My first sled - 2007 Apex GT - questions

[snowxwi]

Just bought my first sled from a local dealer.

2007 Apex GT with about 6500 miles on it. One owner before me, seems like he took good care of it. The dealer didn't know much about the service history as the previous owner did most of the work himself. The dealer does have a brief history of service done to it, I'm picking that up tonight.

From reading these forums for the past few days I have found that for the most part this machine will be pretty solid for me. I am not mechanically gifted, I don't know much about this stuff and these tear downs I see on this site to access some of the sled seem a bit overwhelming.

Since it seems we won't have snow for a while in WI, I would like to take a look to make sure everything is in order so I know I'm going to have a good season once snow is on the ground.

My question is, what things should I check over before the snow falls? I did order some of the better 10 plugs, so I will be putting those in next week. Should I just wait to ride to see if anything is amiss? Idles great and when I drove it off the trailer it seemed to have a lot of power. Haven't started it since as I've read just starting it to hear and drool over is bad for the plugs.

There seems to be a lot of people on this site who know their way around these things, so I'm hoping to get some insight. I would hate to wait until the trails are open and then have a dead sled.

Thanks!

 

[thor452]

where in wi r u? finish your profile please

 

[snowxwi]

Wisconsin Rapids. Updated my profile with this info.

 

[thor452]

awsome im not real far away but far enuff do you ever travel this way id be more then glad to go thru your sled with you i keep 3 07's and 1 06 on the trails the last 4 years now and know all the know probs and preventive maintenance you should do. hard to go over it all and have it make sense on here.

 

[slimjim2525]

You have one awesome sled there. I have one and an 11 Apex as well. You will love it. A lot of the mechanical stuff is really just getting in there and start tearing it apart and saying "oh yeah, that makes sense".

 

[biffdotorg]

What would be interesting to find out would be if the previous owner was a member here. Anyone that has done most of there own service work on a sled like that is probably a member here. (good chance anyway)

I bought a 2007 Apex GT this fall, from a member. I was lucky enough to be able to read all of his posts and see exactly what he did with the sled from the day he took delivery.

I was also lucky enough to buy a sled that was still under YES contract till next spring. So the dealer pulled the VIN and told me all the things that were taken care of under warranty.

This apex has 9200 miles on it. So the usual things were done. Donut and y-pipes (twice) Drive shaft broke, chaincase and chain and some injector issue. But all was taken care of and well documented. This is why I had no issue buying an apex with 9200 miles on it. My 2-stroke buddies about lost it.

I did have the dealer spend a couple hours and go through it end to end. They did find that half the parking brake caliper was missing. My guess it took off with the brake locked. No parking brake is going to stop and Apex!

I also had the brake lever/switch replaced as it was showing the common corrosion in the switch that didn't activate the brake light. this is a common fix but YES covered it.

Other than that, they gave it a clean bill of health and lubricated all the zerts and suspension components. For those of us that are not as tech-savvy, it was worth the $119 to get their blessing.

Good luck, I hope you are as jacked as I am to go run this beast! Mine may hit the open lot next door on Friday just to squeeze the throttle once!

 

[snowxwi]

The dealer took it as a trade last April. They summerized it soon after. Before I picked it up they claim then went through a "service" on it and it did have an oil change. I checked the engine oil and chain case oil when I picked it up, all looked good.

After I pick up the service history they have today I will post here and see what you guys think. I am mostly worried about the ypipes/donuts as it seems to be a common issue. For all I know the previous owner installed copper donuts and everything it fine.

@biffdotorg
It's funny you say that about the parking brake. When I drove it off the trailer I didn't take the parking brake off, and I didn't see an indicator light saying it was on, but maybe I just missed it. I will check that tonight to see if a light does come on when the parking brake is enabled.

Should I take it to a dealer and have them tear into it, or should I pull it apart myself and check the usual suspects?

 

[thor452]

no light will come on if parking brake is on he was talking about brake light on the rear of the sled. personaly i would tear into it myself if i were you it is not that complicated and each time you do it it gets easier and you save a ton of money and you know what and how it was done.

 

[snowxwi]

Since we aren't due for any measurable snow in the next 10 days I think I will tear into it over the long weekend if I have time. I want to change the spark plugs anyways so I will take a look at some other things while I'm at it.

My biggest worry is getting it taken apart and not being able to get it back together. I'm sure it will make sense once I'm into it.

Thank you thor452 for offering to walk me through some things. If I get into some serious repair job, or I get lost taking it apart, you may be hearing from me.

 

[thor452]

feel free to call 715-701-0051 i have the complete service manuel as well every nut bolt and washer so we will be able to get it back together

 

[thor452]

be sure you have the sparkplug tool in your kit it is the only way to get the plugs out!!

 

[Scooter02]

Did you purchase the sled from Donahue Super Sports?

 

[snowxwi]

Picked up the service history. It looks like in April there was a number of things done to it.

New exhaust donuts, oil/filter change, 2 new idler wheels, new v-belt, clutch adjustment, chain tension adjustment. The dealer says this thing is good to do this season and I shouldn't have to worry about anything. He did suggest I tear it apart in the off season to really know the state of everything.

Thanks for the input here and I will continue to be a part of this community as I think it's really great.

 

[trailhed1]

Love this site. Great people. Keep it up guys.

 

[snowxwi]

@Scooter02

Yes I purchased it at Donahue Super Sports. Why do you ask?