Our short-term test pilots, Mr Jacques Bélanger, Maurice Fecteau and Jacques Turgeon, had the opportunity to test dampers on a 2014 RS Vector L-TX snowmobile. They rode in the Region of Chaudière-Appalaches, leaving from Lévis, in very nice trails on hard-packed surface, at -15 °C with moderate winds.
We had two identical 2014 RS Vector L-TX to run this test. Dampers were installed on one of them, none on the other machine. To reduce darting, both sleds were equipped with Tuner skis and a 136 in. (345 cm) track.
When we were ready to leave, we rode on the local trail that took us to the provincial trail. Jacques Turgeon was piloting the snowmobile with dampers. After a few kilometers, he noticed some darting when there was little crosswind and when he was riding through snowdrifts of various heights. Jacques also noticed a greater stability, thus a better control of the riding.
We continued our ride in Beauce area, going through the village of Scott to cross the Chaudière river. On this portion of the river, the grooming machine is not used. So, we rode about one kilometer on ideal bumps to test the performance of both snowmobiles. While Jacques Bélanger was watching carefully, both snowmobiles rode the same distance. At the end of the non-groomed trail, we exchanged our machines and went back to our starting point. The three of us could see that the snowmobile without dampers was a lot less stable and experienced much darting from left to right.
Then, it was time for Maurice to test the snowmobile with dampers. He also noticed a great improvement of the stability and riding control. Jacques Bélanger was in a good position to check the round trips in the trail bad conditions. He could see that the snowmobile without dampers was much less stable, did not go straight and was harder to control.
We continued towards Saint-Elzéar in better trail conditions and then, we arrived in East-Broughton for a well-deserved lunch. After a delicious meal, we headed for Vallée Jonction to buy gas and went back east to our departure point, Lévis, after 350 km of test.
Near the Club Auto-Neige Ville-Marie in Lévis, we noticed that a portion of the trail was perfect and safe for us to try out the dampers at higher speed. And we can confirm the positive aspects that Yamaha wants to bring to the snowmobiles that will be sold in 2015.
CONCLUSION : The dampers increase the rigidity of the chassis, eliminate vibrations caused by trail conditions and provide a better riding control on sinuous and bumpy terrain. We really appreciated this addition on one of the two snowmobiles we had to run this test. With two machines to test at the same time, it was very easy to compare. This is a nice innovation from Yamaha.
Special thanks to Yamaha people for trusting us with this short-term trial.
