Got to ride the Apex Mtn

[craig]

Just got back from the Snowies and Snowy Mountain Tours had an Apex Mtn. there for the demo rides coming up next weekend. I was talking to Moses and when I told him that I would be gone before then, he let me take it for a rip. Very nice sled. When you hit the flipper it instantly hit 11,000 rpm. Very responsive. Trail manners were very good also. Easy to side hill. I didn't get a chance to rip it up any big climbs but if the smaller ones I did try are any indication, it will be a climbing machine. The only thing that has me concerned was the steering effort. It took a lot of effort to turn while boondocking, however, I believe that was mainly due to the hard crust with the deep keel skis so this is not a fair assessment. We did get 2' of fresh while I was there but, I wasn't able to take the Apex to the areas that got hit with fresh. I can see myself owning one of these beasts. I'm really getting sick of smelling 2 stroke all day, but it's going to be hard to part with the light weight Mountain Max mod I've got now. I guess it will make a good back-up.

 

[Auskins]

wicked
any pics?

 

[slymax]

The new skis are brutal when there is a crust just thick enough that they drop through. On everything else they seem to work great. I have first hand experience on my Vector with them.

 

[tmk50]

I rode the Apex Mountain up there this morning - we had about 4" or so of snow on top of the hardpack you rode on Craig.

The sled handles great - I just wish I could have ridden it in some powder to see how well that new track works.

Throttle response was good, riding position was great, and you could not tell that it was a 162" track going down the trail.

Also rode an 05 RX1 Mtn with a Simon's turbo and a cat 162 track - unreal power......

 

[SRXSRULE]

YOU GUYS SUCK!!!!!!!!

===SRXSRULE===

 

[craig]

I didn't get any pics. Batteries were dead. I would really like to try it for a whole day in the fresh stuff. For the limited time and conditions, I was impressed. Eric, That's what you get for selling the Mountain Max already.
We actually had 2ft. of fresh if you new where to find it. Conditions varied a lot in just a couple of miles.

 

[tmk50]

We actually had 2ft. of fresh if you new where to find it. Conditions varied a lot in just a couple of miles.

I hear ya there - we found some deep snow Saturday morning and got a bunch of the sleds in our group stuck then we went .5 mile to the next trail and it was hardpack.....

I talked to the guys that we were on the demo ride with, we left about 20 minutes too soon because I guess Cody took them into some powder. Oh well, we had to get back to meet up with the rest of our group anyway.

 

[Thrusted Vector]

Well,we came,we saw,we rode the Apex and Vector SE.It's not what I was expecting,and frankly I'm a little dissapointed,,,,that we can't own these right now.I was stunned by the difference,the suspension,the power,the ride,and the riding position,WOW.I had my TVEC there and I had as much fun riding the Apex as I did the turbo.The engine snaps to attention instantly,the suspension has pop,super great fun,make an effort and try these sleds,the Vector was amazing as well.

 

[FastAction]

well just want to say thanks to all the guys who were out there and made the yammi test ride on the mtn apex and vector a blast. Weather wasn`t exactly what the weather man called for but atleast there was snow this time.

All kinds of people turned out, there were lots of guys there with revs and cats looking to try it.Plus alot of guys with trx and tvec. It was all good. I got to try the vector first and wow for a 3banger.Throttle response was amazing, so was the handling.It sure felt light. Great little machine but I was there for and anxious to try the big new bad boy on the block.

The Apex was just great. As soon as I sat on it a smile came across my face. Right away you knew you were on a mtn sled with the new higher seat and bars. Then you get to start it(funky key btw) purrs like a kitten and as soon as you hit the throttle it was right there. It just gets up and go. Finally got the clutching figured out. Man what a blast to ride up the rough trail.Smoothest mtn sled yet that I have rode on a trail. Then when out of site and up through the trees away from the prying eyes of the reps I really got to test her(hehe) It has lots of power for out of the box and just handles like a light sled.Ya thats right a light sled ,it was just crazy how nimble this thing was to move around ,side hill etc. Also took a few little jumps and man its a flyer and lands great.Not like the pigs our rxs are. All in all this is one great sled and I want one.Good job yamaha.

Again just want to thank the reps for this oppertunity to test it. And it was good to meet you guys .Good to meet Thrusted Vector and RX Fun .And thank you Thrusted for helping me with my sled and let me know when the best time is to call so I can pay you for that cable. Thanks Ryan for helping me also.She is haulling now.

And for all you guys who have not seen her except for pics or shows Randy(Climbmax) was nice enough to take a few pokes on both the apex and vector and let me film it.So in the next short while I will post the vid

Rumor had it that a guy on an m7 came back and said he would sell his and get one of these because he liked how it handled.

Hardcore

 

[mxryan]

hey there hardcore! thanks for coming up and the good reveiws. randy swenson deserves alot of thanks for helping design these new mountain sleds. the hype of the new four stroke suspension on the short tracks in the bumps, they forgot to brag about the killer suspension on the mountain sleds. i have ridden a ton of sleds and never felt suspension like that, even on those other lite machines from the other brands. i hope to see the video soon !!!!!!!!!1

 

[errol]

Good review!

Where are the pics ?

 

[Darko]

Rumor had it that a guy on an m7 came back and said he would sell his and get one of these because he liked how it handled.

Hardcore

Who me ?

Snowchecked my Apex after that ride !!


EDIT, This was my post on SW after the Apex ride.


As the thread title reads "Apex in Revy....It aint your father's RX-1!", could'nt be more true. The Apex in compairison to the RX1, well, there really isn't one. The Apex feel's, ride's, react's, power's, boondock's, climb's and out handles the RX1 by a very large margine in all those area's. Now everyone can say "well it better spank on the heavy rx1" and there right and it definatly does.

- "Suspension" (front and rear) is by far the BEST out of any mountain sled i've ever rode. It soak's up bumps on the trail as well as the bumps while climbing better than any sled or suspension on the market. It was truley mind blowing how fast and how hard you could pound the bumps without the sled pounding you back. It did'nt. It corners like a 121" track on rails, the ski's stay where you point them too, theres no darting, no washing out, no pushing. I found it almost effortless at low and high speed and the sled is very well balanced thru the bumps. I could go on forever how "perfect" the suspension is but i'm sure you get the point. t flat out ruled in this department.

- "Rider forward" in the Apex chassis. The riding position is very comfortable, it is not near as far forward as the Rev, if you looking for a compairison IMO its more like the M7 or the Poo900 as far as where your sitting on this chassis. The visability over the windscreen and hood is very nice, when i ride i like to see over the hood and windscreen with ease and also like to see the ski tips especially when wheeling, which i could on the apex. Like any stock sled on the market i felt the bars and seat were too low for my style of riding (which i expected before riding it). Knee's were not cramped, footwells had good room for bigger boot or foot size, running boards had good grip and a decent width until the very back of the tunnel where it narrowed.

-"Power". Yamaha claims 150 HP and i think there bang on what the claimed for HP. The power comes on instantly and is smooth throughout the RPM range. When you back out of throttle and pin it again it's right there. I dont have alot of seat time on any four stroke sled but i was very very impressed with the torque, it seems to keep pulling hard from low to high end.

-"fit and finish" Well, its a Yamaha, need i say more ?

-''Climbing". It climbs well and reacts how it should and is very predictable to riders body language. It doesnt dance or bounce around and i felt its due to the excellent suspension. With that said, i did notice the weight difference from what im used too riding. It seemed to float well, but once bogged down you gotta turn out very quick before being stuck. I would have liked to really give this Apex multiple pokes at some long steep hills but with only 6 on the snow, i didnt wanna didnt wanna risk the damage. I would say its very close to KK900, IMO it wont beat the KK but i felt it was in the ballpark.

- "Boondocking". This is where i felt that the weight of the machine would come into play and it did. While it completly destroys the RX1 in this department (as does any other mtn sled IMO), i found it to be top heavy. In the tree's it reacts predictable as it does climbing but these 2 area's ar where i noticed the weight issue. Its not difficult to pull over, but it does take alot more effort than M7 or the Rev 800. If i had to compare it to a another sled in the tree's and boondocking i would say its like the RT1000. Once you get it sidehilling and get the balance point it cuts thru the snow good but i felt you had to "muscle" it a little more than i liked.

Overall, i would have to say Yamaha made leaps and bounds over the RX1. The suspension is truly a dream come true, torque is great, but I like everyone else would like to see some pounds takin off this sled to make it better in the tight tree's and for turning out on climbs. Yes its heavy, no it's not a pig but if you wanna compair it to an M7 in the tree's, well you cant. IMO nothing in the tree's comes remotely close to the M7. And the only reason i even put the M7 into a comparison with the Apex is cause thats what i ride so thats my most honest thing to compair it too.

 

[errol]

Hi Darko,

This is the best review of the Apex Mtn I've read over the last few months . Your review is also unbiased because you're riding a different brand (M7 and Summit 800) which are great Mtn sleds by the way. Over here, the Summit 800 is the reference but again not many people are riding M7 and even less RX-1 Mtn!

Here, in Quebec, we didn't have to chance to demo the Apex Mtn and I would like to post your excellent review on a french forum. Can I ???

Thanks!

Errol

 

[Darko]

Errol, you bet you can.

I'll let you do the translation to french tho. LOL LOL


Edit: Off topic, are you going to the F1 race in Montreal ?

 

[errol]

Thanks Darko!

For the F1 GP of Canada, No I can't!

Unless you have 1 ticket for me...

I guess it will be the last time we'll have the chance to cheer for Jacques Villeneuve, son of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve!

Errol