MCApex44
TY 4 Stroke Guru
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2006
- Messages
- 973
- Reaction score
- 10
- Points
- 843
- Location
- Western New York, Chautauqua County
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2014 Viper RTX SE (sold)
Well...I got the first two rides in totaling 89miles. My first impression is the Apex definitely rocks! The conditions of the trails were so-so. There would be stretches of minimal snow, mud and then 12-15" of powder. A "mixed bag" of riding of sorts. Temps were low to mid 20's. See my signature below for how my Apex is set up.
I will start with the handwarmers. I didnt get to test the 06' bars but what I can tell with the updated 07' bars...is that they give off pretty good heat(not as hot as previous sleds but they should be fine). Although not really cold temps(low 20's) my hands didnt get cold at all. The bars seem to be in the right position and the right height for me(6'1"). The curved ends are nice for cornering as well.
Suspension- This was my first ride on the Apex and what I have been riding throughout the years have been ZR chassis and my latest sled being an F7. The trails in our area were not groomed yet so the trails were pretty beat up and bumpy. I thought the suspension on the Apex is head and shoulders above the ZR/F7. Very comfortable ride to say the least. They rider forward seems to be perfect for me as well(again..6'1"). I was hitting bumps/moguls at a high rate of speed...where in the past I was used to almost getting bucked off the sled. On the Apex...this thing just soaked them up with ease. I was very impressed with this...it allowed me to go faster.lol
Power/engine- The Apex really has some grunt to it for sure. Compared to the F7...the Apex always had "more throttle" no matter what speed/rpm I was at while the F7 although quick off the line or corner to corner...the F7 didnt have much there if you punched it after 70-80mph. The combination of the deeper lug ripsaw track and 144 studs seems to be the perfect combo for the Apex. It would hook up great in all conditions we rode in. As many of you have mentioned...I agree that this thing pulls like a freakin freight train. But...as many of you might agree...still not fast enough.lol The "engine breaking" wasnt really a factor at all. From reading some posts on here about it I expected it to be more extreme. I have always feathered off the throttle anyways so it didnt take much getting used to it. I do agree it does come in handy when coming into a corner.
Cornering/steering/darting- I have the stock skis on with 8" woodys doolys and didnt really notice much darting at all...nothing more than anything I rode before that is. IMO...I would suggest 'trying' the doolys before buying new skis. The ground under the snow is still warm(not frozen) and there wasnt a base(if you would stand on the snow it would become packed slush and stick to the bottom of your boots)...therefore....everyone I was riding with seemed to be pushing in the corners. Considering the conditions...I thought the Apex cornered very well at higher speeds. When cornering(sharp turns) at a low rate of speed in the tight twistys is the only time the sled felt "heavy" or experienced "hard steering". We have a lot of tight twisty trails and this definitely gave my hands and arms a work out(I am pretty sore today--but again this was my first ride of the year and I am out of snowmobiling shape).
Headlight- I upgraded the headlights to the H4 powerbulbs and they worked great for sure.
Some more points--Again...we rode in marginal snow conditions and the sled didnt overheat at all. It was so nice not smelling that 2-stroke oil...at least coming from my sled(and getting home and not smelling like it either). I didnt really keep track of gas mileage but at one fill up I was at a 3/4 tank where the F7's in the group were at a 1/2 tank and the 03' REV 800 was at a 1/3 tank(not sure why he was so low). We did get a little race in when me and my brother(03 F7) took off at the same time...I jumped out in front of him and wasnt sure how far back he was of me but when we stopped he said he just spun off the start. There are bunch of different sleds I ride with(F6 and F7's, ZR800, rev600 and 800, srx700) so I should get in a couple of races sooner or later. I will let you guys know how the Apex handles itself.
Negatives- I bought the heated sheild plug adapter and that thing was a PITA...it kept on backing out of the plug in causing my heated shield not to work. Then the little green light that tells you its on went out for good so I believe I blew the fuse. I will hard wire it for sure. My brother jumped on the apex for a rip and I did notice some squeaking/squealing noise coming from the track area...not sure what it could be. The dealer told me he put on the 05' wheels but I havent checked to see if there is any sign of them delaminating at all. I will check tomorrow when I get it cleaned up.
Its supposed to be 40's and rain the next few days so during this down time I will take it in to the dealer to have the oil changed(is 89 miles to soon for the initial oil change?) and have him look the whole sled over as well.
Overall...I havent wiped the smile off my face yet and I am really impressed. I can see keeping the Apex for quite some time.
I will start with the handwarmers. I didnt get to test the 06' bars but what I can tell with the updated 07' bars...is that they give off pretty good heat(not as hot as previous sleds but they should be fine). Although not really cold temps(low 20's) my hands didnt get cold at all. The bars seem to be in the right position and the right height for me(6'1"). The curved ends are nice for cornering as well.
Suspension- This was my first ride on the Apex and what I have been riding throughout the years have been ZR chassis and my latest sled being an F7. The trails in our area were not groomed yet so the trails were pretty beat up and bumpy. I thought the suspension on the Apex is head and shoulders above the ZR/F7. Very comfortable ride to say the least. They rider forward seems to be perfect for me as well(again..6'1"). I was hitting bumps/moguls at a high rate of speed...where in the past I was used to almost getting bucked off the sled. On the Apex...this thing just soaked them up with ease. I was very impressed with this...it allowed me to go faster.lol
Power/engine- The Apex really has some grunt to it for sure. Compared to the F7...the Apex always had "more throttle" no matter what speed/rpm I was at while the F7 although quick off the line or corner to corner...the F7 didnt have much there if you punched it after 70-80mph. The combination of the deeper lug ripsaw track and 144 studs seems to be the perfect combo for the Apex. It would hook up great in all conditions we rode in. As many of you have mentioned...I agree that this thing pulls like a freakin freight train. But...as many of you might agree...still not fast enough.lol The "engine breaking" wasnt really a factor at all. From reading some posts on here about it I expected it to be more extreme. I have always feathered off the throttle anyways so it didnt take much getting used to it. I do agree it does come in handy when coming into a corner.
Cornering/steering/darting- I have the stock skis on with 8" woodys doolys and didnt really notice much darting at all...nothing more than anything I rode before that is. IMO...I would suggest 'trying' the doolys before buying new skis. The ground under the snow is still warm(not frozen) and there wasnt a base(if you would stand on the snow it would become packed slush and stick to the bottom of your boots)...therefore....everyone I was riding with seemed to be pushing in the corners. Considering the conditions...I thought the Apex cornered very well at higher speeds. When cornering(sharp turns) at a low rate of speed in the tight twistys is the only time the sled felt "heavy" or experienced "hard steering". We have a lot of tight twisty trails and this definitely gave my hands and arms a work out(I am pretty sore today--but again this was my first ride of the year and I am out of snowmobiling shape).
Headlight- I upgraded the headlights to the H4 powerbulbs and they worked great for sure.
Some more points--Again...we rode in marginal snow conditions and the sled didnt overheat at all. It was so nice not smelling that 2-stroke oil...at least coming from my sled(and getting home and not smelling like it either). I didnt really keep track of gas mileage but at one fill up I was at a 3/4 tank where the F7's in the group were at a 1/2 tank and the 03' REV 800 was at a 1/3 tank(not sure why he was so low). We did get a little race in when me and my brother(03 F7) took off at the same time...I jumped out in front of him and wasnt sure how far back he was of me but when we stopped he said he just spun off the start. There are bunch of different sleds I ride with(F6 and F7's, ZR800, rev600 and 800, srx700) so I should get in a couple of races sooner or later. I will let you guys know how the Apex handles itself.
Negatives- I bought the heated sheild plug adapter and that thing was a PITA...it kept on backing out of the plug in causing my heated shield not to work. Then the little green light that tells you its on went out for good so I believe I blew the fuse. I will hard wire it for sure. My brother jumped on the apex for a rip and I did notice some squeaking/squealing noise coming from the track area...not sure what it could be. The dealer told me he put on the 05' wheels but I havent checked to see if there is any sign of them delaminating at all. I will check tomorrow when I get it cleaned up.
Its supposed to be 40's and rain the next few days so during this down time I will take it in to the dealer to have the oil changed(is 89 miles to soon for the initial oil change?) and have him look the whole sled over as well.
Overall...I havent wiped the smile off my face yet and I am really impressed. I can see keeping the Apex for quite some time.
). 
