First Time Apex Owner

[peppelepugh]

Hi all, figured I'd introduce myself on the apex chat since I just got a hold of my first yamaha 4-stroke! Been riding a couple years on a 97 formula iii and finally decided I need an upgrade. I do a lot of riding in Northern LP Michigan and UP around Newberry, Paradise, and Moran area. Figured if I could survive than on an older heavy sled, the apex weight shouldn't bother me too much!

I recently picked up an 06 Apex ER with 3660 miles on it. Everything looks great physically, no tears on the seat, a few scratches, nothing you wouldn't expect on a 11 year old sled. Unfortunately I did block off the exhaust and sure enough... she wouldn't stall out. So I ordered some copper exhaust doughnuts from Barn of Parts. Along with that I'm doing a full tune up on it. Plugs, Oil, Coolant, etc. I also picked up a skid plate and thermostat kit from barn of parts as well. From a lot of my reading I saw that ordering a 07+ Phaser wiring harness will heat up the 06 handlebars nicely, so I picked up an 07 harness (90891-50150), hopefully it works well!

During the tear down I plan on going over the exhaust and checking for cracks, checking the oil pan for cracks, anything loose of course. Then I planned on going over the Jackshaft and Driveshaft bearings. I was debating about just replacing them since season is over pretty much. I figured if the exhaust is leaking, the bearings may as well be replaced too. Haven't ordered them yet, everywhere I'm readying is all about OEM and everything else is junk. But I've seen that "all balls" has a replacement "KIT" with seals and such vs Barn of Parts which sells the individual bearing. Do I need the full "KIT" to do this bearing swap or would ordering the OEM bearings suffice?

1. Holy crap does this sub-forum have any and all information I could ask for
2. Anything else I should plan on going over while she's stripped down?

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[maim]

i have used the all balls kits with no bad results but i do repack the speedo and clutch bearing with good grease before i install them as they tend to cheap out in the grease quality. have about 10000km combined on both sleds that i did with them and i do annual chaincase oil changes.

just check the a-arm bushings, swaybar bushings and rear suspension bushings while you are at it as they can be bad with that milage. enjoy your new sled!

 

[steiner]

The handwarmers are an easy fix that you can do yourself. There is a write in the FAQ. It looks like you have the 07 bars on the sled. If so, get Yamaheaters.
Check the front suspension arm in the skid as it is known to crack.
If the previous owner maintained the sled properly there should be no reason to change driveline bearings as of yet. I changed mine at 11k miles and they were still good.
Highly recommend the Bulk Head Saver Kit from BoP as well. It can save you big bucks and downtime if you hit unknown objects in the snow.
As the skid wheel bearings fail you can replace the wheels with updated ones that have replaceable bearings.
There is a good thread somewhere in the Apex Forum about what to check on your Apex. Just have to use the Search function.

 

[Teamblue4]

OEM bearings only.

 

[WinderFab]

X2 stick with quality bearing...

 

[peppelepugh]

Perfect! thanks for all the help!