W-Arm Cracks

[Bob Miller]

ReX,

Am I reading your post correctly? :shock: 3rd W-arm and you have an 05 RX-1. What gives? Those ['04 & '05] are two totally different suspensions :?

http://www.rx1.info/viewtopic.php?t=13077

I noticed a small crack on my first one at 5300 kms. The second one broke at 9000 kms. The third one has a very small crack just starting at 10,300 kms. It doesn't look like it's going to actually break for a while, but I know where to look and looking closely the crack is already there.

This is telling me that it would be a better idea to reinforce the W-Arm than continuing to replace it!

 

[ReX]

ReX,

Am I reading your post correctly? :shock: 3rd W-arm and you have an 05 RX-1. What gives? Those ['04 & '05] are two totally different suspensions :?

http://www.rx1.info/viewtopic.php?t=13077

I noticed a small crack on my first one at 5300 kms. The second one broke at 9000 kms. The third one has a very small crack just starting at 10,300 kms. It doesn't look like it's going to actually break for a while, but I know where to look and looking closely the crack is already there.

This is telling me that it would be a better idea to reinforce the W-Arm than continuing to replace it!

I wanted to when I found the crack in the first one, but I was told that if I modified it in any way Yamaha wouldn't cover it or any damage caused if it was to fail again. As it turns out they wouldn't cover my track anyway when the second failure damage it. I would have probably been much better off to weld it and reinforce it right from the start (and pay for the work to - I don't have a welder).

At this point I'm going to get one final new one and before installing it substantially reinforce it. If Yamaha has an update released in September depending on how much stronger it is I may or may not reinforce it.

 

[170plus]

10200 miles on my w-arm when it broke,noticed a few cracks earlier but didnt seem to get any worse then all of a sudden it broke in half,i have the extended warr and my dealer put in a claim but he said they probably wont cover it,i was kinda pissed because ive replaced all the bushings twice at about $150 out of my pocket,thats the reason they give is the bushings wear out then the shaft bind,bulls..t,i go over my sled after every ride,i ride hard but take care of my stuff,my 96 formula III has almost 18000 miles between me and the guy i sold it to,never had any problems with my 7 other ski-doos but ive heard of a lot of yamaha w-arm problems,if the y.e.s. covers it i take back anything bad ive said but if it doesnt my being pissed holds

 

[Yama-Crazy]

I once broke a ski-doo rear skid swing arm right in half on both sides at welds... my sled now is showing no stress marks in welds in front at all.

 

[Gilbey]

Come on Yooper, I don't abuse my sled, I just ride hard!!! Yup, broke mine too. Around the bottom weld of both sides on the inner arms, that's where mine cracked, both sides.

 

[4Fighter]

The part is weak and ill-suited for the RX's, that's all there is to it. Otherwise, it wouldn't have broken on 23 out of 60 sleds polled so far. IF your W-arm broke and you didn't answer the poll, please do so.

It's unfortunate that this incident has reared it's ugly head again. But, I'll fair better this time knowing that I have the means to fix it, relatively cheap.

The Rage is a lighter sled with less Power and torque, so I suspect that this problem will not be as prevalent.

 

[racer7x]

Mine's not broke yet, but every weld is cracked. Mostly where the shock mounts to the W arm.....

 

[RX1-er-2005]

If I would of driven mine a 1/4 of what they are showing on the "06" DVD...half the time the sled is air born,driving in rough trails standing up...it wouldn't last a day...even the new cataloge is false sense of durability...IMO I think that this is false advertisment...it's not ment to bo driven that way...if it is YAMAHA better have deep pockets for claims.

I just think that we are the GINNIEPIGS...I just hope we don't have to pay for the poor engineering

 

[RX1-er-2005]

Steve,
It's good to inspect the whole sled, but I wouldn't worry too much about the arm. I think the people breaking them are abusing the machine, otherwise Yamaha would have reinforced them. If I wanted to break my sled, I could do it in 5 minutes. There is a limit to what any machine will take. Did you see that in that recent comtest to drive vehicles across the desert by computer had a Humvee broke an axle after a few miles?

I don't know how many miles you drive,but keep a close eye on it...you better start reading different post on this site before saying certain things,by what you just posted there must be a lot of people ABUSING...

The other thing check out the "06" DVD let us know what you think of it...if this is not abuse I will respect your opinion. :ORC

PS this is addressed to RX1 Yooper

 

[zoomzoom]

Steve,
It's good to inspect the whole sled, but I wouldn't worry too much about the arm. I think the people breaking them are abusing the machine, otherwise Yamaha would have reinforced them. If I wanted to break my sled, I could do it in 5 minutes. There is a limit to what any machine will take. Did you see that in that recent comtest to drive vehicles across the desert by computer had a Humvee broke an axle after a few miles?

I hate the fact that so many people continue to experience the same issues with these rear skids. It really makes me wonder if I making the right decision on my new Apex.

Let me use this forum as a way to communicate my concerns with Yamaha.

To Yamaha - I hope you're listening!

I'm snow checking a Yamaha and do sincerely hope that the rear skid does not fail due to the well known Pivot arm (W-Arm) issue. I'm not spending this much money on a sled to have it break down the first season. If I do experience these issues like so many others have, I will not hesitate to pursue this matter legally. Nothing angers me more than a big company throwing a product out there that is dangerous and negligent to their consumer. If I have to spend some money on the legal end then so be it!

Yoopper's argument doesn't have a leg to stand on because the very nature of this sport is one that impresses a lot of stress on any part of the machine. Bottom line is that when you're cruising down the trail, you shouldn't have to avoid a bump for fear that your rear skid is going to break. I've been snowmobiling for a long time and I've never done that with any of my past sleds and I sure as hell don't intend to do that with my new Yamaha. I love this sport too much to change my style of riding because a company fails to address an engineering flaw on an item that has been failing for apparently many years. Do I know that parts fail once in a while? Sure I do. But... if you have the same part fail multiple times for doing the job that it was intended to do then you have a real problem on the engineering side.

Please get it right Yamaha! Nothing will make your new customers happier than knowing they made the right choice when they bought from your company.

 

[az99]

It is issues like these that got so many states to establish Lemon Laws for cars. Now that sleds are going over 10K US it will not be long till attorneys get involved with the absolute junk that the mfgs. are sticking up our butts and telling us to like it. As much as I hate attorneys maybe it would help us.
To RX Yopper- You are a joke. Yamaha could polish a pile of dog crap and you would buy it and tell everyone it does not stink.

 

[4Fighter]

...It is issues like these that got so many states to establish Lemon Laws for cars... To RX Yopper- You are a joke. Yamaha could polish a pile of dog crap and you would buy it and tell everyone it does not stink.

Lemon Law, I wish.

Hey now! He may not have allot of patience or know how to read a map very well...LOL Sorry Yooper But Yooper's a good guy.

What kind of abuse are you talking about Yooper? The kind where you fly over a hill about 10' into the air, for a distance of 30' after making a pass on a guy that wanted to race?

BTW: I checked the W-arm when I got back, and it looked fine.

 

[Red2003]

Polishing dog crap?? Hmmm with an electric buffer that could be messy. Remember the Airplane movie?? Now chrome plating it............ that just might work

 

[BigDog05]

I'm not here to defend Yamaha. If you think these sleds won't hold up to the way you ride, then solve the problem. BUY ANOTHER BRAND SLED

The guys with the 05's that are having problems have little choice, but why order an 06 until you see if the problem has been corrected.

I just ordered an 06 Vector GT for my wife. I don't think she could break a suspension if she tried.

 

[4Fighter]

Look at the rear suspension pivot arms on other OEM sleds that are lighter, with less power and you can see that they are a better, more robust design, and generally outlast the life of the sled.

AND

When you look at the number of 4-strokes the other guys are selling compared to units that Yamaha is cranking out to LOYAL and OPEN-MINDED/OPTIMISTIC customers , even back in '03 and '04 - It's truly sad that Yamaha will not do anything