2013 apex what a let down by yamaha

[Riceburner]

i know what you mean.

I hated mine too Kevin the first weekend. Was wishing I had my 06 back.

Raise limiter 1 hole, almost full transfer [ 7/8 ] on the transfer rod, 57 lbs on front floats, 157 lbs on Megafloat and a set of semi aggressive sno-trackers was all it took to make it the most impressive trail sled I have ever been on.

 

[kviper]

do your selfs a favor and go ride a 11/12 xtx and then tell me it is no diffrent i bought mine after a 15 min ride cant belive the diffrence. thought my 07 gt was the cats meow till the day i rode the xtx and that was it. I have traded sleds with friends on the trail all 07 -10 apex and cant wait to get back on mine rough trail no prob go thru 30-40 mph faster then all of them 12 hours out and 260 miles others are ready for bed im ready for 100 more

I guess I am the opposite. I rode a demo Apex SE last year and absolutely hated the front end. The sled was faster than my 06 Attak but I could not wait to get back on my 06. Our group had the use of that sled all day and we were constantly trying to tweak the ski pressure/ spring tension and limiter strap in order to get the front end to behave. The front end on my Attak was much more behaved with the snowtrackers vs the 2011 with EPS.

SnowTracker's is your key word!!! Also the pre 2011's don't have near the throttle response of the new Apex's. I said it before and I will say it again! SnowTracker's will make you think you have a different sled.

 

[trailhed1]

Takes a bit to dial it in but worth the effort when you get it done.

 

[Heritage]

Takes a bit to dial it in but worth the effort when you get it done.

All I can say is... go switch if you don't like what yamaha offers...I personally think...it's hard to beat an apex or vector for running trails.
They have improved them significantly since 06-07...I love my 07 attak...but...the 2011 and newer apexes, are very impressive...IMO every yamaha should have snow trackers, dually's with shims, or shims, triple points and ski savers from bergstrom...I would like to see more cobra track options on the apexes, imo it's a much better track than the rip saw.

I'm not buying this year anyhow....but if I did...it would still be a yamaha.
I have only had minor little things go wrong with my yami...yes...as I have said before...I am not a huge fan of the mono skid...but it's ok for trail riding, and the new apexes ride far better than my 07..if you haven't ridden a yamaha with a mono II skid, (set up properly for weight..etc)..you don't have a clue what you are talking about....the air shocks are tricky to set-up, and IMO a pain in the azz...I'd rather have ohlins on all 4 corners...that being said, a properly set-up apex with air ride is VERY impressive...far better than I thought it would be.
EPS is an excellent feature (again set it up with duallys or snow trackers)
I will Bet anybody that CAT, and DOO have a form of EPS by next year on all of their 4 strokes.

Who knows...maybe yamaha has had enough of snowmobiles...maybe the srx 120 is a HINT of what's coming in the future (cats contract with suzuki will be done in 2014)...A cat with yamaha power??? HELL YEAH!!!
I'D buy it tomorrow!!!
Just think about a vector motor...or super charged vector motor in the new cat chassis??? HMMMMMMM...makes one think......lol

 

[low slung]

Takes a bit to dial it in but worth the effort when you get it done.

All I can say is... go switch if you don't like what yamaha offers...I personally think...it's hard to beat an apex or vector for running trails.
They have improved them significantly since 06-07...I love my 07 attak...but...the 2011 and newer apexes, are very impressive...IMO every yamaha should have snow trackers, dually's with shims, or shims, triple points and ski savers from bergstrom...I would like to see more cobra track options on the apexes, imo it's a much better track than the rip saw.

I'm not buying this year anyhow....but if I did...it would still be a yamaha.
I have only had minor little things go wrong with my yami...yes...as I have said before...I am not a huge fan of the mono skid...but it's ok for trail riding, and the new apexes ride far better than my 07..if you haven't ridden a yamaha with a mono II skid, (set up properly for weight..etc)..you don't have a clue what you are talking about....the air shocks are tricky to set-up, and IMO a pain in the azz...I'd rather have ohlins on all 4 corners...that being said, a properly set-up apex with air ride is VERY impressive...far better than I thought it would be.
EPS is an excellent feature (again set it up with duallys or snow trackers)
I will Bet anybody that CAT, and DOO have a form of EPS by next year on all of their 4 strokes.

Who knows...maybe yamaha has had enough of snowmobiles...maybe the srx 120 is a HINT of what's coming in the future (cats contract with suzuki will be done in 2014)...A cat with yamaha power??? HELL YEAH!!!
I'D buy it tomorrow!!!
Just think about a vector motor...or super charged vector motor in the new cat chassis??? HMMMMMMM...makes one think......lol

While it may sound great on paper the idea of simply sticking a yamaha powerplant into one of arctic cat chassis in reality is a bad idea.Cat can,t even figure out how to solve the belt issues on there chassis(so much for rigidity).Hate to see one of yamaha fire breathes rip it self out of there chassis(once stuck a 340kawi in a 94 puma,it broke a motor mount!).A more realistic idea is yamaha supplying arctic cat with DI tech for there new line of two-stroke powerplants.Would yamaha tech in a cat make me buy one?Nope.

 

[MT.man]

I must admit that when I saw cats 2012 line up I almost regreted purchasing a 2011 Apex last march after thier rebate deal . Boy am I glad I didn't , alot of guys took the bait and boy are they having issues. HCS forum has 17 pages of complaints and acrtic-chat has 10 , I took the time to read through them all and it makes some of the issues we have had with Yamaha seem minor . This is not meant to be a bash cause those guys are just like me , they spend alot of money to enjoy the sport of snowmobiling and it sucks to go from looking forward to receiving your new sled to regreting buying it .

 

[Terminator]

Re: 2013 Yamaha

If we all knew our Yamahas, then we would realize that the Apex changed drastically in 2011. I don't understand 7 years???? If you have ever ridden a 2011 or newer Apex, then you would find that there is a big difference in ride, quietness, performance, etc. It is a totally different sled including body panels, seats, suspension, etc. The power steering makes the sled a dream to ride , especially after a big mile day. I have a 2011 Apex XTX, and the sled does everything that I want from a sled. Like any sled, you need to set the sled up for your personal way of riding, body size, etc. I don't understand the rider forward issue either, as I think the Apex is as far rider forward as I would want. I have ridden many different sleds when riding with my buddies and I always can't wait to get back on the Apex. Even when I ride my old Attak GT. I have ridden snowmobiles for 45 years and am a little more selective where I ride. Most of the trails I ride are fairly smooth, although can get pretty rough in the afternoons. I have no problem keeping up with any of the other sleds in the rough conditions. If you are a ditchbanger, then get a Nitro.

Couldn't agree more! I have owned a 2006 ER, Attak and GT, 2 - 2007 RTX's and loved them all until I bought a 2011 XTX, no comparison. I also have owned 3 skidoo 1200's and while they are a really nice, well balance, sneeky fast 4 stroke sled . . . . . sold them all after riding the XTX.

I ride with a buddy who has a 2012 switchback 800 pro-r, loves his sled but when we trade sleds I can't wait to get back on mine.

Just went on a ski doo demo ride last week in Rangely Maine, hoping to find a sled I liked better than mine. Rode a 800 etec XRS, X, GSX and Renegade and a 600 etec xrs, short tracks had the new Rmotion in them and that was sweet but other than that none of them had anything on my XTX!

Am I somewhat disappointed in Yamaha's lack of change/ excitement for 2013? Yes but I don't see the others doing a whole lot either; example - skidoo changed some plastic and called it the new "XS" chassy, lol.

I have been riding 4-strokes for 5 years now and probably will never go back. Doo doesnt have enough ponies, period. Cats are are having lots of issues, one being reverse blowing up in the dealer's showroom floors! And Poo's . . . . well don't know anyone who is impressed w/ their 4-strokes. So yes I will buy another XTX by next season because its the best sled I have ever owned and I've been riding since 1971. Now if I could just get a pair of Dupont slides . . . . . . . . .

 

[cat hunter]

do your selfs a favor and go ride a 11/12 xtx and then tell me it is no diffrent i bought mine after a 15 min ride cant belive the diffrence. thought my 07 gt was the cats meow till the day i rode the xtx and that was it. I have traded sleds with friends on the trail all 07 -10 apex and cant wait to get back on mine rough trail no prob go thru 30-40 mph faster then all of them 12 hours out and 260 miles others are ready for bed im ready for 100 more

I guess I am the opposite. I rode a demo Apex SE last year and absolutely hated the front end. The sled was faster than my 06 Attak but I could not wait to get back on my 06. Our group had the use of that sled all day and we were constantly trying to tweak the ski pressure/ spring tension and limiter strap in order to get the front end to behave. The front end on my Attak was much more behaved with the snowtrackers vs the 2011 with EPS.

SnowTracker's is your key word!!! Also the pre 2011's don't have near the throttle response of the new Apex's. I said it before and I will say it again! SnowTracker's will make you think you have a different sled.

BINGO

 

[baggs66]

Really thought they would come out with something to compete with the skidoo ace, this used to be their bread & butter and I think they would sell a ton of them. Looking for a good quiet,warm, light sled for dad and a second sled for others to use. Unfortunately will have to go to skidoo for this

 

[donkickit]

The apex is a great sled, especially the new ones. Rode a 2011 this weekend and really enjoyed it. Bottom line Yammi needs a WEIGHT REDUCTION. It's got a fat #*$&@! Even Cat is making a lighter 4-stroke. come on yamaha.

 

[Bucky the d.o.g.]

I too was hoping for something new but there will be great advantages too riding the extremely refined 2013. I ran an 07 gt till 29,000kms..(tree won), substituted an 06 rtx..do not like the fox floats...why no clicker fronts on the apexs. Are the new fox's better?, for on trail handling adjustments as proper use of the gytr clickers would change the day for steering. Also am looking at an xtx do they handle o.k in a typical Ontario wooded trail..slider wear normal?? etc. any feedback would be great.

 

[RtxViper]

Re: 2013 Yamaha

If we all knew our Yamahas, then we would realize that the Apex changed drastically in 2011. I don't understand 7 years???? If you have ever ridden a 2011 or newer Apex, then you would find that there is a big difference in ride, quietness, performance, etc. It is a totally different sled including body panels, seats, suspension, etc. The power steering makes the sled a dream to ride , especially after a big mile day. I have a 2011 Apex XTX, and the sled does everything that I want from a sled. Like any sled, you need to set the sled up for your personal way of riding, body size, etc. I don't understand the rider forward issue either, as I think the Apex is as far rider forward as I would want. I have ridden many different sleds when riding with my buddies and I always can't wait to get back on the Apex. Even when I ride my old Attak GT. I have ridden snowmobiles for 45 years and am a little more selective where I ride. Most of the trails I ride are fairly smooth, although can get pretty rough in the afternoons. I have no problem keeping up with any of the other sleds in the rough conditions. If you are a ditchbanger, then get a Nitro.

couldn't' have said it better myself

 

[snomobubl]

Yamaha is the most conservative company in the sport of snowmobiling. They are always going to make sure that all the factors are in line to justify a completely new model release. The economy is probably the biggest thing holding them back at this point.

I understand that Yamaha has not been perfect in respect to addressing all issues (i.e handwarmers & others), however there is something to be said about steady continuous improvement and this has been evident in the evolution of the RX-1 to the current Apex (and especially evident in the motor which has been continuously refined for years prior to its use on a snowmobile).

I read some information on their site from their lead snowmobile division manager. He was instrumental in the design and release of the RX-1 and was talking about design philosophy. He stated that now that Yamaha has proven the four stroke as a successful platform and has achieved good reliability and durability, their attention will be focused on weight reduction. I would love to see a new chassis and design on the Apex that is lighter, with better ergonomics and the same power and reliability of the current sled.

We all know they can do it! This is what I am holding out for and I am sure I am not alone on this. Meanwhile, I have over 10,000 (hard) miles on my Attak. It is still running strong and has never left me stranded with a mechanical failure. Will probably keep it running until the next gen is released or something else catches my attention.

 

[yamaha1973]

Yamaha is the most conservative company in the sport of snowmobiling.

Correction, most conservative in anything they make