2009 Yamaha Phazer GT Review

When it comes to Yamaha’s Phazer series we have extremely mixed feelings. It’s really not Yamaha’s fault. It is our bias and belief that the Phazer, good enough as it is; it could be far better.

Maybe we expect way too much from this snowmobile. After all, the 2009 Yamaha Phazer GT is pretty darn good. It is extremely athletic as snowmobiles go. It comes with some very good technology. It showcases some original thinking. And, there’s always that Yamaha quality we appreciate.

The Positives

Let’s look at the positives. The darn Phazer is a unique looking snow vehicle. Right away everyone knows you’re riding something special. It looks light, a styling credit that belies its actual 489 pounds. It shouts sporty and fun. And it is all of that.

When you consider the Phazer GT’s powerplant, you come upon an engine as sophisticated as the four-cylinder powerhouse in Yamaha’s top of the line Apex GT. At 80 horsepower the Phazer motor is just more than half of the 150-hp Apex quad. But both are extremely high revvers and both come to snowmobiling with an impressive motorcycle pedigree. The Apex quad has very high performance Yamaha street bike ‘cred’ while the Phazer twin screams of dirt bike credibility.

As you know, there are two basic ways to get power: high revs or low-end grunt. Yamaha’s quad and motorcycle-based twin come from the high-rev school. Heck, it doesn’t get much more ramped up than the Phazer’s Genesis 80FI. From a bore and stroke of 77mm by 53.6mm, the fuel injected twin reaches upwards of 12,000 rpm! Of course, that could pose a problem for clutching, since sleds generally spin the drive clutch at less than 9,000 revs. But, just at it did with the high-revving Apex quad, Yamaha engineers simply designed the Genesis 80FI with a gear reduction, channeling extreme engine revs to manageable clutching revs.

YZ250 Heritage

What you have in this twin is a duplication of Yamaha’s popular YZ250F dirt bike single. Combining two 250 motors to make one 500cc twin, of course, wasn’t all that simple. The resulting snowmobile power source features 10-valves, precision electronics and a nifty fuel injection system that feeds the smallish engine just the right fuel amounts whether you are at sea level or at elevation. While we think the engine seems a little light on low-end torque, the fact that you’ll usually be pushing snow at mid-range to full throttle makes you forget that minor hiccup. Because the sled is designed to be a ‘freestyle’ type performer, you’ll be pushing it hard because it is truly fun to ride.

Phazer Name

When Yamaha looked at expanding into the lightweight, relatively low priced market in the mid- 2000s, the company came with a successful track record. The original fan-cooled Phazer established Yamaha as a marketing leader. The Phazer model just prior to this one was a bit of an afterthought by Yamaha standards. It was pretty much a fan-cooled version of the 2-stroke SX series, the line pre-dating Yamaha’s move to all 4-stroke snowmobiles. Fortunately, snowmobilers remembered the original Phazers rather than the SX-based ones. The original was precedence setting in that it was light in weight, traveled through snow exceptionally well, featured a revised seating position and was stylistically advanced versus its contemporaries. Sounding familiar?

The current Phazer design comes aimed at the ‘zero gravity’ crowd of snow surfers and adventure seekers. It looks to establish fun and affordability with a much younger audience. It is something that Yamaha tried — and pretty much failed at — with the Snow Scoot in the late 1980s. That sled was different and severely underpowered. With a 90cc converted motor scooter drivetrain, the Snow Scoot just never caught on. This sled is different. It has power and adult sizing.

Loyal Owners

Yamaha Phazer owners writing reviews of their sleds on Yamaha’s website are frequently loyal and outspoken. One Phazer owner likes his for “…the electric start with EFI which makes for quick starts every time and consistent performance no matter the elevation or temperature.” But he also says the sled’s “…ride and handling is amazing, it rails around corners and jumps and lands better than any sled I have ridden. I let my friend try it last week and I couldn’t get it back for the whole day.”

A Fisher, Minn. owner explained that as a veteran snowmobiler, “…I can say that none of their (other manufacturers’) sleds compare to how light and nimble this thing is. I recommend it to anyone who wants an amazing sled.”

On Target

What Yamaha has done with the Phazer is right on target. The initial sled featured a new, lightweight, rider-forward chassis. This FX chassis model had to satisfy critical engineering and marketing standards. The Phazer needed to be light and allow complete rider control, just as with a dirt bike. It had to be responsive so riders could toss it around in the turns, bang it off bumps and accommodate both seated and standing riding styles. In short, everything that Yamaha YZ and YFZ riders wanted had to be designed into the Phazer.

Still, Yamaha marketers were fully aware that one Phazer model couldn’t be all things to all riders. That’s why Yamaha comes with five versions — a base Phazer for price shoppers, an RTX version for ‘moto’ riders, a touring version, a stretch-tracker powder version, and a performance model for groomed trail riders.

The real difference between the base, RTX and GT versions comes in equipment. The base Phazer is a price leader and features less expensive shocks, no windshield and no reverse gear. The RTX gets the high-performance, big bump Fox Float shocks. The Phazer GT, the one we’d choose for serious everyday trail riding, gets a bit more civilized. There are 40mm GYTR dual-clicker gas shocks on the A-arm front suspension to control the 8.4-inches of travel. You’ll find KYB high-pressure gas shocks on the rear slide suspension to handle 16-inches of travel. There’s a clear windshield instead of color-coordinated wind deflectors for the hands and handlebar.

Unique Feel

The Phazer GT is a well-built sled with a unique personality that you’ll either love or not. It is different than your Ski-Doo TNT or a Polaris Shift 600. It isn’t as familiar to ride as those sleds are. The Phazer GT feels a bit more ‘free’ as it can be tossed easier and seems more like a dirt bike than a traditional snowmobile. That seems to be one of its charms with devoted Phazer owners.

It isn’t going to be as fast nor as quick as some of the competitive models. It is uniquely designed to be different and with that uniqueness comes some of our frustration. To us the sled seems too light on its skis, requiring a lot of body to be thrown forward and off the side to keep the inner ski biting in quick turns. It seems to sit high and it feels narrow when ridden aggressively in rough trails. Of course, there is always the RTX version to consider if you ride rough trails more than groomed ones.

We think that as the Phazer has evolved and developed from the first model year to now, there have been gradual improvements making the 2009 Phazer GT the best version to date. But, whatever we think, there is no disputing that Yamaha has developed a very nifty, very unique snowmobile that brings some sophisticated motorcycle-based thinking to the snow world. What would we like? More torque at the bottom end and better front-end stability.

All in all, the 2009 Phazer GT is exactly what Yamaha intended to deliver all along — a sporty, fun, lightweight, 4-stroke, high-quality trail sled that is Yamaha reliable.

2009 Yamaha Phazer GT Specs
Engine	Yamaha Genesis 80FI; 499cc, 2-cylinder, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled; 43mm Keihin throttle body electronically controlled fuel injection
Horsepower	80
Drive	Yamaha YXRC variable ratio; gear-reduction
Front Suspension	Yamaha double wishbone; 8.4-in travel; 40mm GYTR dual-clicker high pressure gas shocks
Rear Suspension	Yamaha parallel rail, 16.0-in travel; KYB high pressure gas shocks
Length	111.0 in
Height	52.7 in
Width	47.8 in
Ski Stance	42.5 in
Track	14 x 121 x 1.0 Camoplast Hacksaw
Weight	489 (claimed)
Fuel Capacity	7.0 US Gal
MSRP	$7,499

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2009 Yamaha Phazer MTX Review
2009 Yamaha Phazer RTX Review