Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

My YS 828W, this one will get commercial grade skids. It has the mounting hardware for the snow cab on it but the cab will fit the YS 624's as well

My YS 624W, recently refurbised so just need skid and scraper adjusted

My YS 624T, fabricated a drift cutter today and will install when paint dries, then she is ready to go

To be honest I just picked that 624 wheel model one up this summer so I have not really tried it but I rehabbed a 624 track model for my brother that has the rear skids and they work fine. I'm sure they will be OK on a wheel model too. I put the commercial grade Honda skids on my 624 track model because when you lock it in scrape mode I feel the support under the auger is preferable. Plus I really do not want the front edge of the auger housing sides to be hitting the ground which can happen in scrape mode. My driveway is not smooth and flat so its a precaution. They do not make the sides anymore.

My 828 wheel model was already converted to side skids when I got it but I will be replacing the cheapo ones with the good stuff this weekend.

PS: I saw the serrated auger edges you did and the lower first gear, very nice modifications and really well executed. 

I'm also n New Hampshire but I have never seen a Yamaha snowblower for sale here, not even used.

From your post you seem to do all your own work on them. It's a nice unit.

Steve Cebu - I do all the work because I enjoy it and its a stress release of sorts. Always been a bit of a tinkerer and garage rat. As a kid I had mini bikes, go karts, a million bicycles and was always messing sround with them. If something broke around our house like our tractor or lawn mower my dad would make us fix it rather than go to a shop. If we needed a trailer or something he would take us to a junk yard to get steel and whatever else we needed to build one rather than buy it. His way of making us think and learn how to use tools. My first several cars were in constant need of repair so learned a lot with them as well.

I was looking for a used machine about 2 years ago because, A) hated my John Deere and B), could not afford new, and stumbled on to this brand. I bought all my machines right here in NH and one in MA. They surface now and again and usually are in need of being totally gone through as they are 15+ years old. However when you are done they are super dependable and outperform most anything else.

They have begun to sell them again in Canada and start at around $2500+ so putting a used one back in good order seems worth it.  I did not set out to be a guy with this many (like an old lady with too many cats) but when I got my first one I was amazed at how much better they were than the machines I had used before. So I got one for my brother and then I got a bigger model, then I got a wheeled version (vs track) and then a parts machine and thats how it went.

mcbnh wrote:

I used to work on all my own cars back about 30 years ago but nowadays they are too complicated to work on. After I blew up my snowmobile that was the end of my tinkering with small air cooled motors. It's a talent to be able to work with them and you have a good skill to do that.

I knew they had some older Yamaha models that floated around, never saw one but read about them. Canadians are paying around $4k for a new one with tracks so yours all brought up to spec is quite a good deal.

I think you'll find a lot of forum members have quite a decent sized snowblower collection coughaa335cough

Steve Cebu – Trust me I no longer work on cars.  Home power equipment is about my limit. I make do with your average Joe’s tool array; turning wrenches and resurrecting good used stuff is somehow therapeutic for me!  Some of the projects I see on these sites are way beyond what I would attempt and I marvel at the skills out there.

Bought a Honda 928 last winter and it came with BOTH side and rear mounted skids installed - so I ran it that way.  The machine tended, just a bit, to ride high on one side - looked to me like it was caused  by the side mounted skid running up on unblown snow since it does stick out beyond the side of the bucket.  I plan on removing the side skids this winter and just going with the rear mounted skids and we'll see what happens.  Any comments from anybody?

Dr_Woof wrote:
I'm using my Honda 1132 with both side and rear skids.  It came new with just the rear skids, I added the side skids for stability and protection of the bucket from making contact with concrete or anything that might scratch or dent.

The rear skids are still on, but they are adjusted to be 1/8" above the side skids.  I use them to support the bucket when going over curbs. 

Rear skids only makes turning easier, and you can use the scraper mode to chip away at ice, very aggressive since the serrated auger are actually kerf-like edges on a circular saw blade.  The risk is that you may grind your bucket or bump into something, which I don't use scraper mode anymore.  There's more side to side movement and the front end tends to wander around easier.

Side skids offer more side to side stability, the front end doesn't wander around as much.  Turning requires more effort.

Steve_Cebu wrote:

I don't have a blue one.   

mcbnh wrote:

Well as long as you enjoy what you are doing that is what's really important.

aa335 wrote:

Yet