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80 mile 2011 Apex test ride and comparison

TechMaples

Extreme
Joined
Nov 9, 2007
Messages
115
Location
Monticello, ME
Country
USA
Snowmobile
16 Zr 8. 20 Riot 8. 98SRX
LOCATION
Monticello
Like I have said in other posts, I have reserved my thoughts about the new Apex until I rode one. Well, I am fortunate that where I live, pretty much is the only place in the state of Maine right now that has good trails/riding. So, when my Yamaha sales rep. called and said he had 4 sleds he was bringing up for a dealer demo/ orientation, I was pumped. We met at my place instead of the dealership because of snow/trail conditions friday evening. He brought 2 2011 Apex er 128's, 1 2010 Apex ltx gt, 1 2010 Vector gt 121. We also had a 2009 Arctic Cat Z1 turbo lxr.

For reference, I am about 6ft 1in and 230 before gear.

It was myself (service mgr/sales), Yamaha rep and his boss, salesman, and the gen mgr of the Arctic Cat dealer that is buying our Yamaha franchise. It was really good to compare the sleds in the same conditions. We rode in a lot of different conditions from smooth fast logging road trails with high speed sweeping corners, tighter woods trails, some larger bumps, and plenty of stutters. We even got first tracks for a while on freshly groomed trail too.

First off, I led pretty much the whole ride and rode at my normal aggressive pace. I started on one of the 2011 Apex 128's. I feel exactly the same about the power steering on the Apex as I did about it on the Grizz 700. At first before I tried it, I thought it was silly and un-needed. I was wrong about the Grizz and I was wrong about the Apex. It just plain works!! Going back to back between the 2011 and the 2010, there was an obvious feeling of weight difference, the 2011 feeling ALOT lighter. Initial corner turn in is easier and more predictable on the 2011, along with mid corner line corrections/changes. Is all hunting/ darting gone? No. Is it significantly reduced? Yes. Inside ski lift is also reduced alot, not comepletely gone, but better. I think with the front limiter sucked up one hole, it would be non existant for most all riders/conditions.

At first I didn't notice much of a seating/handlebar ergo difference. I then put roughly 20-25 miles on the 2010 Apex ltx before switching back to the 2011. The seat is a little higher and possibly a little firmer. Handlebars feel like they might be an inch forward and 3/4 inch higher. It is still not enough rider forward for me. You still feel like you are sitting "in" the sled, just not as bad a prior years. Another 2 inches in the seat and handlebars up another inch or so would be better imo. The console/ drivers compartment in front of your knees still needs help. This was glaringly obvious when swithcing between the turbo Cat back to any of the Yamaha's. The contour of the twin spar's console is very aggressive rider knee friendly compared to the Yamaha's.

The motor is crisp and smooth. Throttle response is a little better, and it sounds and feels smoother. Never had a chance to line them up side by side, but it does feel stronger than the 2010. The 128 as the short track should have been standard years ago. The little longer length helps with track spin and I feel also settles the chassis a little more in the corners.

Suspension....... The valving is improved. I bottomed the 2010 ltx gt twice (shock set one bar short of full stiff). Not really hard bottoming, but slight jar felt through the seat. Never bottomed either 2011. The 2011 also felt alot more controlled through the bumps. The chassis feels more level and balanced, less bucking and rebound bounce.

Overall, I think people should really try the sled first, then form an opinon. I came away more impressed than I thought I would be. It is not the perfect sled for me, but with a little tweakn', I could definately be happy with it. Overall I think the changes work really well together. You spend more time enjoying riding and having fun, and less time fighting the sled. It feels smoother, faster, and the biggest two for me.....lighter and more balanced.

On another note. This was the first time I got any real seat time on a new fi vector. WOW, what a difference! It is actually a fun sled now. Way more torquey. This is an great lower priced trail sled that will now hang with apexes.

Thought some might appreciate an honest experienced tech/riders opinion.
 

i too was able to do the yamaha dealer ride this weekend, although we only rode each sled on very short distances.
i really liked the '11 eps gt with the fox floats, smooth they didn't tell me the track was 128" until after i rode it, i've been on a rage for the last 5 seasons and truthfully didn't notice much difference.

next a '10 vector gt and '10 venture gt which i actually preffered over the standard vector.

quick spin on an '09 nytro just for kicks, too much work....

lastly '11 apex x tx 144" track it wasn't studded so hard to hook up but a great ridding sled.

i don't buy a new sled every year so i don't think the dealers are going to invite me on the day trip like you had, but if i were to be buying a new sled next year i would be seriously looking at that gt with the power steering.

from what i understood from the yamaha reps. no 136" for '11??? i really can't understand why they would make an 128" with fox floats and not the 136"
 
Did you compare the droning noise between the '10 and '11? On my test ride we only had a 128 and 144 so I couldn't compare, but it seemed just as noisy to me. I was only on the 1 hour ride with 4 sleds so it was difficult to get a good feel.
 
Tycho998 said:
Did you compare the droning noise between the '10 and '11? On my test ride we only had a 128 and 144 so I couldn't compare, but it seemed just as noisy to me. I was only on the 1 hour ride with 4 sleds so it was difficult to get a good feel.

It is still there, I think, around 30-45mph at low throttle opening. Honestly I don't ride much at all in that range and it has never bothered me, so I am not the best judge on that.

If anyone gets a chance to try the new sleds, take advantage and do it. I was dissapointed as alot of us were when they were released, but the sled really works well. I tried to go into the ride with the blue-tinted glasses off, but still open minded. I tried to be as fair and objective as possible. I hope that posting my "review" would at least encourage others to reserve judgment until they try one, as I did.
 
KatahdinLodge,

How did you compare the turbo Cat to the Yammi's?
 
All of the twin spar cats are remarkably flat handling and stable. They ride well and I like the seating position. The turbo feels heavy. It doesn't really push in the corners, but it likes to walk toward the outside of the corner. The turbo I rode was set up fairly stiff for a heavier rider than me. That being said, it still took the bumps well. It had a hacksaw 1in track and spun alot. Needed alot more weight transfer. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the skis off the snow. The turbo lag is annoying. Being used to the Yamaha's throttle response made it seem worse than it probally is. You can tell it has power, but it didn't feel like 20 more than an apex to me. The Apex is a funner sled to ride to me. I prefer more weight transfer than alot of people. Set up on the cat may have been alot of my complaints on the cat.

Pros of cats in general imo...
1- seating position, more forward and higher
2- Extremely flat cornering
3- Console/drivers compartment, way easier on the knees, easier transition from side to side
4- good ride when set up

Cons of cats imo
1- Lack of weight transfer in twinspar chassis, extra weight of turbo 4stroke makes it worse
2- Fit and finish
3- Hate their gauge, hard to read
4- Headlight design stolen from amc pacer, not as bright and ugly

The turbo has potential and would like to have a chance to play around with the suspension and weight transfer. When the turbo stays spooled up it pulls good, but in the trails when you are on and off the gas, I think the yamaha has an advantage.

Yamaha really needs new seat foam material. The cat's seat acts like part of the suspension. It is firm without being too hard and reacts quickly to bumps. Yamaha's is too soft and is like a shock with too much rebound damping and doesn't react quick enough.

Give me a new apex with cat's seat foam, cat's knee room and higher seating position. That would be a great sled.
 
Thanks. I am going to make a habit of doing "reviews" on all sleds that I get a chance to put some seat time on. There are alot of "reviews" on here, but honestly not alot of fair and objective ones, especially when it comes to non-yamaha sleds. I think some on here would like to hear about some sleds that they might not get a chance to try out.

I will be posting more soon.
Any requests?
I have hade a chance to try quite a few cats this winter.
 
I would like to hear a review on a 2011 Apex XTX on the same conditions that you tested the other 2011 128" on?
 
SledFreak said:
I would like to hear a review on a 2011 Apex XTX on the same conditions that you tested the other 2011 128" on?

Will have reviews on the apex xtx and apex se up on here by sunday night or monday some time.
Baseline comparison sleds this weekend will be a 06 apex gt short track with mpi charger and an 07 attak gt stock.
Should be a cool comparison.

Man, my job sucks!!! LOL!!!!
I'm spoiled!!!!!!!
 
KatahdinLodge said:
SledFreak said:
I would like to hear a review on a 2011 Apex XTX on the same conditions that you tested the other 2011 128" on?

Will have reviews on the apex xtx and apex se up on here by sunday night or monday some time.
Baseline comparison sleds this weekend will be a 06 apex gt short track with mpi charger and an 07 attak gt stock.
Should be a cool comparison.

Man, my job sucks!!! LOL!!!!
I'm spoiled!!!!!!!

Thanks, that would be great... Two things I'm looking for is out of the hole performance, mid range and top end between (if you can) the 128" and the Apex XTX. Also, I'm very interested on how the Apex XTX corners in the trail as the 128", especially in the low speed twisties and long sweeping corners. Looking to see how flat the cornering is between the two of them. My 06 Apex GT, did not corner very well and neither does my Nytro XTX. I made them work, but alot of effort. Still not real happy with my Nytro, but it's OK... I really want to see if these new sleds can rail....

I also heard that the SE air preasures can be lowered a bit, to really improve the handling and make it rail like an SRX. Info on these types of things would be greatly appreciated.
 
Well today I did the demo ride in Forest Lake,MN (Waldoch Sports) the now former site of Haydays. The weather was rather warm almost touching 40 deg. F. The snow was turning to snirt for about 30% of the trails. There were PLENTY of junkers and stutter bumps to see how the suspension held up. There was also alot of ice in the corners. Being there was only one 2011 Apex XTX I nabbed that first. Too bad someone must of tweeked it because the bars were pointing to the right slightly when going straight. Overall I liked the XTX. Cornered well and hooked up really good considering the conditions. I then switched to a standard blue 2011 Apex. Now this surprised me being I thought I would only like the XTX but this sled rode plush and went through the junk great. Corning was very good. It just spun more than the XTX did. I'll say this right now.......power steering is huge for these machines. It made them feel like much lighter sleds. I felt I could corner it as good as my Viper and I had yet to find a 4 stroke that I could to this date. Next stop everyone was jumping for sleds and I was hoping to ride the white/blue 2010 Apex for a good comparison.......here to find out it was left back at the trailer being my group wasn't filled out. So I ended up on another blue 2011 Apex. Now this sled must have been setup slightly different. Both blue Apexes had the rear adjuster set to hard but I could bottom this one out a bit easier. Also for whatever reason this sled hooked up better than the other 128 incher and it REALLY pulled hard in the mid/top end. It felt STRONG!! Then the switch came again. I ended up on a 2010 black Nytro XTX. To be blunt.... I absolutely hated this thing. It steered hard, it also had been tweaked and it's steering was twisted to the right. It must have had no carbides left because I flat out blew the first corner. Good thing I am not a novice because it flat out pushed in the corners. I was not impressed with it's ride through the junk either. I just stood up to make up for it's lousy ride after awhile. Fortunately we stopped again and my last sled was the APEX SE in black. This thing was buttery smoooooth...... Again I found it cornered nice and went through the junk with ease. On the final straight away I let the pack get out a ways and I held it to about 90 mph before I let off. I was impressed.......same as the second blue one, it really came on in the mid to top end. Those two sleds seemed like they really wanted to spool up. I wish I could have had them on a lake. OBTW, they are quieter than the old Apex models too.

IMHO I would be plenty happy with a standard model 2011 Apex. Even though I liked the SE ,I would probably would not spring for the extra $$.

In all reality I have spent some time on a few Nytros. I know you can adjust this and that but IMO they are a long way off on their ride and handling with this machine. That thing had me sweating it was such a handful. It seriously needs the power steering upgrade next.
 
Great reviews. Thanks to all who are writing up their experiences. Looking forward to more on the SE and XTX.
 


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