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Time seems to have almost forgotten that in model year 2003 Yamaha Motor Corp. unveiled the RX-1, the first really serious 4-stroke snowmobile. Since then and the purchase of my first 4-stroke, a 2005 Yamaha RS Vector, I’ve done a lot of thinking about the place of 4-strokes in the snowmobile industry.
Just like motocross? Not really.
What prompted me to write about this topic is I’ve overheard talks between young motocross riders lamenting the fact their 4-stroke race bikes were prohibitively expensive to rebuild. As a result, they weren’t sure what they were going to do when the fateful day came and their motors needed to be “freshened,”. A young racer with a dad’s help simply cannot pop a new top-end in a 4-stroke for $150 on a Sunday afternoon, like was once possible with 125 and 250cc 2-stroke bikes. This financial conundrum has even pushed motorcycle manufacturers to revisit 2-strokes, after several had moved to discontinue 2-stroke motocross production.
I still, however, remember the buzz and unbridled excitement in 1997 as Yamaha unleashed the YZ400F motocrosser. With the help of veteran racer Doug Henry, Yamaha, remarkably, went on to win a title with the 400F in its first year. The whole motocross world transformed overnight, as the familiar ring-ding-ding of 2-strokes was, eventually, overcome by the unmistakable blat of 4-stroke exhaust. And why not? 4-strokes deliver smooth, tractable power, decent fuel economy, and the price, at the time, wasn’t much higher than a comparable 2-stroke.
Similarly, with environmental issues closing in on traditional 2-strokes, Yamaha figured to cash-in big, and early, with the introduction of the RX-1 in the snowmobile market. 4-strokes have not proven, however, to be the landslide, YZ400-esque transformation seen in the motocross world.
Thankfully, most 4-stroke sled owners will never have to deal with a rebuild. In fact, a well-maintained motor could very well outlast their chassis! As I see it, having both logged thousands of miles, as well as raced 4-stroke sleds, the one and only really glaring issue is still weight.
Realistically, for most trail riders weight is not a real issue, in my opinion. Much of the current crop of purpose-built 4-stroke sleds from any brand would make a dependable, efficient, totally satisfying trail sled. This is evidenced by the rabid loyalty many converts display toward 4-stroke snowmobiles and the respectable resale values that result. There are, however, just enough riders out there branding 4-stokes with a reputation of being too heavy and, as a result, not a serious choice for aggressive riding. The unfortunate reality is, horsepower for horsepower, chassis for chassis, there is virtually no way to economically build a 4-stroke sled as lightweight as a 2-stroke. There are just too many moving parts in a 4-stroke. The question is, has everything been done, beyond the obvious, to come as close as possible without sacrificing reliability and durability?
Take it from Ducati
To answer that question, I turn back to the motorcycle business and, in particular, Italian maker Ducati. Last summer, I had the pleasure of taking a closer look at Ducati’s 1199 Panigale, a sportbike introduced in 2011. Like most Ducati’s, the Panigale is as much a piece of art as it is a motorcycle. What stands out about the 1199 is the fact it is, essentially, frame-less, using the engine as its “frame” with steering head (doubling as an airbox), subframe, and rear suspension bolting directly to it. Cool? Very!
Why not make the 4-stroke sled engine the bulkhead, thus eliminating another 50 pounds, or so, from the sled? Design the engine in such a way that the tunnel and front suspension bolt directly to it. Perhaps with a nod to the old Redline concept of a tubular tunnel, instead of the formed sheet aluminum device we’ve been using for almost 50 years?
When I think of Ducati, I also think of the way their V-twin, 4-stroke engine design rocked the Japanese establishment on superbike tracks in the ‘90s. When no one thought it was possible to overcome an inline or V-four engine design, the 2-cylinder Ducati’s turned the motorcycle road racing world on its ear. Could a unique, reliable V-twin engine design be properly incorporated into a sled? I bet it could!
The challenge is, with BRP doing such an excellent job squeezing every last bit of fuel efficiency out of its direct-injected Ski-Doo 2-strokes and other manufacturers working to meet EPA standards, there are more than a few heartbeats left in the 2-stroke engine. Despite Yamaha going “all-in” on 4-strokes and now sharing technology with Arctic Cat, development on the scale I speak of costs big money. I was once told at a Yamaha meeting every time a new motor is developed it costs the company over 10 million dollars and that was 10 years ago. Companies have to sell a heck of a lot of machines to recoup that kind of sunk cost. In a mature snowmobile market, that’s a tough sell to the people with the calculators and the checkbook.
I think the real question of 4-strokes being the future of the sport is, when? Based strictly on a reputation cast over 50 years ago, 2-strokes still have some very vocal environmental adversaries... admittedly, many of these environmental advocates would like to see us all riding around in Flintstone mobiles. Yamaha, I think commendably, tried to get a jump-start on the future and repeat some of the YZ magic. All 4 brands have tried their hand at 4-strokes and commendably BRP, with its Ski-Doo and Evinrude marques, have proved, at least in the short term, 2-strokes are still viable. If anything, the sled companies have acted as the catalyst for dreamers like me to imagine what could be coming 10 years from now. Suffice it to say, it could get really interesting!