Did I make a mistake buying an Apex ER?

[CORMORANT]

I ordered an 07 Apex ER last month and am now having doubts about my choice. Since I have never owned a Yamaha sled before I was not sure what to buy and ended up with the ER. Some dealers had recomeneded the Vector models but others recomended the Apex RTX or ER. I am now wondering if I should have ordered the RTX or a Attack model.

Any of you Yamaha guys have any insight on this?

I do most of my riding in the Mountains but plan on still riding my
Cat M7 out there and use the new sled for MN trails and lakes.

Thanks

 

[Tork]

I have an o6 ER and an thrilled with it. Good choice for trails and lakes, The RTX has been turned more into a big jump sled for 07.
Some guys do like the 136 Attaks better, potentially more comfort and straight line stability, but may not corner quite as sharpe in the twisties.

 

[Swiss Sledder]

No, you did not make the wrong choice. The Apex ER is a great sled and well suited to the area you ride in. I prefer the Attak because the extra length provides better stability and bridges the bumps, but the Apex is still a great sled. All the normal benefits that people here will tell you about; no more searching for oil, great mileage, start and go sled, awesome power, etc. You will probably need to address the darting with the stock skis. Some guys bought new skis, others went with dual carbides, and others went with Bergstrom Triple points and shimmed the skis.

What might help the rest of us address your question is what specifically makes you think you bought the wrong sled? What is it that you are concerned about?

 

[CORMORANT]

Thanks for the input. I guess my main concern was if the Attak would have been a better choice. It is possible that this sled may be used by my wife as a sled she could ride in the mountains. She currently rides a
Crossfire 700 with 136" track. I think that she will like the Apex so much that she will want to ride it all the time. I have not doubt the ER will do just fine in the flatlands but even a 136 can have problems off trail in the mountains. If I did change to the Attak her Crossfire would be ridden by my son when we go to the mountains, I would still ride my 162" M7.

If I did switch to a 136" track which sled would be the best choise for her?

Thanks

 

[Tork]

Yeah it sounds like the Attak (136) could be better for you, but as you stated it is no 162 for mountain riding. The regular Attak should be fine unless you want the fancy shocks.
These sleds, like Swiss says are gas and go. You can take a trip and never open the hood. Plus the power is awesome and the sound is more like a sportbike than the to me blah agricultural sound of the 2 cylinder 2 strokes.

 

[Swiss Sledder]

Thanks for the clarification. Probably better off asking some of the guys in the TY mountain forums about the Attak out west, but from what I have read on this site, it would not be the best choice.

Since I see you are new to the site, you might want to check out the thread at the link below. It includes a video made by a Rev owner comparing the Attak to the Renegage. It is fairly unbiased in the review.
www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=25012

For a female, especially one that is petite, I would think the Attak would be too much sled in the mountains. I had to opportunity to ride with a couple this past winter that rode Rev's the season before. The husband loved his Apex GT while the wife liked her Rev better because it was lighter and easier for her to handle. She was fairly petite so I can understand why she said this.

Hope that helps.

 

[Sled Dog]

The Mountain lite Phazer may be the sled for her. It is lighter with a 144 track not in the same league for HP though unless you turbo it.

 

[SledFreak]

It sounds like you do mountain then any thing and the Attack would be alot better for that type of riding. Also, I would change the track, because the Ripsaw is junk for off trail.

 

[jimmie d]

Make a deal with your dealer on Attak and get the track and skis switched as part of the deal, most dealers will do this as they can sell track and skis easily. Suggest Simmons skis and 1.5" track, not Ripsaw. Should cost you only few hundred extra for the switch when new. That sled should be passable for light mountain riding and still good for trails.

Crossfire is best dual purpose sled, IMHO.

Jim

Jim

 

[CORMORANT]

Thanks for the replies. I still have not decided if the Attak will be a better sled for her if she ends up being the primary rider of the new Yamaha. She has enough riding experience to handle the power and weight since she was riding an 800 RMK or my
M7 in the last few years before she got her Crossfire. My 15 year old son rode the Crossfire with the 1.25 ripsaw track when we were in Cooke City this winter and I was suprised at how well it did in the deep snow. He is a very good aggresive rider who has ridden about 17,000 miles since he started riding and he would take the Crossfire places I did not care to go with my M7 162.
Have many people changed the tracks on the Attak to a deeper lug? Is there enough clearance to put on rail extensions and a 2" track?

Thanks for the information.

 

[watersuper]

I think Swiss Sledder answered that question best by suggesting you go to the TY mountain forum to get the most knowledgable answers.

http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewforum.php?f=37

 

[snowbeast]

Thanks for the input. I guess my main concern was if the Attak would have been a better choice. It is possible that this sled may be used by my wife as a sled she could ride in the mountains. She currently rides a
Crossfire 700 with 136" track. I think that she will like the Apex so much that she will want to ride it all the time. I have not doubt the ER will do just fine in the flatlands but even a 136 can have problems off trail in the mountains. If I did change to the Attak her Crossfire would be ridden by my son when we go to the mountains, I would still ride my 162" M7.

If I did switch to a 136" track which sled would be the best choise for her?

Thanks

Put a set of fox floats on it and she will never want to get off of it..

 

[bjniceguy]

I have both an Attak & a Apex GT. My Wife prefers the ride of the attak, but the handling of the GT. Either one is a lot of arm load for a woman. I would stay with what you have coming if she is going to ride it. Either sled will work for you on the trails, just getting used to it. As for the mountains, a deeper lugged 121 (switched when going only) may be a better choice than the 136 ripsaw for a light woman. The ripsaw is fine for normal trails. Take it for what it's worth. :ORC

 

[Mighty]

You made the right choice. The Attak would have given a slightly better ride but would not have cut it in the mountains. Very small improvement off trail with an Attak over the shorties, very small.

 

[CORMORANT]

Well I am happy to report that the wife likes the sled. Unfortunatly with the lack of snow in MN this year the Apex did not get alot of miles on it. She only put about 200 miles on it and I rode it about the same. It is hard to get a good feel for this sled in the short time I actually rode it but I did observe a few things.

The motor ran flawlessly and had good power and speed, I never lined up and raced another sled but the Apex felt pretty strong. I was suprised how noisy the sled was, thought it would be quieter. I was not impressed with the handling or skis. There has to be a better set up for this sled. The rear skid was OK but I was never able to pound it down a rough trail. I did take the Apex to the mountains on one trip west just to put some miles on it. That was a big mistake, it is not a capable sled in the deep snow, but it did run fine at 9000 ft. The track appears to spin way more than it should, looks like studs are going to need to be installed to get the track to hook up better. The fuel economy was not impressive if the sled was ridden hard. The only time a group of us rode the same distance and filled up together the Apex did take the least fuel for the sleds in it's horsepower class, but it was not by much. The 06 Crossfire 700 that I was riding only took 7/10s of a gallon more that the Apex and I was doing most of the trail breaking. Mechanically the only issue I had was a noise that sounded like a bearing going out on the left front side of the sled. It started out with what souned like a bad bearing sound every few minutes to a continuous noise, I was sure I had a bad bearing somewhere. The next day when I tried to find the noise it had gone away and of course the snow has also gone away. Fit and finish on the sled was typical Yamaha, great. Storage space on the sled stinks, I have not checked into it but somebody must make something that works.

Would I buy another Apex? Maybe, if I was in the market for another 4-stroke. I am in the market for another sled for my youngest son and was strongly considering a Phazer for him untill I rode one. The Phazer is a fun little sled but I saw too many issues with it that I did not like. At this point it looks like he might end up getting rid of the REV he is riding and switch to Cat.