Jumped Ship, But It's been a great ride!!

[zoomzoom]

Great post and feedback TB151. Just one thing. I ride VERY hard and have been around sport since I was a kid probably like you. My one difference in opinion is in your comment on ski-lift. Most apex ski-lift problems I've seen have been due to improper setup.

Keep it coming!

 

[Blue Dave]

My buddy had his first burndown at 200 miles on his '09 XP 800 R and Doo replaced a cylinder, pistons & rings. Got it back from the dealer and 1.5 miles later it went down again because of a base gasket coolant leak. Less than 10 miles after another dealer repair the engine burned down again. This time Doo gave him a completely new motor.

In Doo's defense he did have the dealer do a head mod which the dealer stood behind but claimed shouldn't have caused these problems. He hasn't ridden it much on the new motor but time will tell.

 

[TB151]

Great post and feedback TB151. Just one thing. I ride VERY hard and have been around sport since I was a kid probably like you. My one difference in opinion is in your comment on ski-lift. Most apex ski-lift problems I've seen have been due to improper setup.

Keep it coming!

Honestly, when the ski lift is dialed out, you are sacrificng alot. It took me lowering the front suspension big time to achieve an "acceptable" amount of lift. With the XP, that's not necessary, you can corner flat AND maintain shock travel. I also ride VERY hard, and cornering means ALOT to me, and is more of a full body experience rather then the casual leaner. So, I dont necessarily agree with you, maybe u havent had a good amount of seat time on XP's? Give it a shot.

My buddy had his first burndown at 200 miles on his '09 XP 800 R and Doo replaced a cylinder, pistons & rings. Got it back from the dealer and 1.5 miles later it went down again because of a base gasket coolant leak. Less than 10 miles after another dealer repair the engine burned down again. This time Doo gave him a completely new motor.

In Doo's defense he did have the dealer do a head mod which the dealer stood behind but claimed shouldn't have caused these problems. He hasn't ridden it much on the new motor but time will tell.

Head mod = There in lies the problem. My dealer has seen some cudney heads cause alot of damage as well. The 800 is a great motor, just dont do stupid stuff to it and it will be your friend.

 

[SumpBuster]

Plop a set of curve xs's with the fox floats at 30 pounds, and lock the toes in good, and she'll handle with your feet! It's a riot and stays planted at 90+ on big field playing dust yer buddy...
On the other hand, my dealer is now having the 550 fan cooled's burn down...I have to believe gas figures in somewhere with all these 2 stroke burn downs (cats too). I had only two blown engines in 20 years of doo's. Although a lot of stators and PTO bearings went after 4000 miles, so I'd always peddle my 2 strokers before that point.
A bud's son pounds his xp, but only gets 10 mpg and just blew the belt through the belly pan....

 

[GIMME SNOW]

Honestly, when the ski lift is dialed out, you are sacrificng alot. It took me lowering the front suspension big time to achieve an "acceptable" amount of lift. With the XP, that's not necessary, you can corner flat AND maintain shock travel. I also ride VERY hard, and cornering means ALOT to me, and is more of a full body experience rather then the casual leaner. So, I dont necessarily agree with you, maybe u havent had a good amount of seat time on XP's? Give it a shot.

I own a 09' Apex LTX GT, I'm still trying to dial in the cornering set-up, still having way too much ski lift. A couple of weeks ago I rode a 460 mile trip with 2- 06' Mach's, and 1- 08' 800 XP...I could not even come close to keeping up with them in the twisties, I was watching them throughout the trip and it seemed they were using little to no effort to corner while I was wrestling my Apex around the corners. I just hammered on the straights to catch-up. It's either I have a lot to do yet for set-up or it's not even worth trying to keep adjusting. I even took one of the Machs, and the XP for a try, I was very impressed, but love the long legs of my Apex. Thaks for the updates TB151...keep em' comming.

 

[zoomzoom]

.

Honestly, when the ski lift is dialed out, you are sacrificng alot. It took me lowering the front suspension big time to achieve an "acceptable" amount of lift. With the XP, that's not necessary, you can corner flat AND maintain shock travel. I also ride VERY hard, and cornering means ALOT to me, and is more of a full body experience rather then the casual leaner. So, I dont necessarily agree with you, maybe u havent had a good amount of seat time on XP's? Give it a shot

I probably have a different ride style because it's rare that I need to throw myself off the seat. I tend to lean into the turn and push off the opposite leg. I Don't need to have a lot of pressure on my front skis to stick.

 

[TB151]

Hey all, figured I would check in. I finished the season with a somewhat respectable 1900 miles. Still on my original belt! I have a new 2010 Renegade 800X ordered so hopefully I will have the same luck with that sled.

I'm personally excited that they revised the steering a bit to make it lighter. With my USI Triple Threat Ski's the pressure was just too much after a long day of riding. Apparently that was a known issue so they changed the pitman arm on the 2010's.

I'm already watching snowmobile video's on the internet on a daily basis....It's going to be a LONG wait!

 

[number1kyster]

I'm glad you like the sled TB. Honestly, I rode my friends 09 600 renegade X etec and was shocked at how awesome it was. This sled handles and rides so good and it slaughters my Apex on fuel consumption. The only thing my Apex does better is go fast and stay together. I was sold on a renegade x 600 until his Etec blew up a 2k miles. If I traded every year there is no way I would be riding anything else but an XP. Unfortunately with the price of sleds, I have to keep one for a long time when I buy it. I have 11,000 fairly trouble free miles on my 07 RTX and I still have 3 years on the YES warranty. After that, I may have to jump ship!

 

[snowbeast]

Well after 2 years of ownership I have sold my 2006 Apex. Takeaways:

1) Fast as hell, no one ever beat me, period.
2) Build quality is second to none, fit and finish is superb.
3) Never had one problem (other then not wanting to start at -30 without a battery pack helping with boost).
4)Best brake light ever, whenever we rode in white out conditions, the one constant was that people wanted ot be behind me.

I sold the sled with 1800 miles, on the original sliders, wheels etc.

Now for why I sold it.

Im a good size (220 lbs) pretty powerful guy so the weight of the machine wasnt much of an issue on any trails etc. I can pick up the front of the machine and toss it around no problem. But in any really tight trails and any offtrail, the weight is definitely there.

The Inside Ski Lift: Once i put on new skis, cranked the front down so the bars were even with the ground, and put in the pioneer bar, the inside lift was vastly improved, but it definitely was still an issue that I couldnt shake. I could convince myself that it was fine, but for the hard riding I do, I was even afraid of letting friends ride the machine in fear of them tipping it in a tight turn.

The rear suspension...they have some work to do on it. Maybe I should have been on an RTX?

So what next? Im picking up a 2009 Ski-Doo Renegade XP with X Package tomorrow. The sled just does it for me , totally a jawdropper and the weight will be a biggie for me personally.

I will let you know how it goes if you care to ask.

Thanks to everyone on this site, its an AWESOME resource, with some awesome people on it.....

Ok when snow arrives and you get a chance to run the bugs out of it,let me know what you like and dislike stock for stock,other than the huge weight advantage,it is all yamaha,i know,i just sold my 08 800 xp x with zbroz shocks on it,for an 07 apex gt,and now after 1900 miles on my brand new apex leftover,compared to my two year brand new doo xpx 800,with mods,the apex still out shines the doo any day,oh ya i have had many yamahas,so im not just blowing smoke,and i ride between 2 and 4 thousand miles a year,so its not just a couple hundred miles on a lake bed i ride. The doo is a nice machine,maybe doo's best yet,but other than the lower seat and bad knee angle of the apex vrs the doo,thats about all there is to bitch about the apex vrs the doo xp,but because of the lower center of gravity the yamaha has,it outhandles the doo every time. Oh ya did i also say the yamaha went and still goes past 2000 miles on the same stock belt,and my doo and many more had gone thru 4-5 belts in this time? And the apex is faster bottom to top end over the xp,stock for stock or even modified,i gave my xp 2800 miles to show me that it was all that i thought it was to be,but it never did show me what the advertizements had to offer,but you may be delited with your gade,and i hope you are,but i sure was not.. Good luck Pete
Enjoy your winter and ride safe!