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Brand New Rider

D

David_2008 APEX

Newbie
Joined
Jan 22, 2020
Messages
2
Age
47
Location
Innisfil
Country
Canada
Snowmobile
2008 Yamaha Apex
Hi everyone, I am brand new to the sport of snowmobiling.

I purchased a 2008 Yamaha Apex and have been out a couple of times this season.

I have near zero knowledge of sleds and I am not mechanically inclined. I am a big boy at 320 lbs and I am finding the sled to be difficult to control. Now, I understand that being new to the sport I am going to have a lot of learning to do but I wanted to know if anyone could suggest someone in the Innisfil/Barrie area that I could go to that could look over my setup and help me identify things that would need to be adjusted for me (ie. spring compression, seat height etc.).

Thanks for taking the time to check out this thread
 

Hey David_2008 APEX. Welcome to the addiction and welcome to the forum. There is lots of support on this site. You will be surprised at the number of simple things that you can adjust yourself that will save $$$ and get you better understanding what the sled is doing and how it functions.

When you say "difficult to control" can you elaborate on what you are experiencing? Poor/strong acceleration, poor braking/handling/steering? Once people understand your issues they'll be better equipped to supply recos.
 
ateick said:
Hey David_2008 APEX. Welcome to the addiction and welcome to the forum. There is lots of support on this site. You will be surprised at the number of simple things that you can adjust yourself that will save $$$ and get you better understanding what the sled is doing and how it functions.

When you say "difficult to control" can you elaborate on what you are experiencing? Poor/strong acceleration, poor braking/handling/steering? Once people understand your issues they'll be better equipped to supply recos.
Click to expand...

Hi Ateick,

Thanks for responding. I am finding the sled difficult to control through turns. It tends to dart and track quite a bit. Also, the seat/suspension in the back of the sled seems quite soft. Some people I have spoken to have said that I should probably get the rear shock rebuilt and add a stiffer spring to it. The sled has 12,800kms on it and none of the shocks on the sled have been done. Basically the sled is stock.

Overall I find that I am fighting to keep the sled tracking straight and feel like the sled is controlling me rather than me controlling it.
 
David_2008 APEX said:
Hi Ateick,

Thanks for responding. I am finding the sled difficult to control through turns. It tends to dart and track quite a bit. Also, the seat/suspension in the back of the sled seems quite soft. Some people I have spoken to have said that I should probably get the rear shock rebuilt and add a stiffer spring to it. The sled has 12,800kms on it and none of the shocks on the sled have been done. Basically the sled is stock.

Overall I find that I am fighting to keep the sled tracking straight and feel like the sled is controlling me rather than me controlling it.
Click to expand...

The best advice I can give you to make the sled turn and not dart is search "Snowtrackers". I have been running these forever and have never had an issue. I tried many different carbides before I came upon snowtrackers and have never looked back.
 
You will definitely need all of your shocks redone, and a Big Boy spring for the rear suspension with a revalved to accommodate the new spring. Is this a 121" or 136" model sled? I would upgrade your skis to Yamaha MTX skis with the Snowtrackers. Relatively inexpensive to do and a much more aggressive ski. Your stock skis are likely worn out with that kind of mileage. Raise the front of the sled off the ground and cheek for wear and sloppiness in the front suspension. Several vendors make an oil lite bushing kit that eliminates this slop and will sharpen your steering.
 
x2 on what viper_dave said. we can get you pointed in the right direction with set-up tips but you need to make sure that at minimum the front end bushings are all good.

i would set the front a arms almost parallel to the ground by adjusting the springs. then i would do the ski shim mod from the tec pages and check the carbides/wear bars are good while you have the skis off. i prefer square host bar carbides as they bite harder in my experiance. then double check the toe out is set to 1/8" toe out with a medium stiff bungee holding the loops towards each other.

not an expert on setting the mono, so i would follow viper_dave advice on it.

if you where closer i would give you a hand to set it up better.
 
What model of Apex do you have? If its a regular or ER or LTX then this will apply.
What Dave said. MTX skis and Snowtrackers up front or at the very least Snowtrackers. Get the aggressive ones. VK Pro skis also work as they are wide and have a deep keel.
Get the shocks rebuilt and the rear revalved for your weight.
Get that front end up in the air and check the slop in the bushings. Chances are fairly high at that mileage they are toast. As mentioned, oil lite kit is much better than the plastic ones from the factory.
Now set the preload on the front coil shocks to zero. Meaning lift the front end up and let the A arms hang. Loosen the jamb nuts for the coils. Adjust them back until the spring starts to rattle. Tighten up 1 turn and lock them down.
Slap in a Big Boy spring in from Yamaha or you can get one from Barn of Parts. BoP has a multirate spring which work very well. If you have the RA system set the dial in the middle and adjust from there. Check the limiter straps. They should be one hole away from the end. I also would adjust the transfer rod closer to "min" setting for added steering pressure under acceleration.
Once that is done check the ski alignment as maim said.

Check in the FAQ section of this forum for more detail info on all aspects of your sled
 
David 2008 Apex,
Don't you just love the help you get on this site, the best website in the sport of snowmobiling. You will have the best sled on the trail following the experts here!
 
I'm in the process of doing most of what has been mentioned with a 2008 Vector I just bought. Even if you're not mechanically inclined, you can take these suggestions and get more details on how to do it on this site. You can also get a free service manual if you become a VIP member which will give you details and show pictures of all the parts and where they go. I had my shocks charged and re-valved at Schmidt Brothers, but I hear great things about HyGear too. Good Luck!
 
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