need some info on 81 SRX's


A paragraph from an article in Amsnow magazine. Cool sleds but many issues.

The new 1981 SRX 440 had all the ingredients and potential to be a top notch lake rocket: a high horsepower, high rpm engine, state of the art strut front suspension, a very modern look that can only be described as sinister and Yamaha’s reputation for quality. They called it “lean, mean, black and evil” but the one thing it didn’t do was perform. The high rpm, aggressively ported 440 was low on torque, came with hard-to-tune butterfly carburetors and was difficult to properly clutch. While it could be very fast for a 440, the narrow, peaky power band made it challenging to trail ride. The experience was unique, sometimes it would not wind up when given throttle, so the go lever had to be “blipped” or “walked up” to an RPM range where it could make power. Instead of reworking the sleds, Yamaha eventually recalled the ’81 SRX and punched holes in the motors to destroy them. They also offered the owners very favorable terms on a new SRV or eventually the ’83 Vmax. Despite the recall, many ’81s survived and are treasured by collectors.


opsled
 
I have one and really enjoy it. Lot of power for a 440 but as the article states they are peaky. You have to stay on top of them, but don't believe all the horror stories you hear about them they aren't that bad. The biggest problem were the cranks, some of them went bad early, but is it lasted this long and it is still running then you should be OK. I would still tare the engine down and check the bearings, run GOOD gas and stay on top of the jetting and don't try to make a lot of changes just set it up as the manual states and you should be OK. Mine still has the oil injection on it. Enjoy!!
 


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