It's too often that the Yamaha Corp. gets criticized for not giving us this and that, but I for one will give the Yamaha Corp. all the credit in the world for having the most variety of atvs...So if there is a Yamaha executive glancing at our little bickering spot.Thank you for all that you've done.


j/t
01 Raptor Blk/White (stock)
GYT-R Headlight Guard
GYT-R Bumper
Silver/Blk Shock-covers

 

Believe me, they didn't do it to try to make you happy or do anyone any favors. They didn't do it to try to make the world a better place or to try to make the world of ATVing even more enjoyable. The reason they put out such a big selection of bikes to choose from, is because they decided that it's the most efficient way of getting as many people as possible, to spend as much money as possible on their products. Strangly enough, I don't feel the urge to thank them for that. You are thanking them every time you make a monthly payment on your $8000 bike that probably cost them about $2000 to build. I doubt that the Yamaha execs are crying all over the leather interior of their Jags, while they drive home to their mansion because they feel underappreciated.

 

That ain't Yamaha though... that is just companies in general. I thank Yamaha for the way they go about it. Look at Honda and Polaris... two of the biggest competitors out there, yet they don't have half the variety. If Yamaha didn't charge these prices (which I still don't agree w/) then they would be able to put the money into the R&D and such (because the big wigs are still going to be just as greedy no matter how much a quad is selling for) and then the market and riders will suffer.

 

derekjes. what a load of crap. do you work for charity? what is your occupation? Businesses are in it for Profit,yes. But they are not going to get their with out finding what appeals to us. i guess that counts as caring. or as close as your gonna get with any company. Thats why they have competitors.

Now Canondale is betting your willing to spend more for selection and quality. They say. "customer service and quality workmanship sets us apart from our competitors". we'll see. i'm betting, they will not be rewarded with sales.

Thank you Yamaha. I'm not completly happy with the Raptor.( i'll probably be switching to a Canondale myself ) But thanks for trying and keep mixing it up. I'd love to see them replace the Banshee with a more MX style quad w/ the YZ426 in it.

 

No, I don't work for charity, I am a machinist and I get paid for what I build.... just like Yamaha. If there was no profit, I wouldn't be doing it... just like Yamaha. As long as people keep paying me to do what I do, I'll continue doing it... just like Yamaha. And to be perfectly honest, I don't care if people like what I'm making or not, as long as they keep paying for it... JUST LIKE YAMAHA!
Your post didn't really make alot of sense Raptor660RNH... First you say my post is a load of crap, but then you go on to say that business ARE in if for profit, and that is the reason they want to find out what appeals to us! That's pretty much a summary of what I said in my post! I'm not slamming business for making profit. That's how our society works. All I am saying, is that their thanks is their big fat pay-cheques. As far as I am concerned, Yamaha, as well as the other manufacturers overcharge for their bikes, and their parts, beyond what can be justified to make a profit. They are greedy, and they don't care about the consumers happiness so that he/she will have a happy life. They just want to make sure they keep getting your money.

 

WRONG. They charge what they can. What the Market dictates. it doesn't make sense to overcharge when your running against competitors like Honda, Suzuki,Kawasaki etc. research,engineeers,advertising,distribution,lobby ist throwing dough at politicians to ensure them a future market, Hire wages to greedy AMERICAN Machinists.

I'm sure thats exactly how it went down. I can here it now. ( the Canondale boardroom ). "thats right Mr. CEO,i propose we throw our hat into the ATV ring. We'll introduce inovative designs like all aluminum frame, fuel injection, After Market Shocks and tires. And to really throw the Comp off we'll overcharge for our Quads. The Dealers will love it!"

Wake up...and take your happy pill before you respond. your a real downer.

 

If I had to guess and try to pull some numbers out of the air (just like everyone else is) I would say that Cannondale MIGHT be able to build one of their quads for $2000. PARTS ONLY. Remember... they don't make allot of the parts on their quads and are buying close to top of the line products from vendors, who are buying them from manufacturers.
So let see here... we now have the manufacturer (buils the shocks (whoever that might be)) who has design, engineering, prototyping, testing, marketing, labor, and general expenses to pay for. Plus he has to make a profit or there is no point in running the business.
I am a designer/CAD operator and I know that my salary works out to $17.33/hr, but they charge $60/hr. for my time to our customers (overhead and profit... got to pay the electric bill somehow.)
Now we have a distributor (Rocky Mountain or whoever (only name I could come up w/)) who doesn't make any parts himself, but has to charge to cover the original cost he paid for the part, the shipping, packaging, and marketing, plus lets not forget the profit. Finally we get to the dealer (Cannondale) who has to cover the original cost, assembly, inspection, testing, and loads of marketing. Not to mention shipping and the original cost for the part from the distributor.
All this is before the damn thing even makes it to the Cannondale dealer in your neighborhood, which is another price hike, shipping, and marketing at least.... oh yeah, did you notice I didn't include employees pay, utilities, machine repair, and all that fun stuff... all the way down to affording paper for the copy machine.
This part that the original company made for $3 in materials, is now up to about $60. Now figure that for every part on a ATV and it is pretty simple why these prices are as high as they are.
Competitors keep the prices in check, but the simple fact is that the more variety they offer, and the more high tech the toys... the more they will have to charge us!

Hope you enjoyed the book... I know my boss didn't enjoy me taking time out to write it.

 

It all boils down to supply and demand really. This dictates what the product is going to cost as well. Obviously they're not charging to much because ATV sales are pretty good. If they were to expensive people wouldnt be buying them. I personally think they are expensive but you also get a quality product as well and hopefully I will have enough to purchase another pretty soon. Hell, I paid less for both of my cars put together than the Mojave cost ($4000), I have an '88 Mustang GT (bought it for $2700, probably around $12,000 in it now, lol) and a '92 Ranger that I got from a co-worker for $1000 (only 76,000 miles too, what a steal) thats in great shape.

Street bikes cost even more than that! I think the quads that are being sold today are worth the money, nice suspension, strong reliable motors, just quality parts in general. If you dont like how much they cost go machine one, that will save you plenty, maybe it will be a great ride and you can start charging to much too!

 

It is really ashamed what socialism does to peoples minds. If you think that these atv companies are ripping you off then don't buy their products, it's not that hard to figure out. As for what constitutes greed, maybe I think that machinist are overpaid and greedy. Or maybe you think that industrial electricians are overpaid. Most people think that anyone who makes more than them are some how are ripping them off.