Stuff We Learned While Riding Snowmobiles Instead of Sitting at Our Desks
By:Motorhead Mark
Thought I would give you my thoughts on the Phazer and the Venture Lite. We’ve had copious snow here – I’ve got over 500 klicks on this week! Yahoo!
The Phazer is really impressive and is considerably better handling and riding than the last version we rode in Munising. The sled feels light and the engine’s performance is truly impressive. Kinda freaks me out when I look down and see the tach at 11,800!
Took it on a long pull with a 600 IQ Polaris. Saw 138 klicks (85 MPH) in relatively loose snow. I think there’s a few more in there. The sled really gives a feeling of being “tight” when new and, as it frees up, it just gets faster at the big end.
Ride quality on the FX is impressive and the clickers really make a substantial difference when fiddled with.
I think consumers will be very happy with the Phazer. It turns heads everywhere and people come up and ask questions – kinda like being a rock star. Everyone likes the blue YF-Z colors/graphics even though we originally were taken with the Gen-Y barf colors we like the traditional Yamaha blue better.
When I first saw the Venture Lite I was concerned. Man, is it weird looking. Memories of slow handling in Munising didn’t help either. What a difference!
The sled handles flat, stable and is way comfortable. I’m impressed. It isn’t slow either. While still tight, the sled is pulling 120 klicks in unpacked snow.
The 1.25 out back bites hard and the skis actually come up when you whack it. If people can get past the unorthodox appearance I think they’ll be very pleased. There’s a very strong, subliminal feeling of smoothness and quality from the driveline. It feels like a good watch.
We haven’t had a chance to quantify fuel economy yet. Every time we headed out, it snowed more and deep snow doesn’t tell you anything about fuel economy.
