dstoehr
New member
I'm feelin' ya Yamirider and doktorC
L-O-N-G
Of course, anyone can argue against anything with validity, but the following comments are simply my way of trying to summarize Yamaha’s sleds:
Yep, Yammi's are more expensive than the others, and they very well should be.
Are BMW's more expensive than Chevrolet's? Yes. Do you know why? Is it because BMW's line-up appeals to the entire population? No. Is it because BMW's are always faster? Not particularly. Is it because BMW's are always lighter? No. (you see where I’m going here?)
It's because BMW's are built from higher quality materials and components; it's because they are engineered for smoothness and refinement; it's because they are balanced for maximum driving satisfaction; it's because they are designed and marketed as a premium vehicle for those people who are after a premium product; it's because tight guidelines are set for fit and finish, it’s because they do so many things well and are simply…better overall... which make them more expensive. (I know, I’m setting myself up to have darts thrown at me, but this is just my opinion, okay! Hear me out.)
BMW builds great cars for the market they are in, and is an extremely successful and profitable company. I doubt you will ever see them building low-end cars or plastic-clad entry-level compact pocket rockets or pick-up trucks (although they have two SUV's now. Sorry SAV's) and trying to beat out the competitors on price. That’s not what they do. Yamaha sleds are very similar in this respect, much like many of Yamaha’s other products. They don’t appeal to everybody, but they do appeal to the people Yamaha wants them to appeal to.
Back to BMW. Based on the reports of test drivers from all walks of car racing, from all over the planet, I'd find it hard to deny that the M3 is probably the best all-round sports car on the face of the earth. Is it the fastest sports car available? Does it pull the most G's in a corner? Does it have the biggest sunroof? No, no, no. You will always find some other car that can out-do each one of the M3's specs, but you will be very hard pressed to find a car that can out-do all of them. A Ferrari Enzo does the majority of things better than the M3, but it also costs ten times more!
I believe that the Apex GT or RTX will be a fine parallel for the M3. A $100,000 sled would hopefully do most everything better than any sled ever, but the Apex doesn't cost 10 times more than other sleds, it only costs a little bit more, and it will surely perform every task it was designed to do, and do them all very well. Quality? Yep. Smooth? Yep. Fast? Feature-packed? Reliable? Yep, yep, yep…… Bar none, I don’t think anybody from any camp can argue with Yamaha’s blend of the utmost levels of engineering, quality, refinement, reliability, technology and all-round performance that these sleds bring to the market.
If Yamaha simply wanted to beat everyone else out on price, they probably could. Yamaha Motor Corporation is so big (compared to the competitors), and sleds make up such a small part of their overall business that they could sell sleds at cost without seriously hurting their overall financial viability as a company. The point here is, the ‘little’ snowmobile group at Yamaha has it’s own goals, and profitability is the number one goal. Build a premium product for the right target that represents great value, and you will be able to charge a premium price for it. Unit volume is one thing, but profitability is where the fun begins!! The more profitable they are, the more they can innovate and develop and improve and push the limits of convention and design into the future. I believe that’s how Yamaha is thinking as we head into a new era in snowmobiles. Creep up the number of units sold while mainting these profits, and that's an obvious recipe for success.
Does this mean all Yamaha riders should want BMW's? Nope. It's all about what's important to you and your needs. People buy Kia’s for their own reasons, and other people buy Aston Martin’s for their reasons. I don't drive any of the cars I’ve mentioned (but man would I love a new Kia
), nor do I ride a new Yamaha sled either. I'm true blue through and through, but I simply can't justify the cost of any new high-end sled at this point in my life, no matter who manufactures it. With that said, the things that Yamaha brings to the table are important to me for my reasons, and if I had the coin, I’d already have a shiny new deposit receipt to stare at for the next 10 months. I'm taking donations 
L-O-N-G
Of course, anyone can argue against anything with validity, but the following comments are simply my way of trying to summarize Yamaha’s sleds:
Yep, Yammi's are more expensive than the others, and they very well should be.
Are BMW's more expensive than Chevrolet's? Yes. Do you know why? Is it because BMW's line-up appeals to the entire population? No. Is it because BMW's are always faster? Not particularly. Is it because BMW's are always lighter? No. (you see where I’m going here?)
It's because BMW's are built from higher quality materials and components; it's because they are engineered for smoothness and refinement; it's because they are balanced for maximum driving satisfaction; it's because they are designed and marketed as a premium vehicle for those people who are after a premium product; it's because tight guidelines are set for fit and finish, it’s because they do so many things well and are simply…better overall... which make them more expensive. (I know, I’m setting myself up to have darts thrown at me, but this is just my opinion, okay! Hear me out.)
BMW builds great cars for the market they are in, and is an extremely successful and profitable company. I doubt you will ever see them building low-end cars or plastic-clad entry-level compact pocket rockets or pick-up trucks (although they have two SUV's now. Sorry SAV's) and trying to beat out the competitors on price. That’s not what they do. Yamaha sleds are very similar in this respect, much like many of Yamaha’s other products. They don’t appeal to everybody, but they do appeal to the people Yamaha wants them to appeal to.
Back to BMW. Based on the reports of test drivers from all walks of car racing, from all over the planet, I'd find it hard to deny that the M3 is probably the best all-round sports car on the face of the earth. Is it the fastest sports car available? Does it pull the most G's in a corner? Does it have the biggest sunroof? No, no, no. You will always find some other car that can out-do each one of the M3's specs, but you will be very hard pressed to find a car that can out-do all of them. A Ferrari Enzo does the majority of things better than the M3, but it also costs ten times more!
I believe that the Apex GT or RTX will be a fine parallel for the M3. A $100,000 sled would hopefully do most everything better than any sled ever, but the Apex doesn't cost 10 times more than other sleds, it only costs a little bit more, and it will surely perform every task it was designed to do, and do them all very well. Quality? Yep. Smooth? Yep. Fast? Feature-packed? Reliable? Yep, yep, yep…… Bar none, I don’t think anybody from any camp can argue with Yamaha’s blend of the utmost levels of engineering, quality, refinement, reliability, technology and all-round performance that these sleds bring to the market.
If Yamaha simply wanted to beat everyone else out on price, they probably could. Yamaha Motor Corporation is so big (compared to the competitors), and sleds make up such a small part of their overall business that they could sell sleds at cost without seriously hurting their overall financial viability as a company. The point here is, the ‘little’ snowmobile group at Yamaha has it’s own goals, and profitability is the number one goal. Build a premium product for the right target that represents great value, and you will be able to charge a premium price for it. Unit volume is one thing, but profitability is where the fun begins!! The more profitable they are, the more they can innovate and develop and improve and push the limits of convention and design into the future. I believe that’s how Yamaha is thinking as we head into a new era in snowmobiles. Creep up the number of units sold while mainting these profits, and that's an obvious recipe for success.
Does this mean all Yamaha riders should want BMW's? Nope. It's all about what's important to you and your needs. People buy Kia’s for their own reasons, and other people buy Aston Martin’s for their reasons. I don't drive any of the cars I’ve mentioned (but man would I love a new Kia
), nor do I ride a new Yamaha sled either. I'm true blue through and through, but I simply can't justify the cost of any new high-end sled at this point in my life, no matter who manufactures it. With that said, the things that Yamaha brings to the table are important to me for my reasons, and if I had the coin, I’d already have a shiny new deposit receipt to stare at for the next 10 months. I'm taking donations
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) they are right on target. dok C seems to be adding a lot of good posts I agree with 
nice job! and thanks to mr sled for letting everyone voice there opinion, and for keeping it moderated pretty well 
Not a cut on you BJ, Just very interesting reviews so far from people that felt like most of us about Yammi's. Good quality and stuff but just lacking the performance... 
