August 23, 2007
No More Vacation Blues
Well for the first time in several seasons, I took off for two consecutive weeks of vacation. And having been back in the saddle for three days now, those two weeks of fun-in-the-sun at the cottage are rapidly becoming another fond but distant memory. The weather during my holiday co operated with many days of +30 temps and nary a cloud in the sky. Though not surprising, I did find myself spending a lot of time musing on sleds, this blog and the now fast approaching snowmobile season.
The pinnacle of my, ahem, well earned leisure time, was watching my young daughter conquer her fears and establish several new firsts. 
She got up on water skis (in only her second attempt), caught and landed her first bass on a flimsy pink ‘Dora’ rod and learned to pilot her own 50cc Raptor, following dad’s Kodiak all over the place.
Together we attended the Canadian round of the World Motorcycle Enduro circuit where she met Clinton Smout from the Canadian Motorcycle Training Services who quickly wooed her into visiting his site at Horseshoe Resort this fall to learn how to ride a motorcycle. I could not have been more proud and pleased as she was the one asking to try all these new activities without any provocation from me and I should add, much to her ‘nanna’s’ chagrin. Some things just don’t change 
I can hardly wait for winter when she will get to hop on a cute little kids sled.
I have said it before. I believe we are at another crossroads in this industry. Snowmobile development has always been led by the US market where the majority of sleds are sold. This past season saw sales decrease in the US (again) by close to 13% where Canadian and European sales both increased in fact if you combine The Canadian and European numbers they now exceed those of the US. This becomes quite interesting when you consider the type of use, terrain and duty cycle of snowmobiles operated outside of the USA. Two-up riding, deep snow and ungroomed cross country become quite a bit more important. This is sure to have an impact on future model development. Skidoo has a great advantage with their Lynx brand which produces a plethora of models for the Euro market and drives the utility side of the doo brand in the Canadian market. Yamaha has always kept a foot firmly planted in this (utility) field but the other two builders have largely abandoned it in favor of the mainstream sport / trail market in the home country. How long the current trend will last is anyones guess but until the economies sort themselves out its going to be a bumpy ride.
From my chair I see Canada stuck smack dab in the middle of the whole mess. We are being looked upon more and more as the ‘fulcrum point‘ in product planning. We share very similar trail sled needs with our brothers to the south plus we have the utility/ cross country demand of the European markets in the east and north. We are fortunate to have it all, the best trails, the greatest mountains and vast expanses of sparsely populated wilderness lands that are winter for six months a year. Perhaps now we can expand our market scope and adapt our offerings to pull some of the hype away from the bump sleds and wannabe racers.
Well I’m not sure about ROI on that small of a sled. I don’t believe kids that age care want brand they are riding. I think brand loyalty doesn’t start before 10 years old.
Hey Carl, RU suggesting that dads brand loyalty is the problem here? You might just have a point! lol… cheers cr
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:59 pmGood to see you back Chris, cute kid! I took delivery of my Nytro about two weeks ago (the first in Alaska!) and just keep thinking about snowmachines.
I’d prefer that Yamaha not follow the crowd and offer a knock off brand sled, similar in concept to the low priced, junk, mini ATV’s that are available. That said, I think they are missing out on some sales. How about bringing back the Snoscoot with a 4 stroke motor and updated styling?
The decline in US sales and the increasing influence of Canadian & European needs is very interesting. I think Alaska will only benefit from this. It is an eye opener to see how many factors influence what type of products that are produced.
Thanks Scott, The Alaskan market is an anomaly in the whole US / Canada / Euro example. I have often joked in planning meetings that the US should give Alaska to Canada at least when it comes to snowmachines… hope you enjoy your Nytro… cheers cr
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:26 pmWhile I can understand the “loyalty” to the blue, if you have no option you could just always paint the hood and slap on some stickers!
I too in probably 3-5 years will be looking at some small kids sleds as my daughter will be in the age where I would like her to ride.
How old is your daughter btw? Mine will be 2 in Nov.
Well Dustin you have read my mind… if I can’t find a used one already painted blue, well, I know where I can find stickers!, my daughter is just going into senior kindergarten and the progression is really amazing, you are in for a real treat… cheers cr
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:36 pmOk – so you didn’t mention who the handsome little fellow is, with what looks like, a performance orientated T- shirt.
Your boat seems to have good wake, rolling – maybe a jet – soft chines? Might as well invest in a tower right away, it’s only a matter of time before she dumps the planks for a board. I would be proud as well – even thou the deals are tied – it still requires a ton of balance …in all directions to get up. Lot of concentration going on there Note the stance – head up – straight …get the tower it won’t be long.
Hey…maybe after you visit Clinton, you can get her to ski the smaller hills for the weekend. Besides…nanna would like that.
Good info on your posts Chris –
Thanks Bob… wanna see the pics of her piloting my buddy’s X-9 Mastercraft (oooh this is gonna hurt the bank account 4 sure). The little dude riding shotgun is her cousin Chris, son of Brian and Judy Doughty, Brian is well know to Enduro riders here in Ontario… cheers cr
August 24th, 2007 at 6:45 amChris,
You will remember that “well earned leisure time” forever because of your daughter’s courage. Congrats to her!
While the 120cc (red, yellow or green/orange) are great for your child’s first ride, kids quickly outgrow them, and the jump up to the next sized sled is too big and powerful for most young 8 to whatever year old riders. If bikes and ATVs can justify various frame, chassis and engine sizes to fill every age bracket need, why not sleds? The industry does not need another 120cc sled and Yamaha’s ROI reasoning seems sound. Butwith all due respect to Yamaha, I cannot believe that it does not make sense for Yamaha to build a sled bigger than current 120cc sleds and smaller and less powerful than the Phazer. That’s too big a group of consumers to ignore. Of course, this is just my opinion, but I wish Yamaha would reconsider building a sled for this long ignored age group.
Great Blog. Thanks for the opportunity to reply to your posts.
Todd, now this simply makes too much sense. A bigger ‘step-up’ sled would be the most logical thing we could do. The price point would be somewhere between the 120 and full-size entry and not so much competition. The Tundra / Freestyle was a great effort from my point of view. The utility based Tundra represents big sales numbers and can be sold for years with no change (look at the Bravo), the Freestyle was more than likely an afterthought.. using the same tooling, crack open a new step-up market from the mini-Z and appeal to Gen Y with the X-treme image styling… nice move. I wish we still had the sno-scoot tooling, pop-in a little for stroke and shrink some Nytro plastic around it… hmmmmmmmmmmm cheers cr
August 24th, 2007 at 4:54 pmwhile i love the hi-po 4 strokes,i think a simple piston port 2 smoke would be better suited here as price point is everything in this segment.
seems to me the sled being discussed here used to be built.i have an 82 bravo and i`ll tell you what.everyone and their brother around here wants to buy it for their kid to ride.
Hey Al, how much you want for that old Bravo?
The problem with the 2-stroke idea is emissions. Its life expectancy would be close to that of a WWI fighter pilot. The Bravo still exists due to ‘industry averaging’ which takes into account the total reductions of our complete product line. When the next wave comes (2010) you may likely command a higher price for your BR.
August 25th, 2007 at 4:34 pmThe two stroke of the future can no longer be a simple piston port with a carb, and technology comes at a price. Ever wonder what happens to all that oil running through the engine? Right now it’s mostly not measured by EPA, eventually thats going to change with tighter ‘particulate’ controls. It’s a pretty safe bet, we will never again be able to meet the price point of the Bravo with any kind of replacement. Interesting fact, the original price target for Bravo was to retail for $999.99 US. We failed to achieve and carried it over to the Snowscoot…. gotta love those leaf springs! cheers cr