March 1, 2007
Welcome to ‘Yamaha Sled Talk’
Hello and welcome to Yamaha Sled Talk. My name is Chris Reid and this is my first ‘kick’ at this blog. I hope you will find it both informative and entertaining.
It’s an interesting trail I have followed to this place. I’ve spent countless hours online reading forums frequented by snowmobile, ATV and motorcycle riders. I believe the internet is a great resource for companies who want to discover what is being said about their industry, their business acumen and their products. It is also a frightening place for the old school ‘marketers’ who have traditionally delivered carefully crafted ad campaigns to the masses, in support of new product sales with precious little, direct communication outside of the corporate boardrooms.
Suddenly we have thousands of people saying whatever they wish about us, some good, some bad and some ugly. I have tried posting on some forums when I felt I could help address or diffuse an issue with answers I knew as fact, only to discover the next person would jump on my post and quickly dispel it as tripe, because it didn’t fit into their own context.
Now I basically lurk, read, smile and shake my head, which brings me to ‘Sled Talk’.
So on that note what are we going to talk about here? Well I can offer my insights into product development, how ideas are formed and brought to production as new models (or not). We can look at how our system is designed to investigate and react to market information. The subject of four stroke snowmobile development and how we view the future poses many potential questions. And the current and future health of our sport, the interpretation of regulations, poor snowfall years, media attention and aging demographics. These are but a few of the topic headers so if you have a comment or question you would like to introduce here, please ‘let ‘ur rip’. I’ll do my best to publish as much as I can and promise to keep my comments ‘smoke free’.
One last thing, I personally maintain all sleds are worthy of ownership and all snowmobilers have a common bond with an inherent responsibility to co exist with other outdoors folks both motorized and non-motorized alike. As such I welcome comments and questions from everyone regardless of brand loyalties and riding preference. Please remember there are some rules for engagement, nothing too surprising but you should check them out.
So lets get started, we just introduced the all new 2008 FX Nytro along with the rest of our 2008 lineup on Sunday, what do you think so far?
Good morning Chris,thanks for setting this up.I think it is an excellent opportunity for sledders to help devlop new models,and help resolve any current issues,without going in circles.
Thanks
Hey I know you!! you can bet I’ll generate planning input from this blog but I will also adhere closely to our terms of use therefore ‘resolving current issues’ is not on the agenda, but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about some of the things, CU end of the month… cr
March 1st, 2007 at 3:58 pmI would like to know why Yamaha decided to use a smaller fuel tank on their 2008 Phazer’s?
March 1st, 2007 at 5:42 pmHello Chris,
I think it is a great to see YMCA embrace this technology and participating in a dialog with their customers! I’m looking forward to seeing how this space evolves.
To your question – I think that the ‘08 line-up is consistent with Yamaha’s habit of ‘changing the rules’ every 5 years. 1998 the SRX was unleashed, and in 2003 the RX. I know both of these models (and model years) brought Yamaha new customers, and had a strong impact on market share. I think the new Nytro is just the sled to tap a demographic I’m certain Yamaha wants a bigger piece of.
… oh man, did we break the rules again? Don’t you just hate it when that happens??? Thanks cr
March 1st, 2007 at 7:06 pmI guess my biggest comment about the new line up is the lack of a conventional seating position on any of the models. Some people do not like the rider forward style but still would like a single seater trail sled. Why not have a “Vector Classic” or something like that.
March 1st, 2007 at 7:52 pmI am impressed with this idea being backed directly by Yamaha Canada. As a consumer, it is exciting to see that our thought’s are being heard by the guys that make the decisions. As you mentioned, forums like this can quickly turn into monsters and I hope that people keep that in mind when posting on this BLOG. The 2008 release looks good, tweaks to the existing stuff and the Nitro looks very impressive. It is by far the most appealing four stroke that Yamaha has released for my riding style. Minimum of 120HP, lower weight and rider forward are the 3 criteria that are must have’s for my next sled. The Nytro has those features. If Yamaha can execute the claims they are making with the Nytro, they will sell a ton of them. Cheers!
…well I figure riding is believing, I hope you have chance to pull the trigger on an FX Nytro or trust someone who has, thanks for your comments cr
March 1st, 2007 at 7:57 pmi think the 08 line up is awesome,exactly the sled i want,the fx nytro that is.the new motor with rider forward is gonna rock.i was a skeptic about rider forward in the past but since i purchased the phazer,i realized that its much more comfortable and easier on the back,way to go
March 1st, 2007 at 8:58 pmGutsy move on your part Chris and YMCA setting this up.
08 Nytro will be a great sled for the younger ditch crowd. Should increase market share. Nice work.
I am with Andrew though. Not much there for your long term loyal supporters who are more in tune with something a little more traditional in the riding position and the seat a little lower. Not all men and women are long legged and want to be way in the air open to the elements. Apex style Windshields are too low for most as well.
Brian McLean brought me down a new 07 Vector GT today From Fredericton to Saint John for my wife. I was not that comfortable with her on the Apex GT she has been riding for 2 years.
There is nothing in the 08 line up I considered suitable for her, so I went with the 07.
Don’t forget about us traditionalists.
Dave [9 new yammie sleds since 1998]
…roger that Dave, the new Vector (triple in the Apex chassis) is a great trail sled and the wind protection on the ER version is actually pretty darn good. I really do like the ergo’s and seating position on the new Vector (and I prefer 500km of groomed trail over any ditch line!) We haven’t forgotten the ‘traditionalist’ by any means, but this is the year of the ‘ditch banger’ with the rad FX Nytro
March 1st, 2007 at 9:53 pmWoW Strong move Chris but great to have another resource that can be verify right from YMCA. Will be looking forward to the future discussions on this blog. Would like to know if YMCA will behaving 08 buying incentives similar to the US. I know YMCA is not connected to the states but their incentives look good.
…Our EDP sales program has been released to our dealers, I will post the program on the blog as quick as I can get my hands on it. Understand its very similar to the US program with a some slightly stronger benefit choices but you must choose two out of the three options, no matter how you slice the best deals are available in the spring… cr
March 1st, 2007 at 11:12 pmWow, the 08 line-up rocks. Since the introduction of the RX-1 I’ve been intrigued by the 4 stroke concept. But, I’ve always been put off by the idea of their apparent weight disadvantage. I’ve been riding for about 18 years. I grew up on Arctic Cat’s, and have been riding Polaris for about 10 years now. Well, in 07 I nearly bought a Phazer, I’m glad I waited. If the Nytro is any sign of things to come, I’ll be on a Yamaha before the end of the decade. The only thing holding e back right now is the two models you forgot about Yamaha!! Wheres the 136″ Nytro RTX and Phazer RTX? Build them, and I’ll buy one of each. I always knew that Yamaha had the engineering might to absolutely crush the other 3 OEM’s, it looks like youre well on your way, keep em’ coming.
…Its great to hear comments like this. Our 4-strokes are still in rapid development, obviously we can’t build every variation in one model year. I know how hard our engineers work and it amazes me what they have achieved so far. In the Yamaha way, even a track variation becomes a new model which has to pass all our durability and QA testing, the testing engineers have to clutch, gear and calibrate etc. all requiring time and manpower. I can’t confirm when and if a 136′er will be built but I hear you loud and clear. Hope you make the jump sooner than later, would be great to have you on board… cr
March 1st, 2007 at 11:13 pmThanks for setting up the site Chris. I think it will be great for Yamaha to touch base with the people who know the product best. I can see by the comments so far that there are some pretty informed Yamaha people on here. I look forward to future discussions.
…Thanks for the support Topper, we are breaking some new trail here and I hope everyone can respect the spirit and intent. cr
March 2nd, 2007 at 8:19 amGreat idea: looking forward to the information pipeline. Have an 05 RX-1, wondering about how the 130 hp sled will be geared, for acceleration/jump or for top end?
…The FX Nytro is geared for acceleration and quick response but with a careful eye on the competition and expectations of the class. The 4-stroke throttle response provides an advantage at ANY rpm to ‘time’ and ‘play’ in the bumps… cr
March 2nd, 2007 at 10:52 amGreat idea here to get customer input.
Any plans to develop a sled for the young ones? I’m talking something to compete with the 120cc mini-sleds?
…Well I can’t divulge any of our plans here, I can say that this has been a hot topic in planning for some time and personally I would like nothing better for my young daughter than a little blue sled! time will tell cr
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:41 pmHey Chris, I was checking out the new 2008 lineup on YMCA site and when I came to the RS Venture page I was surprised to see a snowmobile that looks much like the Venture MP. I was wondering if you could tell me if this is indeed the 08 RS Venture or if there is an error with the pic. I currently own a 2007 Venture MP and would be curious to know if Yamaha had put a 120 motor in this version.
… oops, Topper you are absolutely correct, that is the Multi-purpose and NOT the RS Venture, I’ll get it fixed asap. Interesting concept idea though.. FX-2-up deluxe touring. Maybe just the ticket for the ‘C’ trail south of Moon River (nasty ride)..doh, thanks man! cr
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:05 pmWe all know Yamaha is a very innovative company the 700 Grizzly with power steering is incredible to ride at speed down a rough trail…no feedback through the bars. With that said will we ever see this technology on a snowmobile ?
…. hmmmmmmmmmmm, no comment cr
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:35 pmTopper Says:
Hey Chris, I was checking out the new 2008 lineup on YMCA site and when I came to the RS Venture page I was surprised to see a snowmobile that looks much like the Venture MP. I was wondering if you could tell me if this is indeed the 08 RS Venture or if there is an error with the pic. I currently own a 2007 Venture MP and would be curious to know if Yamaha had put a 120 motor in this version.
… oops, Topper you are absolutely correct, that is the Multi-purpose and NOT the RS Venture, I’ll get it fixed asap. Interesting concept idea though.. FX-2-up deluxe touring. Maybe just the ticket for the ‘C’ trail south of Moon River (nasty ride)..doh, thanks man! cr
Bummer, I was hoping I was wrong on that one. I know this is the ditch bangers year but I for one would sure like to see that FX-2-up deluxe touring sled sometime in the near future.
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:37 pmHi Chris,this is great,but I think you’re going to be busy with this project.Love the new sleds,kind of curious though,the radiator looks like a good place to put an intercooler instead, hmmm.
March 2nd, 2007 at 11:15 pmHi Chris my question is probably mechanicial I have a 05 warrior bought brand new this winter at 140 miles a completely different sound and vibration happened to the sled at slow speeds 15-20 mph 4500rpm to 5000rpm is there a tech out in the feild that has run into this problem before
…Dale to answer your question, the first person to speak to is your favorite dealer, we provide them technical training as well they are connected to our service department and our technical specialists are in place to support them. Our friends at Totallyamaha also have some very experienced moderators and members who may comment if you were to post a mechanical question over there. Chances are it is not serious, likely a baffle plate on the muffler has come loose or something like that to cause a noise but I would recommend you ask your dealer to take a look, we’ll take care of you cr
March 6th, 2007 at 10:49 amChris – Did you think about having more of an open discussion, where users could exchange ideas with each other? Or are you content with putting thoughts out for comments and letting other sites be the point of discussion about Yamaha sleds between their owners?
…Actually Nigel You can start a discussion on any of the comments made on our blog or address my posts with comment. The intent here is to have a conversation. If there is something you would like to talk about, you can post it as a comment and provided we stay within the terms of use, it will be posted. My biggest concern, as addressed in the terms of use is: we don’t get into service and warranty issues. I cannot address pending service issues or offer counter-measures to mechanicals. Also the sheer volume of questions could shut us down as the blog grows in popularity. Thanks cr
March 6th, 2007 at 11:05 amWhat about submitting a report of trouble area’s that we’ve experiences, that you could then document and pass on to the proper people – kinda the same way we tell our dealers what problems we are experiencing, and some of us even call Yamaha Canada and have Customer Relations document it.
Not looking for a conversation on the issues we may be having necessarily since you can’t comment on them, but perhaps they don’t even need to be posted, we can just give you the feedback to pass on – unless you would encourage the riders the share their common problems with one another on this site, to identify common issues. An example would be the motor mount bolt/nut that vibrates loose behind the primary. It is common, and riders should be aware of it. Mine came off and took a chunk out of my clutch sheave.
…I understand your idea but at this juncture I really don’t want to go there. You make reference to reporting ‘the same way we tell our dealers’. I think often times our system fails to acknowledge the information we receive through our dealerships, at least not until we have all our ‘ducks in row’, that doesn’t mean we don’t hear you. There is very little that happens out there which we are not aware of, (especially if a warranty claim is filed). Our dealers know the importance of reporting market information and I encourage you to work with our dealers and trust that we get the info. I would like address this further in an upcoming post. cr
March 6th, 2007 at 12:31 pmI think Yamaha has to address the communication between owner, dealer and manufacturer. There has to be a better way for owners to report problems and then get some feedback at the very least as to what the status of their complaint is or if action is or is not going to be taken. I know in my case I have contacted my dealer as well as Yamaha about issues I have with my sled and still haven’t heard anything about pending fixes etc. I hear you when you say that there are few issues out there that yamaha does not know about but the lack of communication sometimes makes the owner feel ignored. IMHO
…I know how you feel, this is one big son-of-a-gun ship and it won’t turn real quick, constructive comments like yours will help. We recognize technology is changing the way we must do business, I believe its all about communication cr
March 6th, 2007 at 7:50 pmChris
Another forward step by Yamaha. Congratulations!
Ross
Thanks Ross, hope you have been out enjoying some of those excellent New Brunswick trails!! cr
March 7th, 2007 at 12:12 pmCan’t wait to hear your comments on the Nytro Chris. I know you must be hating your job. So boring having to ride that new sled. What I would like to know is how it compares to the Apex with speed, acceleration, how light it feels? Still riding the RX-1 but know how the Apex feels from the demo rides so if you can compare the 2 that would be great. Have fun.
…I have my own Apex (set-up to my liking) in the back of the Tundra and have exactly the same questions as you. Will try to have a post up by the weekend, thanks cr
March 7th, 2007 at 11:30 pmHello Chris,
Thanks for setting up the site. I think it will be great for Yamaha to touch base with their customer.
I see in your answer a few times that you redirect people to Totaly Yamaha web site.
Just for your information, there is a new web site witch is about 6 months old that is similar to Totaly Yamaha but in a french version of it and it’s call PASSION-YAMAHA witch i am part of.
I invite you to come and joint the group. The site as different section for all Yamaha motorise product like snowmobile, VTT, motocross, Street Racers, scooters, marine…. in each section we reserve a little place for people in english, so i wich to see you coming visit us and leave a message of support.
Thanks in advance
…I have heard some very good things about Passion Yamaha from my Quebec friends but I didn’t know there is corner for those of us who do not speak French so well. I will be sure to visit once I get home and back on hi-speed. Thanks for the invite cr
Alain Vmax
March 11th, 2007 at 7:53 pmChris , as per our phone call today I checked out your blog , I havent got through it all yet but so far it looks good .
I would like to wish you the best with this and I feel it is a win win situation for Yamaha and its customers .
Gerry
Thanks Gerry, me two! I hope more sledders discover what we’re doing here and elect to comment and hopefully subscribe. One of the benefits of the blog format: you can subscribe and whenever I post a new topic you will receive an email from ‘Feedblitz’ notifying you. You don’t have to keep checking in to stay on top of it. There’s some more details in the FAQ. With any luck my articles will attract some comments and questions and we’ll grow from here. cr
March 16th, 2007 at 5:04 pmHey Buddy,
Great fun stopping in here for the Revy
Yamafest. Good to see everyone.
Nice site you got here.
Cheers!
The pleasure was all mine!!! Thanks
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:54 amMy 05 Vector is pushing alot of oil into the breather box. Can anyone explain this ??
I checked with our technical specialists, the only real issue we have had with the early Vectors was the breather line not being reconnected to the air-box after removal. There is a small amount of residue generally found in the airbox. If the amount is excessive the assumption would be you are spending a lot of time on side-hills and bank-turning or the reservoir tank is overfilled. You might want to post over on Totallyamaha and see if anyone else has more to offer… cheers cr
October 10th, 2008 at 6:12 pmwhen will they come out with a youth sled the snow scoot was great and now hard to find. I want to keep my little ones on Yamaha power has anyone heard anything or seen any small sleds thanks.
Hi Eric, I am sorry to say we are not working on a youth sled at this time and there is nothing in the plans for the foreseeable future. Don’t shoot the messenger just letting you know so you can make your plans accordingly. Note: I posted a blog on the subject under ‘No More Vacation Blues’
December 29th, 2008 at 7:58 pmcheers
cr