski Doo. 1994 STX 2up. Jetting was awful from Doo. No help from Dealer or Doo. Doo would not take my calls or reply to me.
Had to pay dealer for new mains, needles and pilots myself and the rebuild. I was not impressed. Other than that great sled. 12,000 km and six years later spent about $400 for bearings ,hyfax and some clutch parts. Sold it in 2001.

Now the Yammies

1998 500 XT No problems in 7 years. Sister in law just sold it. All original except 1 battery. Only about 6,000 miles.

1998 700 XTC Deluxe. A good friend still has it. Speedometer gear 2003 at 15,000 KM. Pull cord recoil spring and Jackshaft this year at 19,000 km. Jackshaft was fatigued. Bearings all still good but replaced when in for new jackshaft as a maitenance item. New battery last year. 1 set of hyfax at 15,000km. There was a recall on this sled for front end parts as I recall.
Sled was ported in year one and ran triple triples for a year as well when I owned it. Still kicks #*$&@ and has great compression. Gas shocks charged in 2000.

1999 Vmax 700 Deluxe. 14,000 KM. The above friends wife is driving it. She has a Harley Soft tail as well. New battery in 2004. Needed clutching and jetting. Yamaha authorized time for dealer and parts. No cost to me. Nothing done in repairs or replacement yet , not even Hyfax. All original except a Bender Can. She is going to do shaft bearings this summer if she keeps it.

Two 1999 Vmax 600 Deluxes. Sold one after 8,000 km. not sure where it is. No problems . Sold the other to another friend in 2003. About 14,000km on it. Nothing needed so far. Both of these 600,s over revved a couple of 100 rpm due to me being at sea level. Never bothered with the clutching though since the powerband was so wide and so little hp was lost due to this.

2001 Vmax 700 Deluxe. Water pump seal started to leak in summer of 03.
Out of Warranty. Motor had to be pulled to get at the pump I guess. Dealer fixed and told me not to worry about it since in their 3 years as a dealer this was their first sled warranty claim and figured Yamaha would come good for it. I guess they did as my cost was 0. 8,000 km on it now.
Replaced one idler bearing, That is it so far. Otherwise original

2004 Warrior. Seemed to run hot as my boots melted. Never saw the light though. Yamaha paid for a rear exchanger, the install, and a new pair of boots. Hand warmer issue. two trips to dealer. Turned out to be a wire grounding out. Dealer fixed no charge and rerouted my visor wire for me.
Sled used 2 ounces of oil in 6,000 km. Changed oil twice, replaced belt and plugs as a maitenance item at the start of this year.

This sled is amazing. Best sled I have ever owned and as you can see I have not had many problems over the years. I normally get 20 MPG or so but got 26 the last trip out with my family. [ Had to run pretty slow due to a couple of rented 370 two ups in the group.]

You will notice that there are no first year sleds in here except the Warrior
which really was a second year 136" RX1. I learned my lesson with a Polaris Ultra in 1996. [That is a whole different story. What a nightmare]

I normally will not buy a first year any thing as I do not want to be the guinea pig. By the looks of the guys who had the 03's and the 05 Mono's it looks like I made the right choices so far.

Sorry guys, but it is a well known fact that sometimes the "leading edge"
turns in to the "bleeding edge". It is a well known fact of snowmobiling.

The jury is out for me on an 06 so far. May wait until 07 to see if the skid issue is resolved and Yammie Canada lowers the prices for us Canucks.

So as you can see I have been very well treated by my dealer and Yamaha. Kudos to both of them.

I also talk to the sales rep for Atlantic Canada at least once a year when they show up in the spring with the new sleds. Dealer lets me know when he is in town. I also get invited on the demo rides when they are held within a 100 miles of home.

Man I feel for you guys , especially Jim, but I got nothing but good to say about Yamaha Canada and my dealer. [ Except pricing for 2006, which I think may come from Japan charges Yamaha Canada]



Dave Weyman

 

[nutswithtwins]

One more thing nutswithtwins, welcome to the site

Thanks.....glad to be here!!

 

[nhrxrider]

I still stand by, and will always say, that the RXs are an awesome design. Its the most comfortable, best riding sled I have ever seen. Other than the crappy rear suspension design, the sled is an awesome design. I fixed the rear suspension with the Cat skid and have been very happy with that.

Notice when I talk about it, I say good DESIGN. If the sled had done what it was designed to do- be an awesome overall sled with a bulletproof motor, I would be happy. In other words, other than several broken parts on a very expensive sled and the way the dealer and Yamaha handled those problems, I would be extremely happy. Yamaha designed the sled I had always dreamed of- a kick-butt high performance bike engine in a great overall sled. I liked that idea so much that about 5 years ago I actually tried test fitting a CBR-1000 motor I had into one of my spare ZRT-800 chassis. I knew it wouldn't work, but I had to try it anyway.

Jim

 

[jmp2204]

my experience with yamaha service was as a service manager of a yam/pol dealership.I was there for 1 year(not myactual field however i had performance experience and interest)Yamaha canada service were top notch to deal with and question nothing as far as warranty goes.If parts were not in stock they came off the floor if we couldn`t have them the next day..winter is too short! polaris and warranty was a different story and a lot more claims......my intend was not to stay and make a career out of it,but my experience cemented the thought that yamaha make a top quality unit and intend to please their customers..(as far as quality goes)

 

[nhrxrider]

I contribute a fair bit of the problem in the U.S. to the dealers being forced to do things a certain way by Yamaha. I have a few different reasons to suspect this, one of them being that my purchasing dealer also sold Doos, and they always treated the Doo customers great and never gave a problem with service. But the Yamaha customers had a much harder time, and everything was questioned and almost every warranty claim was refused.

Jim

 

[Tfin]

I would have LOVED to do that, as we were at the trailhead for my first ride, almost an hour from the dealer, and I wanted to ride. I called the dealer to let them know, and say that I was adjusting it...and they said THEY had to do it, otherwise the warranty would be void if I ever had a problem with the track or suspension. You and I know this is pure B.S., but as a new buyer, I brought the sled back instead of fighting it in order to stay in the good graces of the dealer. Of course the Doo and Cat riders had a very good time giving me crap about my new sled that wouldn't go.

Dealers vary so much, many of you guys on here don't know what some of us have to put up with. Then when one of us has a problem with our dealer, we are told to find another. Then when we can't find a good one after going through 3 places that can't get the work done right, we are told it must be our fault to go through so many dealers. In my part of the state, I have gone through the only dealers within 1 1/2 hours drive from me, and I hate to travel that far for simple parts. And I don't believe in buying parts from one dealer and getting service from another. Even if the dealer is an hour from me, if they treat me well they get ALL of my business. When I bought a motorcycle from Nault's in Manchester, NH, they were an hour from my house. They treated me so well, they got ALL of my business, no matter how small. It was worth the drive. When I buy another Honda, I'll shop around a little, and as long as they are somewhere in the ballpark, they will get my business, even though they are 3 hour's drive from where I live now.

Jim

I'm pickin' up what your'e layin' down Jim.....and believe it or not, am sorry to hear that you've had so many troubles with your sled. You're correct in the fact that dealers vary from place to place. If all of the dealers in your area are that bad, then Yamaha SHOULD do something about them. I realize that really doesn't help you out right now though.

I do believe that the oil consumption issues on the 03 and 04 RX series sleds, and the cracked arms in the mono shocks of the 05's ARE a Yamaha issue due to the amount of sleds that are experiencing them. I don't feel the hyfax ware, and "track howl" are.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Tfin]

Tfin-- You are absolutely right. Everything that anyone has a problem with a Yamaha sled is either their fault or their dealers.

All Yamaha sleds are perfect.

You tax me.........

Keep hitting your head against that cyber wall and you'll end up sustaining brain damage.

 

[yammi]

I contribute a fair bit of the problem in the U.S. to the dealers being forced to do things a certain way by Yamaha. I have a few different reasons to suspect this, one of them being that my purchasing dealer also sold Doos, and they always treated the Doo customers great and never gave a problem with service. But the Yamaha customers had a much harder time, and everything was questioned and almost every warranty claim was refused.

Jim

Jim, which dealer in NH areyou referring to?

 

[Yamahnator]

It's a limited sled... that means it may be hard to get... Are you gonna go over to Polaris and get angry with them because you can't get a Dragon (only 800 built)? Go to another dealer.

Also about the rep that was pissy. Yeah he's an idiot! Why are you judging an ENTIRE corporation because of one person who has a bad personality?

I could name some idiot Doo dealers around here as well. Theres two cat dealers near here. One is a moron, the other is great. I've had no problem with the two Yamaha dealers (I mainly deal with two), that I deal with. When I bought my 05 before I had even taken delivery one of the guys at the shop noticed that the shock on my monoshock had a little oil on it. They realized that it was faulty from the factory and made sure they replaced it before I got delivery. I've never had a problem getting parts.

It's unfortunate if you don't have a GOOD dealer near you. The Doo dealers near me suck hard, I don't go around saying that all Doo's are terrible machines or their dealers/corporation doesn't stand by their machines do I?

 

[nhrxrider]

Not sure who that was meant at...I know I never slammed all Yamaha sleds, nor have I really slammed the RX. I even said in another thread that RXs were an awesome design, and so far nobody else has been able to come up with anything close. And I never said ALL dealers were bad, just the 3 that I have tried, and so far 3 out of 3 are bad odds. I can see getting 1 bad one, but 2 in one area shows a possible problem, and 3 in an area shows that something may just be wrong with the way the franchise is handled at a higher level. And when I talk to Customer Service and get told they don't care about what their dealers do, it makes it very obvious where the problem is. I have dealt with 4 service people over the phone and 1 in person. So far the 1 in person was very nice, gave me some very useful information, and was quite helpful. 1 woman on the phone was very nice to deal with, but couldn't help at all. It almost seemed as though she didn't know what a snowmobile was, and definately didn't know what a 4 stroke was! The other 2 over the phone were quite short, gave no useful information, and one came right out and said that Yamaha can't control how their dealers treat the public, so I have to live with it.

So to make it clear, the sleds are awesome, my complaint is with the dealers and Customer Service who won't stand behind their product.

By the way, that purchasing dealer was Zoom City Powersports near Keene. A year after I bought my sled they went under and were bought out by Keene Motorsports, and I've heard they are running it much better.

Jim

 

[yammi]

Not sure who that was meant at...I know I never slammed all Yamaha sleds, nor have I really slammed the RX. I even said in another thread that RXs were an awesome design, and so far nobody else has been able to come up with anything close. And I never said ALL dealers were bad, just the 3 that I have tried, and so far 3 out of 3 are bad odds. I can see getting 1 bad one, but 2 in one area shows a possible problem, and 3 in an area shows that something may just be wrong with the way the franchise is handled at a higher level. And when I talk to Customer Service and get told they don't care about what their dealers do, it makes it very obvious where the problem is. I have dealt with 4 service people over the phone and 1 in person. So far the 1 in person was very nice, gave me some very useful information, and was quite helpful. 1 woman on the phone was very nice to deal with, but couldn't help at all. It almost seemed as though she didn't know what a snowmobile was, and definately didn't know what a 4 stroke was! The other 2 over the phone were quite short, gave no useful information, and one came right out and said that Yamaha can't control how their dealers treat the public, so I have to live with it.

So to make it clear, the sleds are awesome, my complaint is with the dealers and Customer Service who won't stand behind their product.

By the way, that purchasing dealer was Zoom City Powersports near Keene. A year after I bought my sled they went under and were bought out by Keene Motorsports, and I've heard they are running it much better.

Jim

FYI Vince at Pittsburg Motorsports runs an excellent show. Everything he does is first class and is in the business to keep people on the trail. From inventory to service to just plain straight advice, he's top notch. Tell him Rob from RI sent ya! Good luck and don't give up on Blue!

 

[Maine Warrior]

NHRXRIDER,
Living in ColeBrook you must have tried,
Revit up?????
Mike has been great with us,He knows his stuff.
we have purchased over 20 machines from them,
With very little issues,

 

[jmp2204]

I don't go around saying that all Doo's are terrible machines or their dealers/corporation doesn't stand by their machines do I?[/quote] and your not making any friends at dootalk either (is that a hairdressers forum :?: )

 

[nutswithtwins]

Re: My first reply

I have been a yamaha owner for about 2 months now and have been watching the posts on here for about 3 months. I havent chimed in yet as I am still the new guy but this post really gets me. I dont know where everyone having these problems with customer service are from, but I can tell you this....in NY, Bombardier IS BAR NONE THE WORST COMPANY TO DEAL WITH. I bought a yamaha without even sitting on one. I have an 04 600hoX Rev in the garage....Junk. These sleds have chronic problems across the boards and Doo will not acknowledge a single problem. If your dealer stinks (and there are a ton of them out there) The customer service WILL NOT STAND BEHIND YOU. A good friend has a 2003 SRX. This sled has had a few problems and the YES waranty has stood behind him 100% with no questions asked. This is why I own a Yamaha now. If you think the grass is greener at the other side, go spend a few hrs on dootalk. There are thousands of posts with every problem in the book, and 95% of these people are screwed with backordered parts, long waits, and ruined seasons with brand new sleds that are in the shop with catrastrophic failures. A brand new sled with 1500 miles needing a rebuild....that is common. Who spends around 10g on a sled and wants to put up with that. I will say this....all makers have their problems, but at least Yamaha (and cat) own up and take care of them. Buy yourself a doo and see what problems you have. Trust someone who has been there, my 2005 rx1 is 10 times the sled my rev was.

Yamaha didn't make an SRX in 2003. Ski Doo has fixed their ring problem as of this year (new material, yes it took too long). Ski Doo sells 3 times the sleds as Yamaha, of coarse they're going to have 3 times as many problems. Sleds live a hard life, all of them WILL have problems, we just hope that by owning a Yamaha we will have less. I will be happy if Yamaha does the right thing and fixes the skid in my 05' RX-1. Whats worse? Breaking down 3 times a year and having your sled in the shop a week each time, or breaking down once and having your sled sit for a month waiting for suspension parts?

Even more to my point, the SRX is even older.... Ski Doo has fixed their ring problem every year. Even better, call their customer service and ask if they even ever had a ring problem....according to them, there never even was a ring problem. As far as having 3X the problems, I will take a cracked w-arm over a buckled tunnel ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. I will be happy to show you the rock, and it is in such a spot that if you can hit it more than 10mph, I will give you the sled. The bulkheads are bent up sheets of aluminum.....NOT EXACTLY STRONG. I have read posts about guys loosing 1/2 the season the first ride out. Go read dootalk, you will see what problems are...Or better yet, buy a Doo and prey to god you never have a problem!

 

[nutswithtwins]

Re: My first reply

I have been a yamaha owner for about 2 months now and have been watching the posts on here for about 3 months. I havent chimed in yet as I am still the new guy but this post really gets me. I dont know where everyone having these problems with customer service are from, but I can tell you this....in NY, Bombardier IS BAR NONE THE WORST COMPANY TO DEAL WITH. I bought a yamaha without even sitting on one. I have an 04 600hoX Rev in the garage....Junk. These sleds have chronic problems across the boards and Doo will not acknowledge a single problem. If your dealer stinks (and there are a ton of them out there) The customer service WILL NOT STAND BEHIND YOU. A good friend has a 2003 SRX. This sled has had a few problems and the YES waranty has stood behind him 100% with no questions asked. This is why I own a Yamaha now. If you think the grass is greener at the other side, go spend a few hrs on dootalk. There are thousands of posts with every problem in the book, and 95% of these people are screwed with backordered parts, long waits, and ruined seasons with brand new sleds that are in the shop with catrastrophic failures. A brand new sled with 1500 miles needing a rebuild....that is common. Who spends around 10g on a sled and wants to put up with that. I will say this....all makers have their problems, but at least Yamaha (and cat) own up and take care of them. Buy yourself a doo and see what problems you have. Trust someone who has been there, my 2005 rx1 is 10 times the sled my rev was.

Yamaha didn't make an SRX in 2003. Ski Doo has fixed their ring problem as of this year (new material, yes it took too long). Ski Doo sells 3 times the sleds as Yamaha, of coarse they're going to have 3 times as many problems. Sleds live a hard life, all of them WILL have problems, we just hope that by owning a Yamaha we will have less. I will be happy if Yamaha does the right thing and fixes the skid in my 05' RX-1. Whats worse? Breaking down 3 times a year and having your sled in the shop a week each time, or breaking down once and having your sled sit for a month waiting for suspension parts?

Even more to my point, the SRX is even older.... Ski Doo has fixed their ring problem every year. Even better, call their customer service and ask if they even ever had a ring problem....according to them, there never even was a ring problem. As far as having 3X the problems, I will take a cracked w-arm over a buckled tunnel ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. I will be happy to show you the rock, and it is in such a spot that if you can hit it more than 10mph, I will give you the sled. The bulkheads are bent up sheets of aluminum.....NOT EXACTLY STRONG. I have read posts about guys loosing 1/2 the season the first ride out. Go read dootalk, you will see what problems are...Or better yet, buy a Doo and prey to god you never have a problem!