vmax 600's / 700's

[streetstock55k]

Now I know, this might not be cool asking about the "newer " v max's here, my questions are about the twin cyl 600 and 700 models made from 94 thru 98 ish ??? I know nothing about these even though im a 80's Yamaha semi-guru. a guy I work with has nothing good to say about these.....there are always a ton of these on craigslist for 500 to 1000 dollars. so whats the REAL deal here, crappy cylinders ? electrical ? like I say, im an open book. please chime in here and get me straight. even the 2-up models. my ups guy wants to sell me his 600 2 up CHEAP

kevin's gotta know

[Vmax540]

Hi, Kevin I bought new a 1988 Exciter, 1990 PhazerII, 94 Vmax600 and a 1996 Vmax XT600.
The 94-96 Vmax's and the good was...(compared to previous Yamaha sleds)
-Wider and longer in which they proved to be smoother riding and good wide open trail cruisers.
-Good fit and finish but, not on the level of my previous sleds.
-Much easier to work on with more open space under the hood (Like the Indy series of sleds).
-Hot hand warmers.
-Very, Very Reliable !
Disappointments.
-With Wider stance and longer wheelbase they have more weight and were not as good on tight twisty trails.
-Yamaha stated 8-10 m.p.g. and yes, that was tops !
-The once again lagging behind the Industry, dismal 10 gal fuel tanks made you the first looking for gas.
-Steel skis with plastic skins...
-Steel bulkheads.
-Did I mention they were heavy on tight trails or moving around in the garage...

The 97's up used aluminum bulk heads but, were still just as heavy with the change to Trailing arms and this was especially, true of the triple cylinder models. Their triple cylinder engines are smooth and better than the twins on mileage with some getting near 16 m.p.g. ! The fuel range was finally, on par with the industry at ~12 gal. capacity ! I had a 2001 600 triple in which was a good all around sled.

[streetstock55k]

THanks for the nice reply......soooooooo no engine out of the box issues ? over and over again????? thats good to hear. what was the model yr "span" for these including the 500's. was it 1994 thru 1996.....meaning the strut type sleds ? im up in northern mich, and these things are EVERYWHERE. WAY more than the liquid exiters. every sled has a story, from the bullet proof SRV's....to the $$#@ 1981 srx.....good lord. THanks for ringing in.....were the 500 twin's ok too ?

kevin

[Vmax540]

THanks for the nice reply......soooooooo no engine out of the box issues ? over and over again????? thats good to hear. what was the model yr "span" for these including the 500's. was it 1994 thru 1996.....meaning the strut type sleds ? im up in northern mich, and these things are EVERYWHERE. WAY more than the liquid exiters. every sled has a story, from the bullet proof SRV's....to the $$#@ 1981 srx.....good lord. THanks for ringing in.....were the 500 twin's ok too ?

kevin

over and over again?...... The guy must have been around back in that time period when, these sleds were belittled by the snowmobile magazine writers for having twin cylinder engines and being a strut suspension instead of the accepted bending arm/bump steer errrr.... I mean trailing arm sleds. There was an update to recalibrate the oil pump to lessen the oil consumption. They the T.S.S. 5/600's were 1994,95 and 1996 now, the twin cylinders were carried over into some of the 97's on up and yes, they also, were hard on fuel.

After buying Any T.S.S. sled...
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1529
-T.S.S. Maintenance
On most every used T.S.S. sled I've bought the Knuckles and steel bushing are frozen and completely locked up and pivoting on the bolts to the pointy that the locked up joints won't even allow the springs to return let, alone the struts to work when hitting a bump. The T.S.S sleds have always gotten a bad rap for slop developing when the ungreased steel bushing's freeze up they grind away on the nylon washers ! I have sleds that are 15+ years old that have never had a bushing kit and are almost as tight as new. Just take the knuckles and the ski mounts apart every other year and grease !
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suspension-Shim ... f3&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-TSS-Fron ... 84&vxp=mtr
Shim Kits http://s15106.50belowcommerce.com/produ ... oducts=tss
http://www.mfgsupply.com/m/c/100-650.html