2021 Yamaha SX Venom Full Snowmobile Review

Motorhead Mark gets some seat time on another one of Yamaha's 2021 2-stroke offerings; the 7/8th sized SX Venom featuring a fuel-injected, 397cc 2-stroke engine with electric start spinning a 121 Camso Hacksaw track.
#SNOWTRAXTV #OneYamaha #YamahaRevsYourHeart
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ABOUT SNOWTRAX TV
SNOWTRAX airs thirteen episodes from December to April and has established itself as the most watched snowmobile television series in North America.
Each week the SNOWTRAX crew guides viewers through an informative and entertaining half hour revealing the inside scoop on the latest snowmobiles, accessories and riding destinations that make snowmobiling winter's greatest adventure sport.
Affiliated with national broadcasters such as OLN and Sportsman Channel in Canada and Outdoor Channel in the United States, SNOWTRAX effectively reaches over 72 million national households with 24 million of those households being located in the North American snow belt.
SNOWTRAX has and will continue to attract and retain viewers by virtue of its unique, informative and entertaining cinematic format.
SNOWTRAX 2021 evaluates all the top snowmobiles and snowmobile products like the 2021 Polaris snowmobiles, Yamaha snowmobiles, 2021 Ski Doo and Arctic Cat snowmobiles. Some evaluations include such vehicles as the Ski Doo 850 Turbo, Yamaha Sidewinder Turbo, Polaris Khaos 850, Yamaha Mountain Max 2021, Ski Doo Expedition Extreme, Yamaha Nytro, Yamaha Viper, Polaris Titan and more!

[@CC-wt9vi]

I just bought a 2023 SX Venom and love it, These sleds bring fun back to snowmobiling, works great for my daughter also, you don’t need to spend $20k and go 100mph to have a great time and fun.

[@milkman2591]

What a Blast

[@garrettcolley6339]

Arctic cat's version of the venom and it's pretty much the same sled except different graphics

[@snowtrax]

LOL

[@jonl2938]

Well played

[@laurenconan]

I have the sx venom,lot,s of fun!

[@oldwrench4213]

The ability to recognize that the Venom fits a multitude of riders didn't escape Yamaha and Arctic Cat. Both realized that this model hits several market segments. Even a experienced rider can see the value this sled offers. It has been long overdue for those that simply want a fun sled without a exceptionally high cost. In time, these also will find the market that the Freestyle presently holds. One hopes for a twin cylinder counterpart in the near future.

[@matad311]

My dad bought this for my mom and she loves the sled! She is smaller statue and never wanted to upgrade from her 2000 z370 because how light weight it was. Well the venom solved that being a smaller sled with all the creature comforts of a new sled with out the weight!

[@Morpheen999]

My first sled My dad bought me as a kid was a yamaha 340 ovation! I loved that thing.. it would do 65mph

[@rileyjones750]

Best sled for kids or adults.

[@kuervers03]

Also had a 83 excel had lots of fun but didn't teach me much about riding. This generation is lucky suprise how much dangling I can do on my daughter's zr200 🤣

[@snowtrax]

@@kuervers03 ZR200 is a freakin' hoot!

[@sylvainjrcardindionne6346]

Still got one Best sled ever. Period Got a 220 hp z1 turbo, still always taking the ovation for a ride

[@pflaffik]

Good durable engines and the short Yokohama tracks were both low-cammed and soft and so didnt steal too much power, it made them feel fast. Still i think 65mph must have been on hard frozen surface, or just the good old optimistic speedo that SkiDoo uses still today (if youre lucky the real speed is 50 when a Skidoo says 65)

[@abcarp1302]

I agree with the comments that there is a lot of great older sleds that kids can ride, but the older sleds don't have the features of these new ones. Heated grips, higher and narrow seats, suspension comfort, electric start. My kids had a Citation 300 now an Evo.

[@leafefn4229]

Hey what do you think about the evo? Do they fit adults decently for some fun ditchbanging?

[@arcticwanderer2000]

I used to think my Polaris 340's and Ski Doo 380 were more than enough, even pulling a loaded sled down the Iditarod Trail.

[@larryw5429]

7000+ bucks for 3/4s of a sled.. You used to get a full blown muscle sled for that! Its no wonder the snowmobile industry is slowly dying! I will continue to buy used older sleds.. I am not in a hurry to dump 7-20 grand on something I might be able to use 3 months out of the year.. Stress the word might because this year its going to be February and only 8" of snow on the ground!

[@snowtrax]

Actually this year just saw a boom for the industry. Hard to say if it has longevity, but feel free to check out used sled prices online right now or try to find a new sled at the dealer. Crazy year for snowmobiling.

[@burk3552]

I think the price is very fair for what u are getting,as for snow conditions well sled companies can't control that lol I'm a bombardier guy but I will b picking up a venom for my daughter, I can't wait to try one myself

[@ih302]

@@burk3552 Get her a 600 efi powered ski-doo, better machine for less money.

[@parker3382]

Nowadays prices have changed bud. The price for a top model sled now is 16-18k usd. Stop with the negativity grandpa cuz it’s not the 90s and sleds aren’t as cheap anymore. Also the industry is the opposite of slowly dying. More and more sleds r being bought each year.

[@dsm091]

@@parker3382 Yeap. Name anything that doesn't cost a fortune. Priced a new 1/2 ton truck lately? Tough out there for a player.

[@800tundra]

We Bought two venom mountains this season. Havent had them out much due to snow and weather. But for the little bit we did the kids are loving them. Easy to start and steer, e- reverse, deep snow capable. 👍. Only bad so far is shocks are total garbage.

[@thatturtlekid]

You can adjust the shocks which helps a little.

[@Fj3llis]

Imagine going down the trail and you start to giggle a bit and all of a sudden you go....."damn there's ice cream pouring out my nose"

[@24revealer]

Any chance Arctic Cat has a comparable machine in their traditional Black/Green?purple colours??? This is more along the size of machine I am lookling for. And I LOVE the matching jacket in this video!

[@mudpuppy318]

Indy Evo is carbureted and fan cooled. Definitely would be a upgrade to have a fuel injected and liquid cooled engine for the extra money in my opinion.

[@alachon205]

I want to see the Polaris Evo mountain sled

[@mikedanaher3413]

Pretty cool. 👍

[@ericbunkers8147]

Thanks Mark!

[@otahu26]

My Wife is 5' and 89lbs. She don't feel comfy On the new sleds. She don't have the mass to Throw around the sleds. So we bought her a light 92 Polaris 500 sks and restored it. She says it's perfect for her. Light steering, lots of power for her. And Reliable for me and great on gas. She wasn't comfortable sitting so tall in the Axis two up seat. And My Edge machine where to much power n speed for her. Wish Polaris would make a Wedge machine again for the newbies. and small people. There is a market for that.

[@MrBigbennybang]

Great ! review Mark ....

[@snowtrax]

Thank you!

[@camaro69green31]

Take Note My Snowmobiler Friends.... the Blast and the Venom sleds are LIQUID COOLED!! This is a big thing compared to cheaper fan cooled sleds. If you have owned sleds for 40 plus years you know what I'm talking about.

[@patl.5504]

Is it another Arctic Cat with a blue paint job ? The engine and Cvt is from Yamaha ?

[@joshpierzina7648]

Arctic cat engine, arctic cat chassis, yamaha paint.

[@NUKEzx10r]

Love my 06' Venom 600

[@williamgahagan9024]

They are pretty nice sleds but I would prefer the blast but they look the same just personal preference

[@joshgarner805]

What I don't understand is, if there is such a large calling for a midsized sled why are the manufactures not putting them out there? Sure you have the EVO and now the SX venom but there has been a calling for a midsized sled for awhile now. Which leads me to believe that there is not that much of calling as we would think. You can bet that they all have run the numbers which is why they are super slow at putting these midsize sleds to market. All the manufactures have been down this rode once before and they always ended up discontinuing their midsize models so I except these to fade away in a few years just like history has shown before. I hope I'm wrong and they stick around for awhile and get approved over time but they way these winters have been going and the prices of newer sleds this is a dying sport and these will be the first sleds to go.

[@joshgarner805]

@Ross Outdoors I only say these are the first to go because when it comes to sled sales all the money to be made is in the 600 and 850's. They will sell 10 of those sleds to one of the midsized sleds.

[@actionsportster7686]

When you see one of these sleds in person, the first thing you notice is that they are not really smaller than a so-called full size sled. In fact, these sleds share many of the same parts as their full-size counterparts. They just sit a little lower to the ground, which is easily done by mounting the skid higher in the tunnel and using shorter shocks. This does give these sleds a lower center of gravity, and that alone makes them easier to handle. But as to your question (why don't they sell like hotcakes if the market truly is crying out for them?), I think the combination of the fact that these sleds are down on power, have lower quality components (shocks, gauges, etc.) AND still cost almost as much or as much as you can buy a dealer's hold-over sled, which has better power and higher quality components, most people would rather get more for their money buying a dealer hold-over sled. The manufacturers know this too, and that's why many of them are now only selling new sleds to consumers on a pre-order basis. The goal of this strategy to create a situation where dealers do not have excess inventory, and thus no hold-overs from one year to the next. To a certain extent, the strategy is working. But there will always be dealers who purchase (order) more sleds than they can sell, especially during low-snow winters or in a down economy, and if you're willing to hunt for a hold-over, you can usually find them. If manufacturers truly want to fill this market, they'll need to build a true 3/4-size sled, with the same current tech, quality of build, components and features as the full-size models they build. They need to stop trying to appeal to the two markets of youth and entry-level adults. There's no getting around the manufacturing costs, so you know these sleds are going to be almost, if not as expensive as a full-size model, so you might as well place your target market on what will make it different enough to consider buying it ... and to me, that would only happen if you make it a true youth sized sled.

[@joshgarner805]

@@actionsportster7686 yeah your spot on. I have actually sat on one of these machines so I know all about the size and fit. They are definitely built with cheap components.

[@pavmentsurfer13]

@@actionsportster7686 The Venom (and blast) ARE smaller sized sleds built on dedicated, sized down chassis with unique, sized down components. They are exactly what you say they should be. No, not all the technology and fancy parts. BUT, read through the comments here. There are lots of people interested in these sleds who feel the Venom is still too expensive despite being one of the cheapest sleds on the market. So no, we dont need manufacturers to build high end, 3/4 sized sleds. We need them to do exaclty what they ARE doing. The blast and venom models have been a big success for Arctic Cat and Yamaha. Are they going to take over the industry, no... that was never the intent. Polaris on the other hand, went a different direction. They use a full size chassis with sized down parts. This has allowed them to keep the price extremely low while still providing a completely capable vehicle. When buying this classification of sled the two biggest concerns for buyers are small size and low price. They do NOT care about having a fancy gauge or other bling. Necessary features: Electric start, reverse and working hot grips. Thats it. Though I do agree, it cant cost more than 80 cents to add a 3 position hot grip switch. I think that one is silly. The industry is NOT dying. It has stayed steady for the past 10 years and over the past few years its actually grown a bit. Sleds in this size are not meant to "sell like hotcakes". they are meant to sell in smaller numbers to help support the industry, and hopefully, generate growth by giving people a cheap sled thats not intimidating so they can get a feel for the sport. Its working BTW.

[@Saj5DJ]

I love the idea of this machine, very much so. But is there a point when it costs the same as a SkiDoo MXZ Sport? How would I not just buy the Doo?

[@SnakeInDaGrazz]

same price as the full size used to be years ago and made of plastic

[@ih302]

A few points: - I thought there was a mistake in the title for a minute, too many shots and talk of the EVO... - While it wasn't fuel injected, Yamaha offered a liquid cooled 300 cc single cylinder engine in the Inviter back in the 80s. - When you compare them to the ski-doo sport 600 efi lineup, the 400 cc Yamicats are over priced by about $1500 CAD for what you are getting. Single headlight and on/off function only for the hand warmers screams cheap as does that gauge.

[@pavmentsurfer13]

-There is talk of the evo because the venom is the first platform to actually compete with an EVO directly. When a sled is first introduced to the market we make comparisons to help consumers understand where the sled fits in the industry and what its comparable to. This isnt wrong at all. -You want to argue about a engine from the 80's that was found in one of the industries ugliest sleds ever? -The MXZ 600 Sport is NOT the same as a venom or EVO. Yes, one of the best values in the industry right now. No question. But its a full size sled. The Venom, Blast and EVO models are specifically designed to fit smaller riders. And they do, perfectly. My daughter fits great on and loves both the Venom and the EVO... I tried her on the Sport and it was too big for her. -I wont argue that I think the Blast and Venom are overpriced. That we can agree on.

[@ih302]

@@pavmentsurfer13 My intent was not to argue, sorry.

[@chrishubbs8633]

I miss the good old 440’s they were right where I wanted to be. How does this compare to those older liquid cooled sleds?

[@doobyboy21]

Does this sled have an electric start ? Can my girlfriend pull start this thing ? She can't start my RMK... Is this a 2 stroke engine ?

[@snowtrax]

Electric start, single cylinder EFI 2-stroke.

[@doobyboy21]

@@snowtrax Awesome ! Thank you for the response !

[@beeyah2011]

i would drive this, just for taking er easy

[@jonl2938]

I really like the idea until I dug in on the details. In Canada this is $600 more than a MXZ 600 EFI, and more than $3000 more than an EVO. This is basically the same weight as those sleds too. For the youth rider (12 is trail legal in Ontario), I’d rather just get a used 90s 370-500 fan and then get them a full size MXZ 600 EFI when they’re 14 (or earlier if they’re big and strong enough). All that said - choice is a good thing, and the Norseman (Arctic Cat) model would be great for the trappers.

[@big_whiskey1387]

Where is the mountain sled shootout

[@lavingunn4468]

Over 10K and no front bumper, standard. Come on Yamaha.

[@coonlakebackwoods]

Cool sled, but still way too much money IMO. I paid 5999 out the door for my 99 500 SX Yamaha. I'll keep my vintage sleds.

[@coonlakebackwoods]

Also, 5299 for the EVO vs 7999 MsRP for the Yammie. I love Yamaha but ouch.

[@danwustrack]

Sooooo, we can do a ride on these but none of the Arctic Cat Blast Models?? Hmmmmm

[@theodoesstuff4894]

Is there a way to open the seat storage?

[@cristiankrezine1909]

Im 13 and probably went the other way buy buying a 2007 Yamaha rage with the four stroke genisis 1000

[@vadima7636]

"Our line-up will be 4-stroke!" (c) Yamaha, when they tried to build their own snowmobiles.

[@ih302]

Lol, I wouldn't say "tried", Yamaha started making snowmobiles in 1968. Yamaha did gamble on the 4 stoke engines but IMO, the biggest issue with those snowmobiles was not with the engines but rather the chassis' they were mounted in. The current situation with Yamaha is all about market conditions. Coming up with a new platform on their own and manufacturing it in their own factories on the other side of the world is just not worth the investment anymore. Think about what does it cost just to ship each snowmobile they manufacture in Japan to the biggest snowmobile market, North America. If Textron pulls the plug on Arctic Cat, I could see Yamaha taking over their snowmobile operations.

[@vadima7636]

@@ih302 I thought they had a factory in Georgia that makes their snowmobiles, waverunners, ATVs and SSVs. I don’t know why they decided to write off themselves, but it’s not clear what they have done in the last 10 years. There is no exciting news about ATVs or SSV, they don’t even try to make their own plastic for snowmobiles, like Lynx did.

[@gryyta9617]

@@vadima7636 Lynx is pretty amazing, i like them more than the doos, but polaris is hard to beat i think. Plus Lynx makes snowmobiles, not submarines as Yamaha😅

[@ih302]

@@vadima7636 All of the manufactured by Yamaha sleds have "Made in Japan" written on the side of the tunnel.

[@alistairbalistair9596]

no torsion bar up front? oh my! how do they manage to ride it around corners????

[@backdoormailman]

Same way everyone does without them

[@alistairbalistair9596]

@@backdoormailman shittily?

[@backdoormailman]

🤷‍♂️

[@PaulO-ew3hd]

Range?

[@MrBeeradb1]

Thats really made by arctic cat.

[@qapsukalek]

8 grand too steep for this ride but 6299.00 sounds about ride

[@dougbay]

Haha all these sleds make my 1993 arctic cat 580ext look vintage 😂😂

[@pavmentsurfer13]

Technically your 93 580ext IS vintage. It would qualify for a vintage trail permit in ontario.

[@dougbay]

@@pavmentsurfer13 sooo what ypur saying is it would cost me more money

[@hitemup6455]

2021 SKIDOO MXZ SPORT IS KING FOR $8500

[@snowtrax]

Really good sled.

[@pavmentsurfer13]

While I agree in general, they arent really comparable sleds. The Venom is smaller... better for smaller people. The MXZ sport is a CRAZY good value... like REALLY crazy. And it does have a lower seat than a standard G4. But its still not a sized down sled. My daughter can ride the Venom no problem. Fits on it great. But the MXZ is too big for her. This year, next year she'll fit great.

[@gonepostal9101]

How the F@%? Did the get 65hp out of a 400 single?

[@KSN2019]

Snowmobile prices are insane. Flagship sleds are now 20k?!? Dying industry if you ask me

[@DavidWilliams-ol3vp]

Prices for everything is insane,not just snowmobiles.Try pricing a new pickup.

[@2strokeme64]

If its dying why are they all sold out every year?

[@roller_47]

Would be a big hit if it was at least $1,500 less. Can't really justify buying this over an MXZ 600 EFI for marginally more money.

[@Pupperkins]

Hi

[@motormech1h343]

Artic cat no Yamaha input

[@Kevin-ix4qz]

Better off to buy something around the 2000 model year so when your kid smokes a tree, it won't hurt your wallet as much. After they have learned how to ride, then step up to a 2010 rush or skidoo, then they can drop 10k plus on a new sled. Kids grow fast

[@Ericlee-ne7du]

Snowmo-biss, Snomo-history, Full size ergoes? I don't get it, these words sound made up.

[@levikroeker560]

why are sled getting uglier every year?

[@trevorbatchelder4247]

Please tell the truth it's a artic cat ZR. Blast in with Yamaha decals and paint

[@pavmentsurfer13]

Its bought by Yamaha and re-sold as a yamaha. Its sold from Yamaha dealers, warrantied by yamaha. While I get what your saying, you cant take credit from Yamaha for procuring a sled to sell to their customers. Not to mention, Yamaha has had a big effect on arctic cat and has had input on their new sled designs. Yamaha is giving their customers what they want. Thats all that matters.

[@bubster1981]

Whats a review if you dont hear the damn thing

[@Clubcarxrt1550]

Not that attractive as other sleds on the market today

[@9kalltheway]

Kids will love riding those 70s enticers for 500$. Skip right by that sled when they learn and jump them into the full size sled. Huge waste of money... Imo

[@jacobmorgan7627]

These are dumb. If ur kid is just starting maybe..... but why wouldn’t you just buy them an older smaller sled instead of spending so much money for what even looks like a cheap piece of equipment. Also if ur upgrading a kid they won’t even be interested for that long with the lack of power. My dad bought me a 600ACE after I moved up from a 380 legend. This wasn’t much of a change my 380 would push ab 65 and my 600 ACE barely pushed 70-73. While it was more fun than my 380 and it got me ready for my 1200 it rlly wasn’t any different . And that wasn’t even a mid sized sled it was a full sized sled with j a lesser horse powered motor and tbh it wasn’t a fun sled. These sleds will get old for your kids and ur waiting ur money by buying them.

[@jacobmorgan7627]

Especially for the age range they recommend

[@moto4power]

Looks like an arctic cat 🙄