Sick of all the hype

Reading snowmobile mags and they seem to miss important points about Yamaha. Don't get me wrong I love snowmobiling and all snowmobiles to an extent, I love that Skidoo is fun and have very good suspensions I love that Artic is the fastest ( for now perhaps ) I love that Polaris is coming back. But there is something everyone is missing, Skidoo still twists crank shafts and vibrate till my hands get numb, Artic cat....well don't get me started on the issues but a big one is that it sounds like a cow! Polaris looks like a pyramid with 1990 style gas gauge still! It bugs me. Yamaha has been fast reliable and sounds great for years. Sure a new design is probably over due but why fix what is not broken? I know we all love new and improved things and yes a new platform would be great but our existing platforms are awesome. If you ride with a group of Y's the biggest complaints are how tired we are from riding...if that is the case. Ride with anyone else and there's a slew of problems. IMO only I've ridden etec 800 etec 600 they are fun light and fast but with not a good sounding motor and the nervousness of a breakdown I'm more than happy riding my big Y. It excites me beyond belief to ride my sled and even my old sled 97 sx triple I guess I'd just like to see some more supporters in the media for a very well built Yamaha sled.

...........Cmon snow I'm getting bored!

All great points, sir!

I totally agree, well said, this is my first yamaha and the ride and quality is far better than the other 3 IMO

If they post the bad news, mags will not get paid, plain and simple!

Forums, imo, are a far better way to find out info

Agree all but Cat being the fastest. This issue of Snowmobile mag has the Apex XTX top speed 2.5mph faster than the XF1100 sno pro, that's pretty sad considering it got 185+hp

Just dont go out and race 10 cat turbos because you will burn the snowmobile mag and park your apex. There is no doubt the cats are fast and with little mods spank any non boosted yamaha so lets be real. Im not a cat fan just not a sugar coater. Yamaha needs to move on and very few that are still hanging on thinking its ok. After the snowshow this past weekend Im sure Yamaha's top brass know they need change.

Daranello said:

Agree all but Cat being the fastest. This issue of Snowmobile mag has the Apex XTX top speed 2.5mph faster than the XF1100 sno pro, that's pretty sad considering it got 185+hp

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I should have rephrased that ( supposedly the fastest ) I've read/heard different about it really being the fastest.

bottlerocket said:

Just dont go out and race 10 cat turbos because you will burn the snowmobile mag and park your apex. There is no doubt the cats are fast and with little mods spank any non boosted yamaha so lets be real. Im not a cat fan just not a sugar coater. Yamaha needs to move on and very few that are still hanging on thinking its ok. After the snowshow this past weekend Im sure Yamaha's top brass know they need change.

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I agree I'd love to see a change and an improved change at that but I am simply acknowledging my appreciation towards my past and current sled and Yamaha's Pro's.

I would highly suggest putting down the mags/laptop and ride other brands. I dont know one nervous ski doo rider or any cat turbo sleds that fear a yamaha. They all have issues but old iron from yamaha is not the answer for most. Yamaha has the technology and money to smoke whats out there but instead have guys riding there coat tails thinking this is ok. Problem being is the cost will be to much for buyers to handle. Everybody wants a new lighter,faster and better handling machine but will bitch about how expensive it is. Cats are fast and light but cheaply made but sold a ton of junk last year and will do so again this year. Just saying

Biggest complaint is weight and many think that a 3 hole 4 stroke turbo is going to be lighter but the Cat 2 hole 4 stroke turbo is 550pds. Seems to me the Yami Apex is not all that much heavier.

The Doo is a lighter sled at 520pds 136" track Not sure what the Nytro weighs!

Looks like 4 strokes are heavier then 2 strokes. Oh well I'll ride my Yami and learn to live with it. Its easy when I squeeze the throttle and listen to that 4 banger purr!

the Nytro is close the the XR in weight

A standard Nytro FX weighs in at 522 pounds. I paid $10,600 otd for my then new 2010. Comparing apples to apples a TNT 4-Tec weighs in at 502 pounds and has a better chassis and out of the box setup. The TNT also has no icing which is a pretty big deal at the end of a 200 mile day. Comparing apples to oranges I paid $10,100.00 otd for my new leftover 2012 MXZ TNT 800 E-Tec. It weighs in a 430 pounds and is supposed to have twice the fun factor,ride and handling of an untouched Nytro FX. I cannot say it does yet myself as I have not ridden it. Pretty much everyone I know agrees the my TNT 800R is going to put a huge smile on my face. Time will tell. Can anyone find a 2012 Apex for $10,100.00 otd? Highly unlikely. The Apex weighs in at 580 pounds. That's 150 pounds more then my 800 E-Tec. Not trying to be a hater but Yamaha is losing more customers than it is gaining from everything I hear and read. I liked my ole Vector and Nytro. Still do. The "why fix it if it is not broken" mentality is what's killing Yamaha. I will never buy a sled on the basis that it sounds cool. Sounds cool? Really? The Apex sounds cool so it is a great sled? C'mon. If I wanted a sled that sounds cool and nothing more I would still be on a 80s' or 90s' triple. They sound cool. How many are still in production? Zero. I have never read in a magazine or online anywhere that Yamahas are not reliable. They are. We put 21,000 trouble free miles on ours over the last five winters. No complaints from me in that respect. However, should I have had to have added scratchers,low snow wheel kits,tunnel block off,skiis and so on to a brand new "state of the art, modern" sled? Should I have a 30 pound block of ice stuck in the tunnel? Should I have had to replace the exhaust donuts after just one season? Really? The exhaust leaked after one season? No sled is perfect. The only Poo I like is the Indy SP. You'll never see a Cat in my trailer. That leaves Doo, the brand I owned before Yamaha and had great luck with also. I wish Yamaha the best and hope they pull their thumbs out of their butts soon. They need to step it up like everyone else does and continues to. Power steering is cool, but not the answer for someone that is looking for the latest and greatest. What's a bigger deal? R-Motion or power steering? Tuner skis are nice but they should have came along ten years ago. Riding all day is what I like. Having a seven gallon fuel tank isn't. Paying $400.00 for a bigger tank is worse. Anyways, I think by now you know where I am going and where I have been. I am hoping Yamaha has anything but BNG for 2014. We'll all find out soon enough.

LOL! Report back when your E-Tec has 21k on it and how expensive rebuilds are for it as they are not cheap and you will need several, marginal snow wheel's and the other miscellaneous Yamaha needs will seem petty. Your exhaust doughnuts were way earlier than the norm. Generally they are not a big deal, not much more dificult than cleaning power valves on a smoker and not very expensive if you do it your self. I rode a couple 800 E-Tecs last season and I will not trade my 2012 Apex WITH EPS for anything about the Doo! They both had heavier steering and felt like riding a VW bug VS a Lincoln especially at speed. My Apex is much more stable at speed! Yamaha builds a sled that will last many times longer than any of the competition with normal maintenance. That all said does Yamaha need some new stuff, YES! If Yamaha comes with that change they will be light year's ahead again like when they came out with the Apex. The 1200 Cat turbo at 12lb boost needs mods to out run an NA 998 Yamaha, Sorry not impressed. Maybe sound is not important to you but I enjoy my four holer sound all day long.
For what ever reason all snowmobiles have issue's and I guess we snowmobiler's are expected to deal with them, not that it is right but in this day and age of snowmobiling I can not except rebuilding a motor every 3 to 5K.
The Isoflex crank bearing's are a joke at best but necessary in order to run on the
minimal oil that they run on. Sorry but this is a Yamaha site and that is what I ride
and for my own reason's.

kviper said:

LOL! Report back when your E-Tec has 21k on it and how expensive rebuilds are for it as they are not cheap and you will need several, marginal snow wheel's and the other miscellaneous Yamaha needs will seem petty. Your exhaust doughnuts were way earlier than the norm. Generally they are not a big deal, not much more dificult than cleaning power valves on a smoker and not very expensive if you do it your self. I rode a couple 800 E-Tecs last season and I will not trade my 2012 Apex WITH EPS for anything about the Doo! They both had heavier steering and felt like riding a VW bug VS a Lincoln especially at speed. My Apex is much more stable at speed! Yamaha builds a sled that will last many times longer than any of the competition with normal maintenance. That all said does Yamaha need some new stuff, YES! If Yamaha comes with that change they will be light year's ahead again like when they came out with the Apex. The 1200 Cat turbo at 12lb boost needs mods to out run an NA 998 Yamaha, Sorry not impressed. Maybe sound is not important to you but I enjoy my four holer sound all day long.
For what ever reason all snowmobiles have issue's and I guess we snowmobiler's are expected to deal with them, not that it is right but in this day and age of snowmobiling I can not except rebuilding a motor every 3 to 5K.
The Isoflex crank bearing's are a joke at best but necessary in order to run on the
minimal oil that they run on. Sorry but this is a Yamaha site and that is what I ride
and for my own reason's.

Click to expand...

kviper said:

LOL! Report back when your E-Tec has 21k on it and how expensive rebuilds are for it as they are not cheap and you will need several, marginal snow wheel's and the other miscellaneous Yamaha needs will seem petty. Your exhaust doughnuts were way earlier than the norm. Generally they are not a big deal, not much more dificult than cleaning power valves on a smoker and not very expensive if you do it your self. I rode a couple 800 E-Tecs last season and I will not trade my 2012 Apex WITH EPS for anything about the Doo! They both had heavier steering and felt like riding a VW bug VS a Lincoln especially at speed. My Apex is much more stable at speed! Yamaha builds a sled that will last many times longer than any of the competition with normal maintenance. That all said does Yamaha need some new stuff, YES! If Yamaha comes with that change they will be light year's ahead again like when they came out with the Apex. The 1200 Cat turbo at 12lb boost needs mods to out run an NA 998 Yamaha, Sorry not impressed. Maybe sound is not important to you but I enjoy my four holer sound all day long.
For what ever reason all snowmobiles have issue's and I guess we snowmobiler's are expected to deal with them, not that it is right but in this day and age of snowmobiling I can not except rebuilding a motor every 3 to 5K.
The Isoflex crank bearing's are a joke at best but necessary in order to run on the
minimal oil that they run on. Sorry but this is a Yamaha site and that is what I ride
and for my own reason's.

Click to expand...