how impressed r u?

[xracer]

Yamaha didn't change the out side body panels enough, (for a different look). If you look at the stripped down pictures of the sled , it will be a game changer with all the the improvments they have made. It will make are current apexs obsolete like the rx1 when the 06 apex came out

 

[shanksyamaha]

if you have not ridden it...you have NO business commenting 'wholly' on this sled being a dissapointment.

Then why are we even talking about it?? Only a hand full of people have actually ridden it, are they the only ones allowed to comment on it??? Its a disappointment to me, just in the price.. I can read, and I don't really like what Im reading. I had a grizzly with eps, I traded it in before it had 800 miles on it. I see that eps has a place, I just don't need or want it... when the time comes for me to buy a new sled, unless this one turns out to be a hell of alot better than what im reading, I'll look for a left over 2009 or 2010...

Don't forget, when yamaha came out with the all new rhino 700, its no faster than the old rhino 660. It was advertised to have a 20% power increase and 15% less moving parts... People thought it would perform much better than the old 660 but they are about the same, some 660s are faster... Im not holding my hand on my #*$&@ for this new sled, Im gunna make mine faster and stronger and run it for 3-4 more seasons...

 

[Lammy]

Its kinda nice though because i finally got an Apex, and was thinking how its gonna be obsolete, but it's kinda nice knowing its not. How I think I'd prefer the my Apex, over a new one! It knida reminds me of when Yami dished the SRX, and brought out the Viper???? HELLOOOO!!!! I thought they would of learned the first time.

 

[thegrizzly1]

I had to go back and read the original post. Since you didn't ask if we were impressed with the new Apex or Yamaha in general, I'll just say I am more than a little frustrated.

Let’s start with the Apex. Overall, I think they have done a great job on the sled from what I have read. I reserve final judgment till I actually get some seat time on one. Power steering: I am going to give this a thumbs up. Once you drive an EPS Grizzly is tough to ever go back. I think that will catch on. I haven’t tried to think out the engineering of the new Front end on the Apex, but I will mention the possibility of the new ski and spindle angle is due to the EPS. I am wondering if these machines would be a bear to steer without it of if it fails. Hand warmers that work, reliable suspensions, and a bunch of these other little pains that have plagued Yamaha for the last several years I don't think should be mentioned as new features that add to the price point. There is no excuse that these things should have been taken care of years ago. Case in point: can we actually grease the new suspension or will grease just leak out around the zert and not get to where it is supposed to go? (I've got a ZX-2 in my 07 so I don't know if leaky zerts are still an issue.) I don't know enough about EXUP to speak intelligent about it, so I will leave that one alone. Overall I would give the new Apex an 8.5 based on what is written. It is the pricing that is going to kill the machine IMHO. I am a mechanical engineer and as much as I like to gripe, I earn a pretty decent salary for where I live. I just can't bring myself to spent over 1/4 of my yearly salary on a new sled. I think that pricing has been pretty well beat to death already. I believe there was about $1000 difference between EPS and non EPS Grizzly's. I would venture to bet it is the same servo unit they are using in the sleds. Is the EXUP and other improvements worth the other $2k-2.5k in price jump? Up to you to decide, but for me, no.

I really think the power steering is going to take off. Someone else mentioned all the other manufactures will be going to it and I have to agree. Which brings me to my greater frustrations with Yamaha. Why have they skipped over all the other models this year? The Vector is in the DBII chassis, so there is no reason not to adapt power steering to that sled. After all, it is a trail sled and I would think PS would appeal most to trail riders. I think it would be even more appealing to people with the Venture or VK Pro. (Don't even get me started on the lack of anything new in Yamaha’s utility/trail market). And for crying out loud, were in the 19th Century here (read extreme sarcasm!). Why is Yamaha still making carbureted machines at all?

I make the comparison to the Honda ATV's of a few years ago when they first came out with the automatic transmission very similar to a car. Not that I own one or ride one, but Honda has always had strong, reliable, powerful engines IMO, and at the time there auto tranny was cutting edge technology. What wrecked the whole thing for me is the 1900's technology drum brakes still being used today! I can't just believe it is a price thing either. Maybe someone with a manufacturing background can chime in, but disc brakes have less parts and less material than drums. Period! They have to be cheaper to manufacture. Look at all the intricate machining and small parts involved in a carburetor. I have to think fuel injection is simpler, takes less material, and costs less to manufacture.

In summary, I feel they did a pretty good job on the new Apex. I am disappointed that they skipped over the rest of the models and eliminated some all together. Especially with the commonality of the DBII chassis, I think Yamaha could have covered some of their other models with some of the same improvements. I would predict for 2012 the Vector will get PS. 2013 they may move the venture into the DBII and give it PS and 2016 they would finally have upgraded the Viking to FI and designed a mountain specific machine, but everything will be cancelled as Yamaha dropped their snowmobile division due to poor sales from the previous 5 years.

Thanks for hearing me out. I'll get off my soapbox now.

 

[Lammy]

i agree. They're gonna price themselves right out of the market. I don't think they know their customer base really well.
They haven't been giving us what we want for the last 5 years, and now these prices. If anyone from Yamaha is trolling this thread, I'd just like to tell you to do your research. the majority of your customers are blue collar, weekend warrior, with wives, mortgages, 2 1/2 kids, and cant afford to spend 17000 (CAD), on a new sled! GIVE YOUR FUCKING HEAD A SHAKE!

 

[Greasemonkey]

These last statements are all true. Seems like Yamaha decided to fix everything at once so they can jack the price up 3 or 4 grand under the guise that they have developed a whole new Apex with all our concerns addressed, except jacking the HP up more than 5 to 10 ponies. . I'm sure this will be an awesome machine, but, we need a price cap on sleds! We'll see what Ski Doo will do with the 1200 and the price of that. The new 800 E-Tech isn't going to be cheap by no means, either. . I need a second job!

 

[SledFreak]

The 800 etec is 12,000.00

 

[Hammer 1]

A buddy of mine just paid $13000 for a 09 Z1 turbo. Just the sound alone of that thing makes me say yuck! I would think that these new Apexes will be listed around the same price and maybe a little cheaper. The guy that I purchased my 09 LTX from paid $10000 and it listed $12400. However, I for one believe that snowmobiles in general are getting to be rediculous in the price dept.

 

[olcountry]

drivers?????

Please say they are anti ratchet, otherwise they elected to not fix one of the main problems and a very annoying one to address after the fact!!

 

[cnaimo]

My plan is to wait a year maybe 2 and purchase it as a 2011 leftover. These are not going to sell IMO..

 

[Greasemonkey]

My plan is to wait a year maybe 2 and purchase it as a 2011 leftover. These are not going to sell IMO..

I agree 100%

 

[RunninRX1]

I rode a bunch of the 2011's.. I give them a 10/10 on the sleds themselves. Not real happy about the price though.
I saw the dyno graphs.. I see what EXUP does and I could feel it using my "butt dyno". There was 12 other people with me riding. It's extremely rare for a group of people to ride a sled, get off the thing and all have the same smile on their face and comment "wow!"

 

[welterracer]

9/10 for me.. that apex should be the cats #*$&@.. They have addressed every issue that we had with the sled..

THe price however is CRAZY.. $13K for any sled is just nuts..

 

[stevewithOCD]

Some paid 13,500 for a MACH 3 years ago. I just saw a 1200 DOO left-over for 12,500. I think the actual buying price will be lower with incentives & deals. We'll need to see some HP & weight numbers, but i think they refined an already good sled. I think the EPS is going to make the sled "feel" like a sled 200 lbs. lighter. I wanted them to improve everything 10% & they may have done that...we'll just have to wait & see. I'm broke anyways so i'll use the "wait a year for refinement" excuse for now...

 

[morrisond]

Re: drivers?????

Please say they are anti ratchet, otherwise they elected to not fix one of the main problems and a very annoying one to address after the fact!!

Yes they have extrovert drivers and quite clever ones, the extrovert part(they can make additional noise and vibration) are slightly out of phase with the primary introvert drivers, if the intro slips the extro takes over, best of both worlds