I was reminded twice this week about a statement I made in the post ‘Blackflies and Snowflakes’ regarding my decision to once again ride an Apex. To reiterate I was completely sold on the new Vector for next season, it is our best handling snowmobile out of the box and the injected motor leaves nothing on the table for corner to corner acceleration. So what made me change my mind?
One of the most common product requests we have is, at first blush, a very simple one and one that I hear constantly from friends in the media as well as our dealers. When is Yamaha going to change the ski’s to something newer?
Good question. I will likely raise a couple of eyebrows for trying to address this but I think most of you will understand and appreciate that I am only offering another opinion to the ongoing conversation. Truth be known we have been working on a new ski, off and on for several years… still are. I won’t go into the details but one thing we face at every turn is patent frustrations. There are only so many things you can do to a ski (or carbide) and over the years most have been done and many patents filed. We are splitting hairs to find something that doesn’t come close to someones elses design. Funny thing however, I am not all that convinced we really need one!
Now I better explain that! From a marketing POV we absolutely need a new ski, simply because of all the negative comments I’ve heard and read both in print and on line. From a performance and handling POV, those who have experimented with some of the latest carbide runner designs will most likely concur with the following opinion:
It is not the ski so much as the carbide runner that needs to be addressed.
In fact, our current ski has changed significantly, since its first inception in 1999. It has seen numerous updates and versions. We still have part numbers for the shallow keel (Vmax style) deep keel (ViperS / early RX-1) mid keel (Apex / Vector) saddle type (original), saddle-less (current), wide (TF / VK) and mountain. Within each of those categories there have been tweaks to keel angles as well as axle mounting locations.
Interesting side bar: Jon has been experimenting with our wide ski on his XTX after trying one at a joint test. He pulled the boards off an 09 Venture TF along with a set of piggy back Floats and bolted it all up. Low and behold the steering effort was terrible, making harder to maneuver but the darting is improved. Turns out the sled he rode in the US had VK skis, not TF skis which appear identical, hmmm, upon closer inspection the mounting hole is not the same (ahead of the VK Pro) consequently the TF boards are pulled back towards the snow-flap effectively changing everything. The lesson in this should be applied to any aftermarket or OE ski-swap. Has the chosen ski been developed for and tested on the sled in question? Slap on a set of Pilots designed for a different chassis and weight bias and expectations are what?
Before proceeding, I must drop in a little caveat: ‘Darting’ is characteristic of snowmobiling. All snowmobiles will exhibit darting under certain conditions, it is the nature of the beast when there are manysled tracks in packed snow.
If you are looking to reduce (eliminate) darting, dial in the amount of ‘push’ or under-steer and or improve predictability, these can all be achieved to a large degree by simply changing the carbide runners. You really don’t need to change the ski to make some significant alterations to the ride character. I am not saying you won’t get similar results from a new set of skis (however there are many types and levels) but the runner, IMHO is at the crux of the matter.
There is an interesting ‘poll’ thread on-going over on TY discussing the virtues of two particular carbide designs. I was able to relate as I began my ski experiments a long time ago. I will only go as far back as the first RX-1 deep-keel where I discovered I was not man enough to hang onto the bars of the beast using the stock set-up. That first year I upgraded the sway-bar to a 13 mill with the new links, changed to the mid-keel ski ( a gift from a friend in testing) and hooked up the rear end with a pre-pro RipSaw track, much better, but still ‘darty’, next came thicker host bar, more aggressive carbides, more ski lift…
The following year I moved to the Simmons ski which was working pretty good until I got behind a bunch of REV tracks which btw, seemed strikingly similar to the Simmons… gave them away to Tom and moved back to a mid-keel and duallies… Things got a lot smoother but a small top speed loss and a few missing chips had me thinking. Along comes the Apex (same ski) and more new players in the dual carbide game, tried a couple more designs then stumbled upon a new single skag out of Quebec which came highly recommended from some respected dealer friends (Irwin’s and Markham Mower) The Cobra Head by Qulaipiece offered some quantifiable benefits with its integrated ‘corrector’ (which I first remember seeing in UHMW form coming out of Quebec when everyone had steel skis, to reduce darting fifteen years ago). I have been running these for a couple of seasons until now, which after reading about the Snowtrackers in Supertrax and researching them, I decided to give a set a try. I am going to save my evaluation for another day but I will say I am impressed and quite satisfied with the handling traits. I have not felt any sled track any straighter than what I have experienced so far with these on my Apex. I am using the semi-aggressive Snowtracker but I still need to try the aggressive model for comparison. (many thanks to my friend Richard (Coyote) for hooking me up.)
Another thing that strikes me, the original corrector, (the plastic shim that was affixed to the front of many ski’s to reduce darting), came out of Quebec and currently (IMHO) the best hi-tech single skag carbides all have built in ‘correctors’ and also come out of Quebec. I conclude that the Quebec trail system which is ranked as one of the best in the world, has led the charge of anti-darting accessories as a result of the smooth, fast and snowy conditions which are their norm.Maybe this is just a Canadian thing but I don’t think so, it is just more prevelant on fast, smooth trails.
Most of the trails I have ridden in the mid-west are so tight and bumpy it’s hard to realize the level of darting because there is so much other stuff going on. My point is, not everyone will experience the same level of ‘darting’ based on the local conditions and perhaps the runner will not be so important to the overall handling. That said however I still maintain that any of our performance snowmobiles can benefit from a high-tech runner to some degree and the vast majority of ownersdo not need to change out the ski to achieve great handling.
I think of carbides much as I do tires. Most OE tires on cars and trucks are cheap versions that eventually get replaced with superior rubber to yield improved traction and handling. Like carbides, stock tires are a wearable part that will do the job but when it comes time to replace, most performance minded drivers will select something more suited to their conditions and preference.
Whenever I am asked what one thing would I recommend to dial in a Yamaha trail sled, assuming a good PDI (including ski alignment, 0-toe and suspension set-up), I always say a new set of carbide runners. Bake the stockers and try something new. It’s not a one size fits all formula, you have to do a little research considering all the conditions under which you ride , overall sled set-up and riding style. I am convinced the right carbide will negate the need for a new ski and enhance your overall experience and satisfaction.
As mentioned in ‘Belly Mon, Going Up’, my old friend Randy Swenson is up to his old tricks again.
I learned a long time ago to take his madness seriously, like when he announced he was going to build up his ‘Project 101′ RX-1 Turbo based on an early pre-pro unit, kicking off the whole Yamaha 4-stroke turbo thing in the process.
This summers project may not be quite as ‘impactful’ but it certainly is a head turner. The latest creation features a turbo-charged, propane power system bolted up to his Nytro MTX, offering him two major advantages. The first addresses the octane requirements of any +15lb boost engine. To make the big power, reliably, either a heavy blend of, or 100% race fuel is required. At $4.50 a litre it doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out the sting to giggle factor. Propane on the other hand is cheaper than regular gas and has an effective octane rating equivalent to a 120 RO.
The system Randy used is engineered specifically for 4-stroke snowmobiles (Yamaha) and has been three years plus in development. Val Simmons (of Simmons Flexi-Ski) and Brad Story (Team Thunderstruck) have both been very instrumental in the design and manufacturing of the Simmons Propane Systems turbo kit. Strangely enough one of the biggest hurdles in getting the kit to market has been found in the fuel cells which have been a long time in the government approval and certification process. The cells run in pairs and come in 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 gal options. Randy is using two 7 gallon tanks which will yield about 160 km (100 miles) per fuel load in mountain condition. ed: This could be significantly more on our eastern trails.
He can add fuel at any service station that sells auto propane but for convenience, Randy has installed a 270 litre tank in his truck.
So what’s the big deal beyond the fuel cost savings? I believe what really hooked Randy, after riding Brad’s propane sled (in his words) was the ‘incredible throttle response‘ and ‘crispness’ of the engine. Our current FI system requires elaborate e-prom mapping to cover every conceivable fuel requirement with complex logarithms to meter the demands. With the addition of a turbo, this mapping has to be altered and its not unusual to experience some burble or hesitation at times.
The propane system removes the stock injectors and all the electronics that control them. The propane is delivered by a new ‘load based’ injection system that reacts directly to manifold pressure and according to Randy, he has never ridden a ‘cleaner’ responding sled… ever. Speaking of clean, he mentioned that the oil comes out of the engine looking almost as clear as the day it was installed, perhaps another benefit in the long term.
I asked him what kind of power he expected to make and at what level of durability. How about 300++ reliable horsepower at upwards to 26 lbs of boost. The engine internals are all stock except for a head shim to reduce the compression and some beefier studs to hold it all together, limiting deck distortion under full steam. As incredible as it seems, our engines have proven able to build this kind of power reliably over the long run, during several seasons of high boost and high mileage. Our engineers still smile when I bring the point to bare even though they won’t agree to the engine duty cycle probabilities as defined by our own internal standards. Randy is more than doubling the output of his Nytro MTX using the stock parts, so how long do you figure your new Nytro or Venture GT is going to hang together?
Well that really only leaves one question in my mind: how much will all this cost for parts and time? How about 11,000 USD! Yeah I know… but consider this, the kit contains the turbo and all its components, the propane system complete, assorted body parts and professional installation. The latter is not an option at this time, you must have the work performed by Simmons Propane Systems. Considering the current cost of a gasoline turbo system (installed) and some of the additional magic like nitrous, to ensure crisp response plotted against the cost of race fuel, propane systems may well prove to be a bargain for the high-mark riders.
With around fifty of these monsters on the snow and more in the wings, I am considering the feasibility of having our accessory guys develop an optional ‘GYPA’ titanium grill for the tunnel deck. Can you imagine the‘kabobs’Randy could cook-up with 14 gallons of propane at 7000 feet! This would kick the crap out of buddies ‘Hotdogger’ nestled around the expansion chambers of his beloved, pine-cone-challenged, 2-smoke. And yet another good reason to go 4-stroke!
Frost on the windshield and a two hour commute yesterday due to a skiff of snow on the road. Made the appointments to ‘rust check’ the vehicles and change over the rubber. Dragged an ATV home to install the blade and pulled the batteries out of all the summer toys… Winter won’t be long now.
The long awaited snowmobile accessories brochure has been printed and distributed to Canadian dealers, the new Yamalube is in stock and the trucks are rolling.
I have been kept busy with regards to planning as we are moving forward (in an economic minefield) with some new projects. We also have a large group of dealers en-route to Japan next week for an extensive tour of the factory and country side. The factory boys are excellent hosts and our dealers are in for a real treat which should be a nice break before the winter strikes in full force.
I’m considering some ideas for content on the blog this season and would like to ask if you have any thoughts or subject material. If there is something you’d like me to address just add a comment to this post for consideration.
YK asked me a couple of interesting questions in the last post (Whistler While You Work), which I responded to before I had my morning coffee, which might explain the tone… I thought I would attach to this post, just because.
Hey YK, this is an interesting (and convoluted) subject. I could write an extensive response but the short answer: In marketing there is always a ‘creative’ way to make nice numbers. IMHO Yamaha is one of the worst players in this game. It has gotten to the point where our factory has requested (demanded) that we no longer publish horsepower or weight figures. Why? Because there are far too many ways to spin the data and if you don’t play aggressively you come up looking bad. Japanese for the most part make terrible liars.
You don’t have to look far to see examples of direct comparison ads from our competitors that would have you believe Yamaha is relative crap and the peripheral stuff which is fed to media, dealers and consumers through more subtle channels is designed to support and strengthen their message.
To your point on making horsepower, just add RPM (or boost). It only gets complicated when you want to maintain the torque over a wide range and keep a high level of durability / reliability. An interesting example: The fuel injected Nytro motor and the new Venture FI motor, same block, same components but the Venture makes less horsepower. Why? In reality it makes more HP and torque than the Nytro at lower RPMs (where most trail riding takes place), where the Nytro is more progressive, making more HP at the peak RPM with a softer mid-range. (never thought I would refer to a Nytro as having a soft mid hmmm).
The 4-cylinder with less displacement makes more power yet but requires a gear reduction at the crank to keep the clutch alive. The answer to your Phazer question is found here, the peak power is made close to 12,000 rpm. Current snowmobile clutches would be spitting pieces of shrapnel if operated at that speed for any length of time.
I honestly don’t think you will find a better built snowmobile engine than Yamaha on the market today, regardless of claims. I am curious to see how the latest 4-stroke offerings (and new tech 2-strokes) from the competition hold up in the long run… we’ll just have to wait and see. cheers cr
YK reminds me of a promised article to discuss 4-stroke motor oil. First I must preempt my ramblings by stating, I am not a chemical or petroleum engineer. I did, however meet with a couple of them, pocket protectors and all, listened intently and read their ‘homework’ offerings. The more I dug, the more complicated and confusing the lessons became. I finally came to the conclusion that the whole ‘best oil’ thing is a leap of faith and for the most part we are at the mercy of the marketers and their ads. Case in point: How can an oil company claim to increase the manufacturers warranty if the engine suffers an oil related failure?? Easy… Prove it!
End of the day, Yamaha Motor Company recently embarked on a program to update and improve our genuine Yamalubeofferings across all our product lines. We are in the final stages of completion, having developed new blends bottled in new packaging and available through your dealer. On the snowmobile side, the latest Yamalube to be created prior to this program was the semi-synthetic 0W-30 which comes in your new sled and which the vast majority of Yamaha 4-stroke owners are choosing for regular service. The big news, (and you heard it here first) is the soon to be introduced,all new premium grade Yamalube snowmobile , full synthetic with a 0W-40 rating, for those who are running in extreme conditions or are looking for that extra percentage of performance and protection. Note the attached images vary slightly between Canada and the USA, liters, quarts and the like. Also, just for the record, the W in multi-grade oils refers to winter (not weight) prefixed by the viscosity at a cold start.
The main point I learned and wish to emphasize here is actually quite simple. Oil blends have become very specialized and automotive oil differs significantly from the oil required by most other motorsports products. There are abundant claims on the performance achieved from various oils from both consumers and marketers alike. You have to do your own homework and make your own decision as to what you want to believe. Oil related failures will seldom happen in the first year(s) of service, that’s given the fact that there is oil present at all…yeah, it happens! (but not to mention any names eh YK ).
The following article is a reprint of a paper I wrote for our accessories department to assist in educating our dealers with respect to the different standards and oil requirements leading up to our new Yamalube: just click ‘more’ if you wish to view it (more…)
Well this week it’s time for me to come clean on some more SRX stuff. Lets start with the name. I was dead set against using SRX based on my experience with the infamous 1981 model debacle. For those who don’t know or may have heard the rumors. The 82 SRX production run (or Vmax as some would have it) was canceled in the name of damage control and to cannibalize the crankshafts for owners of the ill-fated 81’s. Reason being an unfortunate combination of clutch / crankcase assembly and carburetors doomed the TSS SRX to a life of broken crank-shafts. The name was dropped along with the engine and styling, to return as the first V-Max 540 in 1983.
I’m not particularly superstitious, but the thought of naming our new performance sled after the 81 cylinder grippin’ crank-eater seemed somewhat of a marketingFaux pas . But my thoughts didn’t matter because we could not seem to come up with a better name, plus the US guys seemed quite good with the SRX handle and so it was born. The irony in all of this came to light shortly after the first pre-pros hit the snow. Reports of a nasty vibration in the running boards trickled in, which spread quickly into the handle bars… uh-oh. -Long story short-… a welding booth was set up at the end of the crank assembly line and every new SRX crank was hand checked,trued if required and the end pin spot-welded before proceeding. As far as I know, this was the first (and only) time we had a production crank, welded at factory.
I had a good ‘I told you so…’ over some pints with Rit and Greg, but fortunately our crank woes of the 81 never manifested in the new SRX and the engine went on to prove itself quite bullet-proof.
Heres some random pics: From left,-the product development team from US, Europe and Canada, next- myself and Tim Nakano (Saito in the background), -the first prototype used for CG mock-up, and finaly-a 600 proto-engine in field testing:
I’ll put on my marketing hat for the next story. Spring 97, I was the ‘cover boy’ for all of the 98 SRX brochures. The shot was taken by none other than Dave Bush who is well known in the industry for his photography talents. I guarantee you have seen many of his shots in different power-sports magazines and brochures… but I digress.
In this second installment on the SRX story I’ll touch on some of the features which we introduced on SRX. First we had to get clearance from the senior directors to proceed. Saito had to go before Hitoshi Nagayasu who was then second in command at YMC and running the snowmobile show. Saito told me he ’sold’ the concept based on confidence alone. He had no data or test results to refer to, only belief and a deep desire to challenge our people to build the highest performing, production snowmobile ever offered by Yamaha. The magic number being 200hp / liter. It should be mentioned here that the job of the senior directors is not to measure how ‘cool’ a new product is. That is not the point at all. The project has to clearly make sense in dollars and return on investment. We amortize our tooling over two years of production and the model must be able to survive on its own merit. Good thing Nagayasu understood the importance of horsepower and had a warm spot for snowmobiles because he signed off and we were good to go into development. And so here we go…
We were not the first to have power-valves on a sled but we were the first to have electronically controlled, servo driven (instead of diaphragm / pressure actuated) slide valves. see the OW73 (TZ750) GP bike raced by the King. This offered a couple of advantages. One, the slide opening could be regulated based on engine demand and secondly a cleaning cycle was designed in to give the slides a full swipe at start-up to help keep the valves from gumming up. (Yeah I know, it was still a maintenance item especially on the early models).
Another new feature that helped give SRX legs was the introduction of RAM air. The testing data averaged out at 160kph an additional 6mq was achieved which translated into 3hp or 2 kph. This is a small increase but it’s the small details like this that helped put SRX into the top of its class. Saito also concentrated on air management with separate ducts to direct air-flow to help cool the crank shaft and brake rotor.
A new headlight was designed which Saito was quick to remind me also appeared on the Mercedes Benz SL500. Limited by standard DOT approved, 55/65 watt bulbs, the glass optics were designed to efficiently concentrate as much light as possible into the area needed most. I remember after first riding the SRX at night, the Vmax felt like it had a flashlight taped to the shroud.
The triple pipes were nestled into an all new die-cast bulkhead and an unsymmetrical hood. A hot debate between myself and Rit Lefrancois-acting product manager for YMUS at the time- ensued on this unique styling direction. He didn’t like it / I did. In the end the design proved better for engineering purposes and Canada’s vote sealed the deal. The body design moved to the wind tunnel to determine the best combination of wind protection and wind resistance. This was the first sled which Yamaha put a lot of effort into rider position as well as body shape to determine maximum performance.
To make it ‘pretty’, we decided to apply the Yamaha Racing Strobes against a bright Yamaha blue metallic paint scheme which has since become a stable color combo giving Yamaha a distinct recognition in the market. But heck most of you reading this bleed blue right? So you must know when it all started… I also remember some heated discussions trying to get a ‘Scotch-lite’ reflective graphic material for the strobe graphics but if i recall correctly we had to settle for a slightly less expensive version in the second go-round.
Yokohama rubber came to the table with an all new track belt for SRX, which worked pretty well. It was certainly more efficient than past efforts using a poly weave (opposed to the kevlar winding of the Ultrabloc) but in the end our volumes (combined with some durability issues) led us to a new vendor -Camoplast- which marked the end of Yokohama snowmobile track production.
Next week I’ll be back in the office and will start scanning some of the old docs and images I have collected so the next installment will be quite visual. I’ll also start penning some of the testing stories and insights on the final development and marketing. Stay tuned… cr
I have often referred to myself in the context of the above title, 40 years of motorsports will do that to a fellow but when it comes to my sled this is not how it should be done. There are many different things you can do to ensure your snowmobile emerges from storage in the fall, fires up at a glance and delivers continued reliability year after year (providing of course, you have a Yamaha to begin with ). There are several things to keep in mind when you prepare for summer storage. Considering the basics, moisture is our most common enemy followed by residual contaminants, critters including insects and the elements.
I’ll start with moisture: condensation occurs in the fuel tank when the gas comes in contact with air (which contains water) and temperature change. You have two options, get rid of the fuel or minimize air contact by filling the tank. I prefer the latter with the caveat of understanding and planning for the possibility of fuel evaporation and the resulting fire potentials. You need to ensure some ventilation and protect from spark or flame. Moisture is present in the chassis. Be sure to grease all the pivot points liberally until the nasty ’spooge’ is purged and you see fresh clean grease coming out of the ends, (wipe off the excess). Chances are your seat has absorbed a couple pounds of water which will slowly ferment over the summer months. I suggest you remove it and put it away somewhere warm and dry. Good old WD40 (water displacing) makes for a great chaser, I hose down the whole sled with the stuff, avoiding the drive belt and purty parts. Depending where you elect to store the unit and ambient conditions it will be exposed to, the choice of cover is quite important. I have seen sleds shrink-wrapped in plastic like a boat… bad idea. This seals the moisture in as well as out, a good cover needs to breathe while repelling the worst of the elements. If you must use a plastic tarp try to leave some air-space around the machine.
Upon logging onto my email this morning I discovered some tragic news. An old friend, CJ Ramstad and his son JJ were killed in a head-on auto crash this past Sunday in Minneapo0lis. You probably know CJ most recently from his ramblings in Supertrax (Tailights) and ATV magazines or perhaps his amazing collection of vintage snowmobile photography accumulated throughout his long career in photojournalism. CJ has been a true supporter and activist for all things snowmobile for many years. Our deepest condolences from all of us here at Yamaha go out to his wife Karla and family.
On a lighter note, I have received a couple of inquiries regarding the fuel injection system and chain case on the new FX Nytro. Here’s some details on the FI layout, I’ll get some additional explanation on how it all comes together when next I have a chance to speak with our engineers.
The FI system is from Mikuni. It is described as a ‘return-less’ fuel system and features six sensors. They are: intake temperature, intake pressure, coolant temperature, throttle position, crankshaft position, oil pressure. The fuel pump is enclosed within the gas tank.
The information from these sensors is sent to the ECU where the running condition is compared to the pre-programmed ‘mapping’ contained in the ECU chip-set. The mapping program consists of predetermined ‘instructions’ for every possible combination of operation. The ECU then adjusts ignition timing, fuel meter and air flow to optimize power. The chain case is redesigned for lighter weight and increased rigidity surrounding the main shaft. A bearing is added to the end of the main shaft (in the cover) to optimize the shaft support. The attached diagram shows the standard chain case (left) and reverse gear type (right) with the new bearing seen in the lower right hand side of the cover.
To help keep the weight down, the cover is cast from magnesium alloy.
I thought I would venture into the land of new technology and try to explain how some of our new 4-stroke features work then sprinkle in a previously unannounced specification or two. This week I’ll start with one I found intriguing. What we have referred to as the EBRS or engine brake reduction system. I did a little research and discovered a little more than meets the eye. The engine braking control is actually only part of a new system called ISC (Idle Speed Control). The heart of which is an electronically controlled air-valve in the intake tract, which has the ability to override the throttle setting to control idle speed as determined and executed by the ECU (digital ignition /engine control module).
