Viper miles and issues

TimeBomb

TimeBomb

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Jan 2, 2005
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ok guys, for those who have vipers, how many miles do you have on it and what problems, issues, breakdowns, etc if any have you had? i bought mine used w/1500miles on it so i don't know about past problems but as of now with 6,000 miles on it i've had just a few minor things. my temp sensor has been fixed and shorted out 3 times now(getting fixed right this fall), broken engine mount bolt, late this last season it started cutting out at around 7,000rs (also getting fixed this fall)and it needs a new track for next season. not too bad, still love this sled ;)!
 
Get an engine tensioner and you'll stop breaking engine mount bolts. It will also help with belt life. I setup and align machinery for a living and have NEVER misaligned ANYTHING hoping it would come into alignment under load. That is what Yamaha expects your Viper to do. Won't happen! Look at your W-arm. Mine was cracked at 2500 miles. Reinforced and still lookes good nearly 7,000 miles later. My stator crapped out this year, damaging the cdi as well. Started as a handwarmer issue. 4 trips to dealers and FINALLY found burnt wires on the stator. If you do a search for Handwarmers and wiring problems for Vipers it will show you pics of wire rubs. FIX THESE!! They WILL be there. There are others who have had issues with the fuel pump, not me.Overheated EVERYtime I rode it, from day one. Longtracked and installed MM Max side coolers and a rear cooler. No more overheating. Hood fit is crap. Stillno good fix. Tried Rules fix and it helped. Still pops out. Seat didn't hold up either. Putting a Boss on. Recovered and added foam and it still packed down. Sounds like a lot of problems, but I have NEVER been stranded! I will NEVER be a guinea pig again though. NO MORE FIRST YEAR SLEDS!! 9400 miles and it still runs great. Hope this was of some help to you.

Dave ;)!
 
9000 miles...7000 miles holy bejezzes guys I can remember when 3000 miles and the sled was shot! I have 2400 miles on mine and put a little money into it this year, mainly on upgrades though. I beat the heck out of her last year and now I have to pay to get her mint again, although she never left me stranded!
 
4000, miles and nothing went wrong, i hope i didn't jinks myself.Just normal where and tear things,but you have to except that.Happy with the sled.
 
My Viper doesn't tumble worth a rip. It starts coming apart and stuff. Must be a manufacturer defect . . .

UPDATE: That was a joke guys . . .
 
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TimeBomb said:
ok guys, for those who have vipers, how many miles do you have on it and what problems, issues, breakdowns, etc if any have you had? i bought mine used w/1500miles on it so i don't know about past problems but as of now with 6,000 miles on it i've had just a few minor things. my temp sensor has been fixed and shorted out 3 times now(getting fixed right this fall), broken engine mount bolt, late this last season it started cutting out at around 7,000rs (also getting fixed this fall)and it needs a new track for next season. not too bad, still love this sled ;)!
Click to expand...

Time bomb, what were the symptoms when your temp sensor was shorted? I am having an overheat and want to eliminate that as a possible issue.
 
8700 miles with pipes
- Short under motor, fixed under warranty
- Broken motor mount bolt, fixed under warranty (original motor torque limiter from Hauk was no good, the new design worked better which they replaced at no charge)
- Blew out rear shock, fixed under warranty
- New track & front heat exchanger welded at 7200 miles
- Welded cracked W arm (who hasn't?)
- New problem is an overheat started after the heat exchanger was repaired, but I haven't figured out why yet.
- Handwarmers don't work for crap, will check Viper Dave's advice.
This sled has been reliable IMO.
 
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500 miles of riding with pipes.
Burned down a piston after a short lake race.
Changed some bearings.
Crashed into a wooden bridge the last day of riding. Cant blame that on the Viper, just a big driver mistake.

The sled was fast with the pipes, but not reliable.

Had ride with the pipes since the day i bought it. Changed back to the single pipe after i changed the piston. Really miss those extra 20+ hp. It feels like going from a Porsche 911 to a VW Lupo :)
 
11000 kms and only broke a limiter strap. cpr pipes put on about 700 kms ago, head mod, v-force 3's, heel clicker clutching from rpc, ripsaw track. never done so much a bust a belt. :rocks: :yam:
 
I own a 2002 viper with 4200 miles and not too much for problems from the factory. most of my problems have been minor and self inflicted (my fault)

I had the motor out a few weeks ago to change the water pump seal (leaking) and went through all the wiring. found some worn wires and decided to wrap them all since the motor was already out. fortunately i caught it in time. I am sure this could have been ugly.
I also had the broken motor mount bolts. fixed the problem with a torque arm.
had the fuel pump freeze up also, but was fixed by dealer. no inconvenience at all.
my sled has been rock solid and never not started or let me down. i wish i could say the same about my car or computer or quad or lawnmower etc etc etc.

not to start a pissing match, but i strongly disagree with viper daves comments about being a guini pig for yamaha on a first year sled.
the problems " I " have experienced are non existent compared to other first year sleds from other mfgrs. all i have to say about this is "firecat - 13 service bulletins??"
"ski doo - chipped piston rings" "polaris- vibrating fusion w/broken jack shafts"

I am not brand loyal to anyone or anything. i buy what i feel works and works well.
the last 3 years on my viper have lead me to believe strongly in yamahas engineering and reliability, thats why i purchased a new apex. i am going to hate to see the viper leave but it is time to step up to a 4 stroke
 
2002 8,000 miles
Put M10 in at about 5,000
Rear heat exchanger
Primary clutch shot season before last as bearing blew out.
Engine bolt
Other than that a few minor upgrads
Better track
 
My 02 viper and my brothers 02 viper have 8500 miles on them. We both had the jack shaft, bearing and pillow block replaced (warranty). The set screws came lose and rounded out the pillow block and wore down the shaft. Mine had a bad suit case (silencer) that spider cracked and that took out the pull rope from the heat (warranty). Last season the pipe cracked and the track needs to be relaced before this season. It has never left me stranded on the trail. It's all stock with a engine tensioner, rear heat exchanger, tempa flow and 120 studs. My current belt has 4,800 miles on it, the hyfax have the same, it gets 14 MPG average and uses 1 quart of oil for every 300 plus miles.
 
Let me think back a few years...... Ah, It was dec 26th 2001. I was on my first trip with my 02 Viper (all stock) and it was in the western UP and they had just got 38" of snow in about 48 hours. I did have a 1" camo track on it after having many yoko tracks ripped to shreds. The sled performed well, but the fuel pump did freeze the next morning. I can recall almost every trip I take but this post would get really long if I start listing them all so I will just list some details from 4500 miles in two season.
Fuel Pump froze...many times, never did the update.
Voltage regulator failed at maybe 3000 miles
Hood was JUNK!!! from day one. Did everything possible to keep the bellypan from poping out, even extra hood straps and extra rivits in the bellypan. No Luck.
Forced Air Induction===actually means Forced SNOW INJESTION.....Air box ice over
Oh....the shocks, how could I forget. I actually sent letters to yamaha mid season when I had around 2500 miles on saying how bad they were and they had a major problem.
My sled never overheated, but my buddies ER did all the time.
Broken engine Mount....Not just the bolt, but snapped the aluminum bracket in half.
Now, for some mod failures:
First year, single pipe on...Burn Down#1,Mid Range Tempa-flow Burn down. never used a tempa flow again.
Second year. Burn down #2, CPR pipes, stock head, Jeff's Perf Jetting, Long run, mag side gone.
Burn down #3, CPR pipes, SRX heads, My jetting, Long run, Mag Side gone.
Burn down #4, CPR pipes, SRX heads, Jeff's "safe" jetting, Mag Side GONE!
After that I gave up, Junked the sled and went back to the bullet proof Mt Max and modded the crap out of it Plus Nitrous and never burned it down. ===SRXSRULE===
 
I have an 2003. I have had zero problems with it what so ever other then a slight over rev. Which has been fixed with a 4.5g tip weight added. I will have to look over the W-arm for cracks since it seems common. This thing is always the best on gas in the group. I have yet to have change a spark plug or a belt on the trail. I only ever have the hood up to put in oil in it. Its one relaible sled. Hands down. ;)!
 
I have an 03, had one powervalve cable snap, and it was deemed defective (just an oddity, only one the dealer had ever seen snap where it did) thats it. 5000+ miles. never even a blip of a problem. put the rear heat exchange on it from the dealer, so that helped I guess :) other than being a bit stiff for me (160lbs) it has been exactly what I wanted, good quick trail sled that I can ride aggresivley on groomed trails :)
 
2000 miles -- broken trailing arm after hitting basically nothing.. bent tunnel etc..

5000 miles -- stator went out.

5000 miles -- track is coming apart

other then that, its been a good sled.
 
my temp sensor light would flash along with the orange light (7 times i think and repeat) it did this non stop. the problem is the plug itself that plugs into the temp sensor on the head. mine has never overheated, i believe the light stays on when it is overheating just like the light stays on when there is low fuel. i think flashing patterns just means codes. so check your plug, mine is really loose all the time, it snaps in but just doesn't have a good solid feel. when its running and i lift the hood and wiggle the plug it stops for awhile but just starts up again. like i said, its getting fixed right this time around.
Viper Treats said:
Time bomb, what were the symptoms when your temp sensor was shorted? I am having an overheat and want to eliminate that as a possible issue.
Click to expand...
 
i have the torque limiter, put it in when i fixed the bolt. when i had the motor out i also rewrapped the whole main wiring harness(found some bare spots) i'm gonna check into the w-arm when i put the new track in this fall. what did yours do when your stator went? any symptoms? b/c mine cuts out occasionally at around 7000rpms. sounds like it drops a cylinder, only does it when i pin it wot from a dead stop. the track sucks but i knew that when i got it and i knew i would hafta change it eventually. the ride doesn't really bother me most of the time b/c i ride alot standing. i was just curious to what other problems owners have ran into :rocks:
Viper_Dave said:
Get an engine tensioner and you'll stop breaking engine mount bolts. It will also help with belt life. I setup and align machinery for a living and have NEVER misaligned ANYTHING hoping it would come into alignment under load. That is what Yamaha expects your Viper to do. Won't happen! Look at your W-arm. Mine was cracked at 2500 miles. Reinforced and still lookes good nearly 7,000 miles later. My stator crapped out this year, damaging the cdi as well. Started as a handwarmer issue. 4 trips to dealers and FINALLY found burnt wires on the stator. If you do a search for Handwarmers and wiring problems for Vipers it will show you pics of wire rubs. FIX THESE!! They WILL be there. There are others who have had issues with the fuel pump, not me.Overheated EVERYtime I rode it, from day one. Longtracked and installed MM Max side coolers and a rear cooler. No more overheating. Hood fit is crap. Stillno good fix. Tried Rules fix and it helped. Still pops out. Seat didn't hold up either. Putting a Boss on. Recovered and added foam and it still packed down. Sounds like a lot of problems, but I have NEVER been stranded! I will NEVER be a guinea pig again though. NO MORE FIRST YEAR SLEDS!! 9400 miles and it still runs great. Hope this was of some help to you.

Dave ;)!
Click to expand...
 
TimeBomb said:
i have the torque limiter, put it in when i fixed the bolt. when i had the motor out i also rewrapped the whole main wiring harness(found some bare spots) i'm gonna check into the w-arm when i put the new track in this fall. what did yours do when your stator went? any symptoms? b/c mine cuts out occasionally at around 7000rpms. sounds like it drops a cylinder, only does it when i pin it wot from a dead stop. the track sucks but i knew that when i got it and i knew i would hafta change it eventually. the ride doesn't really bother me most of the time b/c i ride alot standing. i was just curious to what other problems owners have ran into :rocks:
Click to expand...


rx1yama18's viper does the same thing once in a while, cuts out real quick when you stab it wide open, let off and punch it again and its fine. Haven't found the problem yet. He thought it was dirty powervalves, but he cleaned them and it did it again. We'll let you know if we find anything.
 
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