march 6

 

huge disappointment

 

Only one Viper Left. Otherwise you have the choice between Snowscoot, VK or a few Sidewinders.

So I can go ahead and confirm my second Cat order.....really was hoping for a Phazer replacement.

 

This has to be Yamaha's worst roll-out of sleds ever!
I am really wondering if Yamaha will continue in the snowmobile business.
A huge disappointment.

 

Hey @Badger post that link about the yamaha line up that you posted somewhere else earlier to put these guys minds to rest!!

:bc:

 

Great read IMO >>> https://www.snowtechmagazine.com/2019-yamaha-return-srx/

 

all but the VK is an arctic act. very sucky of yamaha.

 

I said it time and time again and nobody wanted to believe me, Yamaha is out of the snowmobile business and has been for some time now. Get used to it. If you want a Yamaha just drive to your nearest Arctic Cat dealer, cause that's what your buying. My buddies getting out of sledding entirely, so I told him I will buy his Apex, it will make a nice back-up sled in case I feel like it.

 

Nothing in stock forum will be as fast. Yamaha said fawck you the new SRX will be the fastest STOCK sled out there.:thumbsup:

@Let it Snow! put your shirt down your giving me a boner.

 

Can't do it Meat Man :frantics:

:bc:

 

I'd take a Viper 137 or a Sidewinder and be very happy with either.
Might crash into a tree with my current vision issue but hey, fogged glasses ftw.

I love the look of this one.

https://utica.craigslist.org/snd/d/2018-yamaha-sr-viper-tx-all/6495180803.html

 

3 of my buds have newer vipers ,and they're all red. Like sex on snow lol . I like them a lot. I think one is doing some mods to his ,supposed to get some easy hp with very little work

 

textron's other snowmobile line looks nice in blue.

 

Yamaha itself is running a production line for 1 snowmobile only--- The VK?

And we are suppose to believe that they'll just leave snowmobile production closed down for 1 year?

Not to state the obvious.....but Nah- they are done building snowmobiles.....

 

:rulz::nono::thumbsup:

 

I look at the remaining real Yamaha VK, and I see a '80 Yamaha SRV. TSS and that 540 fanner. The gauges even look retro. I don't get the impression that Yamaha is in it for the long haul......

I do wonder how it even makes sense to produce that VK sled. Granted, the tooling has been paid for......for decades.......

 

Yamaha has lied their asses of to their consumers, racers, dealers and everyone else for over a decade. They continue to do so. But it made them money.....

 

Ya they got rich on snowmobiles.:lol::lol::lol3:

 

2lapsdown and Szledhead you are in the yammie forum so knock the bashing off. We know you both aren't here for a "discussion" if you're here for a discussion about yamaha then that's fine we allow disgruntlement and some ranting. But both of you just hate yamaha, there's a difference.

 

I am not in the market but the best LOOKING sled on the snow for 19 is the SRX. Wish I had the coin to pony up.

 

X2 they are one of the best looking sleds on the snow. My dad has a viper and it looks great. I would of considered buying one but I just don’t like the 4 stroke feel. Maybe I just need more seat time

 

Just looked at the 2019 Yamaha lineup. Outside of the 1990's designed fan cooled touring sled Yamaha makes nothing now, Nothing! It is complete, everything they have is made by Arctic Cat. A sad day indeed. Still remember when Mike Trapp was the factory guy to beat on a Yamaha starting in 1971.

The long road has ended 47 years later, they made some great sleds. I guess to ponder the reason, wonder what it was, too many sleds not enough buyers, too much money, too few customers.

 

No money in it. It is more cost effective for Yamaha to out source. I think Polaris’s sled business is like 6% of their total sales and Yamaha has single digit market share. That is the reason.

 

plus the disaster in japan didn't help .

 

Yamaha made an epic mistake when they went all in on 4 strokes. I think today, 4 stroke sales make up 25% of all snowmobile sales. Essentially, they were competing with Ski-Doo and Arctic Cat for a piece of 25%.

 

Yamaha made an epic mistake when they went all in on 4 strokes.

I disagree...in a way.
Let me explain my angle here, as I have a break here at work.
I hated the RX1 when it released but loved the look and dual exhaust, it was Yammy's best sled since the SRX 700 but god almighty don't get that thing stuck! Holy focking hell.

So they build the RX1 because Yamaha likes to build things that last, which is why they went 4-stroke. Their next winner was the Apex and say what you want about this now aged machine and old school riding position, that 160HP mill goes like a fucker and people have been spotted with over 50,000 miles on that engine, with maybe one freshening up. The Apex has a huge following and during its prime years put Yamaha back in the mix for sales...they were still in the lower end in sales, but doing ok. It's also one of the longest running line of sleds that ran from what...mid 2000's to 2017? Pretty impressive for a company that doesn't invest too much into the sport.
Not saying its the best sled ever, or lightest, or fastest, or best handling, but they [Yamaha's] retain their value.

I think their decision to go 4-strokes at the time (early 2000's) was risky due to weight and speed, but since then things have evolved, a good example being the Genesis 130 in the ProCross which quite frankly, is a superb combination and most importantly for Yamaha, a very reliable, well handling, good everyday reliable setup. The Viper is a winner, and so is the Sidewinder. They don't need to make anything else, the sport is at a crossroads right now.

Which leads me to my next point...

4 stroke sales make up 25% of all snowmobile sales. .

The issue with sleds for years, and why the sport is in such shambles is caused by many reasons....lack of snow, riding areas, noise complaints, and the quality of the machines themselves.


Look at the Polaris Fusion 900, the Dragon 800, Mach Z 1000's, the first Rev 600 and 800s, and countless other machines that are complete shit. I am not trying to amplify something that's not that big of a deal, Poo and Doo make great machines, but its not bullshit to say there have been significant mechanical issues in sleds for years from most brands, and I am talking new, low mile $10000 purchases.
Who the fuck wants to spend $12000 on a new Polaris 800 when there are countless stories of them blowing up?

I think Yamaha are looking and have been looking at sledding like this:
Why go all in? What is the future of snowmobiling for us? What are we going to get out of it?

Look at all the races in question this year like the IronDog. Look at the 6.5% drop in total sales in back to back years (16 and 17). Their partnership with Arctic Cat makes more sense now, as they aren't investing an arm and a leg. Yamaha is a MOTOR company, and few people even contend with the durability of their engines, and that's saying something, because Suzuki and others make one hell of a fucking engine.

I think Yamaha is just keeping their distance and seeing how things unfold, and like they have always done, make a nice reliable trail machine for the masses. The 998 was a response to the 2stroke world about power.
Shut your mouth! This motor weighs 10lbs less then the 1100 Turbo, and since its release, has been the king of trails.
Most importantly, more and more people are looking at and buying Vipers/Sidewinders.
I know I am.

 

I agree with Greg B. No R.O.I. in a niche market. I can honestly say I will never go back to a 2 stroke. I'm on TY alot and heaven for bid you say anything bad about Yamaha's direction in the sled business. Cause, just you wait ""NEXT YEAR"" is the ""BIG YEAR"" blah blah blah :roflmao:!!! There done as a sled manufacturer. They and the diehards just won't admit it.

 

This post needs to be in a gold plaque. You are so right and so is Greg. It segways to one tons point. Your taking a 1/4 market share, and you wanna divy THAT up? Ain't gonna happen.

The sad day I refer to is they also made many inventions I remember when at Eagle River everyone was astounded at yamaha race sled and it had this "thing" called oil injection! They made good quality sleds. Unfortunately some of the Yamaha faithful I can read back would echo VooDoo's post. They kept saying how Yamaha redesigned the Procross chassis, how a new Apex was "just around the corner" and when Yamaha finally gets a new sled made in Japan it would be so much better. (I for one am somewhat a believer that it would have been) but as Greg pointed out it's just not in the financial cards. You can only innovate so much and then you have to make money. If you can't do that (and you won't with 8% market share) Then you close down .

 

He is confused about everything. Can't give them away here.

 

I got suckered into the Yamaha 4stroked reliability thing back in 2015.
Mindset... procross chassis was the best rider position for me compared to the rest of manufacturers.
Comes with a rock solid motor with excellent low /midrange arm pulling torque and could run the piss out of the motor for at least 15k.

Well that didn’t work out. Riding my viper for 4 seasons with ending at 8k. Never started like a 4stoke should from day 1. Yamaha updates and fuel mapping are a fucking joke.
Gas mileage was slightly better than and old 600ves liberty carb motor.
Wouldn’t start for shit in Quebec cold,
Shot gun backfires through exhaust which exploded muffler everytime.Lopping idle, stalling on startup ect.
Yamaha basically had no answers and really didn’t give a fuck. Just keep putting mufflers on and refused to put back original mapping that came with sled.
On the other side, the chassis had only to failures, trihub and 2 upper idler bearings in 8k.
Original track with studs, slides and never had any other issues.
Yamaha motor and fuel management.... big old F
OUTDATED PROCROSS A+
Resale value.... in the fucking toilet.

Sent sled down the road atwhole sale price.(HAS HIGH MILEAGE)as I was constantly told.
Yamaha reliability and hold value....

Yea.. WHATEVER YAMAHA, your a sled manufacturing JOKE. Just go away.

 

I love how the Apex has a higher retail then just about every sled there, and the viper has a higher retail then the 600 and 800 switchback, and same as the El Tigre.
Nada is never that accurate but that's somewhat close, the 800 TNT is not worth 7K, lol.


I guess the earned Yamaha reputation for building better, more reliable machines that last and hold great or better value really twists the nipples for some people because Yamaha puts so little effort into snowmobiling other then the motors. Yeah they aren't perfect every machine can have an issue here or there, but for the most part, it is what it is.

 

I would love to see a yamaha 2 stroke revival. Of all my riding buddies growing up the one had a brand new (at the time) 600 sxr I think? with some kind of can on it. It looked, sounded, and handled just like you wanted your own sled to. I had a 98 blue/white banshee with all kinds of work done to it (just stock bore and stroke). Great machines.

 

The only person in denial is you. Go back and look at the figures i posted again, this time without your blue goggles. The yamaha sleds depreciated more than any other brand. The apex had the highest MSRP when it was new. The book value may be high, but it still depreciated more than the others.

 

Try again at what? Showing you current up to date Nada values or Craigslist sales?
Somene else posted the 2014 Nada values showing what they (most 2014 machines) book for today.
Here's a 2011 Apex with 4K at a dealership, and a 2014 Poo 800 with 5K at a dealership.

https://watertown.craigslist.org/snd/d/2014-polaris-pro-rush-800/6686400635.html

https://maine.craigslist.org/snd/d/2011-yamaha-apex-xtx/6691862764.html

 

Good;
I don't care, Yamaha doesn't make sleds anymore, I have mine so I don't care, good luck

 

Alright guys, we've all got our epeen measuring out of the way... And at this point youre just going around in circles. Unless it has to do with the 2019 Yamaha's options, builds, hopes etc don't post. If you keep up the argument you'll make me work and it's too early in the season to do that.

 

If you keep up the argument you'll make me work and it's too early in the season to do that.

This sounds like the old "make the cop get out of his car while its raining and your definitely getting a ticket" lol