The Last of the Yamaha's

[gary_in_neenah]

Click on the link for the last year of the Yamaha Snowmobile models. The announcement came last June that they would be getting out of the snow business and that day has come. I never owned one of their snow machines, but I think their engines in other products I've owned are second to none. First in Oil Injection, first modern 4 Stroke, it's sad to see them go. Get them while they last!

Yamaha releases Final Edition snowmobiles for 2025 | Powersports Business

After the announcement last June that Yamaha was pulling out of the snowmobile market, the company has released its Final Edition sleds.

powersportsbusiness.com

 

[timo]

Cue the Old Abe rant in ,,,,,3,,2,,1,,

First sled I owned was a 84 Bravo bought brand new with my Milwaukee Sentinel paper route money. Almost positive it was $1000.
Didn't realize at the time how slow it would be. Sold in '89 for $500 and got on a Ski Doo.

 

[whitedust]

Sweet lineup and sad to see the last production year of Yamaha snowmobiles.

 

[dfattack]

Except they aren't really Yamaha's...they disappeared years ago

 

[whitedust]

Except they aren't really Yamaha's...they disappeared years ago

Will anybody care 30 years from now? Probably not other than it has Yamaha graphics. It’s the last of the Yamaha production run doesn’t matter the manufacturing location no one will care. These ain’t for ridin these are collector sleds. Imo.

 

[gary_in_neenah]

These ain’t for ridin these are collector sleds. Imo.

50 years from now, one of Skiroule's descendants will be dragging one of these out of an old barn somewhere. A little paint, a little polish, and it'll look like new again!

 

[wiscrev]

My first new sled was a '91 2-up I got from Pat's. Was a great sled. What I see now is that a standard sled is bigger than that 2-up!

 

[old abe]

Except they aren't really Yamaha's...they disappeared years ago

Yup, you got it dfattack. Sadly, "would have been, could have been"? "Could have", wasn't to be. However, we could see this end coming long, long ago, when Yami quit bringing out new model sleds. Then, a slow, prolonged sad death to those who still believed.

 

[snoden]

Except they aren't really Yamaha's...they disappeared years ago

Thank god. They never had a chassis worth a crap but what they did have were motors that everyone wanted. This 998 4stroke is the most powerful, most reliable snowmobile motor ever produced. Everyone can thank Yamaha as it has forced all other manufacturers to produce better motors which in the end is good for us all. It really is sad to see them get out. I hope Cat continues to offer the 998 in the future or a new 4 stroke platform from Yamaha motor. If I were a collector I would have put my money down on a 25 but I'm not. Besides I already have one and sure glad I do, did I mention that motor?...LOL

 

[dfattack]

I ride Doo now but I did keep my 2012 APEX XTX just because I can. I recently replaced parts I thought would need replacing and probably should think about a small inventory of misc wear items but I think one day it may be worth something. It’s in almost perfect condition and a pure blood Yamaha. at the time I loved that sled. Rode it for 10 years before I bought another new.

 

[old abe]

I ride Doo now but I did keep my 2012 APEX XTX just because I can. I recently replaced parts I thought would need replacing and probably should think about a small inventory of misc wear items but I think one day it may be worth something. It’s in almost perfect condition and a pure blood Yamaha. at the time I loved that sled. Rode it for 10 years before I bought another new.

dfattack, perhaps you were one of those who still wanted to believe that someday there would be another Pure Yamaha? There were many like that in my estimation.

 

[hermie]

I for one was hoping Yamaha would fully get back in the game. I owned Yamahas from 94 to 2005. They might not have been the best sleds at the time but they were solid reliable sleds. For me riding in Vilas I would want power steering to ride a 4 stroke for all the miles we ride. I just couldn't buy a yamacat. Just too many Arctic cat issues and I want to be out riding not doing repairs. So for me it's Ski-doo's for now as they have been as reliable for me as Yamaha was back in the day.

 

[dfattack]

I for one was hoping Yamaha would fully get back in the game. I owned Yamahas from 94 to 2005. They might not have been the best sleds at the time but they were solid reliable sleds. For me riding in Vilas I would want power steering to ride a 4 stroke for all the miles we ride. I just couldn't buy a yamacat. Just too many Arctic cat issues and I want to be out riding not doing repairs. So for me it's Ski-doo's for now as they have been as reliable for me as Yamaha was back in the day.

Yes, I was one of those waiting for a purebred Yamaha. Waited 10 years then moved on. I did try a 2015 yamicat viper for my son and had nothing but problems with the chaincase seal. Finally it crapped out on the trail. Had to tow it back home. We were on a trip from Florence to L'Anse and back. Thank God it happened as we were pulling into Florence on the way home! The one and only time I ever had an issue while riding. That was it for me. I knew at that moment I was done with them. Sold it and bought a doo and haven't had any problems.

 

[hermie]

Yes, I was one of those waiting for a purebred Yamaha. Waited 10 years then moved on. I did try a 2015 yamicat viper for my son and had nothing but problems with the chaincase seal. Finally it crapped out on the trail. Had to tow it back home. We were on a trip from Florence to L'Anse and back. Thank God it happened as we were pulling into Florence on the way home! The one and only time I ever had an issue while riding. That was it for me. I knew at that moment I was done with them. Sold it and bought a doo and haven't had any problems.

I remember thinking let me see how this marriage works out. We were at Henry's never inn and we were leaving from that awesome ham sandwich. There was a new viper with half the sled ripped apart and they were trying to get it started. I looked at my buddies and said you never saw that when Yamaha was a Yamaha. I don't think the guy with the sled appreciate the comment as he gave me a dirty look. It was then I knew as long as Yamaha was in bed with cat I wouldn't be owning another one, which stinks because that 3 cylinder four stroke is a really nice engine. You don't need it in a turbo even though that really wakes it up. That motor runs strong in na too.

 

[whitedust]

Really not much choice for 4s sleds if you are anti yamacat only Doo has a fleet of performance 4s sleds in their lineup. 2025 Yamacats are a tug on my heart strings just for eps but I just don’t ride enough miles to warrant the purchase. Yamaha eps ruined me for 4s sleds without eps plus I have bad shoulders now.

 

[wiscrev]

Really not much choice for 4s sleds if you are anti yamacat only Doo has a fleet of performance 4s sleds in their lineup. 2025 Yamacats are a tug on my heart strings just for eps but I just don’t ride enough miles to warrant the purchase. Yamaha eps ruined me for 4s sleds without eps plus I have bad shoulders now.

That's why I had to give up snowmobiling is because of a bad shoulder, Pete. I was going to try an eps one but I guess that's no longer available. Wish Doo would go to that. My Doo dealer said I should try a 129 that I may be able to handle as I had a 1200 Gade.

 

[hermie]

I hear really good things about the eps from Yamaha. I am surprised Ski-doo hasn't put on there 4 strokes. I would take a hard look at a 900 with the the small turbo if they did. 130 horsepower with power steering would make for a nice trail sled.

 

[snoden]

All sleds break down sooner or later. We don't sit at bars we ride. Our group has 2 Vipers with over 20,000 miles each another Viper with over 15,000 miles and 3 Sidewinders with over 10,000 miles. We had to tow a sidewinder in once from a chaincase leak and one of the Vipers from a track that gave up at 15,000 miles. There are some fixes to the Cat chassis that need to be addressed, but once it's done they are as reliable as anything on snow.

I was going to try an eps one but I guess that's no longer available.

Someone is giving you some really bad info. Yamaha brought EPS back in 2022 and has been every year since. Now OEM EPS can be added to any Viper or Sidewinder or Cats version of the same on any MY sled. I have all the parts except the steering stem that's on BO until the end of April, that will be installed on my 18 SRX.

 

[old abe]

That's why I had to give up snowmobiling is because of a bad shoulder, Pete. I was going to try an eps one but I guess that's no longer available. Wish Doo would go to that. My Doo dealer said I should try a 129 that I may be able to handle as I had a 1200 Gade.

I hear you rev. I'm dealing with a bad shoulder and I'm trying to avoid Rotator surgery. Getting by with shots for now, but I'm not sure about being able to ride. My Orthro surgeon understands and suggested going to therapy specializing for that purpose of being able to avoid surgery. We'll see.

 

[skiroule]

50 years from now, one of Skiroule's descendants will be dragging one of these out of an old barn somewhere. A little paint, a little polish, and it'll look like new again!

Oh, I doubt that will happen Gary. The odds of having two people in the same bloodline that are dumb enough to enjoy spending time up to their elbows in rust and grime are pretty low.

Yamaha is one brand I’ve never owned, which is odd because I started out liking the early 70’s sleds and some of their performance models that followed later are in my virtual snowmobile hall of fame.

A couple of obvious choices would be the 74 GPX and the black/gold 80 SRX. Both were wickedly fast for the day and were cool looking sleds. I’m glad they decided to resurrect the black and gold SRX color option on the Sidewinder.

Of course, the 2000 SRX 700 would be another obvious choice. Used to ride with a friend that had one. The sound of that sled was music to the ears and then there was that sharp blue paint scheme. Beautiful sled.

I realize that most people consider it a Cat but I do like the Sidewinder. I think it’s a sharp sled and still has the heart of a Yamaha.

It does make you wonder though, if someday we’ll be down to two or even one sled manufacturer.