What 2015 Yamaha Apex should I buy?

[LAKECITYAPEX]

Should a buy a Standard Apex Or the SE? I Had an 06 Yamaha Apex RTX and didn't like the ride. I'm thinking about buying a 2015 Apex (standard) with the mono shock and wondering how they ride?

 

[Winderallday!]

My personal preference would be to go with the Mon-Shock (Standard). I have had an 06,08,11 and now a 15. That being said, all my mono-shocks were sent out for re-valve for my weight and riding style, imo this is a must. No issues with bottoming out or otherwise. Set up the spring pre-load sit in to around 40-45mm (I measure the travel of the neoprene bumper on the shock rod to do this) and have had good success. There are three positions on the shock body to locate the ramped adjuster collar, I run mine in the second clip position, to get the proper sit in for my weight (approx 225 with gear).
Remote adjust dial only affects rebound, I run mine pretty much in the middle and seldom move it. The mono-shock can be set up to perform well, if the sled/suspension is new to you, plan on pretty much a season of riding in various conditions to get it dialed in to your liking, don't let the first ride on it sour your opinion. You will find the EPS to be an awesome upgrade coming off non-EPS.
The front shocks I have swapped out for GYTR's, but basically if you back the pre-load off the springs so they are loose with sled elevated in order to get the front A arms parallel or as close to parallel to the ground as you can, the handling is great, this along with a decent set of skis/carbides (I personally ditched the 15 Tuner skis and went back to the EPS style ski that came out in 2011)
My running bud has an 11 SE and has had no issues with the Fox shocks. My fear FWIW, would be if the Mega Shock tanked, and since it has no coil over spring, you are done for the day or possibly a trip. I'm sure some SE riders will chime in with their experience/set up advice too.
Cheers and good luck.

 

[LAKECITYAPEX]

My personal preference would be to go with the Mon-Shock (Standard). I have had an 06,08,11 and now a 15. That being said, all my mono-shocks were sent out for re-valve for my weight and riding style, imo this is a must. No issues with bottoming out or otherwise. Set up the spring pre-load sit in to around 40-45mm (I measure the travel of the neoprene bumper on the shock rod to do this) and have had good success. There are three positions on the shock body to locate the ramped adjuster collar, I run mine in the second clip position, to get the proper sit in for my weight (approx 225 with gear).
Remote adjust dial only affects rebound, I run mine pretty much in the middle and seldom move it. The mono-shock can be set up to perform well, if the sled/suspension is new to you, plan on pretty much a season of riding in various conditions to get it dialed in to your liking, don't let the first ride on it sour your opinion. You will find the EPS to be an awesome upgrade coming off non-EPS.
The front shocks I have swapped out for GYTR's, but basically if you back the pre-load off the springs so they are loose with sled elevated in order to get the front A arms parallel or as close to parallel to the ground as you can, the handling is great, this along with a decent set of skis/carbides (I personally ditched the 15 Tuner skis and went back to the EPS style ski that came out in 2011)
My running bud has an 11 SE and has had no issues with the Fox shocks. My fear FWIW, would be if the Mega Shock tanked, and since it has no coil over spring, you are done for the day or possibly a trip. I'm sure some SE riders will chime in with their experience/set up advice too.
Cheers and good luck.

 

[LAKECITYAPEX]

Thank you for the Info Apexallday. Where do you send your Mono-shock for re-valving and what riding style do you have it set for? I pretty much ride groomed trails and was looking to upgrade to a longer track for a better ride. I was looking at a Yamaha viper, but love the power and sound of the Apex. Are the 2015's Apex faster than 2006-2010 Apex? Thank you

 

[thor452]

I would say yes to faster and all around quicker too. if you want faster stay away from the viper unless you plan to turbo it. Personally I think the XTX with tipped up rails is the best chassis to date from any manufacture. I have not rode them all but I have rode many and for the ridding I do and the abuse my sled can see it holds up and is just so capable of everything I throw at it. it will handle the big g out bumps it will do the tight twisty trails it will go off trail it will let you ride all day and still be fresh the next day to do it again. you can pound out a totally washed out trail at speed. it amazes me when you can go from over the hood powder riding to hitting a trail and top speed over 100 mph with out stopping and making a single adjustment.

 

[WinderFab]

For trail riding the standard apex rides better, I had a heck of a time trying to dial in the mega float in the rear, I found the right psi for smooth trails and small stutter bump but as soon as the trail changes the mega float needs to be readjusted or you won't be enjoying the ride... it's also very sensitive to air pressure even a few psi make a big difference in the ride...

I never was a fan of air shocks for trail riding, coil over shocks absorb the trail bumps way better than air with less feed back to the rider...

Stick with the standard apex with the dial adjustment on the tunnel, much better and consistent ride over the se...

 

[Winderallday!]

Thank you for the Info Apexallday. Where do you send your Mono-shock for re-valving and what riding style do you have it set for? I pretty much ride groomed trails and was looking to upgrade to a longer track for a better ride. I was looking at a Yamaha viper, but love the power and sound of the Apex. Are the 2015's Apex faster than 2006-2010 Apex? Thank you

Lakecity: Being in Ontario/Canada, I have always sent my shocks to Shock-Tec in Ontario (www.shocktec.ca).
Frank is a top shelf shock guru, he tunes sled shocks and moto cross bikes etc, I have referred many to him, and I know he does work for USA clients as well.
I am an "agressive" trail only rider, often on whooped out trails, seldom below posted speed limits, and the sled behaves quite well in my opinion. No off trail or ditch banging.
Hard to beat the ride quality, not sure a longer track s going to give you a night and day difference in ride quality, however a well set up XTX performs well from what I read, keep in mind XTX is a totally different skid/shock set up than a Standard or SE Apex.
I find the 15 Apex to be more torquey/snappy compared to pre-11 Apex. Getting up to speed is smooth and lightening fast imo. Faster than 06-10? I would say slightly, where I ride there is seldom enough trail to wind it out full wick. The Ripsaw 2 is much better track than earlier Ripsaws.
Cheers

 

[LAKECITYAPEX]

Lakecity: Being in Ontario/Canada, I have always sent my shocks to Shock-Tec in Ontario (www.shocktec.ca).
Frank is a top shelf shock guru, he tunes sled shocks and moto cross bikes etc, I have referred many to him, and I know he does work for USA clients as well.
I am an "agressive" trail only rider, often on whooped out trails, seldom below posted speed limits, and the sled behaves quite well in my opinion. No off trail or ditch banging.
Hard to beat the ride quality, not sure a longer track s going to give you a night and day difference in ride quality, however a well set up XTX performs well from what I read, keep in mind XTX is a totally different skid/shock set up than a Standard or SE Apex.
I find the 15 Apex to be more torquey/snappy compared to pre-11 Apex. Getting up to speed is smooth and lightening fast imo. Faster than 06-10? I would say slightly, where I ride there is seldom enough trail to wind it out full wick. The Ripsaw 2 is much better track than earlier Ripsaws.
Cheers

 

[LAKECITYAPEX]

Thank you all for the information. I bought the 2015 standard Apex with only 350 miles. Now time to order parts for it. Will the clutch kit from the 07 Apex fit the 2015 Apex?

 

[VX1R]

Will the clutch kit from the 07 Apex fit the 2015 Apex?

No problem, any clutch components from a previous Apex clutch kit will be interchangeable with your new sled.

 

[Winderallday!]

Thank you all for the information. I bought the 2015 standard Apex with only 350 miles. Now time to order parts for it. Will the clutch kit from the 07 Apex fit the 2015 Apex?

Clutch mods are compatible with 15 for sure. I had Ulmers set up on my 08, and then installed on my 2011 along with a PC5.

My experience, the 11-15 models clutching in stock form work great, clutch tuning doesn't give you much more bang for the bucks. Adjustable flyweights work good if you want to dial in the optimum RPM, which for the EXUP sled is 10,700-10,800.

I guess it depends what you want to clutch for, I have not found the need to change clutching on my 15, it works that well, only changed out the tip rivets and I am spot on.

I would suggest you ride it first then decide if it needs clutch tweeking, this is a whole different animal than your 07.

Congrats on your purchase, and report back after you get a few rides in!

 

[LAKECITYAPEX]

Does anyone know if there is still a clearance issue on studding a 15 Apex. I did some research on this TY website and the 2011 Apex had a clearance issue.
I would like to put 153 studs across the track. Should I swap the track to a 1"? Thank you

 

[thor452]

my understanding is that you just need to beef up the tunnel protectors the ones with Clarence issue have a 1.75 track and even then I'm not sure there is an issue.

 

[Winderallday!]

Does anyone know if there is still a clearance issue on studding a 15 Apex. I did some research on this TY website and the 2011 Apex had a clearance issue.
I would like to put 153 studs across the track. Should I swap the track to a 1"? Thank you

Beefing up the tunnel protector mounting brackets is a must if you plan on studs, the C shaped mount brackets just collapse. The exhaust portion behind the EXUP gets chewed to chit, the 15's have an extra shield in this area where the 11's did not. Some dealers made up a kit for beefing up the protector mount brackets, for customers who plan to stud. If you are handy, you can do this yourself fairly easy.
If you decide to go as far as changing track, I would opt for the pre-studded ice attack vs buying and installing studs, this will be my next track after some hairy episodes on ice this past year.