New to Yamaha

[regret21]

Well the GF got her first sled, a 2006 Yamaha RS Vector. Its the first 4 stroke in the group and the newest Yamaha by more that 6 years. She got it from some 67 year old guy that used it to get around his cabin up in Cambridge, ID. Well he sold the cabin and didn't have much use for the sled anymore.

I'm not sure what I should be checking on this Yamaha far as wear items and yearly inspection type stuff. I know the Hyfaxs are down to their max wear marks and we will have to get some of those. The sled has 1600 miles on it, anything I should be maintaining on it?

How does one go about setting up this sled for my GF? Reading around on the internet I can't seem to find much on the Vectors at all. She's a first time rider, ran around on the spare sleds and 'needs work/ran/broke in' sleds last year for a couple of trips and that's it.

Any information would be help full

 

[Shattered1]

I have a friend who has a 06 Vector and for what it is, I really like it. Other than the normal wear items (you already mentioned hyfax) they are pretty much maintenance free. Just make sure it has engine oil, chaincase oil, coolant and gas.

I think the recommended oil change is every 2500 miles, but a lot of people change it every season. It doesn't hurt to change the oil and filter more often than you have to, but isn't necessary. I haven't changed the oil on a Vector, but it is a real pain on my RX1 due to the location of the oil filter. Since the sleds are similarly set up, it may be a pain on the Vector as well.

I don't know how familiar you are with sleds, but I would check the bearings in the jackshaft and the drive axle. Also the bearings in on the boogie wheels and idler wheels. If they are bad, replace them. Inspect the clutches. The Yamaha clutches have a reputation for longevity, but things can and do wear and may need replacing.

Another thing to check is the battery. Since there is no pull start, it is important to make sure you have a good battery.

And there are the front suspension bushings. If they wear out and you don't replace them, you can damage the forward bulkhead. And that is a real pain to replace.

You may want to look into higher or lower risers depending on what is on there and how tall your girlfriend is. But that applies to any sled.

Simmons Gen II skis (clown shoe skis) may be a good investment. It increases your flotation which is a good thing with a heavy sled with lower power such as the Vector. They are kind of expensive, so you may want to see how the current set up

Also keep in mind that the exhaust is hot and can damage anything that you may have strapped to your tunnel extension. My friend with the Vector burned a hole in a brand new $300 pack that he strapped to his tunnel when we were moose hunting a few years back. I told him to be careful when he was strapping it on there, but he said that it was okay. When we stopped about an hour later, there was a lot of cussing. I built an under tunnel exhaust on my RX1 so I wouldn't have that problem.

The Vector is noticeably lighter than the RX1 and I think is a great first sled. I think they are rated at 120 hp, so it's a little under powered but that motor is torquey. Lots of power down low but the top end isn't like the Nytro, Apex or RX1. But for a beginners sled, it is all you need and with routine maintenance, you can expect to get 20,000 miles plus out of that machine.

That's about all that I can think of. You have a good sled there. About the only time you may regret your purchase is when you get it stuck. Then break out the shovel and get to work.

 

[stingray719]

Well the GF got her first sled, a 2006 Yamaha RS Vector. Its the first 4 stroke in the group and the newest Yamaha by more that 6 years. She got it from some 67 year old guy that used it to get around his cabin up in Cambridge, ID. Well he sold the cabin and didn't have much use for the sled anymore.

I'm not sure what I should be checking on this Yamaha far as wear items and yearly inspection type stuff. I know the Hyfaxs are down to their max wear marks and we will have to get some of those. The sled has 1600 miles on it, anything I should be maintaining on it?

How does one go about setting up this sled for my GF? Reading around on the internet I can't seem to find much on the Vectors at all. She's a first time rider, ran around on the spare sleds and 'needs work/ran/broke in' sleds last year for a couple of trips and that's it.




Any information would be help full

Hey Filer Idaho! Cool! You guys still have that Dog killing muslim cop working there? Hope not.

My brother lives in Hansen and is a Yamaha guru I will PM you his info. You will enjoy that Vector. But yeah get at least 7 inch wide skis as Shatterd1 said.

 

[regret21]

Yeah, I'm pretty familiar around sleds.... just not Yamahas or 4 strokes. I figured they were pretty maintenance free, but there is always something, even with my 4 wheeler. Thanks for the info. I was going to check into wider ski's, I think a friend of mine has a pair of Simmons Gen 1 laying around, they will probably be better than the stock ones. Not nearly as wide as Gen 2 though.

I didn't know if you could make suspension changes to help with the bulk weight and handling of this sled. My GF isn't going to have the finesse of an experienced rider (yet), or the weight to toss around like a 250lb guy.

Yeah in retrospect kinda disappointed in the exhaust placement. The GF was looking forward to putting a cooker on her sled and it doesn't look there there is a spot, unless we duct the exhaust into a turkey roaster strapped to the tunnel. And I have moved this thing around the drive way, wishing it had reverse, and when the tunnel is full of snow, she's going to be a bit heavy. Ok, really heavy. Already advised the GF to invest in a shovel and start strength training.

I figured this was normal but I will ask anyways. The sled wants to turn over quite a bit when its cold starting before it will even idle. Even then it will stall a couple times before you get it going. Carb cleaning issue? Normal? It starts right up once its warmed up. Just have to barely bump the starter and idles and runs smooth. Also there's a light for coolant on the dash that comes on when you start it. I figured it was a low coolant temp light, meaning let the sled warm up before you take off. The light does turn off after a couple mins of warm up time.

Thanks for all the info

 

[RedMtnRebel]

Howdy!

I am the GF. Glad to be here, and looking forward to riding this year.

I am crossing my fingers for lots of snow.

Anyone how wants to go - let me know !

 

[Shattered1]

I figured this was normal but I will ask anyways. The sled wants to turn over quite a bit when its cold starting before it will even idle. Even then it will stall a couple times before you get it going. Carb cleaning issue? Normal? It starts right up once its warmed up. Just have to barely bump the starter and idles and runs smooth. Also there's a light for coolant on the dash that comes on when you start it. I figured it was a low coolant temp light, meaning let the sled warm up before you take off. The light does turn off after a couple mins of warm up time.

Thanks for all the info

If you don't have the choke on, it will not cold start well. The choke lever should be on the left side of the handle bars on the under side of the HI/LO headlight/hand warmer pod unless it has been relocated. My friends Vector starts right up at -20 F so long as it's choked. You only need to choke it for a short period of time (like 20 seconds or so). If you leave the choke on after that, it will run rough and eventually stall out due to an overly rich condition. When cold starting, I usually wait until it starts to run a little rough and then put it to half choke for about a half minute and then totally open the choke. It will high idle until it finishes the cold start/warm up mode and then drop to low idle.

The low coolant light will come on until it goes through the warm up mode. Once it has gone through the cold start mode, the light will go out and and the engine will go to low idle. If the engine is warm, it won't go through the warm up mode. I've read that you shouldn't touch the throttle until it goes through the warm up mode as it can foul the spark plugs.

Make sure that the choke is on. If that doesn't fix it, make sure that the choke cable isn't broken.

If none of this works, you may want to check the spark plugs to ensure that they aren't fouled.

The Yamaha four strokes usually cold start with a few revolutions of the motor unless it is very cold (like colder than -20). I started my RX a few days ago after sitting all summer and it took about ten seconds of running the starter before it fired. Now it fires right up.

A short story of when I bought my RX.

It was February and -36 F in Glenallen, AK. It had been colder in the preceding few days and I got stuck in Tok, AK for two days because it was -64 and my truck wouldn't start. Two days later, it warmed up to -48 and I was able to get my truck to start. I hadn't bothered to plug my truck in since the thermometer in my truck read -40 and I have been able to get it started at -40 in the past. I later found out that -40 is as low as the truck thermometer goes. It was actually much colder.

When I got to Glenallen, it was -36. The sled hadn't been run since August when the guy I bought it from put a new battery in it. I was coming into Glenallen and got cell service about 15 minutes before I got there and called the guy who was selling it. He was concerned that it may not start because it was so cold (he had it stored outside) and it hadn't been started in so long. I got there and he choked it, turned the key for about 20 seconds and it fired right up and purred like a kitten. That sold me on that sled.

Hope this helps.

 

[Shattered1]

I didn't know if you could make suspension changes to help with the bulk weight and handling of this sled. My GF isn't going to have the finesse of an experienced rider (yet), or the weight to toss around like a 250lb guy.

There are things that you can do to the suspension, however most of them are fairly expensive.

Putting an aftermarket or Cat M rear suspension in it would help. A longer track would give it more flotation. After market shocks will help. Barkbuster front suspension would help. Again, all of this is fairly expensive and may not be necessary if she learns to ride it like it is and doesn't do a lot of side hilling.

An inexpensive mod is to remove the front sway bar. It will roll over easier and side hill easier. The draw back is that it won't be as responsive on the trail if you do any trail riding. It makes for a less stable platform and takes some getting used to. It's better in the back country but worse on the trail.

You can also make adjustments to the shock pre-load on your front and rear suspensions.

Adjustments to the limiter strap make a difference as well. If you suck up the limiter straps, it makes a shallower approach angle and won't trench as badly. But the trade off is that you get more weight on your skis and you're nose heavy. It makes technical riding more difficult.

Much of this is rider preference and you will just have to tinker with it to get what you want. If she's not a seasoned rider, she may not even be able to notice any difference.

 

[regret21]

Man, what a place to hide the choke lever. It didn't help that the first time I start this thing is at 6am in the dark. Thanks for all the information, I would have found that lever eventually, but there would have been a lot of swearing first.

I really appreciate all the info. Can't wait to get this thing on the snow and see how well it works. I think I will let her take a couple trips out on then maybe pull that sway bar and see how well it handles. She will be riding with a bunch of mountain sleds, so having high performance trail handling isn't of utmost importance.

Kinda sad living in a small town and all people hear about is that fat pr$ck cop. I love the statement they had in the paper here about the Department, where they said that the majority of their calls are 'dog at large' or anything animal related. Yet the Chief is quoted as saying they haven't done any animal control training. You would think that the most common call your officers face out in the field, as the boss you would make sure they are trained..... but what do I know, I just pay their wages.

 

[Shattered1]

Man, what a place to hide the choke lever. It didn't help that the first time I start this thing is at 6am in the dark. Thanks for all the information, I would have found that lever eventually, but there would have been a lot of swearing first.

I really appreciate all the info. Can't wait to get this thing on the snow and see how well it works. I think I will let her take a couple trips out on then maybe pull that sway bar and see how well it handles. She will be riding with a bunch of mountain sleds, so having high performance trail handling isn't of utmost importance.

Kinda sad living in a small town and all people hear about is that fat pr$ck cop. I love the statement they had in the paper here about the Department, where they said that the majority of their calls are 'dog at large' or anything animal related. Yet the Chief is quoted as saying they haven't done any animal control training. You would think that the most common call your officers face out in the field, as the boss you would make sure they are trained..... but what do I know, I just pay their wages.

No problem. I think you have a good sled there and your girlfriend may well be riding it 10 years from now. As I said before, it is a great beginners sled and for a smaller rider, it may be the only sled she ever needs.

The biggest hurdle will be learning how to ride it. Little things like throttle control, balance and keeping your track speed up so you don't trench and get stuck so often. The power comes on differently than a two stroke and takes a little different technique. As with most any sled, once you get used to it and are able to predict how it is going to behave, you can do just fine with it. It takes some seat time, but once you get used to it, it is a very capable sled.

I would suggest going to the ty4stroke site and checking out the RX/RS Mountain Talk section. TY has a lot of technical information and you can see what mods other people have been doing. Some are quick, easy jobs and others are major undertakings. It may give you ideas of what you want to do to your sled.

The RX1, Apex and Vector have nearly identical chassis and the biggest difference is the motor. The RX has a four cylinder engine making about 150 hp, the Apex has the same four cylinder motor but it is fuel injected and makes about 165 hp and the Vector has a three cylinder engine making about 120 hp. Most non-engine parts are compatible and there are a lot of good used parts available on ebay.

The sway bar removal is really easy. All it takes is the removal of the two bolts that hold the links to the lower A-arms and loosening one of the bolts that clamp the connecting rod to the sway bar spline. It takes about five minutes to do. If you bring the correct wrenches, it's something you could do in the field and put back on if she doesn't like it.

 

[stingray719]

Man, what a place to hide the choke lever. It didn't help that the first time I start this thing is at 6am in the dark. Thanks for all the information, I would have found that lever eventually, but there would have been a lot of swearing first.

I really appreciate all the info. Can't wait to get this thing on the snow and see how well it works. I think I will let her take a couple trips out on then maybe pull that sway bar and see how well it handles. She will be riding with a bunch of mountain sleds, so having high performance trail handling isn't of utmost importance.

Kinda sad living in a small town and all people hear about is that fat pr$ck cop. I love the statement they had in the paper here about the Department, where they said that the majority of their calls are 'dog at large' or anything animal related. Yet the Chief is quoted as saying they haven't done any animal control training. You would think that the most common call your officers face out in the field, as the boss you would make sure they are trained..... but what do I know, I just pay their wages.

Actually when I hear Filer I think of the County Fair.....still miss that.