Back to the Phazer (Vader returns)

[lupystoy]

New to the Yamaha forum. ( I have been a dootalk member for some time and have a restored very well running 2007 MachZ x. )
Not to age me but I did have a 1989 Black phazer delux when I was a late teenager.
Presently I just acquired a lovely all stock 1990 phazer black delux. With 6000k. Did some basics to the machine toward the end of the season. ( all the stuff from my youth flooded back ). Great compression. Cleaned completely the carbs. Replaced the carb boots. Checked everything else and ran it for a few runs before the snow left. The old girl ran just as I remembered. Got her in the lake and put my phone with a gps tracker on and gave it a long pull. 78mph. Not bad.
Now the back story. My original phazer was a 1989 short track. I was obsessed back then with getting that little thing to make as quick as possible. For good reason. The phazer was the ultimate underdog at local drag events. In those days (as most will remember) you could build a competitive drag sled and hot trail runner on a modest budget. Also lots of fun to boot. A good running improved phazer would easily beat up on the larger machines for the drags. Back then we raced the full 1/4mile.
My original phazer received many updates over the years I had it. They are as follows. Bender wide kit/bender cold air/ campolast 1” full block track/AAEN quite can/Boyessen reeds/SX piston mod/lake racer porting/gutted airbox with Bender 38mm flat-slide. That phazer would fly. I won’t post its top end back then just because I only remember what the speedo said. (No access to GPS etc. ) I did have it on radar once at an even where the local police did the radar. I ran 87mph. The setup I had then was the stock track without studs, cold air kit, pipe, stock carbs., boyseen reeds, sx piston,mild trail porting. The helix I kept stock as well as the gearing. When I used the flatslides the little thing guzzled fuel. Ran very well though. I don’t really know if the thicker track, flatslides and more aggressive porting (at no point did I remove the stock head gaskets, this was always a trail machine) really made it quicker. I seem to have doubted it when I reflect back. ( would have been cool to have radar run it then, it literally put the Speedo needle straight south.) I kept all my tuning notes from back then
So fast forward to now. Kind of reliving the youth. My boys always heard the “phazer” stories (I called it Darth Vader back then). So now that they are all grown I found this phazer. On our modern well groomed trails I’m more than impressed with how well it works.
My son has an Apex so we went for first ride together. After about 100k and I was happy with how it was running we switched sleds. I said to him, remember it’s only 53hp. He ran it for awhile. When we switch back, he had the biggest grin on his face. The original phazer recipe still works. It’s that 50-90km/hr mid range zing that hooks you. Still good fuel mileage too. Love the little thing. Just zing around the trails etc. If the need for absolute insane lake flattening speed is needed we bring out big Mach Z. ( love the tech challenge to keep that thing going. Believe me it works very very well )
So that’s a massive intro to the forum.
Not sure what I’m going to do with my little phazer. Definitely not going full mod ever again.
I am thinking of a new AAEN quiet can (spring and jets) SX’ing the piston and installing the boyseen reeds. Then leaving the rest stock. In my mind that’s where it will perform and live then best.

 

[03viperguy]

awesome story, and welcome to the forums!

 

[lupystoy]

Thanks. That picture is my original, younger years. The new photo is the 1990 replacement.

 

[03viperguy]

Looks clean!

 

[lupystoy]

It was very well looked after. A summer project. Ran excellent for remainder of our last winter. Just going to take it all apart and clean and paint pieces. Going to disassemble the motor and basically do a check and new gaskets and seals. Presently has 145psi each cylinder cold compression. Planning on giving the SX treatment to the pistons and a set of Boyseen power reeds. Really want that AAEN QUIET CAN again. Looking around used and they are almost none exit. Likely just order a new one (while AAEN is still in business) and the matching clutch spring and main/pilot jets. Likely that’s it. Nice little trail sled. If memory serves me right any more motor mods will start to eat away at the legendary anvil reliability of the beast.
As I mentioned in my ‘Phazer biography’ I did do most of the mods available to the budget of a 19year old back then. I think in the end some just made it a bit slower and more finicky. Going from the 1/2 block track to the full block track and 115 studs, go her to hook but the top end suffered for sure. I firmly believe she ran its fastest top end (87mph on radar) with stock gearing and stock track with no studs and the pipe with SX pistons and the cold air kit.
Darryl

 

[74Nitro]

The Yamaha sleds from the late seventies and through the eighties were awesome. So innovative. I had the SRV and then a 1988 Exciter.
I get a kick out of this video of a Phazer -

 

[lupystoy]

The Yamaha sleds from the late seventies and through the eighties were awesome. So innovative. I had the SRV and then a 1988 Exciter.
I get a kick out of this video of a Phazer -

That is an Awsome video. Nice little phazer.
It’s amazing the cult following these little gems have. Maybe that’s why I cannot locate a used pipe. Gone are the days where you would mod it to drag with the bigger stuff.
If the need for lake flattening speed is there while there is Big Z in the garage. That’s quite the most misunderstood machine.
Darryl

 

[BornYamaha]

Those were the days! I too had a "90" Phazer with all the mods. (Lake Racer Porting, PSI Pipe, 38 Flat slides, Cold air kit, on & on. Good Clutching was definitely a must. The mods made them peaky. I could bring down things as big as 650 Indys and 650/700 Wildcats as long as it was 1/4 mile or less. Then they would be coming hard ready to blow by doors off on the big end but it was too late. The race was done at the1/4. These were Joe trail rider sleds mind you that had never been adjusted in any way from the showroom floor. It was still great fun to see their face. More than once I had to lift my hood to show them that yes it was a Phazer engine. Even beat a piped "81" SRX one time several runs in a row. Same thing. He was coming like crazy at the end but the race was over. You are about right with the 87 MPH in that state of tune. I ran several radar runs back in the day and won a pretty good size sanctioned event with more that 20 Phazers with it one time. 87 MPH in the 1/4 mile was the norm but occasionally I could get it up to as good as 89 mph in that distance. I and everyone I knew had to gear up one tooth on top to get those speeds. The higher gearing actually made it pull harder in a race as well. I tried two up but that turned it into a dog. I get carried away with the old bench racing stories but they are good memories.

 

[lupystoy]

Love the stories. They get better every year. Nice work with your machine back then.
Now days I can’t imagine the amount of money you would need to spend to make the modern machines win at improved stock races let alone advance to the next class.
Darryl

 

[03viperguy]

I would love to hear your take on that Machz. I had a friend that worked for skidoo at the time they were made. He was told by them that it was a know "time bomb" when he was up in canada for the yearly training. They said it was more of a scramble to hold the line a bit while they worked on something faster. I always thought htey were neat. The wide body sure made it look imposing, and the black and yellow on the renegade x version really looked sharp

 

[03viperguy]

The Yamaha sleds from the late seventies and through the eighties were awesome. So innovative. I had the SRV and then a 1988 Exciter.
I get a kick out of this video of a Phazer -

That is quite the wheelie machine, set up for max weight transfer for sure lol!

 

[lupystoy]

I would love to hear your take on that Machz. I had a friend that worked for skidoo at the time they were made. He was told by them that it was a know "time bomb" when he was up in canada for the yearly training. They said it was more of a scramble to hold the line a bit while they worked on something faster. I always thought htey were neat. The wide body sure made it look imposing, and the black and yellow on the renegade x version really looked sharp

Morning. The Mach Z does work nice. Really how i ended up with one goes like this. My oldest son bought an apex (2007).Personally I was just using a grand tour 380 then. The phazer days ended way back and then kids etc. so I just had the little machine to ride the kids around. So my oldest finished school and bought the Apex. So we started trail riding serious again. After a year riding the apex and the 380 my other son says “Dad what would ever take down that Apex” I loosely said a Mach Z., maybe. That apex works great.
So the search began. I originally want the tripple Mach but they were difficult to source.
The big 1000 SDI was a bargain though. But those who know are aware why. Really could have just bought an Apex but the boys wanted to try something else. Makes sense. We always switch around riding each others machine. My Mach Z came with a new track and proper stud boy stud backers and studs. Lots of investment there. The previous owner took good care of it and was well aware of its finicky reputation. Maintenance was always done.
I purchased it the. Preceded to learn all I could. Made some friends over on dootalk.
So I checked the machine over well and ran it for my first season with it. No issues.
Next off season (last year) I completely disassembled the motor. Things were not good. Bearings on the crank were loose.
Piston clearances way off etc. So it got completely rebuilt. New crank/pistons cylinders replated. I have run it now for a season and it works great. It gets amazing fuel mileage. It is reliable too. But you have to maintain it like a consumer race sled. There are so many things to keep track of on it.
It’s kind of best described as an enthusiast machine. Not unlike any other vintage racer.
Not something you can leave outside and just fire up weekend after weekend (like a phazer) and hope it runs. Needs to be babied.
But…. That babying pays off on a nice flat lake. That’s where she’s home. It’s honestly nothing like it. Very stable at high speed. And speed it has. Mine is a bone stock (I would never mess with the setup) and GPS on my phone she has ticked off 115mph most days. I won’t even mention the dream o meter display. But that’s an honest number. Plenty fast enough. Great speed for the money invested. You have to spend thousands more to guarantee something that would blow by it. (Stock for stock of course). The Apex vs Mach. Well the Apex tries. All in all though, the Apex is a much better machine all around. Just that the big Z has that amazing torque hit that has to be felt to believe. That’s what hooks you into repairing and riding it.
But I really like my little trail phazer. You flick it around the corners. So light. And nippy.
The youngsters can ride that big Z.
Sorry for the biography Darryl. (I have lots more Z info if you need it).

 

[03viperguy]

Morning. The Mach Z does work nice. Really how i ended up with one goes like this. My oldest son bought an apex (2007).Personally I was just using a grand tour 380 then. The phazer days ended way back and then kids etc. so I just had the little machine to ride the kids around. So my oldest finished school and bought the Apex. So we started trail riding serious again. After a year riding the apex and the 380 my other son says “Dad what would ever take down that Apex” I loosely said a Mach Z., maybe. That apex works great.
So the search began. I originally want the tripple Mach but they were difficult to source.
The big 1000 SDI was a bargain though. But those who know are aware why. Really could have just bought an Apex but the boys wanted to try something else. Makes sense. We always switch around riding each others machine. My Mach Z came with a new track and proper stud boy stud backers and studs. Lots of investment there. The previous owner took good care of it and was well aware of its finicky reputation. Maintenance was always done.
I purchased it the. Preceded to learn all I could. Made some friends over on dootalk.
So I checked the machine over well and ran it for my first season with it. No issues.
Next off season (last year) I completely disassembled the motor. Things were not good. Bearings on the crank were loose.
Piston clearances way off etc. So it got completely rebuilt. New crank/pistons cylinders replated. I have run it now for a season and it works great. It gets amazing fuel mileage. It is reliable too. But you have to maintain it like a consumer race sled. There are so many things to keep track of on it.
It’s kind of best described as an enthusiast machine. Not unlike any other vintage racer.
Not something you can leave outside and just fire up weekend after weekend (like a phazer) and hope it runs. Needs to be babied.
But…. That babying pays off on a nice flat lake. That’s where she’s home. It’s honestly nothing like it. Very stable at high speed. And speed it has. Mine is a bone stock (I would never mess with the setup) and GPS on my phone she has ticked off 115mph most days. I won’t even mention the dream o meter display. But that’s an honest number. Plenty fast enough. Great speed for the money invested. You have to spend thousands more to guarantee something that would blow by it. (Stock for stock of course). The Apex vs Mach. Well the Apex tries. All in all though, the Apex is a much better machine all around. Just that the big Z has that amazing torque hit that has to be felt to believe. That’s what hooks you into repairing and riding it.
But I really like my little trail phazer. You flick it around the corners. So light. And nippy.
The youngsters can ride that big Z.
Sorry for the biography Darryl. (I have lots more Z info if you need it).

Sounds like a good real world account! Also sounds like you have a ton of fun with it. Cool machine for sure

 

[lupystoy]

Hello everyone. A heat wave in Ontario brings out the best in sled conversations.
Well it happened. I found a lovely set of rack 38mm flats from a ‘95 Vmax 600. So looks like those are going on the project.
They are a quality set for sure. Back in the day I had used the individual flats sold as a kit from Bender. They had some stiff springs and were a bear to pull. Looking forward to these units.
Darryl

 

[lupystoy]

Winter is upon us here in Ontario. Gotten a few test runs on the phazer last couple weeks. Quite a few short runs in field nearby
Running strong. Then carbs were jetted almost perfect. Had to richen the PTO side one size on the main and raised needle one clip. No hesitation or anything on hard pulls. Set the secondary to A2. Stock 47 helix and spring. Up a tooth on the gearing from 17-18T. My new AAEN quiet can pipe calls for a YPZ blue/white spring. 90105-553388. It’s been impossible to find. I’m using the stock 87f weights. Olav did provide me with a custom spring for the phazer. It’s wider than YPZ springs intended for a short cover later clutch. A bit of machining to the YPZ spider and the spring fits perfectly. Engages at 4500 and pulls hard to 7000 or slightly above. I haven’t had a long enough pull space to see if the rpm’s will get to around 72-7500. I only have the stock tachometer to use. Seat of the pants says it’s darn close. Hope all is well with everyone else as the season starts.
Darryl

 

[NorthofSixty]

I tried the blue-white spring with the AAEN quiet can as recommended. I found it was too much and the sled would not fully shift out to 7k rpm. I suspect the engine would need to be race ported, pistons SX cut, Boyesen reeds and thinned head gasket to run that spring. Most people I have asked recommend the yellow-white that is equally hard to find. The set up I am currently running for 660’ snow drags with YPZ clutches engages around 4500 and shifts at 7400 rpm with just the AAEN quiet can, Boyesen reeds and single layer head gasket. No porting or piston cut.

 

[lupystoy]

Thanks for the advice. Are you then currently using a yellow/white spring (90501-55403) 40kg pre and 1.75 rate? With that spring are you using the 1990 87f weights (that’s what I currently have), or are you using that spring with the original 8VO phazer weights. For your secondary what are you setting it at? Presently I have mine at A2 with the stock 47
Degree helix and stock green/yellow spring.
Thanks. Darryl

 

[NorthofSixty]

I only have one yellow white spring that is for my 81 SRX so I will check the current setup on the Phazer and let you know. I write on the clutch cover the spring color, weights and shims whenever I change something. For the secondary I am using a dual angle 8K4 helix from an SS440. I’ll check the spring color and twist but I believe it is the heavy pink spring with minimal twist.

 

[lupystoy]

Ok that’s super nice of you. I did just get a set of 8VO weights and I have a couple springs that could work with those weights. I have a Brown/white 30kg pre and 2.50kg/mm rate (the high altitude setting for 1990 phazer) also I have an Orange spring 40kg pre and 2.20kg/mm rate. On my 1988 years ago I used a silver/silver (50kg pre and 2.00kg/mm rate) but unable to locate that spring as of now. Sadly I had all of those but got wide of them thinking I would never resurrect the PZ.
Darryl

 

[NorthofSixty]

Ok that’s super nice of you. I did just get a set of 8VO weights and I have a couple springs that could work with those weights. I have a Brown/white 30kg pre and 2.50kg/mm rate (the high altitude setting for 1990 phazer) also I have an Orange spring 40kg pre and 2.20kg/mm rate. On my 1988 years ago I used a silver/silver (50kg pre and 2.00kg/mm rate) but unable to locate that spring as of now. Sadly I had all of those but got wide of them thinking I would never resurrect the PZ.
Darryl

Here is a pic of the secondary set up. The primary is running Brown-White with 82M-90 weights (not the same as 82M weights). I am currently running 16/33 gears in the chaincase and 9 tooth drive wheels with a 116 x .75” track. Hope this helps.