Yamaha Corporate finally SPEAKS OUT on their future....

Great info on this post, being from Michigan, I have watched the trail sleds stretch here as well. When BRP put out the first gen rev which went over quite well here sleds were almost exclusively 121" tracks, unless you were riding nut to butt on a two-up... in those last 8 years, our circle has went from 12+ 121" sleds to 12+ 136" sleds and with the new yammi hifax a few of us have went to the xtx. Any more than 144 IMO over here is too much, I couldn't keep hifax on my 153 skid even with the extra wheels and good hifax..

Our average trail speed is way up in the same timeframe as well, pre rev we loved our polari's, but 120 miles was enough for one days ride. Now days 160 miles is an "average" day, and last weekend we did a back pack trip that was almost 240 miles the first day, on yammi's making as much hp as the trucks we use to drag the trailer and sleds to the trailhead...

Another thing that has changed since the heyday, is the number of sled manufacturers in that decade vs now... I'd be curious to know how many companies were producing sleds then, obviously only 4 primaries now unless you're going full custom.

polaris dude said:

Yamaha is involved in everything I swear.

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An apples to apples comparison between yamaha and the rest of the manufacturers would be to look at revenue across the same product lines.

Granted, yamaha has a much deeper pocket and can more easily absorb R&D costs vs the smaller guys which is why they *should* be way out front.

By 2016 Yamaha will own Cat and there will be no more Cat.

Wow, I didn't realize their Motorsports division was so huge! What all are they in? I know they do boats, sleds, bikes, and atvs anything else?

sounds like allot of them telling us what they think we want to hear to stop the mass exodus from yammi sleds.i dont think yammi makes bad sleds but they are just not comparable to the compition & the mtn market is where the biggest gap is.in all there other motorsports they are top or at least close to the top its sad to see how far they have let the sleds slide.remember they are in business to sell us sled & the brand & will say what the have to keep us with yammi.mabey we will see a new mountain chassi for there 50th:cheer2::face-icon-small-dis at this point in time iam not holding my breath but hope what they are saying is true.

yep..Yamaha is HUGE...

so was gm..dodge...bankrupt

freddie mac ..eng...etc etc etc the lists goes on of huge bankrupt companies....

Yamaha's change is a change that is always dependant on the boardroom...and that changes every couple years...

Ya can't trust them...they are capitalistic pigs..

So answer me this then if they have come out and said we are going to replace everything we have done to date and we are developing all new everything, what is the possible motivation for anyone to buy a stop gap 2014 which has essentially been already declared obsolete before even hitting the showroom floor. In two years you won`t be able to give one away in order to get on the new platform. At least if you buy a Doo or Poo this year you will be able to sell it to a Doo or Poo fan in a couple of seasons. No Yamaha guy is going to buy the used 2014 when there is a new platform out from Japan.

Seems like they are scrambling, when was the last time you heard corporate Yamaha make statements publicly fending off critisim to anything the are selling. That would be never, they just do what they please.

M5

BigFish BC said:

sounds like allot of them telling us what they think we want to hear to stop the mass exodus from yammi sleds.i dont think yammi makes bad sleds but they are just not comparable to the compition & the mtn market is where the biggest gap is.in all there other motorsports they are top or at least close to the top its sad to see how far they have let the sleds slide.remember they are in business to sell us sled & the brand & will say what the have to keep us with yammi.mabey we will see a new mountain chassi for there 50th:cheer2::face-icon-small-dis at this point in time iam not holding my breath but hope what they are saying is true.

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Remember how far behind they were in 1996 with still having the pogo stick suspension? Seems Yamaha has a history of getting behind and catching up in a big leap. I for one am curious to see if it happens again.

M5- said:

No Yamaha guy is going to buy the used 2014 when there is a new platform out from Japan.

M5

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I purchased a sled close to eight years after it was manufactured and still love it to death. It had 2700 miles on it when I purchased it and it has about 4200 miles now. Since I can easily expect the engine to last in the 20,000 mile range (likely far more), I saw it as a bargain. Since I put on about 1500 miles a year, I will likely ride it until I'm too old to ride anymore.

It's a 2003 RX1 Mountain. It's heavy, it doesn't sidehill as well as the newer, lighter 2 strokes or climb as well, but I can count on it to start and run. If I were to invest about $6K, I would have a sled that would out climb most anything out there. As it is now, I'm pretty happy with 150 horsepower and haven't had the urge to drop $6K for more poop and better suspension. I do intend to go with a longer track though.

That being said, there are plenty of people that will buy a used Viper because they know they can expect the engine to last for many, many years to come with little or no maintenance. They may need to replace wear items (hyfax, bearings, shocks and a few quarts of oil every few years) but unless they wreck it, they know that they won't have to throw a ton of money at the thing after the initial purchase.

I am partial to the R1 engine, so I'm not so jacked about the power plant that they chose, but they aren't a bad motor. And they will produce a respectable amount of power if they are boosted. Just a little under powered for my taste and I really like the hum that the four cylinder engine has.

Perhaps they will offer a low compression boosted R1 engine in the mountain version. Pulling ~250 hp all day long on pump gas is a wonderful thing. I have a friend with two boosted Apexes and he's getting 240 hp from one and 310 hp out of the other. The only problems he's had in roughly 4000 miles of boosted operation has been when he's hit rocks or trees. The engines are still running like tops.

So, I disagree with your assessment. There are plenty of people that would buy a used Yamaha Viper regardless of what the latest, greatest wiz-bang offering may be. If the price is right, I'd buy one as a back up sled even though I'm not a huge fan of the 3 cylinder engine. I know it would be reliable, get me to most of the places I want to go and would last a long time.

polaris dude said:

Yeah, but I am not sure if yamaha's ability to make and build musical instruments is going to help them make a sled .

Yamaha is involved in everything I swear.

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Yamaha music and Yamaha motor corp, is entirely different companies, they share nothing but the first name. In fact, the tuning form symbol belongs to Yamaha music and they allow Yamaha motor corp to use it under a license agreement.

It will always be the half breed red-headed step child.

M5

M5- said:

It will always be the half breed red-headed step child.

M5

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I dunno....is the Ford Taurus SHO a half breed red-headed step child as that is a Yamaha engine in that. Toyota 2000gt is also a Yamaha engine. Yamaha also built engines for several other snowmobile manufactors back in the early 70's....Sno-Jet ring any bells? (thunderjet with Yamaha engines ruled the racing circuit 1973-1974)

My point is this is definately nothing new.