Yamaha RMAX a Year in Review

Yamaha RMAX a Year in Review

It is no secret around here that we are Yamaha fans. We bleed blue. There is a reason for that, and nothing explains this reason more than 2021. As the rest of the world was in disarray with COVID, the folks at Yamaha were knocking one out of the park with the launch of the RMAX in September 2020. They let everyone know they were serious. When the RMAX was announced as taking on and crushing the Polaris General XP in every meaningful category it seemed everyone was impressed. Their sights were set higher than the low hanging fruit that Polaris had to offer. They went squarely after Kawasaki, Honda and Can am as well and for everyone that wasn’t already ‘Team Yamaha’ they had no choice but to open their eyes to the all new RMAX.

I don’t know the person that has the most amount of time in an RMAX but if people were talking about it, I would be in that conversation. I’ve owned 12 RMAXES since September 2020 from base models to XTR to LE to the new 22 RSPEC’s. I have over 8000 DIRT Trail (not road) miles in the RMAX cockpit, and what I come away with all this time thinking is they have nailed it. I’ve never seen a manufacturer that cares more about the input of its riders. Things we talked about in the Wolverines back in 16-17 we saw changed in the X2/X4 platform, and things we wish we saw in those we saw with the RMAX.

When any machine is launched, there are a treasure trove of people that come out of the woodwork that tell you the horsepower isn’t enough, the arms aren’t correct, the tire size isn’t appropriate blah blah blah. I remember my first 3 RMAX 4’s I sold the tires off of them to replace them because I fell into the naysayers of the internet telling me the dirt commander was a junk tire. My 4th RMAX4 I put 2400 miles on those dirt commanders before I even thought about changing them. The shortcomings of the old dirt commanders were even addressed. I’m thoroughly impressed. What I’ve found out more times than not is people just like to complain, and Yamaha is great at giving people what they need, no matter what they think they want. The RMAX is the perfect example of this.

Now I could just list a bunch of technical data and explain all the facts of the RMAX like every other journalist does much more eloquently than I can but here is what I can tell you. Real world data. In 12 machines, I’m unsure of total miles of them all, but well over 50,000 RENTAL miles cumulatively I will list the times the RMAXes have been in the shop.

  • Oxygen Sensor wire rubbed bare on frame due to improper routing (early XTR 2 seater)
  • Rear bearing carrier bushings get replaced around 6000 miles for our environment.
  • Brake pads seem to last around 25-2700 miles before being replaced in our environment.
  • We do full service (trans, oil, diffs) every 100 hours, after a break in service at 15. (book calls for 160 hours)
  • Tire changes around 2500 miles for our riding area.
  • Winch diodes went bad on an early XTR 2 seater
  • Clutch Maintenance every 1500 miles (also more frequent than the book calls for)

I’m sure there are people out there that have issues with their machines, but these are the times mine have been in the shop. We always use full synthetic Yamalube Oil change kits and change all crush washers with every service.

That’s the good. What’s the bad?

Realistically the only issues we see are the ones affecting all of us. Global supply chain shortages have machines, accessories and parts on a slower than we would like to see timeline. Hopefully we see that moving a little better in 2022.

From everyone at Yammer Hammers, and Wolverine Nation We wish you a very Happy New Year!

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