It’s finally over for Yamaha

[viperaddict]

Well they tried with the single shot. Didn't get many raves. It was a bunch lighter than the Mono though. If they would've put the 998T in the deltabox that would have bought them several more years. Apex riders would have upgraded without much hesitation.

While I agree that it would have been a great sled, I don't think it would sell much. The large majority of snowmobilers just don't buy that style sled. It's like the auto industry moving to mostly SUVs. Rider forward is the equivalent to the SUV. They just plain sell more, no matter how much you or I prefer a sit down trail rocket

 

[sideshowBob]

What has surprised me more then anything is the manufacturers returning their focus and development back to two stroke based sleds. I truly thought by now the majority or all of the industry would be powered by four strokes. We all know two strokes work in the manufacturers favor as they are cheap to build and don't last for 10s of thousands of miles but as we know if you are riding behind any of the modern two strokes they are pumping pollution into the air and surely are going to be targeted by the governments and environmentalists to the point of extinction in the not so distant future as two stroke outboards have. Yamaha has long been focused on four stroke development but their chassis supplier developed a new two stroke chassis the Catalyst...the end.

 

[stgdz]

Well looks like that Polaris triple we have been hearing about showed itself

New 2024 Polaris Ranger XD 1500 Is the Hardest-Working UTV Yet With 3,500-Pound Max Tow

The new 2024 Polaris Ranger XD 1500 is the most capable side-by-side the brand has ever made, with a 3,500 pound towing capacity.

www.thedrive.com

1500 triple with about 110hp/105tq

This makes sense as to why people were hearing about triple in sledd and why Polaris rumors were saying that it got smoked when put against a Yamaha triple, even when they turbo's it.

 

[Farmer 73]

Its getting pretty sad, now Yamaha is falling behind in the SxS market too. Does Yamaha have a mission statement for the company? If they do I wonder what it says?

 

[MrSled]

Its getting pretty sad, now Yamaha is falling behind in the SxS market too. Does Yamaha have a mission statement for the company? If they do I wonder what it says?

Mission “we want to be number two because number one is over rated “. Lol

 

[Father Mike]

When the news came out I didn't want to believe. Very sad time. I feel like we were lied to.

 

[journeyman]

When the news came out I didn't want to believe. Very sad time. I feel like we were lied to.

They were kind of lying saying they were in it for the long run.

I really think it had to do with Yamaha leaving their whole snowmobile division in the hands of Cat/Textron. When Textron told them they wouldn’t share their new chassis or build a wider version to accommodate their 3 cylinder 4 strokes Yamaha just said that’s it folks, we’re done.

When Cat was for sale I wish Yamaha would have worked out a deal to buy the company and just focused on snowmobiles and maybe kept the Cat division alive for the two stroke arena like mountain sleds, etc.

 

[sideshowBob]

When Cat was for sale I wish Yamaha would have worked out a deal to buy the company and just focused on snowmobiles and maybe kept the Cat division alive for the two stroke arena like mountain sleds, etc.

In hindsight, when Yamaha didn't purchase Cat when it was available and both companies were in a manufacturing deal they had made their minds up and it was only a matter of time. The purchase of Cat by Yamaha would have been a minor investment to a company like Yamaha but they obviously were not interested in continuing in the Snow Mobile business off into the future.

 

[fxnytrortxkid]

In hindsight, when Yamaha didn't purchase Cat when it was available and both companies were in a manufacturing deal they had made their minds up and it was only a matter of time. The purchase of Cat by Yamaha would have been a minor investment to a company like Yamaha but they obviously were not interested in continuing in the Snow Mobile business off into the future.

As far as I know Yamaha did try to purchase them. But they wanted all of their powersports sold and Yamaha only wanted snowmobiles and the facility and staff. They had no use for their other lines. But cat would not split them up. And the number to buy everything and basically trash the off road stuff and I think they still have/had watercraft involved some how didn’t make sense to them.

 

[stgdz]

They were kind of lying saying they were in it for the long run.

I really think it had to do with Yamaha leaving their whole snowmobile division in the hands of Cat/Textron. When Textron told them they wouldn’t share their new chassis or build a wider version to accommodate their 3 cylinder 4 strokes Yamaha just said that’s it folks, we’re done.

When Cat was for sale I wish Yamaha would have worked out a deal to buy the company and just focused on snowmobiles and maybe kept the Cat division alive for the two stroke arena like mountain sleds, etc.

They likely did but Textron probably came in with a better offer and old timers wanted to cash out.


Also Yamaha was likely looking at the numbers for the dealer network and where they could get into more fields.


My guess is most cat dealers are Yamaha dealers so why bother from Yamahas point of view.

 

[Hunter7]

Well we all heard the rumours before so we knew it was coming, not shocked just disappointed. Back in the 80s Yamaha sleds were the rated very highly. Wonder what that’s going to do to resale value now? I see the same Apex sleds for sale here in Manitoba for a year and not sold yet. Then there will be the parts issue. I had to replace the starter on my Apex last spring and wanted a genuine Yamaha starter, could NOT get through Yamaha in Canada, had to order one out of the US, cost about $1000 after the dust settled.

 

[03RX1-ER-LE]

Yamaha 4 stroke, including the Apex motor, longevity put Yamaha out of the sled business. We know how to update the chassis whether it be a r-motion, fast 20 air ride or playing with original chassis, the Apex will keep going long into the future. Last sled I plan on buying before hanging it up. Had a stroke 2/22 and back in the saddle thanks to my son in-law and daughter as my wife has pretty much called it quits, we all know the 4 stoke will always make it back without blowing up.