may throw in the towel on Yamaha

[kinger]

Sounds like you made your decision. You can go back to a cat or you must have switched for some reason you can make what you got work.

Really its not that bad Yamaha just set up thier sleds for 130 lbs japanese guys or something.

You already fixed the crappy wheels. A revalve on the mono would be a great start, while that is out get the arm beefed up and powdercoated, then find some cheap used skis and get new carbides. Add all new oilite bushings in the front end and a 13mm sway bar and your done with mods.

Next spend some time adjusting it. Yes I know this can suck but what I do is go all the way one way (say firm) then go all the way the other way (say soft) then you know the range of the adjustment now you can dial in everything how you like it.

Total cost should be around $500 and then spend some time learning how to drive it. 9 times out of ten you will fall in love and never want a different sled. If its too much hassle get a cat and ride the wee out of it till it breaks and then get another one.

 

[riverrat]

I struggled with mine in 06 and 07, But now pretty happy with it with Hygear rebuild with vari rate spring and revalve, dual carbides, higher windshield. Sled rocks for a long distance tour machine, not a great tight trail sled but as a straight ahead mogul eater it is great. Motor is awesome..........

 

[82SRX500]

Personal preference is the bottom line and set up. The Apex is designed with adjustable settings. Many do not take the time to learn the proper set up with trial an error. If you don't like body roll add a stiffer sway bar, the skis, I have no problem with the stock skis but I ride on hard pack trails in Northern, WI. People need to clarify what they ride in. The skis are terrible in deep snow, but it is not a deep snow sled. Get clicker shocks to adjust your front ride quality and adjust them through out the day. That is what I do. The base shocks are not adjustable so you get what you get for a ride on those. Likewise with air shocks. Just one adjustment. The hyfax burns down and then sits there. I got 2000 miles out of the first set and 2000 on the last. Good snow bad snow. The wheels are good for a season or two and pitch them and put new ones on. Regardless of what the wheels should have could have been for better or worse, if you don't change your bearings or wheels after two seasons you are running on junk bearings and loosing power and probably wearing more of your suspension out. How much do you weigh? I weight 160 and have no problems with the stock set up. Yamaha sets the sled for the average weighted rider which is supposed to be around 160-185 pounds. If you have more weight on the sleds stock settings then you need to adjust or respring. I have run the 06 and the 08. Other than the handwarmers being poor and a couple sets of wheels no problems no issues. I can not say that about any of the other guys who run other brands who ride with me who are constantly working on their sleds which are 2 strokes.

 

[bobmnh]

I have had too many sleds to mention. The last sled(s) before my 07 Attak GT were SkiDoo Legend SE 800's. I was impressed with the power and the go-kart feel.

The first year on the Yamaha was dissapponting with the handling, but the power band and the smoothness were unbelievable. The second year I was determined to get it to handle and ride well.

The OE skis aren't worth the material they are made of. On the Attack I put on 2007 SkiDoo pilots. You can buy them from SkiDoo with the adaptors. On my 2010 Vector LTX I installed the SnowTrackers from Canada. These work as good as the pilot skis. (http://www.snowtracker.com/)

Give Bruce a call at Pioneer Performance (http://pioneerperformance.net/) and get all of your shocks dialed in and get a larger sway bar which is easy to change.

It seems many people set their sleds up too stiff, loosen it up and let it work. This has all worked for me and I am happy. I am 62 and many of the younger guys have a hard time keeping pace with me, some can't. Even though I am on a "long track Yamaha". While reading your post, it reminded me of my first year with a Yamaha. Below I will give you some specs that I have had success with. There are many opinions on how to set up sleds, but this has worked for me.

I ride in Northern NH, Maine and Quebec to give you an idea of the type of trails I ride. Don't give up, you probably won't be happy with any other 4 stroke or 2 stroke.

Depending on everyone's given weight & trail conditions more compression may be needed on the remote dial on the tunnel. PLEASE realize this.

1. Front shocks-- pre-load measurement of 1 7/8" collar to collar

2. Front shocks-- compression. clicker dial is 3 clicks in from full soft. In other words, turn it in counterclockwise 'till it stops, & then in 3 clicks

3. Front shocks-- rebound. clicker dial is 3 clicks in from full fast rebound. In other words, turn it counterclockwise 'til it stops, & then 3 clicks in.

4. Rear Mono-Shock pre-load-- Leave it in the stock cam notch. This should be the middle notch.

5. Rear transfer rod-- Turn the transfer rod IN to a measurement of 1 1/8"

6. Rear Mono-Shock compression-- 3 clicks from full soft, according to the dial on the tunnel. In other words, turn it all the way to full soft & then 3 clicks toward hard.

7. Some people have gone 1-2 notches tighter on the limiter strap. I personally have tried it & noticed no difference from the stock location.

REMINDER!! the rear compression setting can & will have to change some depending on your weight & trail conditions.


This setup comes from an ex cross country racer who has forgotten more about setting up suspensions than most of us will ever know.

On a side note also. As we all know the stock Yamaha skis suck major balls. Dually runners in the 6-10" range are highly recommended. As are Snow-Trackers if you choose that route.

Good Luck

 

[Honk]

Bob, a question about your adjustments. On the front shocks you go in by going to the right, or clockwise. same with the compresion and rebound adjustments. Then turn it out to adjust. In on the front springs increase the pre-load, which should be set-up very light.

 

[ahicks]

ahicks wrote:
Look at how many have replaced the entire rear suspension with something different. ANYTHING different.....

You wrote:
Just disagreeing here, that's all. A vocal minority have given up on the Mono suspension. Seems like many of them are real big guys, if my observations are correct. This is no slam, so please don't take it as such. Seems like Mono can't take abuse from a heavier guy.

Guilty as charged on both counts, but just to set the record straight, I replaced a ProActive suspsion, not a mono. I may have been able to live with a Mono. Their biggest issue is just breakage and they have that about figured out. Just note I replaced my suspension for less than what some of the top shock packages (Hygear) sell for...

 

[yamadog07]

took me almost 3 years to get my 2007 attak right. it was a pain. now it is the best thing ever. number one mod for me was a shock re-valve & upgrade mono spring, sled was night & day.

 

[whitedust1]

CRF 8 or F8 Sno-Pro, Firecat not like Apex any model. You are not used to engine braking & need to tell us more of what is wrong? Bergstrom triple points can help a lot with stock skis. Hyfax has not been a problem for my 2007 Attak. What model & what adjustments did you try? I'm not sure you can make switch from Firecat to Apex so different that is for sure. My 2007 Attak GT took a lot of tweaking but once I understood adjustments just plain luv the sled. Sounds like you didn't take a test ride before you bought a Yammie.

 

[CaptCaper]

I'm 260 lbs bare naked or more. Bought 07 Attak new and got 5K on it. Only replaced wheels this past spring. I did revalve and stiff spring last year and was the cats meow..I haven't had any problems I believe other then Y pipes cracking. Warranty covered it.
Love the R1 tones when opening it up. I can't imagine how hard these guys ride to have all the suspension problems they have in short order.
I need skis now so I might try the pilots.

 

[mr.pitstop]

I had the wheels replaced, mono beef up kit installed, stiffer spring, and pioneer revalve and I absolutely love the ride of my mono and Im pushing 300lbs. The sled just flat out hauls and rides better than any of my edge sleds ever thought of. Its all personal preference but I ride smooth straight trails and lakes and the apex just plain works for me...

 

[bigdog_mike]

apex mono

Have an 06 apex with Ohlins elec shock. Revalved the shock at Pioneer and replaced spring with dual rate Eibach spring. Added dual runner carbides either Studboy or Woody's will do the trick. Thats it, now it can take all the bumps from studders to big g-outs with ease. The dual carbides cured the darting and hold the line through the corners, rough or otherwise. But as in the other posts, 4-strokes need you to keep the power on through the corners to hold the line, even my old Skidoo formula three 700 had to be throttled through the corner to keep the line. Did the same through the corners on my 2000 SXR 700r and my 2001 SXR and they all had certain quarks in the handling. But I too was disappointed with the Apex as delivered till a friend talk to me to try to revalve the shocks before kicking the Yamaha to the curb, glad I listened to him as after 4 seasons on big blue is where I truly feel comfortable. The shock valving cost $89 and the dual carbides $130 and big boy springs $90...not alot of cash, also upgraded the boogies wheels to aftermarket Kimpex oversized 5.35" I think the polaris models worked great, with added plus they greatly reduced hyfax wear.

 

[KevinS]

I went the ZX2 skid route in my Attak. I tried the revalve from Pioneer which helped a lot but I just didn't care for the Monoshock skid.

One thing I tried that made my sled downright dangerous in the corners is the 13 mm swaybar. Inside ski lift was terrible. I went back to the stock swaybar. I previously had a 12 mm swaybar in my Apex with good results.

 

[Beech]

I don't understand your evaluation on the stiffer sway bars making the cornering downright dangerous. I thought the stiffer sway bar was to lessen the inside ski lift.
Can you provide more info please as I was contemplating going to a 12mm swaybar.

 

[KevinS]

I don't understand your evaluation on the stiffer sway bars making the cornering downright dangerous. I thought the stiffer sway bar was to lessen the inside ski lift.
Can you provide more info please as I was contemplating going to a 12mm swaybar.

That was my experience with the 13mm. I previously had a 12 mm bar in my old Apex that was written off. I didn't notice the ski lift with the 12 mm bar. I replaced the Apex with an Attak and got the 13 mm bar. I was having a very hard time in the corners. Inside ski lift like crazy. Went back to stock and 100% improvement.

I also have SLP Powder Pro Skis, 8" Bergstrom Triple Points, and GYTR shocks. The shocks are set as soft as they will go with the adjuster dials in the middle. I also had the limiter up one hole from stock and the transfer rod towards min.

 

[auto385]

I made the Change

I bit the bullet after owning an RX-1 and then a 07 Attak GT. I have close to 8000miles on the Attak. I did everything to it to make it handle better. Snowtracker extremes are great but 1000miles in 3 days left my shoulders torn up. Rear suspension broke in many places. One of the rails cracked. the "W" brace broke and shock had to rebuilt twice. Too many wheels replaced to keep count of until I switched them to Doo wheels. Then there is the issue with the exhaust donuts. I, like every other Yamy dude, loves the torque and power of the sled but after being almost cripled from pain in the back and having spend many thousands on this sled, I regretfully had to switch to a Doo 1200 GSX with air ride suspension. I'll give up on the speed and torque factor but maybe I will be able to walk now after a day of sledding. If Yamaha would come up with a bulletproof suspension that is actually easy to ride on, I'd be back in a flash.