Venture Lite Ice Boogers

[SNOBLOWR]

Thought this should have it's own thread, post pics of Venture Lite and Multi

Purpose Tunnel Ice Buildup. Here's mine after a 125 km (78.125 mile ) ride,

taken after we lifted and slammed the rear of the sled down 3 times.

 

[karl]

Hey Snoblowr, I have an MP and it has built up ice like that but not quite as bad. I carry a medium sized rubber mallot now. Whenever I stop for anything I knock the tunnel clear by hitting the bumper or tunnel sides. I will be re-routing the tail pipe so the exhaust exits outside of the tunnel, I think this will help.

 

[SNOBLOWR]

Re routing the pipe sounds like a good plan Karl. But we shouldn't hafta correct design flaws.

I am willing to bet that the extra weight of these ice boogers will eventually prematurely wear out rear shocks, springs, suspension , idler wheels, tracks, hyfax and ( speaking for myself ) my bloody back!

 

[Topper]

My MP also builds up with ice. It is definitely a design flaw to have that exhaust in the tunnel. I keep mentioning it to my dealer everytime I'm in there but haven't got any answers yet. I carry a rubber mallet with me as well. Karl, if you get that exhaust rerouted make sure you post the results. Topper

 

[OST]

Design flaw? Can't be ... not my Yamaha!

These sleds must have been designed for moderate climates, or Yamaha thinks everyone has a heated garage to store them.
I have always dealt with a little ice build up, but last weeks cold spurt certainly showed me what some of you have been saying ... I must have removed 80 pounds of ice from the tunnel Saturday after a cold Friday night ride of 60 miles.

Listen Yamaha ... tunnel exhaust sucks!

Thank god I have a construction heater in my shed for this very purpose.

 

[BombaPolaYama]

What if you go somewhere overnight and cannot put your sled inside? You'll be frozen to the ground the next day and your buddies will be gone riding on their Bombs, ACs and Poos.. how embarrassing for a Yamaha owner! I'll re post my pics later - don't have time tonight. Like I said on the previous thread, Yamaha is requesting input on improvements they supposedly made to the 2008 - so please give it to them :exc: . Good idea to get this going.....And I agree this is not a problem that owners should have to fix - no way.

Thanks

 

[karl]

Topper, I won't get to the exhaust re-route until some time in March, but when I get to it I will post on what I did. I also agree that we shouldn't have to redesign these sleds. I have often asked myself if there was any field testing on these sleds before production. Having been away from sleds for over 25 years I am not quite sure how the manufacturers behave when presented with widely experienced issues...read design flaws. my assumption was that once I bought the sled and the warranty was up...the issues are mine.

 

[GypsyRoots]

I am willing to bet that the extra weight of these ice boogers will eventually prematurely wear out rear shocks, springs, suspension , idler wheels, tracks, hyfax and ( speaking for myself ) my bloody back!

You bet! Not to speak of the track! Lots of wear on everything!
The suspension wheels that get totally enclosed in ice and can't turn...
The snow that is STILL getting in to the engine compartment and locking up the steering. It's a little better now, but I still empty the rubber boots daily!
The dents on my muffler from ice breaking loose and jamming through...
We end up with the same weight as the 120hp Venture, without the extra ponies... but we do get better ergonomics... in my opinion...

I carry a medium sized rubber mallot now. Whenever I stop for anything I knock the tunnel clear by hitting the bumper or tunnel sides.

I carry a rubber mallet with me as well.

How are you guys getting rid of the ice that forms fwd of the muffler???
I get these long, thick pieces that drop from the corners of the tunnel that can't fit through. The only ways I see to loose them are:
Thaw it
Drop the skid frame
Take the muffler off
Let it grind between the heat exchanger and the... track!!! This can't be good for either of the parts!!! But... it is what I end up doing... I do kick it often, so I am dealing with smaller pieces, but I often ride a full tank without stopping... so... I grind a lot of ice...

The one thing I will say that is good about the Ice is:

When running in marginal conditions, the little bit of snow I did find still accumulated ice, and as soon as there was no more snow, the ice would start to melt, keeping my track wet and thus lubricated.
I got 3500 miles out of my first set of hyfax and cumulatively speaking, there was about 800 miles of poor snow conditions at best.

As for putting your sled in the garage overnight...
Unless you have it just cooking in there, the sled will not thaw overnight.
It took an average of 3 days to thaw it out in the airplane hangar at 55F/12C.
And unless you completely thaw and dry the sled, you are risking slush freezing rock hard and seizing things, like your steering or condensation if your fuel tank is not full. Just my thought, even when I had a heated place, I only put the sled in there when I knew that it would thaw completely. Which was not easy because i use the sled everyday as transportation.

Anyway... there's my two cents, or pesos... whatever is worth more now days...

 

[Topper]

GypsyRoots Says:

How are you guys getting rid of the ice that forms fwd of the muffler???
I get these long, thick pieces that drop from the corners of the tunnel that can't fit through. The only ways I see to loose them are:
Thaw it
Drop the skid frame
Take the muffler off
Let it grind between the heat exchanger and the... track!!! This can't be good for either of the parts!!! But... it is what I end up doing... I do kick it often, so I am dealing with smaller pieces, but I often ride a full tank without stopping... so... I grind a lot of ice...

I haven't been worrying about the ice in the front of the tunnel but it has caused some premature track wear I'm sure. I don't have near the miles on mine as you do so my original track is still in fairly good condition. I wonder if the extra inch of width doesn't clean a bit more of that forward ice out as well. Anyway I sure hope Yamaha comes up with some kind of a fix for the ice problems. Topper

 

[BombaPolaYama]

Pictures of snow/slush ice build-up after 68 and 174 Km on Saturday. My sled is currently sitting outside after a mild spell on Tues (29th) I attempted to clean out the ice for 30mins and couldn't get the stuff alongside and ahead of the muffler. So it is supposed to be mild for the next two days and I'm hoping it will thaw out, otherwise I will be unable to use it without risking damage to the track, suspension, etc.

Do you hear that Yamaha a $10,000 machine that I cannot use due to a design flaw!!!

I hope potential customers see this and are turned off from buying until this is fixed because they are selling like hotcakes here!! Obviously Yamaha did not do their on this machine.

As for the idea of routing the tail pipe out the back, this may help somewhat but I think it will not be a total fix because you will still have the heat from the muffler. I hear that guys with machines with mufflers underneath the seats also experience build-up problems.

 

[Vector1]

I thought that my Nytro and Phazer were bad, but that is completely unreal. Excell makes a cover for the Phazer tunnel that should help. I was going to but a VL next season for when I take the little one with me, but not now.

 

[BombaPolaYama]

The tunnel is not open on the VL like the Phazer, so what is the tunnel cover you mentioned and how would it help? Any pics? You are the 1st person I have heard of changing their mind on purchasing a VL - too bad - - but believe me this is a real issue not just an annoyance - hopefully this is fixed before next season.

Thanks,

 

[Vector1]

I don't think it would work on the VL like it would on the Phazer.

 

[Bugbear]

Here's a way to talk directly with the Senior Product and Support Manager at Yamaha Motor Canada.

http://snowmobiles.yamahablogs.ca/about/

I'm not aware of any U.S. equivalent.

 

[SNOBLOWR]

Here's a way to talk directly with the Senior Product and Support Manager at Yamaha Motor Canada.

http://snowmobiles.yamahablogs.ca/about/

I'm not aware of any U.S. equivalent.

Have talked via email a few times with Chris Reid and he has always been very helpful.