Yamaha may be exiting the snowmobile market in 2025, but before this chapter closes, the company is set to release one final lineup of machines in North America. Although Yamaha is known for its motorcycles, the company has built a wide array of products over the years. Founded by Torakusu Yamaha in 1887, it first focused on reed organs before pivoting to bikes in the 1950s, producing models which would evolve to become some of the most respected on the planet. But the company didn’t stop there. In the past century, it’s built everything from violins, to performance ATVs like the YFZ 450 Sport, to MotoGP racing engines.
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Yamaha’s journey into the snowmobile world began with the testing of its prototype design, the YX15, in 1965. It had plenty of flaws, but after redesigning the YX, Yamaha released its first snowmobile, the SL350, in 1968. And Yamaha wasn’t the only bike builder to get in on the action. Even Harley-Davidson built snowmobiles during the 1970s.
The two-stroke, two-cylinder Yamaha SL350 may have had its share of challenges, but it marked the beginning of a remarkable 57-year journey in the snowmobile industry. In honor of Yamaha’s contribution to blasting a path through the mountains and skidding along forested trails, we examine every Yamaha snowmobile you can buy in 2025, ranked by price.
