2011 Apex SE Riding Impression

[peterdb]

I rode them all but unfortunatly over a short few miles of really bad slushy trails and a lake blast here's my take. My point of reference is an 05 Vector i have never ridden an RX1 or older Appex to know how hard they are to steer. all my buddies have Cats or Doos. The Cats handle great but are loud stinky and they all own 2 one for back up!

Apex sans air shocks: Steering was pretty easy and precise effort to turn the bars about like my 05 vector which is setup light in the front. Motor outstanding pull and very very smooth through bars and feet. However power delivery at slow speeds was very herky jerky. We had to negotiate some tight turns and huge holes at 10-20 mph and i found it very difficult to modulate the throttle smoothly.

vector LTX: i liked this allot better than the Appex like my sled it was very easy to put-put around stuff just off idle it grabs the belt without drama and just goes. Quicker throttle response than mine easy pull throttle. the rider forward thing felt good on my back and knees you can get more leverage on the bars. BUT it made me feel like i was sitting on the sled not in it very tippy feeling Not sure if i can get used to that or not??? it also felt extreemly heavy when turning. I don't get that maybe Yammie guys set it that way on purpose to make the EPS Appex shine?? thought the db2 was supposed to feel lighter on the nose than my 05 and it clearly didn't.

Nytro 144: i was shocked by this sled everyone says how twitchy Nytros are but it went straight as an arrow was stabe through huge bumps easy to turn and rips of the line with that big track hooking up. Not enough wind protection for me but suspension wise i was very surprised i liked it!!!!

Phazer: Great pull for a little motor fun through the huge slushy bumps to launch around on. but very unstable rocked ski to ski at just 45 on the lake 0 wind protection felt extreemly tippy. wife would love a small engine 4 stroke but if i bought her this she'd be going 10mph all day scared to death. She locks her toes into her 2000 phazer and as long as it's not too bumpy she feels very stable and will crank the little sucker up and hang with the boys. we pull away on straights but as soon as it's twisty again she's right on our #*$&@. No way that would happen with the new one.

800 ETec renegade: ok guys this is gonna be painfull. i was floored by this sled. the older revs i did not like they felt way too twitchy and nervous. Not anymore this thing went arrow straight through the crud it felt like there was 14" of front suspension travel very plush font end. For a 2 smoke it was very quiet and very little smoke or smell. it felt great!!! i was right at home on it very comfortable for my 5'9" 180lb body
800cc more than i need but the 600 i suspect would be just right. I really wanted to try a 600ACE for wifey but they had none of those available to ride.
Rear suspension not quite as good in the studders as the mono but it felt pretty close.
I love the 4stroke motors but you wouldn't have to twist my arm very hard to get me on one of these injected Doo's they just have to prove the thing will be reliable.

Of the Yammies my choice would be a new LTX Vector i just can not justify $4k more for the Appex I like but don't need the power the EPS is great but i can only ride 6-8 weekends a year as we drive 4-8hrs to get to snow now with global warming or whatever you want to call it. That's $4K towards retirement, kids school, tow vehicle etc. $4k on a 50 grand car ok no big deal but that's about 40% more on a sled way too much percentage wise.

My Reply.....

 

[Maxout01]

am I missing something? I keep re-reading the guys post of his demos and dont see whats wrong with it?? Why all the angry posts towards it??


back to topic.. I just demo'd the new apex also and feel the same exact way as rock posted. The only thing keeping me from buying a new one is the price.. 15k is way too much for me. The new apex is insane to ride I freakin loved it!!

When I was on the apex I felt like they got into my brain and built a sled perfect for me and i was on it. Now I gotta find one I can afford lol!

 

[peterdb]

am I missing something? I keep re-reading the guys post of his demos and dont see whats wrong with it?? Why all the angry posts towards it??


back to topic.. I just demo'd the new apex also and feel the same exact way as rock posted. The only thing keeping me from buying a new one is the price.. 15k is way too much. The next sled I liked close to it was the doo 800etec, but when compared to the apex the doo is like vw and the apex is like a beamer, lol! Night and day between the two. The new apex is insane to ride I freakin loved it!!

When I was on the apex I felt like they got into my brain and built a sled perfect for me and i was on it. Now I gotta find one I can afford lol!

i think it gets a little frustrating for tom, quite frankly, me too. we have no problem with other brands, go buy'em and rid'em if you want. it's just the 'timing' lately and the number of Doo posts popping up in the WRONG threads. we all know ski doos are light and handle great. yipeeee. can someone please reapeat that again for the billionth time......
here we go again, this is what your doing to Tom -
"for God's sake, not another F@*king Ski-Doo post!

 

[Maxout01]

am I missing something? I keep re-reading the guys post of his demos and dont see whats wrong with it?? Why all the angry posts towards it??


back to topic.. I just demo'd the new apex also and feel the same exact way as rock posted. The only thing keeping me from buying a new one is the price.. 15k is way too much. The next sled I liked close to it was the doo 800etec, but when compared to the apex the doo is like vw and the apex is like a beamer, lol! Night and day between the two. The new apex is insane to ride I freakin loved it!!

When I was on the apex I felt like they got into my brain and built a sled perfect for me and i was on it. Now I gotta find one I can afford lol!

i think it gets a little frustrating for tom, quite frankly, me too. we have no problem with other brands, go buy'em and rid'em if you want. it's just the 'timing' lately and the number of Doo posts popping up in the WRONG threads. we all know ski doos are light and handle great. yipeeee. can someone please reapeat that again for the billionth time......
here we go again, this is what your doing to Tom -
"for God's sake, not another F@*king Ski-Doo post!

haha lol! I gotcha. Athough I'll disagree as far as what you said we know about the doo, the apex handled way better then the doo. The doos were junk compared to all the yamahas I rode. Yamaha is wwwwaaaaayyyyyy ahead of all the other three IMO.

I've noticed on dootalk there is alot of good posts for yamahas lately so we are getting them back Tom, dont worry!!!!!

 

[pat the rat]

am I missing something? I keep re-reading the guys post of his demos and dont see whats wrong with it?? Why all the angry posts towards it??


back to topic.. I just demo'd the new apex also and feel the same exact way as rock posted. The only thing keeping me from buying a new one is the price.. 15k is way too much for me. The new apex is insane to ride I freakin loved it!!

When I was on the apex I felt like they got into my brain and built a sled perfect for me and i was on it. Now I gotta find one I can afford lol!

the thread is about the se impressions,then he gives us reviews of the vector,phazer,nytro and bang,the 800 etec,were talking about the se,not a sdi doo 800,even the other yammis didnt belong in this thread

 

[watersuper]

Sorry, I got sucked in

 

[Maxout01]

Sorry, I got sucked in

haha as did i, my apologies to all.

 

[srvfan]

Wow that was nice. I rode them all. i don't own or ride a skidoo. Simply thought it was greatly improved IMHO over earlier Revs.

IMHO the comparison between Apex and Vector is valid people ask that question all the time.

Guess I should have started a seperate thread.

 

[Ding]

My review from another post:

Awesome !!!

I was really impressed with the EPS. I don't know why Yamaha was worried that the conditions would mask the benefit of the EPS. I have never felt steering anywhere near that stable at 100+ mph on rutted trails before. I felt I could have let go of the bars (if I had a way to lock the throttle open) and it would have gone straight. To describe further, the sled moved around due to the constantly changing track and conditions, but there was very little need to make the constant corrections that triple digits usually brings to the table.

I purposely rode the 2010 sled on the same trip so I would have an accurate comparison.

I also noticed the EXUP. It is a subtle difference, but I am convinced that side by side through varying conditions (shift out - backshift - shift out) it will gain sled lengths over the same sled without it.

 

[Maxout01]

My review from another post:

Awesome !!!

I was really impressed with the EPS. I don't know why Yamaha was worried that the conditions would mask the benefit of the EPS. I have never felt steering anywhere near that stable at 100+ mph on rutted trails before. I felt I could have let go of the bars (if I had a way to lock the throttle open) and it would have gone straight. To describe further, the sled moved around due to the constantly changing track and conditions, but there was very little need to make the constant corrections that triple digits usually brings to the table.

I purposely rode the 2010 sled on the same trip so I would have an accurate comparison.

I also noticed the EXUP. It is a subtle difference, but I am convinced that side by side through varying conditions (shift out - backshift - shift out) it will gain sled lengths over the same sled without it.

Nice review. I agree also.

I went back and deleted all my reviews on here because I had reviewed the skidoos also and even though I said yamahas were 100% better like night and day, I guess that cant be said.

nice review ROCK. I agreed with your findings exactly.

 

[waldo1]

hey rock - whats up - i agree the sled is awesome but i think like the nytro better - i hit some large crater size holes with the standard apex and thought i was going to loose it - it bottomed out and got out of control bad - hit the same stuff with the nytro se later that day, no problem - nytro goes around corners and deep powder better also. it does much better than the old apex but another 3 k is hard to justify. the hand warmers were much better on the 011 than the stock 09 se, but not now - thanks - by the way, it was a bad grip per our last discussion - your right again. installed the hot hands grip upgrade - works even better now.