Editor’s Note: In each issue of Snow Goer, International Snowmobile Hall of Fame journalist Davis Wells recalls an interesting model in the sport’s colorful history. This review of the Yamaha Inviter first appeared in the January 2011 issue.
Selling truckloads of starter sleds to urbanites has been the holy grail of the snowmobile industry since the passing of the iron dogs. Virtually every major manufacturer as well as numerous small brands like Swinger, Snow Flake and Wee Ski have taken a run at it. Most failed miserably, although a few models, like Ski-Doo’s Elan, did find garage space in many households that already had snow machines.
By the mid 1980s, Yamaha had taken shots with the Enticer and the Bravo. They were good products, but it was soon evident that they weren’t doing any better at luring newcomers into snowmobiling than any other starter sleds. So the company took inventory of engineering and design factors that might be keeping people away from snow riding and created a truly radical new machine to address those issues. The name Inviter was selected to underscore the purpose of this model.

Yamaha Inviter: It Was Really Different
The pilot build CF300K Inviter was released for consumer awareness and testing in winter 1986. And unlike other similar projects of the past including the Polaris TC and Arctic Cat’s original leaf spring Trail Cat, it got the green light for full production. A different size carburetor, slightly lighter springing and shock valving in the rear plus softer seat cushion materials were the major tweaks on the otherwise pretty much unchanged 1987 full production model.
Radical styling announced that this sled was really different. And everything about it was engineered to make it non-intimidating and easy to use regardless of the age or physical ability of the operator. Yamaha emphasized that you drove this sled, not rode it. The driver sat in it, not on it, with a padded backrest that slid forward to position the operator for maximum comfort. Electric start, adjustable “aircraft style steering yoke” handlebars with heaters, instrumentation, tall windshield and a huge rear storage compartment in the seat back were all standard equipment, and all virtually unheard of in an entry-level snow machine up to this point. So was Yamaha’s Telescopic Strut Suspension (TSS), a coil-over-shock set up when all other entry-level sleds still had leaf springs.
Power came from an industry-first liquid-cooled one-lunger on “dynamically tuned” rubber engine mounts to reduce vibration. Carefully engineered to produce just 72 decibels of sound, this unconventional engine was promoted as the quietest ever. Naturally, Autolube oil injection was standard for convenience. And Yamaha’s Throttle Over Ride System (TORS) eliminated any need for a tether switch because it would shut down the engine if the throttle cable stuck or broke.
The super short 15 by 102-inch low lug track had an oddball 3.29-inch drive pitch that was later used with a longer track on the more conventional Ovation.
But the strangest and most controversial element was the finger throttle. Convinced that tired right thumbs were a problem for novice snowmobilers, Yamaha engineers provided a throttle that was operated by the four fingers of the driver’s right hand while the thumb engaged the grip. This radical idea pulled the Keihin butterfly carburetor, a type that was said to require less throttle pressure than a slide valve carb.
Heavily promoted to both snowmobilers and non-snowmobilers through a wide array of events and media, the Excel gold (sort of a beige) and black Inviter generated lots of talk and controversy within the sport and industry.
Yamaha Inviter On The Trail
The Inviter proved to be friendly, quiet, comfortable and easy to operate as long as it was on a good trail. But the handling was just plain awful on hard or irregular surfaces and especially through off-camber turns because the driver was unable to lean forward to put more weight on the skis as with a conventional sled.
My riding buddy Paul bought a new Inviter to introduce his skier wife to snowmobiling. Sue had no real trouble with the machine, and it had enough power for her to keep up with us most of the time. But she did toss it into the trailside bushes a few too many times to suit us. Tired of having to stop and go back to drag it out for her, we added some low-end carbide runners and a handful of track studs, and that greatly improved the handling as well as the acceleration and braking on icy trails. Otherwise, it was an unremarkable but steady performer. And after a couple seasons on her “Yamahopper,” Sue moved on to bigger iron – which I guess was the point of an entry-level sled.
Some owners reported carburetor trouble with the Inviter, but most found it reliable if unexciting winter transportation. Most weren’t run hard, so they tended to last if cared for reasonably well.
Yamaha Inviter Into History
The primary color was changed to a more attractive metallic blue over dark blue in 1990, and the price nudged upwards, but the Inviter was otherwise generally unchanged as it hung around through the 1991 model year, then quietly expired.
The last snow machine specifically engineered to attract new participants to the sport, the Inviter just never found much of a following among existing snowmobilers and certainly didn’t attract many non-snowmobilers to the sport, either. So one of the boldest product moves ever seen from a major snowmobile manufacturer became a flop. But credit Yamaha for having the guts to try new ideas and produce such a radical machine.
And some of them are still out there carting around ice fishermen and teaching kids how to snowmobile. So keep your eyes open and you might see an Inviter somewhere this winter.
Sidebar
1987 Yamaha Inviter
Powertrain
Engine: 293cc Yamaha liquid-cooled piston-port single
Carburetion: One Keihin BD38-32 butterfly type
Compression Ratio: 7:1
Ignition: Capacitor Discharge (CD)
Lubrication: Oil injection
Exhaust: Single pipe into muffler
Power Output: 30 HP (estimated)
Drive System: Yamaha 2-arm fixed ramp type drive and Yamaha driven
Chassis
Type: Welded and painted steel tunnel and belly pan, nylon front bumper, and sheet molding compound (SMC) hood
Claimed Dry Weight: 384 pounds
Front Suspension: Telescoping struts with internal coil spring over hydraulic shock absorber
Ski Stance: 34.6 inches
Rear Suspension: Slide rails with one wheel per rail, two coil-over, hydraulic-shock assemblies on rear arm and one on front arm
Track: 15- by 102-inch molded rubber with internal drive
Brake: Self-adjusting mechanical disc
Fuel Capacity: 5.3 US gallons
Standard Equipment: Adjustable padded and heated handlebars, electric start, kill switch, speedometer / odometer, gas gauge, seat back storage compartment
MSRP: $2,699
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Still enjoy our 1988 inviter all original, seat needs some attention but like riding a Cadillac with skis