50 Years of Yamaha Snowmobiles

A complete miss. The glory days of the Yamaha snowmobiles were in the 70's with the incredible GPX and Exciter models followed by the SRX sleds.

Still own a Phazer 2 electric start! However due to Market Politics Yamaha was pushed out of snowmobile sales to the likes of Ski Doo who is owned by Bombardier. The Canadian Company has not only cornered the Market with snowmobiles, but also Jet Ski's with the Sea Doo and in Private Jet Aviation like the Global 8000 Bombardier Jet. Which has pushed Yamaha out of the Market place! Arctic Cat and Polaris both are in jeopardy of the same thing happening to them!

6 years later.........wa wa wa

In 1975 the gpx 433 had no equal !

Rip Yamaha 😢

You missed a spot.

I came back here today to look at all they have done...
They are done. Cya Yamaha.
Love all those sleds.

This video hasn’t aged well after Yamaha’s announcement today

My first sled was a 1972 Arctic Cat Lynx. Then I had a couple 1975 440 Cheetah. The 440 engine was made by Kawasaki. I had a couple more Arctic Cats and I’ve had Polaris snowmobile since the 1990s. Our side by side is that brand also. The first time I rode a snowmobile was in 1969 when I was 16. A co-worker had a Rupp.

I grew up on Cats but when I was old enough to buy my own I bought a Yamaha and have had nothing else since. Infact, all of my power sports toys are Yamaha's. Their reliability is unrivaled.
As far as the current sleds go though, they really need to bring out something new and fresh. I'm waiting!

I used to love Yamaha sleds but since Yamaha went all 4 stroke I never buy Yamaha sled again, then again Yamaha is more motorcycle company then snowmobile company and only good sxs Yamaha is yxz 1000r but still not same class as CamAm x3 and Polaris rzr . Pretty much Yamaha take a Yamaha motorcycle motor put it in there sled

1989 XLV 540

Great video! At our museum in Marquette, Michigan we've got one of the first snow mobiles - a snow machine. This contraption was built in someone's garage in the 1940s. Father and son duo built the several snow machines, the first to have two seats, a steering "wheel" and motorized by a motorcycle engine. They made the vehicle out at their camp where they hunted, fished, and rode through the trees on their homemade machines

No mention of the Vmax-4,the first 4 cylinder liquid cooled 2 stroke.

Love the phazers such a great great example of peak 80s technology

The Phazer part made me think of Die Hard 2. If you’re a Phazer fan and haven’t seen that movie, you need to.

funny the Bravo got no nod in this video... like it skipped right from 70's to the phazer and right to the rx-1/apex line then to the yammycat ... and that was it ... hmm

I loved and still do, the 2002 years of SX-R 700 triples.

Completely skipped over the early years...The GP series were some badass sleds back in the early to mid 70s. I had a GP292 that was the fastest one lunger on the lake!

4 strokes are for old fat people

The problem with YAMAHA is the ride they never figured it out you never see YAMAHA on the trails

Enticer 340 my fav all time sled

since the 1980´s proud owner of venture, v-max, srx, srv, viper, rx-1 then in 2004 I had to quit . Also owned many arctic cats however build quality of arctic cat was never nearly as good as YAMAHA

I'd like to see Yamaha come back with a High Performance Light Weight 2-stroke. They seem to have walked away from us Performance junkies that just cant tolerate a heavy 4-stroke in a CAT chassis ... I'd rather ride an old Mach Z than a new Yamaha.

79 Exciter the most reliable fast and fun sled I ever owned.

How about the 83 V MAX fastest sled that year bad ass !

I just watched a Video on Arctic Cat History and another on Polaris History .. The Snowmobile Industry has benefitted from many different innovations and improvments from the big 4 and quite a few unique improvments from some of the other Legacy Brands too ..

Wow you never covered the early models at all, pretty much skipped to the 80's or should I say the phase years. Then pretty much the new. Waste of time video.

Mark did a decent job with this video. One big miss, the TSS (Telescopic Strut Suspension) was not introduced on the 1984 Phazer as claimed. It was introduced in 1980 SR-V race sleds and then appeared on the 1981 SRX and SR-V, so that was three years before the Phazer was introduced.

how can he say the TSS 'debuted' on the phazer?? it was on the srv from 82...

My first sled was a Yamaha Ovation 340. Great sled.

my nytro has heavy handling and steering wanted to stay with yamaha motor and chassis for reliable sled but they need a 2 stroke. Also they need a light, basic, cheep, affordable , 440 trail sled to pick through the woods and when needed you can pick it up and move it

yamaha is tops in my book with reliability, fit n finish, and mechanic friendly to work on

This is greet fer sno mobills fawk mee geeee suzz murphy

What about the srv series??? My favorate tbh

Considering how small the market is for snowmobile sales volume .. I think the marriage between Cat and Yam helps both of them .. Yamaha has a huge dealer Network but not enough sales volume to justify Engineering and tooling ect..

Snowmobiles were so crude .. It left a lot of room for Yamaha to innovate.. Yamahas were light reliable and affordable ..
Sleds like the RX 1 Ton are great high mileage trail sleds.. The engine technology came straight from their R-1 Motorcycle engine,.. Then they built the narrower .. longer stroke 3 cylinder Purpose 1049 CC snowmobile engine..
Then they came out with a beefed up Tripe with a high tech Turbo..

Yamaha was No 1 in snowmobile sales for years then they went to number. Meanwhile Artic Cat has some Financial Problems.. Trump dropped Corporate income tax by 15% this will help the end cost for American Made Products..

Yes the Yamaha Two Stroke Triples were cool and great.. I think Yamaha may have been behind in suspension in that era...
All 3.5 Brands make great Products it's a matter of personal choice .. Customer Service Factory Warranties and Value that could make an end decisions what to buy .

I have a 2006 Attack that is Very tough but so Top Heavy ..and a 2014 Skidoo Renegade 800 because I like the lightness and the direct injection two stroke..
I have not yet ridden an Artic chassis.. I am interested to try some Endurance racing .. which sounds like Polaris and Artic two stokes dominate that class. ???

If I can recall , I think Scorpion invented patented and manufactured rubber molded tracks first , Or Moto Ski .. I can google later..

He said 120 different snowmobile manufactures .. That's a lot I guess the number in my head of 400 was for automobile manufactures in the USA at one time..

Oh Really Snowmobiles are more different that Pianos, Organs , Drums, and Sound Mixers?

Great video, love the history behind vintage sleds up to modern day. Love the old Yamaha's. Nice job.

Maybe I misunderstood, but top tunnel cooling has been around a long time. I first saw it on a Cat from the early 90's.

oh yea 1 more thing, my 81 SRX 440 had the front shocks that you say that was interdused by the phazer.

nice vidio butt....do your homework 1st! you never mentioned yamaha's biggest achievments, like the v-max line especialy the v-max 4! or the worlds fastest sleds every time they go into production... the SRX!!!!! and the RX1 was brought out in 2002 not 2003 cuz i bought one soon as they hit the showroom.

Thank ROLL O FLEX machines for having Yamaha engines, my dad was a dealer until they went out in 75.

I maybe the minority but, I wish they would leave the agreement they have with Arctic Cat and build their own chassis. I bleed Yamaha blue and had my share of Cat's and don't want any part of them again.

My first machine was a 1978 ET250. Super reliable little sled. Then a 1980 srx440. With 72 HP  that one was a rocket for the times. Hard on pistons and cylinders though. Last Yamaha I bought was a 1982 Excell 3. Basically a 340 cc with electric start and a spedo and tack. Also a super reliable sled.  Then in 1986 a friend asked if I  had seen the new sled at the polaris dealer at our local mall. He convinced me to check it out and the next day I bought the 1986 indy 600 triple after seeing it. Polaris after that, sorry Yamafans

I have a 1990 yamaha phazer 2! I love it!!!!

They need to have a two stroke again because they are to heavy !!!!!!!!!

This is so stupid you missed the part back in 1992 the vmax 4 750cc was the snowmobile of the year know your shit before you make a video