December 12, 2011
All Things Must Pass
I was forwarded a call from a northern reporter representing the CBC. He was inquiring as to why Yamaha has discontinued the Bravo. Appears the little sled with the big heart has endeared itself to the people of the north, many of whom are not happy with its demise. So why is it going the way of the Dodo?
The Bravo was the brain child of Karl Ishima who along with his engineer friend Toshi Yasui challenged the daunting task of building a snowmobile that could be retailed in the USA for $999.99. Karl once told me the story (over a few hot sake’s) how he failed with the Bravo but Toshi went on to capture the flag with the SV80 SnoScoot.
The Bravo replaced the Enticer 250 in 1981, showcasing some new ideas that Karl designed to keep costs down and durability high on the KISS scale. Wherever he could, he reduced the number of parts by having one item perform more than one function. For example, the motor mount plate is bolted to the cases using the same 4 bolts that hold the case halves together. The air-box and steering gate forms one piece to hold the steering column and electrical connector blocks while handling the air-intake and baffle duties. The cylinder and head is cast as one piece, eliminating parts and any chance of a gasket leak.
The sales success of the Bravo defines it as our best seller ever. In its day, the Bravo was available in three different track lengths, standard 96, Transporter 102 and Trapper 136. For years we requested three things in planning for the Bravo; electric start, reverse gear and greater fuel capacity. The latter was the only one we got and that came by creatively when the engineers installed a second ‘saddle tank’ in the storage box area between the drivers legs, adding 4 more liters to the spec.
The writing has been on the wall for the Bravo for a long time. As time passed, first the US then Europe ceased importing the Bravo. Canada was taking all the Bravo’s the factory built to the tune of about 1500 a year at best. There was one point where we lost our supplier of leaf springs and were about to discontinue the BR when Karl stepped in with a solution. Supersede the parts to the Bravo Transporter leaf springs which were a tad softer and the supplier had a warehouse full after we discontinued the model. note: Only Yamaha would have changed a leaf spring spec due to the addition of a few inches of track eh 
. It was funny to hear the engineers were quite concerned with the effect to ride comfort using a slightly softer leaf spring would have. I can imagine the test evaluations, ‘it just goes doink instead of boink!’
Since then every year there is a point when it appears the Bravo is cooked but then something happens to pull it out of the fire. The USA started importing them again a few years back which had a positive political result, then last year we found out the tooling for the hood has reached the end of its life-cycle and needs replacement to the tune of several million yen. Of course we tried to argue a solution for that but with the latest, impending round of EPA emission requirements on the table our plea was denied. There doesn’t appear to be any more band-aids for the faithful little Bravo and it’s time to bid it farewell. Not a bad run, 30 years and most of them are still in service. I for one am sorry to see the BR have to pass and with it an entire era of sledding… Karl san its a sad day my friend.
cheers cr
I grew up riding on a 1980 Enticer(250) after my older brother outgrew it. Many years and miles later the sled wouldn’t quit except when in my teenage years riding double with a friend on a rough trail broke the steel slide rail support. The next day replaced it and were back on the trail. The sled was in our garage with the newer sleds as a spare until we needed to make room for a newer Yamaha in 2005. The thing still ran great and the first guy who looked at it bought it. I really miss that sled, if I got stuck I just threw it out of the hole and away I went. ..was such a great handling little sled…
The ’83 SRV(540) also quite a historic engine still ran great which went to a lucky buyer in 2009.
December 12th, 2011 at 8:23 pmit is indeed sad to see the little bravo go,i can still remember popping wheelies,you heard me right,wheelies,with my cousin’s bravo,the trick was to get me,and my 2 cousins on that short track bravo,it wasnt pretty but it would stand up and we could go really slow with the ski’s in the air,it was so much fun,cpl years ago my friend blew the motor in a competitors sled,so he took out the old bravo and we went on a 30 mile run on a wide open lake,i was driving it and he was on my warrior,boy,it was slow,but it never made a hiccup and never changed sound,i’m glad there is still lots of them out there,time for something new i hope,chow
December 12th, 2011 at 9:25 pmpat
Chris ,
December 13th, 2011 at 7:54 amYeh Karl its a sad day….climate change,EPA demands/economic meltdowns/soaring energy costs/cosmic customer expectations/ catastrophic and horrific natural disasters… not to mention labor unrest and ROI implications………its a wonder Yami makes snowmobiles at all….Im hanging on to my 98 and 03 VKs like they were gold… 30,000 kms on the 98 and its still my favorite ride…………S
All good things must come to an end.Its great to know the bravo had a longer life span than the ski-doo elan(and alot more comfortable to ride).Lots of great memories of riding my fathers 1990 trapper 136 learning the fine art of sledding.I think yamaha should of put that 250 motor(or 300 single) in an ovation chassis with a 136 track and call it the bravo II(but my guess would be the higher MSRP for this would of put it to close in price to the ET II410).Low price,simple design,great on fuel,large rear rack(really missed the free storage space under the handlebars on the newer models)made it a classic(I would bet its big brother the VK540III will meet the same faith soon?)
December 13th, 2011 at 8:20 amI have an 87 Transporter with 13,000 kms on the odometer. That’s a ton for a sled that has never been used for 200 mile a day trail cruising. I have probably had more fun on it pulling the kids around than I have had riding my Nytro. The memories and quality time spent with my kids are certainly priceless.
December 13th, 2011 at 9:46 amChris,
December 13th, 2011 at 10:00 amThe real question is are we going to get anything to replace it? I know wishfull thinking. Nice read!
George
ah, now there’s the rub, will be awfully hard to hit the market with anything at that price point to deliver a similar experience. That said we will continue to request and explore our options. Never surrender! cr
This one’s a tear jerker. Just last night one of my co-workers was advising another to ‘just buy a bravo – they’re so reliable!’
I think Jason might keep one in the crate in the rafters of the showroom.
What are all the trappers going to use now? I think the biggest competition would be the tundra with that new 600 ACE in it. I don’t know that folks will step up to the Venture MP – but then again, both those sleds require electricity to fire up in northern -40 mornings, and there’s no power on the trapper trails. Folks may be forced back to more dog teams!
Hey, where in the north was the reporter calling from at CBC?
Cheers,
YK
If I’m not mistaken he was calling from Nunavut, Bryan was going to handle the inquiry / interview. I’ll post if anything comes of it… cheers cr
December 13th, 2011 at 11:15 amI’m sorry to see the bravo go as well. But I don’t understand why there was such a penny pinching attitude towards building it. Sure, it needs to be inexpensive but we would have loved to see some upgrades through the years, reverse, e-start, TS front suspension etc. Customers would’ve paid for those upgrades. Consider the evolution of Skidoo’s tundra. It started out very much the same as the Brav, but was upgraded several times throughout it’s lifetime. Check your local want ads for the used ones. They’re still selling for more than many 700cc sleds of the same age.
I don’t know the sales statisitics but I’m sure there’s room in this market segment for a 4 stroke, Bravo-style machine for the 12-16 year age group… and their fathers!
damn straight! welcome to my world Dan
cr
December 13th, 2011 at 4:15 pmOne things for sure Chris. Everytime you start bloggin about the good ole days it sure strike a nerve!!!
December 13th, 2011 at 5:22 pmThe first snowmachine I ever rode was a neighbor’s Bravo back in ’85. My brother and I would take turns with the kid who owned it and ride laps around the vacant house lot. It was awesome and I wanted one so bad! Our Dad then bought us a used, ’79 Polaris TX 250. It had twin cylinders, twin carbs and much higher performance. Then he bought us a second sled, a 440 Polaris and have been riding sleds ever since.
My brother acquired an old Bravo a couple years ago and I rode it for 5 minutes and was ready to get off. Kinda tarnished the fond memories I had of the Bravo but it also brought back a lot of things I blocked out like the lack of power, terrible ride and handling, tippiness in the corners, funky ergos, and lawn equipment handlebars and controls. There is definitely a place for an inexpensive, entry level sled but I think Ski-doo has that market covered.
December 13th, 2011 at 11:43 pmChris,
. Also I hope you guys get the green lite to build a real entry level sled, the over hyped Ski Doo ACE try for $8200.00 US, and an as tested by OSM magazine 23.75 MPG missed the mark by a long shot, I’ve gotten over 20 MPG with my Yamaha 3 and 4 cyl. sleds on slower rides with the family. I’m sure you guys are working on something combining with your scooter technology. Could this be the first NA built Yamaha sled ? HMMMMMMM 
December 17th, 2011 at 12:04 amI hear BRP is suing Artic Cat over patent infringements on their new sled, I always thought the REV was just a bigger SNO SCOOT