My viper just blew up. Not a good day :(

BRAAAPPP420 said:
how did you blow it up? did you have it pinned -bar'd?
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1 page back-


for those that dont know what happened



No warning lights at all.. I started it , pulled it out of the garage, let the exchangers warm up a bit.. ran it easy for about 5 miles or so ( I always do a good warm up before I hammer on it ) Then lined em up on the trail with my cousins MXZ800 and he pulled on me @ 70, then we turned around, Did it again.. He pulled hard on me at 60 and I knew something was wrong, then all the sudden I heard a loud clank.. then it died.. I thought it was the clutch, so we towed it home , got in the garage and started it up for a second just to see where it was coming from.. Well after that ( the vid I posted ) the primary locked up and theres NO pull on the recoil at all... Everything is locked up


What really pisses me off is that with this sled , and my other sx700 I bbought, with registration, and getting them all tuned up etc etc.. Its been almost $5,000.. Thats half way to a brand new sled.. and now I got one with a blown motor, and one in dire need of a tune up and a track.. FML
 

sorry thats how it went, I remember you sounding pretty damn psyched about it only a few weeks back... I guess if you are thinking about getting a new yamaha all you need to know about is changing the oil for a long while lol! either way good luck. and get cracking on those carbs on the sx!
 
I feel bad for you too , one of my buddys had the same thing happen to him with a mxz700 and it put him out for the season. He payed like 800 bucks for a dealer to go over the sled for him before last winter and he maybe got a couple hundred km before it blew. They never cleaned the carbs and neither did he. He isnt wanting to learn how do do this kind of stuff and realizes it gets to be a pretty expensive sport when the dealers are milking you and doing a half fast job.
As for this being a common problem for vipers I dont know what to tell you, if you purchased the sled with fuel in it and you never touched the carbs or checked the jetting or needle position then I guess we wont really know. I have seen a couple of local vipers in the 12-15000km range with original motors being "trail" ridden at low speeds without a problem. Yes there was a cooling design problem with the head that affected the cooling on one cylinder but believe me that Yamaha tests in all conditions before releasing an engine. Some people have bad luck and somtimes its preventable but the best advice is read, learn, and dont be afraid to rip aprt stuff on your own there is guys here that will walk you through it. Best of luck finding a new sled!!! ;)!
 
I have the rear cooler on mine, installed like a week after I bought it and I have NEVER had any problems with cooling. not sure it is the head design as much as a lack of enough heat exchangers
 
Every failure I have found with a description goes the same as mine, ran slow for at least 5 minutesthen the throttle pinned. DAMN POOR design Yamaha!

Oh, and I guarantee I have built more yamaha engines over the years than you have rode bluemonster. Motorcycle snowmobile and even jet ski engine. I have 7 Yamaha motorcycles ranging from a 1969 DT1 to a Virago.

03viperguy, some people have never lost a Viper engine cause they dont ride that way. I NEVER had a peoblem till I got my Apex and gave it to the girlfriend....cause I never ran it slow for any time. Local yamaha dealer here told me of a sled rental agency that lost TWENTY engines in a week back when they had them so it DOES happen. (mine has factory rear heat exchanger)

Lastly, go to Ebay and search for Viper heads and see them all dinged on one cyilinder.

One more though. Yamaha once built a bad SRX engine I think it was 1981. They recalled EVERY ONE of them. So they have a history of customer service so that is why I am so pissed about this horrible design being sent out without even a recall.
 
stingray719 said:
Every failure I have found with a description goes the same as mine, ran slow for at least 5 minutesthen the throttle pinned. DAMN POOR design Yamaha!

Oh, and I guarantee I have built more yamaha engines over the years than you have rode bluemonster. Motorcycle snowmobile and even jet ski engine. I have 7 Yamaha motorcycles ranging from a 1969 DT1 to a Virago.

03viperguy, some people have never lost a Viper engine cause they dont ride that way. I NEVER had a peoblem till I got my Apex and gave it to the girlfriend....cause I never ran it slow for any time. Local yamaha dealer here told me of a sled rental agency that lost TWENTY engines in a week back when they had them so it DOES happen. (mine has factory rear heat exchanger)

Lastly, go to Ebay and search for Viper heads and see them all dinged on one cyilinder.

One more though. Yamaha once built a bad SRX engine I think it was 1981. They recalled EVERY ONE of them. So they have a history of customer service so that is why I am so pissed about this horrible design being sent out without even a recall.
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Dont believe everything you hear from a dealership, tons of people ride slow at minimal throttle settings (less than 1/3 especially on tight trails) think about it we are hearing about alot of burndowns on here this year but gas is crap nowadays and people dont look there machines over when they buy them.
 
yeah, hear in te lakes region in NH I have no option other than running slow until you get to a field. I think the head design has NOTHING to do with this. poor maint or bad gas. or modified would be my suspicions. my mech has more than a few original stock sleds with over 10k miles and no issues. and keep comments like this.. "Oh, and I guarantee I have built more yamaha engines over the years than you have rode bluemonster. " to a minimum please.
 
If there is a major design flaw, why didn't we hear of vipers dropping like mad back five or six yrs ago. It seems like most have been happening over the past couple of years. The head design might not be ideal, but my guess is it's the combination of a few things that contribute to this problem.
 
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Thanks guys n yes I was super excited about this sled. It was mint and a very nice looking and riding sled. Well people take wayyyyy bigger hits on sleds and cars than I did so I can't let the $900 loss for the 2 weeks I had the sled bother me. I now know I want to invest in a new one. I put 350 miles on the viper before it blew but that was enough to make me love the sport again after 10 years


Yes it's my bad luck. I seem to have bad luck with anything with a motor. But thats life I guess. I finally find the sled I've always wanted and in 4 rides it blows up. Just roll with the punches and keep moving forward. It does make me a little jealous that the guy who bought it will have it fixed up with a new motor for under 1000 bucks. But oh well. Time to move on

On a more positive less bitchy note. I realllllyy do want a new sled for next year and just pray we get the type of weather and snowfall we got this year. Because it sure would be a kick in the balls if we had like 6" of snow on the ground in January like we have had for the past 5 yrs. This year we have a good 16" or so

Reliability is key and it's either a apex xtx or a renegade etec 800 for next year. Also maintenance is key as well. And I here the etecs are basically maintenance free while the 4 stroke is a little more picky. I will do crossover riding , ditch bang, jump and ride the trails hard. So atherosclerosis options are welcome. I know the nytro would be much more suited for my ride style but the looks........ Just can't do it


Just a question. IF.... My viper was running perfect would I have had a chance against the 2011 etec 600?
 
powerssrx700 said:
LOL I know the idiot that bought this viper. Good for you for getting him for 1800. He's a toolbag. He's telling everyone he got it for way less.
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Haha yea he said he was in cloquet. He seemed like a nice guy. I guess him working at rj gave him some reason to buy it tho. He's already bragging it up huh..
 
Well thank him for the 1800. I hope he enjoys the 9 year old sled :)'

But yes I did get the impression he was a talker. He said he races moto and sleds? Told me a bit about 50 below or some company he works for
 
I think the etec will be more maint than the 4 stroke. just the way it is. have a friend that works at a doo shop. he says its a nice sled, but likes and would buy the 4 stroke first. he says it is just more work and things to worry about wit the 2s. like cranks giving way, bad gas, etc. says he just has to work on the 800 and 600 a LOT more
 
03viperguy said:
I think the etec will be more maint than the 4 stroke. just the way it is. have a friend that works at a doo shop. he says its a nice sled, but likes and would buy the 4 stroke first. he says it is just more work and things to worry about wit the 2s. like cranks giving way, bad gas, etc. says he just has to work on the 800 and 600 a LOT more
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You would make a good yammy salesman :)


Only thing holding me back from the apex is weight. I don't think it would like to be rode as aggressive as I would ride it.
 
03viperguy said:
I think the etec will be more maint than the 4 stroke. just the way it is. have a friend that works at a doo shop. he says its a nice sled, but likes and would buy the 4 stroke first. he says it is just more work and things to worry about wit the 2s. like cranks giving way, bad gas, etc. says he just has to work on the 800 and 600 a LOT more
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You would make a good yammy salesman :)


Only thing holding me back from the apex is weight. I don't think it would like to be rode as aggressive as I would ride it.
 
Comatoast, I have a 2007 Apex Mountain SE and a now dead 2003 Viper. I only weigh 150 lbs and I think I prefer the Apex to sidehilling than the Viper. I really like them both but the Apex you ride like a motorcyle and the Viper is a traditional ride.

Well, the other big diff is Apex has a truly bullet proof engine... ROFLMAO!
 
And one more time for the people that dont get it. Look at heads on Ebay if you do not have one off you can view. Look at the path the water has to travel. Now even if you are not up on fluid dynamics you can see a problem pretty quick there. Enough of a problem that aftermarket companies sell parts to solve the issue.

An aftermarket head especially designed to eliminate this issue is the way to go.....but I dont feel like forking out 400 bucks. So I am going to buy the aftermarket head gasket (Opticool) designed to make the water flow evenly. That or I have my eye on a 1998 SRX I can buy cheap to switch top half onto Viper.

I had the same thought the guy above did about this being a recent thing. So I did some searching and found a rash of dead vipers same issue in 2005 over on that other forum (has HC in its name). All died same way. But you can buy an opticool gasket and a rear exchanger or take your chances. Your call of course.
 
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stingray719 said:
Comatoast, I have a 2007 Apex Mountain SE and a now dead 2003 Viper. I only weigh 150 lbs and I think I prefer the Apex to sidehilling than the Viper. I really like them both but the Apex you ride like a motorcyle and the Viper is a traditional ride.

Well, the other big diff is Apex has a truly bullet proof engine... ROFLMAO!
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Sure.. Its not hard to bulletproof a tank ;)
 
stingray719 said:
And one more time for the people that dont get it. Look at heads on Ebay if you do not have one off you can view. Look at the path the water has to travel. Now even if you are not up on fluid dynamics you can see a problem pretty quick there. Enough of a problem that aftermarket companies sell parts to solve the issue.

An aftermarket head especially designed to eliminate this issue is the way to go.....but I dont feel like forking out 400 bucks. So I am going to buy the aftermarket head gasket (Opticool) designed to make the water flow evenly. That or I have my eye on a 1998 SRX I can buy cheap to switch top half onto Viper.

I had the same thought the guy above did about this being a recent thing. So I did some searching and found a rash of dead vipers same issue in 2005 over on that other forum (has HC in its name). All died same way. But you can buy an opticool gasket and a rear exchanger or take your chances. Your call of course.
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and I still say that is the fix for when you add pipes. mine with stock jetting and riding the way you describe has never had that issue. I thought I had read somewhere that it was to equalize the pressure, or something to do with making it flow faster. something, really not sure but there must be a reason. like the staggered compression and jetting
 
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