I dunno....being the selfish type I'm only looking at the standard Attak for comparison since that's what I'm buying. I went to Yamaha's site, pulled up pics of the 06 and pics of the 07 and set them side-by-side on my screen. Windshields look to be 100% identical in size and shape, only the graphics are different.
If anyone here sees or knows something different from that, please let me know...part of my $400 in accessories was going toward the optional mid windshield to replace my stock 07 Attak windshield, under the assumption of course that the 07 is identical to the 06, which it appears it is to me at least....
I for now am betting that a "different" higher/better windshield for 07 on these sleds is nothing but internet rumor.
I DO however see how the GT and RTX for 06 had a VERY poor low windshield compared tot he ER and the Attak. They had that stupid low cutout right in the face. Even the 07 RTX appears quite a bit lower than the other 07's. So maybe that's what many here are referring to.
Now to get back to answer the original poster's question...I guess it totally depends on which year and model of Apex you're talking about. I can see 3 different styles and heights that came standard on these sleds so far just from browsing the site...
My research on this site has told me that the optional mid height windshield is the best available in terms of protection, even better than the tall and extra tall (both of which I'm told have the braces you were asking about). My understanding is that the optional mid windshield 14.25" in the accessory catalog is a bit higher and offers better protection than the stock med windshield sold on many of these sleds. But this is all regurgitated info from others here on this site...if I'm wrong you'll have to blame someone else....
If a dealer-type here can jump in and clear the fog for us all, it would be much appreciated. In the meantime, here's another thread on this same topic that ended up getting me just as confused as this one has, but might help:
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... windshield