Yamaha Racing Effort-vent here..lol

[Phazernut]

Go here to read about Cains Quest.....MAkes I-500 look like a walk in the park

http://www.cainsquest.com

Yes I know it does...but for some reason it hasn't drawn some of the top teams/drivers yet.

Give it time. I think they have over 30 teams registered for this years race. I would love to try it but my body is just not up to the task.

For those who get STV I think next week they have a report on last years race.

 

[Sno-Xr]

Its the same old story! Win on Sunday sell on Monday. Sno-X has been one of the most popular snowmobile racing in recent years, and the fact that Yami hasn't been doing so well IMO does effect the preception of how good of a sled they build.
Lets face it, many riders today "think" they are agressive riders and are looking for a sled that will handle the way they "think" they ride!! (not always being realistic), therefore, other brands will look more appealing.

 

[welterracer]

remember.. its the rider who wins the race not the sled..

Cat has the best riders on the planet.. and robbie won a race last year on a yamaha.. even thou he switched to doo.. and he hasnt done that well with them..

Id like to see what tucker could do on a nytro once..

 

[Heritage]

remember.. its the rider who wins the race not the sled..

Cat has the best riders on the planet.. and robbie won a race last year on a yamaha.. even thou he switched to doo.. and he hasnt done that well with them..

Id like to see what tucker could do on a nytro once..

I agree..but maybe I am spoiled...back in the day I remember sitting in the crowd at eagle river, and watching yamaha smoke everybody in formula III..first Jim wergin would come out, and win his heat, then Tim Bender would come out and SMOKE everybody by a lap..then Guy Useldinger would come out and win his heat, and then Steve Houle would come out spank everybody....by the time you'd get to the semi finals you had 5-6 yamahas still in the running. It was soooo funny cause all the people in the crowd kept saying was how vastly underpowered the yamaha's (vmax 540's) were compared to the 650 indy's, and the ski-doo machs...Yet those old vmax's were so dominate...it was the same thing back in the 70's...I kept hearing how fast the z cats were or the snow twisters..yet it was almost always a yamaha that won the 440 mod class. (Ed Schubitzke, Lynn Trapp, and a bunch of independants). I was there in 1976 when fast eddy took the flag on an srx....he was soooooo much faster than everybody else it was sick...he shattered the track record by 7 seconds in qualifying...THINK about that.... 7 seconds!!!!!
It's still funny to me, when people talk about the old fast sleds, and they bring up snow twisters, chapperal's, rupps, and z-cats...but don't even mention the yamaha 440's (73 sr, 74 pancake srx, 75 gpx's, 76-77 srx's and 78ssr).

THOSE were the days boys!!!!! Was it the machine or the driver....??? I'd like to think both.

 

[rx1tonofun]

Hey we used to be able to buy leaded fuel at the pump. Anyways I'll ride my 600 lb. plus Apex MTX without ever worrying about it breaking down meanwhile my bud's cats and doos are always in the shop. I bought my sled to RIDE it not to wonder if this is the day it will leave me stranded. I work at a local Yamaha shop and it's hard to sell the Nytro. And after the racing is over it's even harder, so I understand your frustrations. I even owned a Nytro MTX last year and sold it to buy my Apex, just not enough power for me in a stock Nytro. Remember it's easier to build power in a 2-stroke with less input, time/money.

 

[2008 Nytro RTX]

I think the Nytro has a far better chassis then Apex chassis has. Only thing the Apex does is lake racing!

 

[Sno-Xr]

I think the Nytro has a far better chassis then Apex chassis has. Only thing the Apex does is lake racing!

You base this on what experience? How many miles have you logged ridding an Apex? Have you owned an Apex?


Another thing going against Yamaha when racing sno-x, is Numbers! I think there is only 2 Pro riders riding yamaha sleds. That puts the odds of a Yamaha making a good show, a little tougher.
With that being said, I still think they have a long way to go to be competitive. The sled is inferior for racing in sno-x against the other 3 factory race sleds.

 

[Sno-Xr]

I think the Nytro has a far better chassis then Apex chassis has. Only thing the Apex does is lake racing!

Better chasis for what purpose? Trail crusing 250-300 miles a day?

It may be a better chasis for off trail or beat up , tight twisty trails, but its not better for everyones particular riding style.

 

[PureBlue]

I just got done watching the LCQ x-games race...Sorry...but I need to vent...as a loyal yamaha racing fan...I think their sno cross effort the past two years has been pathetic!!! Have they even made a final this year???

Some of you may be too young to realize, that when snocross first started in the 80's..Yamaha used to dominate!!!! They had guys like Tim Bender, Guy Useldinger, Steve Houle, and Jim Wergin totally kickin azz!!!

And of course on the ovals...Yamahas were tough to beat from the 70's through the early 90's (until they outlawed the vmax 4 from formula III).

My point is..if you look at supercross, or road racing Yamaha has some of the top drivers in the sport. IMO their snowmobile racing effort is lackluster. If it wasn't for a handful of very good independant race teams over the past 10-15 yrs...yamaha would have totally been a has been on the track.

I know yamaha has won the I-500 the past few years...but what else have they done??? Have they even won a heat race at eagle river in the past 5 years?? How many x-games titles have been won on a yamaha??? Has yamaha ever had a high points crown in snocross???

Good thing I bought a used arctic cat this year...at least I can cheer for a winner in snocross once in awhile....and can actually go to eagle river and see a brand I own on the track (other than on vintage weekend).

Again I don't mean to offend...but I had to vent...it really sad to see how poorly yamaha sleds do racing on the major circuts. I guess I'll kick back and read my old scrap book with photos of yamahas past glorys.

Well last year my nefu Kris Eichenberg Won just about every heat race and finals, for the 2008 race season. An ended up winning the points championship in Smi-Pro Stock 600, Smi-Pro Super Stock 600 ( M.I.R.A. ). This was with the 40th FX Nytro. U would think Yamaha would put this in a magizine or on there web page, but no. Unless your in Yamaha's back pocket, you get no poblisity. They did pay out some money $1000.00 for each class he won. But it would have been nice to see him in a magizine. The year before he won the Smi-Pro Stock 500 Champioship on the new Phazer. He won one race, but ended up winning the year end points. But ISR and Yamaha pulled his win, because Yamaha didn't classifi the Phazer for racing. They didan't think the Phazer would compete, they don't have a clue what there sleds can do. Theres all kinds of guys out there that can make these sleds run. Now Kris is up in Alaska kicking butt up there too, taking home wins. This is still on the FX Nytro too. It's still stock, just clutch work and Excel muffler, so they could make it a lot faster. But moneys tight this year, it should be better next year up there for them. So there is Yamaha's out there winning, it's just that no one knows that they are winning, no P-R. This past weekend Kris had a race up there in AK, and won 5 out of 6 races. I try to put some info. on here when i hear something, from up there. Every little bit helps.

 

[2008 Nytro RTX]

I think the Nytro has a far better chassis then Apex chassis has. Only thing the Apex does is lake racing!

Better chasis for what purpose? Trail crusing 250-300 miles a day?

It may be a better chasis for off trail or beat up , tight twisty trails, but its not better for everyones particular riding style.

ok trail cruising and lake racing,Not much more the Apex can do better then the Nytro.

 

[yam177]

Below are the Pro open points. Doo has dominated for years but how many Doo's are in from of Yamaha and by very little.... Guys alot has to do with numbers, Yamaha needs a consumer based racer so privateers can buy them and put them on the track more racers equal moire finishes and sleds in the finals.

Doo's sleds are now based off the consumer the race sled is just beefed up and it is not doing well. Look at cats one off sled and Polaris ones off sled. They build purpose built sleds for racing and right now throw more money at it.


Pro Open
Points Team Bib Sled City, State
1 Tucker Hibbert 111 Monster Energy/Arctic Cat 68 Arctic Cat
2 TJ Gulla 89 Hentges Racing 44 Polaris
3 Ross Martin 86 Judnick Motorsports 837 Polaris
4 Brett Turcotte 82 Christian Brothers Racing 16 Arctic Cat
5 Levi LaVallee 80 Hentges Racing 108 Polaris
6 Ryan Simons 72 HC Racing 67 Arctic Cat
7 Garth Kaufman 60 Christian Brothers Racing 48 Arctic Cat
8 Matt Judnick 58 Judnick Motorsports 58 Polaris
9 Shaun Crapo 55 Amsoil US Air Force 3 Polaris
10 DJ Eckstrom 53 Amsoil US Air Force 25 Polaris
11 Dave Allard 48 Boss Racing 167 Ski-Doo
12 Robbie Malinoski 47 Boss Racing 4 Ski-Doo
13 Brett Bender 46 Hentges Racing 19 Polaris
14 Matt Piche 36 Christian Brothers Racing 51 Arctic Cat
15 Mathieu Morin 35 Warnert Racing 27 Ski-Doo
16 Carl Schubitzke 33 Team Arctic Cat 6 Arctic Cat
17 Steve Taylor 27 Yamaha Factor Snocross 2 Yamaha
18 Andrew Johnstad 25 Avalanche Racing 255 Polaris
19 Mike Schultz 24 Warnert Racing 5 Ski-Doo
20 Iain Hayden 23 Yamaha Factor Snocross 93 Yamaha
21 Parker Brown 14 No Limits Racing LLC 119 Polaris
22 Zach Pattyn 12 Warnert Racing 99 Ski-Doo
23 Danny Poirier 8 Hultens Speed Sport 312 Polaris
24 Lee Butler 8 Royal Distributing/Bourque's Polaris, Polaris

 

[rightarm]

new here but if you buy a sled because what it does on a snocross track and no other reason you need to rethink how you buy....

Are you joking??? Yamaha said " what they develope in snocross would be applied to their consumer sleds". So...if that's what yamaha is saying...and they have only one podium in snocross in 3 years aboard the nytro...what does that tell you about their sleds (in particular the nytro)??

If the only thing that matters to you is fuel economy, and epa compliance...then you are right...it doesn't matter what they do on a snocross track...if performance, handling and ride are important...and that stuff trickles down to their trail sleds through developement on the snocross track...and you look at the last 3 yrs on a snocross track...things don't look very good for yamaha.

First of all in the two years that Yamaha has had a 4 stroke in competition(1st 4 stroke) by the way in case you and others have forgotten,they have done quite well.Alot better than the other three if they had one in the race.That said eventually the other 3 will be forced to switch to 4 stroke for competition purposes,hence the biggest reason brp built the 3 cyl 1200cc 4 stroke,it can be directly applied to the race track via rules and still sell to the masses and it will sell with a few years on the snocross circiut.Although I love racing and R&D and understand the purpose behind it and the benefits that it gives the consumer, I also understand that myself and 89% of the consumers don't have a realistic purpose for a full blown race sled.That 10-11% is reserve for racers and that I am not and in turn have no purpose for something like this in the real world.And in the real world EPA,FUEL ECONOMY,RELIABILTY all make a difference more than being able to do 30 ft doubles or a section 4 ft whoops.Just wait till the rules change in the next couple of years for Sno-x with the change to 4-stroke and we will see who is behind and ahead.As far as what I have been given from my manufacturer it might not be the best at one thing but it does a whole lot just right!

 

[minks_698]

Chris "crash" Vincent won the MRP 600 class in the 96-97 season, I had the t-shirt!
Yamaha's lack of a stock class racer is the main reason nobody is on the track with them. I would love to take my Phazer or Nytro on the sno-x track for some local events, but I know they couldn't take the punishment even with proper shock valving.
Until they build something more purpose built, our complaints about the sno-x racing effort will continue. The RTX SE is a step in the right direction . . .

 

[yam177]

Minks beefed up in the right spots Phazers are very capable and reliable on the Snox track

 

[enticersrule]

"What wins on Sunday sells on Monday" just doesn't fly anymore, especially with sleds. If that were still true, Arctic Cat would be so far in first place no one could touch them after their total dominance in racing in the mid-late '90s and early 2000s. Think about the sheer number of races Team Arctic won with the Hibberts, Morgan, Strege, Pake, Sturgeon, etc. You could fill half the hall of fame with just their drivers alone. Yet their marketshare has actually dropped over the past 10 years.

Sno-X Magazine did a great piece a couple years ago about Ski-Doo and their emergence in sno cross racing with Wolff and Haikonen. It's a long hard road to build a snocross-worthy sled. It took Ski-Doo basically 10 years of trial and error. Lots of work.