well a few of my buddies just got back from canada . it was -45 out and the rx1 wouldnt start! they had to use a hair dryer to warm it up :p which is pretty funny. but as for the f7 he said it almost fell apart. things were leaking breaking and stuff like that boy im glad i didnt get an rx1 or an f7 this year

I was just talking to REDF7sp in the chat.

He said that Arctic cat whats him to bring his sled in so they can turn the oil pump to the max setting. He also said that sled that had this done are bogging and have a huge oil cloud around them.

Sounds like Arctic cat is trying to hide a serious engine flaw by cranking the oil pump.

As for the RX-1. Like i said, engines and chaincases are starting to fail.

well for my firend artic cats not going to do anything or yamha for that b.c he just sold both of them and bought 2 800 revs

Thats alright because Doo has no more motors in stock supposably to replace blown 800 motors. talk to a guy up arounf toronto that sells wrecked sleds and parts from the Auction insurance companys send there totals. said Doo wasn't rebuilding the 800 Motors but completely replacing them oinstead but now they are being told they have no mor emotors in stock. Guess that PTo seal blowing out is a rampant thing unlike what some guys thought. he said the same thing is that it's the back firing that is blowing the seal out. So they all are having problems, oh except the Polaris sleds He HE!!

Originally posted by Machzzzz1@Feb 18 2003, 04:54 PM
I was just talking to REDF7sp in the chat.

He said that Arctic cat whats him to bring his sled in so they can turn the oil pump to the max setting. He also said that sled that had this done are bogging and have a huge oil cloud around them.

Sounds like Arctic cat is trying to hide a serious engine flaw by cranking the oil pump.

As for the RX-1. Like i said, engines and chaincases are starting to fail.
Cat has found inconsistant oil pump settings on several F7's... What you should do is monitor your oil consumption and if you are useing to much oil turn it down....I have had my oil pump done and the dealer found that I was already almost at max...I was out last night and there was no difference from one sled to the next with the smoke issue so I bet the people who are complaining about a smoke issue had their pumps set to lean and now are experiencing normal amounts of smoke....I can see how someone with green eyes looking at the F7 with no mechanical engineering degree might interpret Cats recent service bulliten as a cover up.....But I assure you the way My 700 lays lickings on 800 twins and tripples that the engine is solid...

feb7 2003
dear arctic cat firecat 700 snowmobile owner
this letter is being sent to all registered owners of 03 f7 snowmobiles to inform them about an upgrade program regarding the f7. our records indicate the you are the owner of an affectedf7. ;)
due to an inconsitency in oil pump delivery that may result in engine overheating,piston sticking,and potential catastrophic engine damage, a service bulletin is being issued for correction of the problem by your authorized cat dealer. until the oil pump has been updated by your dealer please add 80:1 (16OZ PER TEN GALLONS) of premix arctic cat apv injection oil to each tank of gasoline used. by making this adjustment, you SHOULD be able to operate your f7 without the above mentioned problems.

NOTE: this 80:1 mixture is to be used in conjunction with the oil injection system.

we sincerely apologize for the inconviences that you may have faced with yourf7 snowmobile. we pride ourselves for not only designing and manufacturing world class products :sarcasm: ,but also for taking care of our customers. therefore, due to the inconviences caused by the unusual number :p of service related issues on the 03 f7,by arctic catis enclosing a 100.00 coupon for the purchase of up to 100.00 worth of arctic wear clothing and accessories. :p we are also enclosing a coupon for one free :) gallon of apv oil for usse in the suggested pre mix in your f7 snowmobile. the coupons are good at any authorized cat dealer and must be redeemed by march 15,2003.

note the coupons must be presented to your AC DEALER when purchasing your accessories, and oil.

we :thumbsup: feel that the f7 is still the best performance snowmobile available today. even people who have expereienced problems with the f7 have stated that the snowmobile is awesome :doh: . this has been elusive,frustrating problem for AC to detect :0: :sarcasm: . so again, we apoligize for the inconvience and possible riding time lost.

as always AC wishes to maintain the highest level of customer satifaction and is commited to our customers.
We appreciate your patience, cooperation and understanding. We want reassure you that everthing possible is being done to ensure that you have a great snowmobiling experience

Sincerely,
Product service and warranty department.

Arctic Cat Inc.

i] Good god this has to be the worst new intro of a sled ever,my god look at the number of recalls/Bulletins Cat has sent out for the F7[/i]

i havent had one problem with my firecat, over 700 miles .
my oil pump hasent been touched...and i have yet to see a sled
broke down (any brand)
as for cat's problems, you guys shouldlook at your own brands
i have been told buy many people the rx1-ton has a lot of
problems..........and the rev...dont even get me started.

once all the sleds problems are taken care of........
the firecat will still be the one ON TOP.

Originally posted by Machzzzz1@Feb 18 2003, 07:54 PM
As for the RX-1. Like i said, engines and chaincases are starting to fail.
Tell me where you heard this buddy? First time I've heard it.

I've heard about the chain cases but not the engines. ???

I really think the service bulletin is just a quick fix for some sleds that came misadjusted from the factory in the first place. My F7 has over 900 miles on it and its been ran in conditions were if it was going to lean out and blow it should have. I talked to the mechanic about the oil service bulletin yesterday and he said that it just says to turn it up as far as it will go instead of to a certain higher ratio. This doesn't make since to me or him. He figured mine is probably fine considering how many problem free miles I have on and said they'll probably at most turn mine up just a little and i'm going to start running amsoil so I will be flowing more oil anyway so my probably won't get changed at all. I disagree sled-head its quite possible to start having problems if it gets turned up to far and I'm sure these guys are having noticable problems I've road with a sled thats getting to much oil and its very noticable and really affects the performance. I'm not complaining about the F7 or even all the updates I absolutely love mine but I think this latest one is a little vauge and just a way to cover warranty issues. But you can't beat 100 worth of free stuff and some free oil.

First year of a new sled . Enough said....

MightyRX-1.

Ive watched two RX-1s being pulled onto a truck. There was accually 4 of them but only 2 had the failed engines.

I went over there to talk to them and they told me about how there sled just quite on them and wont run. One guy was on a Cell phone with there dealer to see if he could bring there sled in for a fix. The dealer laughed at them and told them there is a 10 to 15 day waiting list becasue of a machining problem with the two outer cylinders. SOmthing about clearences. THere is a whole pile of RX-1s waiting to be worked on with the same problem.

Then just yesturday I was at my Skidoo dealer. Every dealer gets a book to help the sales people overcome objections when asked to compair there sleds (skidoo) to other brands. Under RX-1 it had a quick description of the engine problem and chaincase problems.

So even skidoo is aware of it.

I hope its nothing. That engine looks like a ##### to work on. Thats why it probably takes so much time. I also dont know what they are doing to fix it.

I cant say that this is a issue with every RX-1. Im not even 100% on the info. But this is no rumor or made up crap. There are a bunch of RX-1s suffering from this around me. Maybe it wouldnt hurt to do some research around your neck of the woods with dealers just to see if there is a way you can avoid it.

All i know for sure is that there is a huge emount of RX-1s on the trails around here and even if every dealer was backed up till march working on broken ones there would still be many, many more running.

RX-1?

Isn't that Yamaha's replacement for the Vmax 4?

:)

Thanks for the info machzzzz1. From what it sounds like, if there is a problem I would assume it would rear it ugly head pretty quickly. You don't by any chance know how many miles were on that sled do you? Makes me glad I went with the 5 year warranty :D

I didnt ask or see the milage. But I would bet they were under 2000km

Holy. 5 year warrenty.

That pretty damm good.

Thats probably enough to cover your whole ownership of that sled.

I saw a F7 being towed in by a Mach Z in Kakadjo Maine the past weekend :D

A very good friend of mine has an RX-1. Other than suspension breakage problems it has been trouble free mechanically. However I get better fuel milage with my MX Z 600. I thought this to be rather odd.

we sold 17 and non with the problemes you have described.....yet.. but i will post it if it ocures i`m not brand loyale i just love sleds period. One thing that really surprise me is how many people show up here and no absolutly nothing about the sled the have "tourist" not all but more than there should be. A couple of weeks ago some tourist should up with 2 RX-1 that would not start i went out to check them out both had 0 miles thier batterys were dead dealler did not charge then they only come 80% charge and that dont last long at -30, second the air box was not on etheir, then when i started for them they ask what the flashing light on the dash meant i told them it was the warm up procedure it warms up the antifreeze and oil before you move the sled dealler did not do a PDI with them.....a couple of days ago at separate times 2 different touriste showed up the said their light was one did not know why , i went to look and it was low oil the machine had over 2000miles and i guess that he never check his oil before the other guy said his oil was fine i ask him to show me and he pulled the dipstick out of the chaincase........my piont is its not always manufactors fault with the problemes of the new modeles lots of it is driver error and lack of knowledge of their modele i have 2 friend with F-7 who never had any big problemes, they did bring them in for the updates but they are constantly going over thier investment....so guys just remember to read your owners manual, listen to your dealler when he is diong his PDI (if you get one) and you could save yourself alot of down time and money and for those of you who do all this and still have a probleme that is why we have warantty.......my 2 cents

There is a couple of interesting and what appears to be common and easily rectifiable problems/issues on this topic.
Firstly maddog, the weather you described is brutal and extremly hard on any form of motorized equipment. At that temperature any form (even the slightest trace) of moisture or water will freeze solid and make fuel passage in either a sled or vehicle almost impossible if not treated properly (be it in a 2 or 4 stroke, its a question of fuel delivery). You need a battery fully charged firstly. Even a 100% battery as piped bravo had indicated in that temperature has only got about 40% cranking power (if that). Secondly, if your buddy just brought his RX-1 out of a warm environment (garage, ect) guaranteed there is condensation which formed and froze. Without a bit of gas line antifreeze and good battery no doubt a no start was inevidable. We we out on Saturday here and it was the same weather. Both RX's needed that little shot of isopropyl to get them going. Interestingly enough, mybuddies 03 Legend 800 SDI would not start on the battery either and had to be hand cranked (I wish we had such a luxury on the RX!).
Secondly, Rob7374, I have seen a few sleds come into the dealership with similar complaints. In all instances the chokes were not fully closing (hanging up a bit). Get your buddies dealer to check this. On a recent run to Cochrane (and we dont ride no 50km posted limit...ooops, hope the OFSC cops dont read this!) my RX burned $14.60 of SUPER, and my two buddies with 03 Rev 800X's burned $18 of REGULAR! It was the same going home (about 100km each way from Timmins to Cochrane). Even more interesting was the consumption of the Legend SDI. On saturday in the minus 30 something retarded weather from Smooth Rock Falls to Cochrane (about 60 km) I burned 11 litres and the SDI 14 litres!
Mightly I dont think you have too much to worry about quite yet. Machzzzzzz I would like to know where you got this info on the engine problems (if you dont mind let me know because I have either heard nor seen any problems on them). The genesis exteme motor when it was developed in the mid 90s was and continues to be one of the best performance motorcyle motors ever made, both from performance and reliability standpoint, PERIOD! (read any bike book!) (much the same as the 809 is one of the best triples ever made,PERIOD!) The only real mod Yamaha did was change the bottom end from a wet sump to dry sump system to accomodate cold weather starting and get a lower centre of gravity. My demo has 3200km and my #1 salesmans has 4200km of fast miles with very minor issues (hot grips on one packed it in ).
Before working for Yamaha I was sales leader for one of the largest Bombardier dealers in Northern Ontario and I can safely tell you that I have witnessed many new model launches and for the cutting edge technology that the RX-1 represents, the problems that I have PERSONALLY seen and heard about both from other dealers in North and South Ontario, Quebec and the United States (we get a lot of tourists stopping in here from everywhere), the REAL problems with the RX-1 are minor and in my humble opionion almost laughable for such an engineering gamble on Yamahas part.
Sorry if I rambled on, enough said!