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Most of us enjoy riding groomed trails, putting on some miles and soaking up the beauty of the winter during snow season.
For those of us looking for an easy ride, a sled that runs smoothly, gets good gas mileage and requires little maintenance, the Yamaha Vector GT fills the bill nicely. We put 1,300 miles on our good-looking red test sled, mostly on Minnesota trails, and found it a wonderful riding experience.
It starts with the throttle pull and carries right on through to the motor. Acceleration from the 120-horse 4-stroke Genesis motor is silky smooth and the engine runs quiet. Yet the engine will pull hard too, it's what I call sneaky fast. As you ride along the trail, sometimes you don't realize you're going as fast as you are, until you glance down at the speedometer.
Our Real World Shoot-Out numbers back up that acceleration claim too. The Vector GT was second quickest in the ¼-mile in the 120-horse class, clipping it off in just 14.14 seconds. That was just ahead of Arctic Cat's F6 and Ski-Doo's MXZ-X 600 H.O., but behind Polaris 600 H.O. Fusion's 14.0 second run. Vector's top speed was 95.3 mph in our tests.
I also like the 4-stroke's engine braking. When you let off the throttle, the motor's deceleration pulls the sled speed down so you don't need much braking in corners or at stop signs. I got used to it, and that engine braking came in handy for negotiating corners smoothly.
The Vector GT comes with electric start and reverse standard, and the 4-stroke kicks over no matter the weather. Even on frigid Minnesota mornings when it was -20° F, the Yamaha started with no problem.
Ride is good too. These GYT-R piggyback front shocks help soak up the bumps on the rough trails and are easy to adjust. They offer 20 clicks worth of adjustment, so you can tune the sled for your style of riding, or for trail conditions, plus they're rebuildable.
Likewise, in back, the Mono Shock RA suspension is easily adjustable so you can dial the sled in the way you want for a nice trail ride.
There's some ski darting on the Vector though, and I'd like to see Yamaha develop a new ski to help reduce that.
We were happy with the sled's trouble-free performance all winter, along with its excellent gas mileage. We averaged about 20 mpg for the winter, and naturally there was no oil to be added, saving us a tidy sum.
Overall we like the sled's styling, especially the tall red, mirrored windshield, which does a good job of diverting wind. Fit and finish quality are high too.
Compared with some of the newer sleds, you ride a little lower and farther back on this one, with lower handlebars and a fairly soft seat. But the GT has wider floorboards so moving around isn't difficult. Gauges and controls are all simple to see and use, and Yamaha puts a padded bag on the handlebar for a little extra storage, a nice touch.
However, we'd add hooked handlebars for better grip in turns. Other than that, Vector is a fine trail sled with the amenities most of us expect.
Yamaha Vector GTEngine: 973cc Genesis 120, 3-cylinder, 4-stroke
Exhaust: Dual rear
Front Suspension: Independent double wishbone
Rear Suspension: Mono Shock RA
Ski Stance: 42.7 in.
Track: RipSaw 15x121x1.25 in.
Fuel Capacity: 10.0 gal.
Weight: 545 lbs.
2007 MSRP: $8,999 US/$12,599 CA (est.)
Real World StatsTop Speed: 95.30 mph
¼-mile time: 14.14 sec.
MPG: 20.0