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

[stoutner]

stoutner, vote4pedro is a newbie to the apex and to snowmobiling in general i believe. i dont think he's had the chance to really ride much else like we have.

pedro. these are all fast sleds. many of us will never see the top end on our sleds safely. if you try in my area your gonna get hurt or hurt somebody else. ive only seen 108 on the dreamo and i was pushing the safety factor and ran out of room.

Good point. You hold one of these Apex's or any of the 800's to the Bar on a trail for more than 5 or 6 seconds and you are probably going to be in trouble. They are all scary fast on the trails. If you are cruising 30 or 40 mph and you hammer one of these sleds...you'll be near 90 mph before you can count to 5...no doubt.

 

[TB151]

TB151 is that Quaggy Joe mtn. in the background? the small peak with the firetower in Presque? That's a keeper pic!!!

It could be! haha, we stopped at a lake on the way to Allagash, it was off the trail to the left. It was a sick spot for pics and we took alot more then i have posted here. We were riding out of Ft. Fairfield.

 

[vote4pedros]

well from the experiences ive had of comparing the same model years in 2006' the apex just destroy's the competition in acceleration and top speed and comfort. Ive raced about a dozen sleds of all makes and comparable cc's SAME YEAR and no comp. But yes ive never raced a newer era machine and im sure they do pull really hard if not harder then the apex. Never liked pull-ur-#*$&@ only sled brand i won't own. But too each there own right?. IVe watched 6 polaris liberty motor's grenade in 2 seasons. 0 skidoo and yammie lol The new dragon might be polaris's "come-back sled" who knows we'll find out. I may be new to the site but ive been riding for about 6 years now.. Cheers!! This Site Rules Good luck with the doo.. Awesome machine

 

[Ported Hornet]

well from the experiences ive had of comparing the same model years in 2006' the apex just destroy's the competition in acceleration and top speed and comfort. Ive raced about a dozen sleds of all makes and comparable cc's SAME YEAR and no comp. But yes ive never raced a newer era machine and im sure they do pull really hard if not harder then the apex. Never liked pull-ur-#*$&@ only sled brand i won't own. But too each there own right?. IVe watched 6 polaris liberty motor's grenade in 2 seasons. 0 skidoo and yammie lol The new dragon might be polaris's "come-back sled" who knows we'll find out. I may be new to the site but ive been riding for about 6 years now.. Cheers!! This Site Rules Good luck with the doo.. Awesome machine

Spend enough time around these machines and you'll see plenty 2 smokes of every brand go up in smoke, thats why I ride a yami 4 stroker

 

[stoutner]

Spend enough time around these machines and you'll see plenty 2 smokes of every brand go up in smoke, thats why I ride a yami 4 stroker

That is true but you can rebuild a 2 stroke a lot easier and cheaper than a 4 stroke. I know, I blew my Apex motor twice. 2nd time it burned a hole through the side of my cylinder wall...That is why I'm on a new sled this year.

I will agree that a properly ridden, properly maintained Apex motor will probably last 50,000 miles 99% of the time. It will long outlast the chassis, steering, and suspension components.

 

[Wisconsin]

I was at the local watering hole and a friend of my dad's said that he just bought a leftover '08 xp 800 and took it out. He loved it....for all of the two miles it made it before it blew up. I am not any specific brand fan, but that is kinda crappy....he didn't even do any tinkering and it came straight from the dealership.

I talked to a big group of sledders the other night at a bar. One guy had an orange f9 firecat straight from D&D he bought off of ebay. Almost made me miss my firecat for a second....till we were leaving the bar and I saw him with the hood up pouring in oil. I laughed and told him that I liked my firecat, but I don't miss it! No 4 strokes in the group of a dozen sleds that he was with. They all wanted to know how I liked my apex. I told them to buy one because words can't explain it. I told them an hour or so once a year to change oil is better than worrying about it every trip!

The F9 owner said that firecat was really fast....I asked him how fast it goes in reverse? How fast can you back it off of a trailer? How fast can you get it unstuck?

I'll stick with the apex...even though yamaha ignores our suspension, hand warmer, etc. problems. With a bit of work, these sleds are very nice.

 

[dilligaf52]

I hate to admit it but I changed brands this year also, I sold the Apex Ltx GT and went with a Crossfire8 SnoPro - I just couldn't make the Apex work off trail the way I wanted it to, I put a 144 track on and PowderHound Skis but it didn't help enough. I came from a 05 Viper MTN to the Apex and I thought the extra hp would make up for the weight diff but it didn't. The sled was great on smooth wide trails and the power, sound and no oil will be missed but I weighed both in the garage and the CF8 was 140 pounds lighter (Both ready to ride.) and I don't care what anybody says you do feel that difference. The fit/finish of the Cat is not that of a Yamaha but hey they all look the same after the first tumble through the bush.

 

[ViperTurboPete]

Well, I gave the XP e-tec Renegade a hard trail ride for about a hundred miles yesterday and my arms were killing me this morning. Yes, the sled is lighter, but I do appreciate the weight of the 4 stroker on the front end when screaming down the lake with drifts. Right now, I think lighter is not "always" better.

It is a different ride altogether. Maybe I still need to get used to it.

 

[SumpBuster]

Pete, you're not dreaming. For example, Monday I rode with an F7 and a brand new Phazer. The trails are getting whupped, and we switched sleds. Both guys stand a lot, and after a few miles, decided to sit down on the Apex. Best comment was how he didn't need to stand up to take the bumps fast. Front end was smooth and planted, and they both liked it. Go figure....lol. PS...I can't stand all day...waste of time and knocks the heck out of your top speed...

 

[quebec#1]

It seems like more and more sleds are made for ditch ridding but i think at least 80% of us ride on groom trails.
The apex that im going to pick up today will be the most ridder foward machine that i ever owned comming from a zr 900. I hope i will get used to it !

 

[Greasemonkey]

Not that it really made a difference last time, but, I think it's time for another Yamaha owners survey from the factory. Too many people are liking the new Doo's and switching.

 

[Rash]

Thanks a ton for your reports on the BRP, wich i came really close to buying... The major issue i have with these machines is realiability.. And your coolant loss is very comon. The dealer near where i live has 45 machines in his yard waiting to be repared in the middle of winter so if i break down with a BRP, i loose my machine for 3 weeks. This happened to me last year with my new Dragon Switchback 2008 that the crank busted on me, so i have very little patience with middle winter breakdowns like that. I know the Renegade is a superior handling machine, very light and aggressive. It would be the perfect machine if it was reliable, but for me, reliability is a major issu. Please inform us of any mechanical issues with your sled...
I hope you will have none...

Thanks for the input..

RASH

 

[ViperTurboPete]

Another ride on the XP e-tec today. I sure hope it is reliable in the long run. I always travel alone in the middle of nowhere for work purposes, so I hope this sled holds up (engine wise). I buried the sled in powder, and it was still heavy to lift. Every sled is heavy when stuck.

Everytime I go out on my SRX it sure feels dated, but it takes the bumps pretty stable and my arms don't get sore. I do have an RX1 suspension underneath with Ohlin shock extenders on the fronts so it is much better than it was stock over the bumps.

I was actually very afraid before I took my first ride on the XP. I thought I was going to be disappointed everytime I would ride my personal sleds (RX and SRX). That is NOT the case. One thing is for sure, there is nothing like a 4 stroke.

 

[SumpBuster]

Thanks a ton for your reports on the BRP, wich i came really close to buying... The major issue i have with these machines is realiability.. And your coolant loss is very comon. The dealer near where i live has 45 machines in his yard waiting to be repared in the middle of winter so if i break down with a BRP, i loose my machine for 3 weeks. This happened to me last year with my new Dragon Switchback 2008 that the crank busted on me, so i have very little patience with middle winter breakdowns like that. I know the Renegade is a superior handling machine, very light and aggressive. It would be the perfect machine if it was reliable, but for me, reliability is a major issu. Please inform us of any mechanical issues with your sled...
I hope you will have none...

Thanks for the input..

RASH

Well, that's the thing...I was yeller until Doo retired the rotary valvers (and the promise of long lasting (fast) 4 strokes became reality)...then the once king of engine reliability started to falter...rumors of burn downs, bearings (going back to the triples, which I had and failed..a 600, an 800 and 3 friends with 700's) and then it became a too common occurence...don't get me wrong, I'm ticked at Yammy that I had to change my exhaust donuts yesterday afternoon with only 2500 miles on an Apex, but then again, this issue would'nt have left me anywhere either. And it cost me nothing but my time to replace.

 

[TB151]

No worries on the updates, I'm glad I can help. Luckily I have an excellent dealer who is trailside up in Maine where I ride. When i get up there next weekend for our next trip, I just have to throw some coolent in, and can drive the machine right to the shop where they will take it right in and fix it asap.. So, all in all it doesnt cost me any real time.