2012 APEX XTX exhaust donuts and mileage

[brmurph]

I bought this sled this spring, the dealer said it had 6500 miles on it but after I got it home the odometer only showed a little over 900 miles (after I put a few hundred miles on it). So now I am wondering if the odometer got messed up some how or I got a better deal then I thought (and no its not the oil life mileage as I reset that just to be sure . Anyway I thought if it had over 6500 miles on it I better check the exhaust donuts. Can anyone tell from the attached pics if this thing has 6500 miles on it or does it look like less then 1000? Also can you tell if the donuts needed to be replaced from the pics? They looked brand new sitting on the pipe but once I took them off they looked like they should be replaced but not horrible. I don't see any cracks in the pipe or joints.

BTW I was amazed how easy the donuts where to get to and remove, everything looks pretty darn new at least on the exhaust. I am more worried about getting all the plastic covers back on then I am with anything related to the exhaust donuts. I don't do much snowmobile work and no 4-stroke until now but I am mechanical.

 

[Winderallday!]

Hi brmurph:
I would say 6500 miles is more realistic given the condition of the donuts.
Track wear and rash on the front A-arms indicate this is not a low mileage sled either in my opinion.
While you are that deep, I would replace the donuts. This generation sled/donuts seem to last much longer than prior years.
Also, check EXUP valve cables aren't frayed or broken, and calibrate the EXUP valve while you are torn down too, check FAQ section for procedure on this.
Not sure about the odometer, have you flipped through the Select button on the gauge pod to make sure it wan't one of the trip odometers you were reading?
The dealer should be able to pull the accurate mileage and or engine hours off the ECU if you want to make sure.

Cheers.
PS, add your location to your avatar/profile, site rule.

 

[thor452]

Absolutely change the donuts they are showing wear already and that header is $2300.00 from Yamaha and the flanges will crack if the donuts wear out. I would get copper ones they will last forever. I would say for sure the sled has the higher millage amount and probably had the speedo changed out at some point. The speedo don't read millage from ecu it has its own memory.

 

[brmurph]

Thanks guys, I agree with everything said, nice to have confirmation. The trip meters seem to be working fine, I'll have to have the dealer read the ECU next time its in. Profile updated ..

One thing that does not look new is the lower heat-shield just below the joints (the protective mat is somewhat disintegrating and has come off). I would replace the whole heat-shield with a new one but it is riveted on and I don't see how I can get my rivet gun in there without removing the motor (which I have no plans on doing). Any suggestions? Is it OK to just set the mat on top of the shield even if it is loose or is there some type of high temp glue I could use and just glue it back on?

Last thing that always seems to be an issue for me any more is when to use locktite? I know the manual normally lets you know but there are so many bolts and its not always easy to tell from the manual also not sure if it is recommended for the exhaust bolts? What do you guys do? Do you locktite everything, nothing or follow the manual religiously?

Thanks again!

 

[thor452]

nothing on the exhaust

 

[THKSNOW]

I use anti seize on all the bolts.

 

[biffdotorg]

I would agree with above, if you have it apart, replace the donuts. On a previous vintage Apex, you would probably be getting close to your second set, as they usually bailed every 4000 miles.

The aging on the a-arms shows the miles, or someone who towed on an open trailer with no salt shield.

BTW, how is the sledding in Texas? Or are you a snowbird that comes North in the winter?

 

[maim]

on my 11 xtx i am still on the stock dounuts and i checked them every month during riding season and it has 12000 ish mi. exup and possibly dounuts for me this season for maintenece besides repacking speedo and jackshaft bearings. i re pack my idler wheels as well.

hmm mine lost 4000 miles on the odo last year for some reason. never did find out why and it is on a battery tender all off season with a new battery 2 seasons ago.

 

[brmurph]

BTW, how is the sledding in Texas? Or are you a snowbird that comes North in the winter?

I moved to Texas from MN back in 1984 but we have a family cabin in northern MN on West end of Lake Vermilion since the early 70's. Back then we had 5 yamaha's ( 3 SL292's and 2 SL338 ). It took me 20 years to get my wife up there in the winter (she is from San Antonio and doesn't like to be cold), in 2010 I finally got her up there and her response was "that wasn't so bad". So we bought some sleds and go back every winter to snowmobile. My plan is to bring one sled back to Texas ( I have 3 now) every time we make a trip up there so I can keep them in shape.

BTW how does the Viper compare to the APEX? Are you glad you went with the LTX or would you go with the XTX if you had to do it over again? I would like to get a Viper next.

 

[brmurph]

on my 11 xtx i am still on the stock dounuts and i checked them every month during riding season and it has 12000 ish mi. exup and possibly dounuts for me this season for maintenece besides repacking speedo and jackshaft bearings. i re pack my idler wheels as well.

hmm mine lost 4000 miles on the odo last year for some reason. never did find out why and it is on a battery tender all off season with a new battery 2 seasons ago.

How do you check the donuts? Are you doing the hands over the exhaust and see if it dies or something more invasive? Glad to hear I am not the only one that has lost a few miles, so far your the only other person I have heard this happening to.

 

[Teamblue4]

I would say it's a 6000 mile sled, (IMO) would not use copper donuts. OEM for me.

 

[Winderallday!]

I moved to Texas from MN back in 1984 but we have a family cabin in northern MN on West end of Lake Vermilion since the early 70's. Back then we had 5 yamaha's ( 3 SL292's and 2 SL338 ). It took me 20 years to get my wife up there in the winter (she is from San Antonio and doesn't like to be cold), in 2010 I finally got her up there and her response was "that wasn't so bad". So we bought some sleds and go back every winter to snowmobile. My plan is to bring one sled back to Texas ( I have 3 now) every time we make a trip up there so I can keep them in shape.

BTW how does the Viper compare to the APEX? Are you glad you went with the LTX or would you go with the XTX if you had to do it over again? I would like to get a Viper next.

IMO, after riding the Apex (assuming you haven't yet) it will be hard to wipe the grin off your face, the Apex is addictive. Going down in power on a Viper will be regrettable, unless the Viper is for the little lady of course.

 

[Winderallday!]

Thanks guys, I agree with everything said, nice to have confirmation. The trip meters seem to be working fine, I'll have to have the dealer read the ECU next time its in. Profile updated ..

One thing that does not look new is the lower heat-shield just below the joints (the protective mat is somewhat disintegrating and has come off). I would replace the whole heat-shield with a new one but it is riveted on and I don't see how I can get my rivet gun in there without removing the motor (which I have no plans on doing). Any suggestions? Is it OK to just set the mat on top of the shield even if it is loose or is there some type of high temp glue I could use and just glue it back on?

Last thing that always seems to be an issue for me any more is when to use locktite? I know the manual normally lets you know but there are so many bolts and its not always easy to tell from the manual also not sure if it is recommended for the exhaust bolts? What do you guys do? Do you locktite everything, nothing or follow the manual religiously?

Thanks again!

Fairly common for the heat resistant material to degrade over time, this could be accelerated by leaky exhaust donuts.
I've never replaced or installed new material over it on prior sleds, never had an issue.
Other than inspection of the donuts themselves, the method of plugging the exhaust outlets with heavy gloves on while running to see if it stalls, or almost stalls out, is the quick way to find out how tight the exhaust system is. Typically it's the donuts, also could be the round mesh gaskets at the muffler/y-pipe joints, but they are fairly robust by comparison unless they were damaged by removal/installation of the exhaust system.
If the donuts are really far gone, you would notice lack of performance, increase in fuel consumption, and increased exhaust noise coming from the front area of the sled, possibly backfiring when letting off the flipper.
Cheers

 

[brmurph]

IMO, after riding the Apex (assuming you haven't yet) it will be hard to wipe the grin off your face, the Apex is addictive. Going down in power on a Viper will be regrettable, unless the Viper is for the little lady of course.

I was able to put about 300 miles on the APEX after I bought it and yes loved it although I did constantly worry about getting stuck (not sure if that is a real fear with the XTX or just that everyone has drilled into me the APEX is heavy and hard to get unstuck), I never did get stuck. Anyway would you go with the shorter track length on the Viper if you were to do it again (is getting stuck an issue at all)? And yes the Viper would be for the wife and others that need to ride (prefer something slower for them .

 

[thor452]

the XTX is tough to get stuck I have had mine since new in 2012 and have gotten stuck 3 times always my own fault. it has a nice approach angle to the track and the added length to the track make it quite capable off trail. If I had it to do over in 07 I would have gotten the longer track attack instead of my 121 GT but I would never change the XTX for any other length track. Also I changed my track out to a 1" pre-studded track so I have less lug depth to work with off trail did that with 250 miles on the sled so it is awesome off trail in my opinion all be it I do ride 85% on trail.