RTX Is The Highest Maintenance Production Sled

I switched from an 05 F7 last season and prior to that I had been riding Doo. My main reason for switching was the fact that the 2S motors in those sleds require major attention every 2 or 3 seasons if you do a lot of riding.
I certainly got a shock last season when I realized that the RTX requires more maintenance than any Doo or Cat I have owned. The motor is rock solid but the suspension. Sheesh. Multiple idler wheel replacements at the Yamaha rip off price with a non replaceable bearing. 3 sets of sliders in one season. Unbelievable difficulty in getting the rear susp to work properly and absorb bumps.

Now after season 1 I have to
Revalve - assuming I want a good ride.
Replace all idler wheels with Doo wheels if I want to spend more time riding and less time fixing. (replacing wheels and sliders) This involves modifying the wheel mounts and forward shock cross member.
New limiter straps since both of mine are trashed.
Small repairs on rails due to cheap 1 bolt idler mounts
Install low snow kit to get some mileage out of sliders.
Replace all bushings on shocks.
Replace all the bearings which with this suspension means the entire wheel. Absolutely brilliant.

Seems kind of ironic that the motor is so good but the skid is junk and the Apex's still have the rep for great reliability LOL.

Other than that I have to say I do like the sled. I would really like someone to brighten my day and tell me that next year will be better with all the wheel mods etc. Problem is that I don't have a heated garage and my hands get cold working in -20.

I agree, I have the same feeling about my '06 Attak. I'll be riding it for the fourth season this year, 1 year more than I'd ever dare push any of my Skidoos. But this will be my last year with Yamaha.

The year before I bought my new Attak, I bought my wife a new Skidoo Adrenaline 600. The maintenance on the Adrenaline in 8500 miles:

1 set hifax
Replace plugs once
Change the chain case oil each year
Clean the RAVE valves once
Grease each year
1 set new carbides
Replace 2 belts

The maintenance on the Attak in 9200 miles:

5 set hifax
Oil / Filter change each year
Grease each year
12 idler wheels
Replace suspension adjustment cable twice
Revalve rear shock
New rear spring
Replace exhaust donuts & 1 y-pipe
Replace stripped out lower panel Phillips screws
Replace dropped headlight pod captive nut (3 times)
Replace antifreeze with water to avoid overheating (too strong from factory)
Add rear cooler to avoid overheating
2 sets Woody's Dooly carbides to avoid darting
Skidoo Pilot skis & carbides to avoid darting & pushing in the corners
Replace 1 belt
Replace plugs once

I love the power of the Attak, but I hate the feeling not knowing if something is going to break each time I ride. Granted, a bearing on one of the inside idler wheels won't end a trip, but it's still a pain. The only sled I've ever had stop a trip is the Attak when the hifax kept melting to the track & I had to take it to a dealer for new hifax. My wife was riding her 'Doo on the trip & didn't understand why I was having problems as her 'Doo was running fine. That's embarrassing


Scott

You are going to have yearly maintenance items on any sled.
The difference is that with a Yamaha, you can be sure that you wont need to worry about the engine. You cant say the same about those other brands...

Sheesh. I have the original Hyfax on my 06 RTX. AND I run lots of ICE.
Also running the ORIGINAL belt!!

SRSchange, I sure hope you're not complaining about a yearly oil change????? Grease each year? I grease every few weekends. Why not?

I would have to concur with energeezer's assessment with his first Yammy. Yes, the engine is/are Yamaha's forte and are reliable and durable, however it is the other little things that just keep gnawing away at owners' views of these sleds.

Here are some examples:

-poor idler wheels
-bearings not replaceable
-high slider wear
-hand warmer issues
-overheating
-darting
-exhaust donuts

In my opinion, if only Yamaha would have quickly and appropriately addressed and fixed these problems, their market share could have been huge in the last couple of years. Many riders are considering the 4 stroke revolution, however these petty things do keep an informed customer away.

At least in the last year, Yamaha addressed the front end issues on the FX Nytros....but that may have occurred due to the possibility of an eventual accident/injury, which potentially could result in a lawsuit.

I was very close to jumping ship from Yamaha and 2 reasons kept me from buying a Skidoo 4 stroke. One, was the price I managed to get for the SE was too good to pass on, and 2, a first year run of the new 4Tec engine scared me off. Time will tell though, and if Skidoo's new 4Tec engines prove to be reliable and powerful, a few years from now I may jump ship.

The yamahas can be the absolute best with some mods. This year my attak will be getting rid of all my problems, which was with the skid.

Going with rail angle wheels for slider wear
Fully clip the track
Custom stainless plates to strengthen the rails where they broke last year
Fixed exhaust with my custom setup
Now tackling the clutch alignment issue
Shock set on 3rd clip (done for free)
Graphite sliders
Carefully maintaining track tension and alignment.

I have never had a darting issue or coolant issue, or wheel issue. But when the bearings went, i switched to removable bearing wheels.

I also have an Attak, Been on Yamaha sleds for 30 years except for a 99 Mach Z and Renegades. I completely agree about the 4 stroke motor being their best asset but the skid, shocks, exhaust leaking and other little things you would never have happen to a Ski-doo just nickel and dime you to death not to mention having to change tracks just to get it to go in a foot or so of snow, as compared to the sleds not so far back that had similiar weight and 3/4" lug tracks and they had no problems going in those conditions. Not forgetting the $13,000 price tag that goes along with this premum puppy.

Guys, consider the route I took. Put your absolute favorite suspension under it. It's just not that hard, and if you go with a used OEM suspension, not that expensive. Especially when compared with what some of these aftermarket guys are getting for revalves that come with no gaurantee that you won't STILL be breaking parts! You'll have an incredible sled out of the deal, and no more worries about what's going to let go next. Then you can actually enjoy the sled for what it's really capable of!

Yup, it's a bite having to pay again for something that should have been done right to start with (or taken care of after the fact). That concept was hard to swallow for me. But consider the options. You can live with a miserable sled (money pit), sell it, or do it right. Your call.

I dont know what you guys are doing to your sled, but my 06 RTX is just at about 5000miles and the only thing that has gone wrong with the sled was the wire for the turn dial on the monoshock.

I have a 07 apex rtx also. I am currently going through the sled before winter. I too can't believe the amount of maintence I have to do. I just sent my rear shocks in to get revalved and they called and said they can't touch the center one due to the studs in the track grinding the shock mount almost through do to the sled bottoming out, with that the mount on the sled for that shock is ground down also so i have to replace that which is the shaft that also holds the two inner bogey wheels which those are also shot and need to be replaced. This skid is the worst riding sled I have ever owned. I have had yamaha's all my life and wouldn't think about riding anything else but after this sled I wonder about that. I only have 2900 miles on it and I have spent alot of money trying to get it to handle and ride the way it should.

I had to add a 13mm sway bar to get it to not be so tippy, cna razor skis to get it to turn and ride on top of the snow, shock revalve so I can have a half #*$&@ comfortable ride, and hid headlights so when you hit the gas at night the headlight is not up in the trees. I only weigh 155lbs I ride very aggressive but find it hard to believe my skinny #*$&@ can be this hard on a sled that is supposed to be a rough trail sled and have these results. If it wasn't for the engine I would probably send it down the road.

Not to totally rag on yamaha but I am with these other guys that when you spend 10k plus on a sled you shouldn't have to spend another $1500 bucks to get it to do what it should from the factory. I had an 03 viper and didn't do anything but put gas in it, I guess I expected to much out of something that costs quite a bit more.

What kind of bogey wheels are you guys using to help with hifax wear? I only got 250 miles out of my last set.

Two of my friends just got 09 Nytros so I will see how much improvement yamaha has made this year Hopefully alot.

Best thing to do is to replace the stock wheels with Slydog bogie wheels.. Tripples your hyfax life.. And use RX-1 NARROW slides.. That whole wide slide thing was a waste of time..

if you grease the bushings ever time you ride they will last over 3000 miles..

front suspension bushings should be replaced with the oil light bushings from ulmer.. so you will never have to mess with them again..

Hope this helps..

Brian

Well I agree there are certain things that Yammy could do to lower the maintenance on these babies "BUT" may I remind you that up untill the early 2000's the average rider put 1000 miles per year on a sled. These things are so fast and so comfortable when they are dialed in we are pushing them harder for longer periods and for more miles. I did over 5000 miles last year and several days of over 500 miles and felt like I could keep on riding but could not find an open fuel station.

I had Vipers, SRX's, SX's and have ridden just about every sled from Arctic Cat, Polaris and Ski-Doo and would never be able to cover that type of ground. My friends that ride other manufacturers sleds break off from me & my friends on Yammys and go back to the motel after 100 or so miles bcause they can't ride anymore.

I have 2 friends that say they are hard core both have 02 Polaris 700's and one is selling his Polaris because his 7 yr old sled has 3400 miles on it and he is afraid that the motor has not got long to go, the other has 2800 and is looking at an Attack so he can ride with us.

My 03 RX has 13,400 on it my 05 has 6330 on it my sx 700 has 4500 and my Vmax 600 has 14,635 on it with the original motor and track.

In all of those miles I have only been towed in 2 times with blown motors (thats another story) both on my 03 RX. But thats a lot of riding for the investment.

welterracer said:

Best thing to do is to replace the stock wheels with Slydog bogie wheels.. Tripples your hyfax life.. And use RX-1 NARROW slides.. That whole wide slide thing was a waste of time..

if you grease the bushings ever time you ride they will last over 3000 miles..

front suspension bushings should be replaced with the oil light bushings from ulmer.. so you will never have to mess with them again..

Hope this helps..

Brian

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My oilite bulkheads are shot after almost 6,000 miles. They feel just as bad as the stockers did after 8,000.

As mentioned, one of the best things you can do is ditch the suspension and get an aftermarket one. With the ZX2 I have 0 bushings to replace and never have to add grease. Hyfax wear is great, almost 4,000 miles on hyfax and I still have more to go. Probably another 1,000.

Snowmobiling is by far the most expensive thing that I do. I will be putting almost $2,000 into my sled before winter, most of that being maintenance (shocks, tracks, bearings, seat repair, drivers, steering and front bushings, etc.). Then on top of that will be all of the gas which can easily be another $2,000+. I try not to think about the cost as it makes me sick so I am just going to stop there.

I love the sled and wish several parts were designed better, as they are simply a mistake to have been put on this sled. The motor is it's saving grace, 3 years and I still feel like it's illegal to have as much fun as I do when I pull the trigger.

mdkuni said:

My oilite bulkheads are shot after almost 6,000 miles. They feel just as bad as the stockers did after 8,000.

As mentioned, one of the best things you can do is ditch the suspension and get an aftermarket one. With the ZX2 I have 0 bushings to replace and never have to add grease.

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I think adding grease zerts/zerks to the pivot is key to make either last. How does the ZX2 not require grease? Does it use bearings or something? I've never really looked at it up close so no idea how it functions.

Yamadog said:

Well I agree there are certain things that Yammy could do to lower the maintenance on these babies "BUT" may I remind you that up untill the early 2000's the average rider put 1000 miles per year on a sled. These things are so fast and so comfortable when they are dialed in we are pushing them harder for longer periods and for more miles. I did over 5000 miles last year and several days of over 500 miles and felt like I could keep on riding but could not find an open fuel station.

I had Vipers, SRX's, SX's and have ridden just about every sled from Arctic Cat, Polaris and Ski-Doo and would never be able to cover that type of ground. My friends that ride other manufacturers sleds break off from me & my friends on Yammys and go back to the motel after 100 or so miles bcause they can't ride anymore.

I have 2 friends that say they are hard core both have 02 Polaris 700's and one is selling his Polaris because his 7 yr old sled has 3400 miles on it and he is afraid that the motor has not got long to go, the other has 2800 and is looking at an Attack so he can ride with us.

My 03 RX has 13,400 on it my 05 has 6330 on it my sx 700 has 4500 and my Vmax 600 has 14,635 on it with the original motor and track.

In all of those miles I have only been towed in 2 times with blown motors (thats another story) both on my 03 RX. But thats a lot of riding for the investment.

Click to expand...

Yamadog -
There's not going to be any argument from my corner regarding the reliability/trailworthyness of any part of any Apex - other than the rear suspension. I'm not the only guy that has spent a fair amount of money to get that piece of it right because of that.

Mono's are not without their own issues, but those riders have no clue what the Proactive guys are going through.

Yammi has had how many years to do something regarding these issues, and is still selling the Proactive today as they were when introduced - as rough trail suspensions. What a cruel joke to find out otherwise after spending what they get for them.