Full yeti vs. timbersled review

I would hardly call this major belt problems. There are Yeti kits on the snow that have never broken belts and 3 year old kits on original bearings. The test sample is rather small imo. The belt drive works great and C3 has a pile of experience in the belt drive market ! And if your really worried about it I'm sure the upgrade to the 30 wide will make you feel better LOL

TS has also had many chains break this season if memory serves me correct ! And that kit has been on the snow for 4-5 years

In all fairness Chris, we better clarify that chain situation.

Timbersled went with a new manufacturer (JT) for 2016, that manufacturer did not deliver what was promised to Timbersled, Timbersled is replacing chains for free to anyone who calls in on a warranty claim with the original manufacturer (EK). Prior to 2016 you barely ever heard of anyone having chain failures.... it pretty much didn't happen.

Yeti is just going through growing pains. Every company will have them. Timbersled has them. All the other manufacturers will have them. I've heard nothing but praise for how Jamie and Yeti have responded to customer issues. Taking care of the customer is how to protect and grow your brand.

Ive got aprox 80hrs on my Yeti 129 this year and my belt still looks good.
Being careful to check chain tension and belt tension often is the key, yes dumping the clutch with a loose chain will wreck belts.
As far as customer service from the Yeti crew, couldn't ask for better.Part of the reason i decided to sell the Timbersled and go with a Canadian product. Customer service is the key to any great business that wants to succeed.
We also did rent the Yeti 146 from revy couple of weeks ago, had no problems with it, we did blow one of the Yamaha's up and ripped the front sway bar mount on the bottom rails of a 16 ts st.

Rush all im saying is the TS owners are quick to jump on the Yeti belt drive. They were knocking it before it even hit the snow and said it could never be done because they equated the Yeti kit to a TS kit as far as flex is concerned. The Yeti is much more rigid and the so called belt issues are not caused by flex rather a number of different things i mentioned previous. Some pilot error and some due to snow in the housing etc.

The TS comment is there to show that even when u figure its figured it can bite you in the ***. We see it all over with vendor changes. It lends perspective ! :face-icon-small-coo

My post was not to say the belt drive is crap, I like it alot. I was only stating what the rental guys told me just the last week of February when we rode Revy, when we were in the lower lot at Boulder trail. There 146 yeti blows a belt almost every rental ride and he has the rental price higher to help with belt costs. We were leaving the next day otherwise I would have rented it myself. Im hoping someone is ready to sell there 146 yeti(for a2017) so i can get a good deal!!!!!
Just might offset the weight of my turbo kit back there!:face-icon-small-hap

Bainan said:

I haven't heard of any failures. With the chassis replacement program that yeti is offering now, it makes me worry a lot less though.

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Why are they offering a chassis replacement program?

Bainan said:

I haven't heard of any failures. With the chassis replacement program that yeti is offering now, it makes me worry a lot less though.

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kell8071 said:

Why are they offering a chassis replacement program?

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I'm wondering the same thing. Great they stand behind the product but having a catastrophic failure in the middle of nowhere doesn't sound like fun.

I think the chassis and other warranties are in place because it really won't cost Yeti very much to have it because percentage wise failures are next to zero. As a manufacturer you just can't make money if things are failing and you are constantly providing warranty repairs. Your object has to be along the lines of the Yamaha model which is build it tough and never see it again. The Liberty 800 and the 900 almost sank Polaris with the crank issues. The margin on hard goods is slim and there is no room for paying out on warranty claims. To me I look at the new Doo warranty and if I were in the market for a sled it'd be a no brainer. Strong warranties show manufacturers confidence in their product vs. trying to rope you into buying their product or at least that's how I would interpret it.

Everyone is unfamiliar with the carbon fiber but in reality aluminum is the real joke material, CF kills it in applications such as this. How many F1 cars do you see going 200 mph, crashing then the driver just walks away, its not because they are made from aluminum. The nose cone on an F1 car is mandated to survive a 60 MPH hit without sustaining any damage, enter CF. The ultimate strength of a CF part is based on its design shape wise and the actual material layup which is how you get strong and light at the same time. The only drawback to CF is the cost which too bad for us is really huge.

M5

48hrs of riding my 129 KX500 in Revy this season.

Original std width belt still looks fine.

only maintenance i do its check for loose bolts and tighten as required. replaced one ski skag when we started riding gravel to get to the snow. the first round of pins that hold the fuel tank on were losing the little balls in them. i carry an extra pin around with me in case i lose one. thats about it really. i'm doing significantly less wrenching this year and dont carry my sled around as a spare anymore.

on the trail, i used to be way behind the sleds. with the yeti i can usually ride the trail much faster.

i'm probably a little bias, but those are the facts fellas. take them how you will.

Hawkster said:

The fix is simple for the ones complaining about the Yeti ski .

They over built the ski and can be easily adjusted without sacrificing it's handling in all conditions .

I can't believe you guys haven't figured it out ?

You guys owe me this one .

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I just bought a kit that came with an ‘18 Yeti ski and I’m curious how I would adjust the ski so it’s less aggressive in crusty snow.