Travis Hollins 1-30-06
- Updated: January 30, 2006
After kicking the sand from our shoes, we climbed into Kory Ellis’ motor coach where we cornered Yamaha’s Travis Hollins (ATV Research and Product Planning Manager ) and asked him a few random questions. Here’s what he had to say.
ATV Scene: A wide-off-the-showroom-floor Suzuki QuadRacer is just around the corner. With its introduction, are there any plans to widen the YFZ in 2007?
Hollins: Of course I can’t talk about next year’s quad. I will say that we’ll be building products that come directly from what people tell us they want. We believe that in order to offer the best products you have to listen to your customers and I believe we do it better than any other company. It’s hard to argue with products like the YFZ450, Raptor 700R and the Rhino and don’t forget the Banshee and Blaster.
ATV Scene: What are your predictions for the New Year as far as racing goes?
Hollins: I’m really looking forward to Glen Helen. I think we have one of the strongest teams and I know we have the best machine on the starting gate so it’s going to be a great season. I think there will be a lot of good racing and if all goes well – a lot more exposure for ATVs in general. I’m sure you are aware we have taken the unique step of becoming a partner along side ITP tires in the West Coast Quadcross Series. We have a lot of plans to promote this series and make it huge over the next few years. So if your readers ever get a chance to head west make sure you plan it around one of the Yamaha/ITP Quadcross rounds.
ATV Scene: Why do you suppose there are so few Yamahas in the pro GNC MX line up?
Hollins: I think over the last two seasons when pro riders actually got to choose what they wanted to ride they chose the YFZ450 but now as other manufactures are getting more involved and offering more incentives to ride their brand – it is balancing out a bit more. I haven’t seen who is riding what for the upcoming season so I don’t know how many Yamahas there are in the pro ranks. I think if you look to the amateurs, who pay their own way to race, you will see a lot more blue than any other brand because the YFZ450 is still the best race machine off the showroom floor.
ATV Scene: More than one pro rider has mentioned how impressed they are with the new Raptor 700R . Will any of the factory Yamaha riders actually race a Raptor?
Hollins: There is no doubt the Raptor 700R is a great machine and all of our riders love to ride it when they are out just having fun. I’m sure it would do just fine on the race track but we didn’t build it to be a race quad like the YFZ450 so I think the YFZ450 is still going to be the quad of choice for these guys.
ATV Scene: What’s the breakdown of Yamaha ATVs across the world?
Hollins: I don’t want to speak for other countries but the US definitely accounts for the majority of the sales across the world. Because of this we have a lot of input into how the quads and Side x Sides are designed.
ATV Scene: How many sport performance units are sold vs. utility units? And is this percentage similar in other countries?
Hollins: Utility ATVs are still the majority of the market but the Sport Segment is growing right now so who knows in a few years maybe I will be telling you the opposite.
ATV Scene: We hear you pushed to not let the YFZ be called something different. What was it almost called? And how are the models named?
Hollins: Naming is a really tough subject. As you can imagine a name has to reflect the essence of the quad. Sometimes this can be really difficult, other times it is a natural fit. Yamaha has always had names for our ATVs (Banshee, Raptor, Grizzly, Etc) so when we developed the YFZ450 a lot of people assumed it would just have a name like everything else. We felt that since it was a race quad – it was much closer to our YZ motorcycle lineup than our sport quad lineup. So we just had a little more convincing to do with this model than others. I think once everyone understood how great the YFZ450 was it was an easy choice.
Yamaha selected Pat Brown to add to their representatives in the motocross ranks this year. Brown instantly proved worthy by winning the QuadCross opening round qualifier. He trailed Honda’s John Natalie in second place in the main but DNFed with a broken
ATV Scene:Since this is the last year for the Banshee we have a few Banshee related questions for you guys. Introduced in 1987, and now 19 years old, the Banshee is the longest lasting production sport quad in the industry. Was there any specific year that saw substantial sales?
Hollins: Pretty much since its introduction the sales of the Banshee have steadily increased. It wasn’t until we introduced the YFZ450 that sales started to slip. Now I think people have realized that the YFZ can give them the same type of rush they were used to getting with the Banshee.
ATV Scene: We know of many extremely loyal Banshee owners. We’re assuming that it has been a good money-maker for Yamaha. It goes without saying the Banshee is now considered a legacy in the industry. What made you guys decide that 2006 would be its final year? Does it being a two stroke have anything to do with the Banshee’s demise?
Hollins: This was a really tough one for us. The Banshee has always been a top model for Yamaha not only for sales but also because we are very proud of it. The Banshee is the only two stroke twin ever to be put into a ATV chassis. There really is nothing else like it. I think if you asked the guys out here you would find most fall in love with the Banshee all over again every time they come out to this event.
Kory Ellis airs out his Yamaha Raptor 700R in route to an easy Open Pro victory at this year’s QuadCross opener.
ATV Scene:As you guys know, Ford reintroduced the Mustang and the Thunderbird. Do you see a redesigned four stroke Banshee in future years?
Hollins: Let’s just say that Yamaha is the most innovative company that exists today. If you go back through the years you will find products and features that all the other manufacturers are using today that originated with Yamaha, things like shaft drive, reverse, electric start, diff lock, 5-valve heads, titanium valves and models like the original Pro Hauler with a cargo bed, the Terra Pro with PTO, the Banshee with the two stroke twin, the Raptor 660 (the largest engine ever at the time), YFZ the first true racing ATV, Raptor 700R – the first hybrid chassis, Rhino SxS first recreational SxS…. and more. And I can promise you these will not be the last.
ATV Scene: Yamaha sure has done their homework over the years. Thanks for talking with us and 50th anniversary congratulations to everyone at Yamaha!
Hollins: Thanks.
