high mileage viper opinions please

K

kochwallopper

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Nov 15, 2006
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manitoba
Looking at a couple of 02 Vipers one with 5000 miles another with 4700. Is that high for that year of sled. They are both in mint shape, did leakdowns on both.

What kind of useful life could I still get out of one of these sleds. I see tons of Cats and Pols with half that mileage that are garbage.

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks, D
 

supposed to change the rings every 2,500 miles on the vipers. mine has 5700 and I just tore it down to replace them..everything looks fine but i'm still putting in a new set of rings
 
How come you need to change the rings so often?? are they known to chew up the rings? I have a hell of a lot more than that on mine and haven't had a problem.....I've owned quite a few sleds over the years and have only ever changed the rings in an old arctic cat I had back years ago...
 
kochwallopper said:
Looking at a couple of 02 Vipers one with 5000 miles another with 4700. Is that high for that year of sled. They are both in mint shape, did leakdowns on both.

What kind of useful life could I still get out of one of these sleds. I see tons of Cats and Pols with half that mileage that are garbage.

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks, D
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You should get at least another 5000 miles if not more. For a 2002 viper to have 5000 miles is very normal.
Around Quebec most 2002 vipers have 8000 kmm to 15000km.
As for changing rings at 2500 miles you must have something wrong with your machine.
I would change all rings and pistons at 8000 to 10000 miles to be on the safe side.
I only did my top end on my xc 700 at 10000 miles.
 
I have 4500 on mine and I'm going to freshin it up with some rings,better too be safe than sorry!!
 
4000 kms on a yamaha is just broken in, Lots of life left if it's been taken care of. I know guy's that put on 10,000 kms in a season without a problem with the engine.
 
Venom said:
OK, now I'm jealous! I'm lucky to put 2000kms on my machine due to unpredictable weather.

Cheers.
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Your gonna have to get that Venom over to the west coast for a ride if u wants to see snow
 
Are you serious? 30,000 kms. Thats incredible. I didn't think a two sroke could last that long without changing pistons. If he doesn't do it soon it will leave him stranded one day.
 
yes you CAN get that many miles out of them without changing rings, but if you don't change your rings at least around 4000 miles or so, the pistons start rocking excessively which causes skirt wear and collapse. If you change your rings more often, you will get more life out of your pistons because as rings wear the lose their ability to keep the pistons stable and parallel in the cylinder. Rings are a lot cheaper than pistons, and also get that lost power back from not having blowby, which is escaping past your rings and polluting your fresh intake charge in the crankcase, causing lost power.
 
with proper maintenance there and not too much of a beating. these yamaha engines will last a long time i know of an srx with 17,000 mi on it. i have a xlv 540 with 12,000 mi on it, my srx has almost 9,000mi on it and im planning on alot more.
 
Have 9500 miles on 02srx no motor problems Yamahas can go alot of miles if taken care of.
 
All Who Have Posted Above: Would your rather have 15000miles on your sled, or have the POWER it did when it was new. Cause from DON :MRVIPER: told me is you can have the nothing wrong with your motor and it still run at that mileage, But its diff not running the same as it did when it was new. Cause the rings normally wear out at 2500mi. and the pistons at 10000mi. So your not gettin max. hp cause the wear of the 2 causing Blow-By which says bye bye HP. Those pistons and rings take punishment, more than you think. And for $50 for rings and 2 hours or less of my time, Ill do that interval to save money in the long run and have the same HP the whole time.
 
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justaviper said:
Are you serious? 30,000 kms. Thats incredible. I didn't think a two sroke could last that long without changing pistons. If he doesn't do it soon it will leave him stranded one day.
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he checked the compression and its 120 across all cylinders.. sled is now sitting there doing nothing seeing he got a new sled.. so he got his moneys worth on that sled
 
:o| :o| :o| Yeah to be save i would change them every 8000kms or so, i HAD 10300kms on my srx last year and was doin 180km'hr on the lake and "puff" AND A COUPLE "CLUNKS" LATER and was running on 2 cyclinders and misfiring. took it back to the cottage and then to the trailer she went, took the heads off and mag side ring actually broke in half and pieces came out on the exhaust and melted . put it back together and ran it for 300 more km's and that why i bought a 2006 attak. loved the srx , I GUESS PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE WOULD HAVE SAVED THE SRX.:o|

JP
 
This topic has been beat to death!!. No matter what is said theres people who believe just because its a "yamaha" it doesnt need rings, well nothing could be further from reality, sure.... they will run along just fine and show you no problems with alot of miles on them, but ANY brand 2 stroke engine will have blow by and not be making the power it did when the rings were sealing and not letting blow by escape into the crankcase.

You see a 2 stroke engine pistons and rings takes a beating, they get pounded 2 times more then a 4 stroke does. Theres no valves, camshafts, etc to wear in one, the piston is your valve, it is what opens and closes the ports, the rings must seal off the ports from one another and they also stabilize the piston in the bore, this is how the rings aid in piston wear. When the rings begin to lose their tensile strength they lose thier tension and begin to destabilize the piston, this leads to blow by escaping past the rings to the fresh intake charge below in the case. It also allows the piston to rock back and forth in the bore, this leads to skirt wear and skirt breakage if let go long enuff.

Why is the blow by problem important? because heat is the number one enemy of a 2 stroke engine, if you dont think so,.... then take your sled for a ride across the field this summer when its 50-60 degrees out, and see how fast it will run, do the same run when its in the 20-30 degree range.......why was it slower???, because heat makes a 2 stroke run richer, and richer is less power output plain and simple, this is how the blow by affects the engine, it heats up the fresh cooler inlet charges below, not to mention its not pure anymore either, theres now some exhaust mixed in it. Another thing that happens is the negative pulse thats returned by your pipe is weaker because the positive pulse is not as strong exiting the pipe, because you lost some of its energy below the rings into the case.

a 2 stroke engine makes more power then a 4 stroke of the same size, they are also half the weight of a 4 stroke but theres a reason we dont have 2 stroke cars, they need piston ring maintance done on a regular basis to keep them running clean and up to its power potential!! Can you imagine having your car taken to the local dealership every 3000 miles for a ring change, every 8000 miles for new topend??

you guys have to make your own decisions on what to do with your engines, if ya wanna run em to 10,000 miles and not do anything, go ahead, but when ya cant seem to get the speed you used to out of the old machine, I would begin looking at the piston and rings!!!!

Just because its a yamaha means nothing as to the miles it can be ridden without proper maintenance!!
 
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