1993 yamaha exciter ii sx

When you first glance at the brochures and see the photos of the new Yamaha Exciter SX, it seems to be just another Exciter. Blame that on Yamaha. But don't dismiss this Exciter. It is something you can get excited about.

The 569cc Yamaha twin has 10 percent more power. The front end has been substantially altered for precision cornering. And the riding position- love it or hate it- gives you a sportier feeling than other Exciters.

First things first. The Exciter SX does actually look a little different, more like a Vmax than the standard Exciter II. The windshield is low and racy. The TSS strut suspension is wider, by two inches, than the standard set-up. The handlebars look a little lower and wider, too.

First impressions are good. But, what's under the hood? It's not quite the same old Yamaha liquid-cooled 569cc twin. Yes, it measures 73mm by 68mm- the same as usual. But look closely at the two-into-one "Y" pipe. It's 20mm shorter for better breathing. How about the pair of carburetors? This Exciter uses 38mm breathers, but they are the TM flat slide type, rack-mounted, and not the usual round slide VM series common to the base Exciters.

If you could look inside this engine, you'd find wider intake ports, about two millimeters taller. The transfer porting is revised, too, as they are wider and about two millimeters higher. If you compared compression, you'd record an increase from the standard 6.5:1 compression to 6.9:1. The combustion chambers are slightly smaller. A thinner head gasket aids the compression increase. Don't be alarmed. The SX will still run on 87 octane fuel.

With the changes, the SX should run about 10 percent stronger, because that's what Yamaha claims the engine modifications amount to. If various dyno reports we've seen are correct, the base Yamaha Exciter II delivers somewhere between 81 and 84 horsepower in stock trim. Add 10 percent and you've got a sled in the 90-92 horsepower range. That should make it very competitive with the new Polaris Indy XLT, Arctic Cat 580Z and Ski-Doo's Formula Plus. (Although early reports on the top-tuned Ski-Doo Plus X engines put the power level in the upper 90s.)

In fact, in western testing this past spring, our test riders compared the SX head-to-head with the new XLT and declared it a virtual draw. Rider reaction time accounted more for a holeshot advantage than anything. At full tilt, the sleds were extremely close in a quarter mile blast up and down the mountain meadow we used as a very unofficial test track.

So, the verdict is that the SX is competitive engine-wise with the new models from the competition. How about handling-wise?

This is where the SX shines. Finally, without equivocation, we would actually rate this Yamaha's handling with anything on the market. It corners as consistently flat and precise as any trailing arm type suspension system- be it AFS, AWS, IFS, PSS, whatever!

Yamaha has done an excellent job in getting this machine to be the sporty trail sled that Exciter enthusiasts have always wanted.

By giving this model a 38.6 inch center-to-center ski stance, Yamaha has effectively reconfigured the sled's balance. The overall length of the SX is the same as the standard Exciter II at 105.5 inches. But with the wider stance, the new geometry actually shifts weight and balance rearward and lower to make the sled more stable in the turns. What Yamaha has done with this new sport sled is exactly what racers do with modified oval racing machines. Extend the stance and get increased cornering stability- and, thus, enhanced handling. It works!

What also works is the impressive adjustability of the new Telescopic Strut Suspension. Lift off the plastic covering on the strut top, twist the knob, and compress the internal spring by as much as an inch. Increasing front suspension stiffness is literally that easy.

In addition, the new wider TSS unit resembles the Vmax front end. Both use a large diameter stabilizer bar. And, of course, since the TSS has been available for quite a while now, there are a wide variety of optional springs and dampeners available so that riders can personalize their riding style.

Under the 38.8-inch long aluminum skis are plastic bottoms and carbide wear runners. You'll note that the carbides have 40 percent of the carbide placed ahead of the strut attachment point. The remaining 60 percent trails behind the center point for improved bite. Additional bite comes in handy on this aggressive block pattern track. Yamaha opted for carbides because of the sporty, aggressive nature of the handling and because carbides will give the rider improved traction on ice and hard packed snow. The type of rider who'll choose the SX is apt to be more aggressive than the chap who buys a more deluxe Exciter LE with electric start.

Both Yamaha owners will get the same Pro Action with progressive linkage and 7.7 inches of rear suspension travel. The difference between the two will be minor, but the SX rider will have a slightly stiffer setting from a combination of sportier ride settings in the two rear shocks and suspension springing. Both are adjustable to achieve softer or stiffer settings to match personal preferences.

The seating is the same on all Exciter models, but the handlebars on the SX are different. They are wider and positioned downward, similar to the Vmax style. Overall, it is a setting that you will either instantly like or immediately hate. We would assume that you'll get used to it. We liked it because it seemed to fit well with the overall sporting nature of this machine. For us, it was comfortable.

You'll find that Yamaha remembered that sporting riders like comfort, too. Like the other Exciters, this model has electric handwarmers and thumbwarmers, full instrumentation, parking brake, and automatic fuel shut-off for trailering. Hey, it's not a big deal- until you forget to shut off the fuel and pump a quart of fuel into the crankcase when trailering down a bouncy back road. Try starting your sled then. You'll appreciate the auto shut-off valve.

You'll also appreciate the easy pull on the throttles. The TM carbs use a rod and cam, plus a single throttle cable. According to Yamaha, this maintains the slide opening better. It also results in a very light pull at the thumb. As one Yamaha spokesman suggested, "It makes the sled lighter."

He was kidding, sort of. A light pull at the throttle, combined with rapid response is a psychological ploy that really does give the rider a sense that the sled is more responsive. Don't ask us why. Ask Polaris. Their customers claimed that the RX-L 650 triple with the lighter throttle action from electronic fuel injection convinced them that the 650 EFI sled was actually lighter than the carburetted Indy 650 triple which had a heavier throttle pull. In fact the opposite was true!

Ergonomics can't be underrated. Fortunately, Yamaha is one of the best at providing the indecipherable people pleasing things. Yamaha sleds have a modern, cutting edge style. Yamaha designers have managed to make this Exciter look lower and leaner than the standard model. In fact, this sports version, except for the obvious wider stance and lower windshield, is dimensionally and statistically essentially the same as the other Exciter models.

Even under the hood, the drive train is basically the same. Spring rates and cams have been altered to raise the more powerful engine's engagement speed to 4,000 RPM from the standard 7,800. The SX's shift RPM is raised to 7,700 from the base engine's 7,300 RPM. As with the Vmax, the Exciter SX has the windage plates on the secondary drive clutch. This reduces drag and slightly increases power to the track.

The power on all Exciters should be translated to performance by the addition of a couple more drive sprocket wheels. Last year the Exciter had four drive sprocket wheels. For 1993 there will be six.

The bottom line is that the 1993 Exciter II SX is the true sports machine that Yamaha riders have been clamoring for ever since the first Exciter hit the snows. This sled has the power to compete with the competition in the 500-plus cc category. And it has the handling. The SX feels as though it were bred on a racetrack. It corners flat and is extremely nimble on twisting trails. It has the power to accelerate hard out of the turns and the ability to motor strongly across a wide open meadow or frozen lake.

All the pieces have come together in the SX. Yamaha has done an excellent job with this sled. You knew they could, the question was when. The answer is now!

Perhaps Yamaha should drop the Exciter appellation and simply call it the SX. Or Vmax Junior.