My 1998 Vmax XT 600

EotS1

EotS1

Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2014
Messages
67
Location
Petoskey, MI
Hi all,

My first post as a new member. I recently purchased my "return to snowmobiling" sled, a '98 Vmax XT 600.

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It's in pretty good shape, around 4,000 miles. I say "around" because the odo reads 7,400 or so but the seller told me that the speedo / tach set was replaced by a previous owner from another sled, apparently a different model / year.

The track is worn, not to the point of showing material...just the tread is shallow. So the seller threw in another track for it, used but in very good condition. I'll be putting it on soon.

So here's all the "bad" I've read about this sled: Probable heavy oil use, not great MPG, and many refer to it as a tank. But on the good side, it's a Yamaha! I've always been a Yamaha man. The 600 twin appears to have a good rep (other than the oil thing.)

I figured it'd be a good sled to get me back into riding within my current budget. I'll be posting more questions as I get into it, but I'll appreciate any info / feedback you guys have.
 

First question: It was advertised as a 1998 model year, but the manufacture sticker on the side says it was produced in May 1997. Is it actually a '97? If not, what is the change-over date for mfg date / model year on these sleds?
 
looks really good. probably was made in 97 for the 98 model year.my apex xtx was mad in feb or march of 2010 and it is a 2011 model year sled.

i would suggest a set of take off apex, vector, rx or venture plastic skis if your buget can tolerate it. will be a big omprovement over those steel skis and will bolt right on.

we all started riding on what we could afford/wanted. heck i still have my 1st new sled as my back-up sled.
 
A couple of bucks said:
You mentioned "return to snowmobiling" and always on Yamaha. What was your last sled. And by the way, that's a good lookin ride you decided to get.
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It wasn't "always" on Yamaha as far as sleds go. I had two Ski-Doo's back in the 70s and 80s that were both crap. They were 300cc singles. Then in 1989 I bought a new Enticer 340 single. At that time, it was a huge upgrade in power, performance - and most of all, durability. I bought my first enduro bike in 1978, a DT100E Yamaha.

By the time college kicked in, then a move to Tennessee for 11 years, then a return to MI and all the stuff going on since, it's over 20 years since I owned a sled. I absolutely love them and can't wait to get riding again.
 
Maim said:
looks really good. probably was made in 97 for the 98 model year.my apex xtx was mad in feb or march of 2010 and it is a 2011 model year sled.

i would suggest a set of take off apex, vector, rx or venture plastic skis if your buget can tolerate it. will be a big omprovement over those steel skis and will bolt right on.

we all started riding on what we could afford/wanted. heck i still have my 1st new sled as my back-up sled.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if the sled proves itself out as worthy of investing some money in parts, plastic skis would be up there on my priority list. I was not under the impression that a newer set of Apex etc skis would "bolt right on" though(?) I thought there were some mod's required...

At the risk of offending anyone in the 2-stroke camp here, I really, really like the Yamaha 4's and will probably upgrade when the budget permits, and once I've proven to myself that I can ride enough to make the investment worth it to me.
 
EotS1 said:
Yeah, if the sled proves itself out as worthy of investing some money in parts, plastic skis would be up there on my priority list. I was not under the impression that a newer set of Apex etc skis would "bolt right on" though(?) I thought there were some mod's required...

At the risk of offending anyone in the 2-stroke camp here, I really, really like the Yamaha 4's and will probably upgrade when the budget permits, and once I've proven to myself that I can ride enough to make the investment worth it to me.
Click to expand...

on that sled you would have to trim the flaps off of the rubber under the ski and make shure the bolt was long enough. we threw the 2011 apex skis right onto a 2002 sx viper with no ski shim as it was the modern location more towards the rear on those skis. might have to suck the limiters up 1/2" on the front shock but not always.

i hear you. i was actually looking for left over sx600/700r, srx 700, and vipers when i test rode an 03 rx1 on a ride back in 06. after that ride i added the rx series to my shopping list and bought a nos limited 05 rx war in all black.
 
Maim said:
on that sled you would have to trim the flaps off of the rubber under the ski and make shure the bolt was long enough. we threw the 2011 apex skis right onto a 2002 sx viper with no ski shim as it was the modern location more towards the rear on those skis. might have to suck the limiters up 1/2" on the front shock but not always.
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I read this article about a fix for "darting." I guess I'll have to get some trail time in and see if my sled feels like it darts. And I wonder how much of it applies if I went to plastic skis...
 
the shim part of it for shure. we did that to the stock viper skis and the apex mtx skis we ran on that viper and it did make a huge difference. make shure the toe and front end is set up to betheviper's specs in the tec pages and your sled will really rail with any set of plastic skis. if loaning it out set it to yamahas spec as it is more forgiving for multiple riders.

on the 2001 sx500r i had with viper skis, i had it set for one weekend to betheviper's specs as it was all i could find at the time and it was awsome. cornered really well for me but when my brother swapped with me (100lbs ligher) he complained it was all over the trail. set it for the next weekend to oe specs and the 1st corner i went into hot i damn near bent my new front end on a tree as it did not grab as well as it did before but it did handle the same for any rider so that is how i left it.
 
Ok see my sig but these power trains will likely be almost identical. your short track 1 up should be lighter and be less of an issue. After some time I assessed my oil consumption was ok. The gas millage was excellent on the 600 which you should also find being the same. Low oil light comes on at my guess 1/2 liter to 1 but not certain. Enough to get more or home as I drove 40km with mine on once and still had oil left. Get the carbs cleaned, I lost a piston on mine last winter and was told something went wrong with right carb.

Plastic skis will help the handling a lot. Biggest down side of these. You can do a lane change on the trails without effort by themselves which is scary at times.

Last is look closely underneath. I found grease fittings on the cross tubes I never new existed on the suspension so its easy to miss.
 
Thanks tripplec, I'll use that as a reference on my oil consumption. I'll be replacing the track in a few weeks, so I'll check out all the suspension lube points at that time.
 
Next question: The dash has a fuel gauge in it, but the previous owner told me that the gauges were from another Yamaha...and I don't think the fuel gauge works because he put a gauging gas cap on it.

Didn't the 98 have an in-dash fuel gauge, and if so, what's the likely reason it doesn't work?
 
It should have it since my Venture has it and its fabulous. I would never buy a machine with that bobbing needle in the cap again. A sure fired way to get stranded because you ran out of gas.
 
EotS1 said:
Next question: The dash has a fuel gauge in it, but the previous owner told me that the gauges were from another Yamaha...and I don't think the fuel gauge works because he put a gauging gas cap on it.

Didn't the 98 have an in-dash fuel gauge, and if so, what's the likely reason it doesn't work?
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The gauging gas cap is probably the original part on your sled, the 500/600 XT's came standard with the mechanical in-tank gauge. The XTC's and likely most other liquid cooled models came with the electric in-dash gauge.
 
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