ProActive Rear Suspension

[K-APEX]

Recently picked up my 07 RTX. New to Yamaha - I've been a Ski-Doo rider for several years. Can't wait to ride this baby...

I know this is the first year the Apex is fitted with the ProActive rear suspension. What is the purpose of the control/transfer rods in the rear? I know they contol 'weight transfer' but how does that apply to real world application? What will increasing or decreasing weight transfer do to the sleds performance?

Any input from those who have experience with Yamaha suspensions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[gsxr]

More weight transfer , more ski lift , more wheelie
less is less.

 

[garserio]

More weight transfer , more ski lift , more wheelie
less is less.

Exactly correct PLUS more transfer will also smooth the ride. Just be cautious that in very aggressive riding, you will want to dial the transfer out since that will force both the front and rear springs to work together. Last year I was riding a bit too hard and had my skid dialed in for max transfer. The ride was so smooth, but then I ended up breaking my front W-arm because of it. When the transfer is minimized, the skid becomes much stiffer and all the springs will Instantly (instead of having a delay before this happens if you had more transfer dialed in) work simultaneously to eat the bumps. In rough riding like I am describing, your instinct will be to dial in more transfer to smooth the ride. Do not do this as you need all the spring you can get.

My 2 cents from 2 seasons of Proactive experience...

 

[ReX]

garserio, when they changed your pivot arm did they install the stock 05 type or the reinforced 06 pro-active CK style?

Also, where did it break?

I guess I'm also wondering if the 06 Vector got the reinforced pro-active front pivot arm also.

All I really know is the front pivot arm in the 07 RTX has extra gussets compared to the stock 05 Vector ER (don't know when the gussets were added).

 

[garserio]

garserio, when they changed your pivot arm did they install the stock 05 type or the reinforced 06 pro-active CK style?

Also, where did it break?

I guess I'm also wondering if the 06 Vector got the reinforced pro-active front pivot arm also.

All I really know is the front pivot arm in the 07 RTX has extra gussets compared to the stock 05 Vector ER (don't know when the gussets were added).

I did the work myself and decided to weld on gussets before installing the part because there was no other alternative as you suggested above. (See Attached Pics) Unfortunately, Yamaha did not beef up the W-arm (8GT) until MY07 ONLY in the RTX. They still use the old style arm (8ES) in 2006's and 2007 Nytros.

In addition to the weak W-Arm, the crosshaft that the W-arm mounts to is also weak. The ends wear out very quickly becasue the shaft is aluminum and the bushings are very thin. Once the bushings wear through, the shaft begins to wear quickly as well.

And finally, the rear of the tunnel is prone to buckeling. However, this problem has been solved by Yamaha with the addition of extra support brackets.

Check out my posts from last year on all these topics:
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... light=warm
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... highlight=
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... highlight=

 

[K-APEX]

More weight transfer , more ski lift , more wheelie
less is less.

Exactly correct PLUS more transfer will also smooth the ride. Just be cautious that in very aggressive riding, you will want to dial the transfer out since that will force both the front and rear springs to work together. Last year I was riding a bit too hard and had my skid dialed in for max transfer. The ride was so smooth, but then I ended up breaking my front W-arm because of it. When the transfer is minimized, the skid becomes much stiffer and all the springs will Instantly (instead of having a delay before this happens if you had more transfer dialed in) work simultaneously to eat the bumps. In rough riding like I am describing, your instinct will be to dial in more transfer to smooth the ride. Do not do this as you need all the spring you can get.

My 2 cents from 2 seasons of Proactive experience...

Appreciate the feedback. Thanks.

 

[ReX]

garserio, thanks for the very informative post. You did a great job on the repairs.

It sounds like I should be in good shape with the 07 RTX. I don't tend to get much air, but I don't like to slow down much on bumpy trails.

It's nice to know the RTX has some extra reinforcements in the right places.

I did end up ordering the extra tunel reinforcement plates that are used in the 2007 GT. These are new this year and are in addition to the reinforcements added to the 06 Apex line.

It looks like I'll probably have to cut them down a little for the different rear suspension brackets (proactive uses different brackets than the monoshock). These extra reinforcements couple between the suspension brackets and the 06 reinforcements. The main reason I decided to install these is because I'm planning to install a seatjack (rear passenger seat) for my 9 year old daughter. She doesn't weigh much, but I figure it would be smart to make sure the tunel is as strong as it can be.

Here's a link showing them:

http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=32002

The one remaining weak link on the proactive that will probably need some attention in the future is the front pivot arm's aluminum cross shaft. It sounds like I will need to press on some steel sleeves in the future. Maybe I'll do it right off the bat when I do the machining for the 04 style idler wheels.