Special Delivery

[AXR]

By build to order I would guess that means 'we need a total of this many and this dealer gets x# and this dealer gets x#..' I highly doubt any dealer or buyer is tied to the LE till they are built and x# goes to the dealer and then dealer opens 1 of a number of crates they ordered and picks the persons name that placed their order first. Whatever vin that sled happens to be then becomes yours. It would be nice to have more options, but for the # they sell vs the $ it would cost to implement the tracking system and the real estate to have several part options sitting there for the people assembling the sleds is probably not an effective model. Doo and Poo let you do this yes, but they also sell allot more units. The other option would be to have those things completed at the dealer level, but then again there would be more dealer prep cost tacked on. We just need to get Yamaha to the #1 sales and I am sure they would gladly give options haha.

 

[Q. Arrius]

Which comes first? Becoming #1 in sales with great products....or becoming #1 with great products that can be factory customized, and/or a wide variety of factory accessories? There is no denying BRP has a great product line....so much so, many products can be found on TY, and how to adapt to Yamahas, (tunnel racks, for example.).

I have never seen the need to Spring Check a new sled...but the SW has me convinced to order one. Living in an area where such a decision is completely illogical....it's a big deal to me. (I have my new dealer taking a few pictures as the crate is opened, and may even ask for the cardboard crate side for a shop banner!). If I'm 'gonna take that much of a leap...id gladly pay many hundreds more for a few factory gizmos, especially if it truly makes the sled, "made for me."

I have BRP LED light bar envy! Though the SW headlight is led....I am thinking of ways to install the BRP add-on to the SW. I shouldn't have to make BRP work on Yamaha. That said, such accessories would probably be a losing deal for Yamaha....but even if they lost 25% on each product, yet having the options sways' a buyer towards a Yamaha....maybe it's not such a bad business model? I'm sure much better and smarter people than me, have thought this through.

Q. Arrius

 

[fatchance]

By build to order I would guess that means 'we need a total of this many and this dealer gets x# and this dealer gets x#..' I highly doubt any dealer or buyer is tied to the LE till they are built and x# goes to the dealer and then dealer opens 1 of a number of crates they ordered and picks the persons name that placed their order first. Whatever vin that sled happens to be then becomes yours. It would be nice to have more options, but for the # they sell vs the $ it would cost to implement the tracking system and the real estate to have several part options sitting there for the people assembling the sleds is probably not an effective model. Doo and Poo let you do this yes, but they also sell allot more units. The other option would be to have those things completed at the dealer level, but then again there would be more dealer prep cost tacked on. We just need to get Yamaha to the #1 sales and I am sure they would gladly give options haha.

I would like to see a track option available. Hoping to get mine in time to change out the track to a 1.75"
I'm guessing the first TY'er gets theirs Sept 30th.

 

[fatchance]

We're looking at about 3 months to go until delivery!
OCD Steve how are you holding up? Haha

 

[stevewithOCD]

I just put a pipe on my FJ-09. That should tie me over for 2 months. 1 month to master wheelies & 1 to video wheelies. I'm buying an electric Yamaha guitar and don't even know how to play yet! I've got issues...

 

[stevewithOCD]

I hope i get mine about Dec 22. I need hunting season to completely end so i don't fall out of tree stand imagining all of my "211" hp picking the ski's up & tightening my sphincter to no return! I have GPS on my GO-PRO...wondering if they sell a sphincter meter app for GO-PRO?

 

[stevewithOCD]

We're looking at about 3 months to go until delivery!
OCD Steve how are you holding up? Haha

Thanks for shout-out. I NEED this site to get me thru these long beautiful summer days. It was 90 out today, so i swung buy the Cat dealer to sit on a left-over 800 just to get a feel for what's coming. It was little TOO green. I started thinking about tow ropes...

 

[biffdotorg]

I would guess that the first units out will be going to the Third party accessory vendors to start mocking up add-ons. If they didn't get a prototype already. I do believe the largest of those vendors had prototypes to play with quite some time ago.

I can only expect that Haydays on September 10-11th will have quite a few booths with either a Sidewinder or some flavor of the 9000/Thundercat in it with every wrap, track, clutch, exhaust option under the sun on display. As everyone wants the king of stock hp in their booth on display with whatever they have to offer to make it better or different from the crowd. It's going to be a very cool Haydays if the AC Plant can make it happen in time.

 

[MrSled]

I would guess that the first units out will be going to the Third party accessory vendors to start mocking up add-ons. If they didn't get a prototype already. I do believe the largest of those vendors had prototypes to play with quite some time ago.

I can only expect that Haydays on September 10-11th will have quite a few booths with either a Sidewinder or some flavor of the 9000/Thundercat in it with every wrap, track, clutch, exhaust option under the sun on display. As everyone wants the king of stock hp in their booth on display with whatever they have to offer to make it better or different from the crowd. It's going to be a very cool Haydays if the AC Plant can make it happen in time.

I would hope we also get some more info on the accessories as well.. so Hay Days shoppers can fill their carts.

 

[NOS-PRO]

Was hoping to work on one project with Yamaha, setting a SW for asphalt to run against a new R1 and a couple cars that were mentioned.....but with the change of positions at Yamaha in Pleasant Prairie, it was put on the backburner.

Great write up Chris and thank you

Instead of trying to be the first one to have one, I would be more happy knowing the sleds get finalized for production and everything is good to go so there are only happy SW owners out there.

 

[biffdotorg]

Re: production shedule - It’s a simple question that has a somewhat complicated answer. There are several factors that determine the manufacturing timing. Generally the first BOM to be issued will get built first. The BOM’s (list of parts required) is released when final model development is complete and validated. Some models may require additional testing or calibration so the BOM is delayed. The parts procurement is triggered by the BOM timing and manufacturing schedules follow suit. Sidewinder engines are being shipped in July and some BOM’s are already being finalized. Manufacturing is scheduled to begin in August at which point unit shipping will commence. Dealerships should be receiving their first allocations by mid-September. I can’t say today what order the models will be built in and the 9000’s are run at the same time which has a bearing on the order as well. The LE models are special and basically ‘built to order’ so no adjustments are required due to dealer bookings and quite often their BOM’s are among the first to be issued. Everyone should have their machines before the snow flies this year unless something unforeseen happens. Hope this helps! cheers cr - See more at: http://snowmobiles.yamahablogs.ca/2016/04/15/spec-update-2/#comments

Chris, can you explain the announcement yesterday of the new Yamaha North America? And did it have anything to do with your departure? I took serious note that this NA headquarters was not in Thief River Falls. I think that may shut the naysayers up that still chime out that Yamaha is close to bugging out of the sled business and only becoming an engine supplier.

That may have been best brought up in another thread.

In response to the OP's question. You do not want the first one. Let the dealer practice setting up these new sleds on someone else. I'm still pissed about breaking two allen wrenches trying to flip the windshield bracket on my spring order phazer in 2006. The dealer put it on upside down, and used red Loctite.

Good luck all!

 

[biffdotorg]

Here is a "special delivery" question for anyone in the know. Yamaha releases the 2017 YXZ in the same 998 engine as they did last year. With all the hub-bub about Polaris Don't Ride/Don't sell on their Turbo, my guess is Yamaha doesn't want to do the same and release a turbo that is not ready either. Their buyers want it, people want to see it.

The reason I bring this up, is Arctic has yet to release details on their 2017 Wildcat x or rumored Wildcat XX, but the rest of the line up is out there on the website. Rumors are all over on the Wildcat forums, and the biggest has been confirmed by a select group of AC dealers that were invited to a preview at the ERX race park in Elk River, MN. They rode the new chassis and were told they would be able to order as it would be announced in September. And a "High HP" version in March. I guess slides were shown of this powerplant, buf they didn't speak to the slides as if to leak the info, but not address it. My AC dealer says "it is coming" when I ask if the 998 and 998T will be in it.

95% chance they may be getting the 998 in the new Wildcat and possibly the 998t in March. I cannot imagine that Yamaha would allow this without offering a 998T YXZ as a mid-year release. So that may be coming. AC has always been known to announce new products at Haydays, and since it is September, this may be the announcement of a 998 or 998T Wildcat and one in Robby Gordon race upgrades. We have photos of this new chassis in production form already.

How does this effect us Yamaha guys, and specifically those waiting on a sidewinder you ask? Well, there are plenty of sources that are saying the 2017 Wildcat is ready, and they are on hold from one vendor. Could be shocks, could be tires, could be an engine supplier agreement. With both Yamaha and AC in need of 998t engines for their sleds, and Yamaha needing 998's for their YXZ, there is a huge demand for those engines. I can only imagine that those with deposits from April should have first dibs on the 998T Sidewinder/Thundercats. But they have yet to hit production that we can tell, and they obviously have not hit the dealers other than prototypes.

The fact that these SXS's are so hush hush, and all of the above is quiet, leads me to hoping that we don't see some sort of delay come November/December for the sleds. What I would love to see is that this engine has been so heavily tested, that they do release it in the SXS market and someone gives Polaris a run for their money from AC and Yamaha. I say kick them while they are down. This Turbo recall is a good time if you wanted to gain a bit of market share. And that is not saying I want Polaris to get beat up, I just want the market share spread a bit to make it a more competitive market for all brands. The consumer is the winner.

On that same note, I want to see Yamaha do something with one of thee high performance engines and dominate a racing circuit, any circuit just to get back on the map as a competitor. Please don't let me downplay the efforts of those that have had good success here and there, but we need some dominating success like the Tucker Hibberts of the world in the Yamaha camp. Heck, I don't care if it were at haydays with just a crap can of heavily modified 998T's kicking everyone's #*$&@. Make us proud to wear blue at an event again!

Good luck you spring order guys. I hope you get the most reliable first year sled Yamaha can put together. You know they will do everything in their power to do just that as they have in the past. If just a few could hit the dealers before September, it would probably insure us that we may see some stuff at Haydays as well and really get the blue-buzz going again.

 

[Sledroll]

Here is a "special delivery" question for anyone in the know. Yamaha releases the 2017 YXZ in the same 998 engine as they did last year. With all the hub-bub about Polaris Don't Ride/Don't sell on their Turbo, my guess is Yamaha doesn't want to do the same and release a turbo that is not ready either. Their buyers want it, people want to see it.

The reason I bring this up, is Arctic has yet to release details on their 2017 Wildcat x or rumored Wildcat XX, but the rest of the line up is out there on the website. Rumors are all over on the Wildcat forums, and the biggest has been confirmed by a select group of AC dealers that were invited to a preview at the ERX race park in Elk River, MN. They rode the new chassis and were told they would be able to order as it would be announced in September. And a "High HP" version in March. I guess slides were shown of this powerplant, buf they didn't speak to the slides as if to leak the info, but not address it. My AC dealer says "it is coming" when I ask if the 998 and 998T will be in it.

95% chance they may be getting the 998 in the new Wildcat and possibly the 998t in March. I cannot imagine that Yamaha would allow this without offering a 998T YXZ as a mid-year release. So that may be coming. AC has always been known to announce new products at Haydays, and since it is September, this may be the announcement of a 998 or 998T Wildcat and one in Robby Gordon race upgrades. We have photos of this new chassis in production form already.

How does this effect us Yamaha guys, and specifically those waiting on a sidewinder you ask? Well, there are plenty of sources that are saying the 2017 Wildcat is ready, and they are on hold from one vendor. Could be shocks, could be tires, could be an engine supplier agreement. With both Yamaha and AC in need of 998t engines for their sleds, and Yamaha needing 998's for their YXZ, there is a huge demand for those engines. I can only imagine that those with deposits from April should have first dibs on the 998T Sidewinder/Thundercats. But they have yet to hit production that we can tell, and they obviously have not hit the dealers other than prototypes.

The fact that these SXS's are so hush hush, and all of the above is quiet, leads me to hoping that we don't see some sort of delay come November/December for the sleds. What I would love to see is that this engine has been so heavily tested, that they do release it in the SXS market and someone gives Polaris a run for their money from AC and Yamaha. I say kick them while they are down. This Turbo recall is a good time if you wanted to gain a bit of market share. And that is not saying I want Polaris to get beat up, I just want the market share spread a bit to make it a more competitive market for all brands. The consumer is the winner.

On that same note, I want to see Yamaha do something with one of thee high performance engines and dominate a racing circuit, any circuit just to get back on the map as a competitor. Please don't let me downplay the efforts of those that have had good success here and there, but we need some dominating success like the Tucker Hibberts of the world in the Yamaha camp. Heck, I don't care if it were at haydays with just a crap can of heavily modified 998T's kicking everyone's #*$&@. Make us proud to wear blue at an event again!

Good luck you spring order guys. I hope you get the most reliable first year sled Yamaha can put together. You know they will do everything in their power to do just that as they have in the past. If just a few could hit the dealers before September, it would probably insure us that we may see some stuff at Haydays as well and really get the blue-buzz going again.

There are some similarities between the updating of the RX-1 to the Apex , and the Viper to SW .
I owned both first year sleds , although the Apex was not a lot new , just a bunch of important engine and handling changes .
That sounds like the SW , engine and handling changes . ?????
I did not buy a Viper , when I totalled my Apex in 2015 , because among other things , I was spoiled by the Genesis 4 holer , and that was only the 06 version , so went with the 15 Apex XTX .
I am so not worried about buying another first year sled , because they are not really a brand new sled , as there has been much work on both the suspension , and the engine .
Am I on the right path , OR just impatiently waiting for my SW to show up.
If Yamaha is the supreme engine builder that we all believe in , this thing will be wicked !!!

 

[yamadoo]

Was hoping to work on one project with Yamaha, setting a SW for asphalt to run against a new R1 and a couple cars that were mentioned.....but with the change of positions at Yamaha in Pleasant Prairie, it was put on the backburner.

Great write up Chris and thank you

Instead of trying to be the first one to have one, I would be more happy knowing the sleds get finalized for production and everything is good to go so there are only happy SW owners out there.

AMEN

 

[Bigbluemachine]

I'm hoping your right sledroll. My 2005 Rx1 bullet proof, 2011 Apex same and ride them hard. I took a leap of faith betting on the same. That Yamaha has had a few years get the kinks out of the chassis while introducing a great motor. Fingers crossed. If not....... shee gone! Just like my 2007 Nitro. Sayonara!