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Sidewinder vs. Apex

Yeah I hear ya Bob. The OLD Yamaha 4 strokes were and are still very dependable. But on the other hand one can not compare the ride and power of the Winders to your old chassis.

At my age, time is everything so I am quite happy that I bought the most current, fastest, most powerful stock sled on the market in 2017. Have really enjoyed the past 2 seasons on my winder, and have swapped off many times with my buds really good going 08 Apex LTX with Electric Ohlins and a yamacharger. Night and day difference on both accounts, ride and handling, not to mention POWER, those 4 cylinders are smooth but they do lack the 998 low end grunt!

So you wait, and I shall ride the most current. And on the trail I would be the one waiting.. Lol. Just joking Bob, I really do not care what you ride, and there is no waiting for my bud on his Apex either, because he rides more aggressive then I. I have got him by 6-7 years.

Here’s to, hoping that your next sled is all that you are hoping for.
 

My RTX with stock Cat skis and slim jim's steers as easy and predictably as any sled I have ever had. I have owned an EPS Apex also. You can find stock Cat skis pretty reasonable.
 
Yeah I hear ya Bob. The OLD Yamaha 4 strokes were and are still very dependable. But on the other hand one can not compare the ride and power of the Winders to your old chassis.

At my age, time is everything so I am quite happy that I bought the most current, fastest, most powerful stock sled on the market in 2017. Have really enjoyed the past 2 seasons on my winder, and have swapped off many times with my buds really good going 08 Apex LTX with Electric Ohlins and a yamacharger. Night and day difference on both accounts, ride and handling, not to mention POWER, those 4 cylinders are smooth but they do lack the 998 low end grunt!

So you wait, and I shall ride the most current. And on the trail I would be the one waiting.. Lol. Just joking Bob, I really do not care what you ride, and there is no waiting for my bud on his Apex either, because he rides more aggressive then I. I have got him by 6-7 years.

Here’s to, hoping that your next sled is all that you are hoping for.
I agree...How long do us oldertimers have to ride..or wait for something from Yamaha? The sidewinder really is a great sled, not perfect, but then again the most powerful consumer snowmobile in history is bound to have a few teething problems. Mine has been flawless, and no loose turbo bolts...sure, one was completely gone, but it wasn't loose! LOL!
 
I loved my '07 Apex GT and I kept it longer than any of the previous Yamaha's that I have owned. It was set up well for me and was the most reliable, comfortable, & fast Yamaha that I had owned up to that point. When I traded my 07' Apex for my '15 Viper RTX DX I absolutely loved the handling of the Viper after I got it dialed in but I really missed the power of the Apex. For a while I thought about going back to an Apex because I missed the power so much. I thought then that the perfect sled would be a Viper with Apex power.

Then the Sidewinder came out and I found that perfect combination of handling & power. I never rode my '17 LTX DX Sidewinder stock but rather installed the TD CAI, Turbo Force muffler, & Powertrail tune before my first ride and later in the season tuned up to Max Spool 17. This is by far the best Yamaha out of the 13 that I have owned over the years and I would never consider going back to an Apex now. With the chassis set up properly and the motor tuned up this beast is unbelievable. It has exceeded all of my expectations and I plan to keep it for a very long time (unless Yamaha comes out with something even better) LOL!
 
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I loved my '07 Apex GT and I kept it longer than any of the previous Yamaha's that I have owned. It was set up well for me and was the most reliable, comfortable, & fast Yamaha that I had owned up to that point. When I traded my 07' Apex for my '15 Viper RTX DX I absolutely loved the handling of the Viper after I got it dialed in but I really missed the power of the Apex. For a while I thought about going back to an Apex because I missed the power so much. I thought then that the perfect sled would be a Viper with Apex power.

Then the Sidewinder came out and I found that perfect combination of handling & power. I never rode my '17 LTX DX Sidewinder stock but rather installed the TD CAI, Turbo Force muffler, & Powertrail tune before my first ride and later in the season tuned up to Max Spool 17. This is by far the best Yamaha out of the 13 that I have owned over the years and I would never consider going back to an Apex now. With the chassis set up properly and the motor tuned up this beast is unbelievable. It has exceeded all of my expectations and I plan to keep it for a very long time (unless Yamaha comes out with something even better) LOL!

Well said Blue Dave. I hear a lot of people wanting/wishing for an all Yamaha sled, but careful what you wish for as it might not compare to the yama/cat setup. The Winder is fast, rides well, handles well, warm, oh and did i mention it's fast.

The apex was a formidable machine, but it's time has passed and everything else has gotten better. That engine was awesome, but I prefer the low hum of a three cylinder turbo.

If Yamaha does make new sled, most likely will be for women and adolescents as the power hungry crowd has already had their turn with the winder.
 
Well said Blue Dave. I hear a lot of people wanting/wishing for an all Yamaha sled, but careful what you wish for as it might not compare to the yama/cat setup. The Winder is fast, rides well, handles well, warm, oh and did i mention it's fast.

The apex was a formidable machine, but it's time has passed and everything else has gotten better. That engine was awesome, but I prefer the low hum of a three cylinder turbo.

If Yamaha does make new sled, most likely will be for women and adolescents as the power hungry crowd has already had their turn with the winder.

We will have to wait and see what Yamaha is up to. The decision to greatly reduce production in 2019 is to deplete supply and create demand. I think that this is in preparation for something really big in 2020. There has been a lot of speculation on that with many opinions as to what is coming next.
 
Also a apex loyalist, and I just totaled my prized apex a few weeks ago and will be moving to a SW. The ONLY reason I liked the apex was the 4 cyl. I ripped out the stock suspension years ago, custom everything (turbo, weight balanced, etc) and it was an AMAZING machine. I am worried the new winder will be a let down in the rough trail compared to mine with a ZX2. People can call it fat, heavy, whatever you want but the suspension was the demise of that sled, it just got outclassed. Was it not for morons like me customizing the suspensions I would have dumped it long ago. Instead it proved to me that weight is a non issue in trail riding (just needs to be in the right spot), power makes up most of the fun, and anyone that rides ANY sled without understanding and setting up a suspension to match you and your riding style is doing a disservice to themselves and possibly bashing the make/model because of it. I'm so excited to ride my SW for the first time and compare to my 100% perfectly set up apex. I will be honest on which one I prefer.
Well how is your new ride?
 


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