Apex mountain on trails/boondocking

[sleddermb]

I have an 06 rage that I enjoy, but at 300 lbs, the sled doesn't like me much off trails. Looking at an 06 apex mountain and the possibility of putting an 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 track on it. What's your thoughts? Any issues to look for on these sleds? Any input appreciated.

 

[APEX 06]

I run my MTX with a cut donw 1.75" track and love it in the UP. You are going to want to add more wheels and something to kick up snow.

 

[sleddermb]

Apex 06 - Do you literally take a reciprocating saw to a 2 or 2 1/2 " track and start slicing the tips off? Any problem areas or weak spots with these sleds. I assume the engines themselves are pretty reliable. Can you still steer/handle the 162 skid ok on the trails? What kind of mpg do you get when sticking on trails?
Thanks,
Greg

 

[sleddermb]

Any other input guys. Does anyone know of a company that makes a 162 ripsaw/hacksaw style track (1 1/4 - 1 1/2" x 15 or 16"). Any problem spots to look for when buying an apex mountain such as clutch rattle, engine noise, track wear etc.
Thanks,
Greg

 

[sleddermb]

Ok, maybe I'll get more response on a gearing question. Sold my Rage and picking up an 06 Apex Mountain on Monday. Looking at cutting down the lugs to about 1 1/2" after playing in the powder first. Will be doing a mix of trails, boondocking and a little powder, but mostly trails and ditch banging. I think I will want it geared closer to a stock apex shortie for a little more top end. By the posts I've been looking at, this is probably the 23/40 gear combo, correct? So I should only have to buy the 23 tooth and leave the bottom and chain alone. I assume stock yammy gears are fine. Any other 'must do's that a virgin Apex rider needs to do. I'm looking forward to the extra 30 ponies, floatation and traction. One other thing, what brand of scratchers do you guys recommend. I would like to leave all the wheels on, if possible.
Thanks,
Greg

 

[quebecmoutainrider]

go big...

my wife runs an attack..136..and it has 1.75..and it suchs in the snow...you need to have them bigger...everyone wants both worlds...just ride with scratchers on the trails...if i could do it again..i would go for the bigger lugs...my apex 162 runs great on trails too...but you do have to change the slides more often when i run the trails alot...if you do decide to cut a track up...becarefull to not make it too off balance...

 

[sleddermb]

Ice scratchers

What are most riders using for scratchers. I was at the local dealer today and they have the style that mount on the A-arm up front and drag (I think he said the brand was trix. Or its it better using the one that mount on the rails?

 

[kingston phazer]

My dad just stretched his 07' Attak to a 151" with a 2.25" finger track that we cut down to a 2". It works awesome in the deep powder and with the Pioneer marginal snow wheel kit it seems to be doing okay without scratchers. It's plenty fast he hit 100mph in a short drag race wth me and his skis were up til he let off the gas at 100. So the stock gearing of his Attak seems to work pretty well. I think he said it's 23/40 and the 2" lug seems to be okay for the trails we rode on anyway which had about 2" of fluff on top. We also rode around home where we have just a few inches now and his hyfax didn't seem to get hot.

 

[99669apex]

Pioneer marginal snow wheel kit it seems to be doing okay without scratchers.

Where did you buy the Pioneer kit? Can you post a link to it? I just fried the slides on my 162 trail riding on what I thought were ample snow conditions this weekend!

 

[tryanATTAK]

Pioneer marginal snow wheel kit it seems to be doing okay without scratchers.

Where did you buy the Pioneer kit? Can you post a link to it? I just fried the slides on my 162 trail riding on what I thought were ample snow conditions this weekend!

I'm kingston phazer's father and I got mine from www.pioneerperformance.net. It actually is called the Hyfax extender wheel kit. Before stretching mine out i had over 4,000 miles on the hyfax and it wasn't even close to the wear lines they looked brand new. It seems to be doing a very good job with the longer track and taller lugs also. I also have the small wheel kit that goes at the front of the rails but I honestly haven't installed that yet as I run my limiter 1 hole up and my wear was never much at the front of the rails anyway.

 

[99669apex]

Pioneer marginal snow wheel kit it seems to be doing okay without scratchers.

Where did you buy the Pioneer kit? Can you post a link to it? I just fried the slides on my 162 trail riding on what I thought were ample snow conditions this weekend!

I'm kingston phazer's father and I got mine from www.pioneerperformance.net. It actually is called the Hyfax extender wheel kit. Before stretching mine out i had over 4,000 miles on the hyfax and it wasn't even close to the wear lines they looked brand new. It seems to be doing a very good job with the longer track and taller lugs also. I also have the small wheel kit that goes at the front of the rails but I honestly haven't installed that yet as I run my limiter 1 hole up and my wear was never much at the front of the rails anyway.

Thanks for the link! Not too sure this is going to work for me since all the idlers were removed prior to me buying the sled. It does have ice scratchers installed but I'd prefer to run a closer to stock set up. Any suggestions?

 

[tryanATTAK]

How tight is your track? Where are you seeing the most wear? Mine wore down quickly when brand new to a certain amount then I loosened my track and raised the limiter 1 hole and it quit wearing. Mine wore at the front and the area between the rear arm and the rear axle. Now with the limiter up one hole and the Hyfax entender wheel kit the track barely even touches the hyfax. I bought the new Yamaha idler wheels but to use them you must grind down the Pioneer wheel kit some so the idlers would fit as they are deeper in the middle of the wheel. I would check track tension, and maybe raise your limiter strap and see if that doesn't help.

 

[99669apex]

Oddly enough the slides wore down more in the center. I do have the track adjusted properly (three fingers) after installing the new slides. I also installed a marginal snow wheel kit so I'm hoping this will cure the issue. I'll be taking her out this weekend and will post the update.