Weight Difference 2006 vs. 2009, also 2010 info

[tkuss]

Looking at the Yamaha Website and they say that the my sled, an 06 is 548 lbs while the 09 is 575lbs. http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelspeccompare/434/1229/0/compare.aspx
is this true, or is Yamaha now just telling the truth about the dry weights?

Also ran into this on snowest about 2010 Yamahas
"I ran into some Yamaha engineers on the hill this year. (so they claimed) Ask them about any plans to built lighter sleds. Interesting response.

They said the same thing we have been hearing from guys riding the Apexes for a couple years. In their opinion once you get above 300 pds, very few people if any have the strength to manuver a sled around. In other words as far as human strength goes you can't lift 300 pds and better then you can lift 700 pds. Any ability to throw it around after that comes from the HP created by the sled, and the balance of the sled. They were convinced that the future of sleds was not in how much they weigh, it was in how well they were balanced and how smooth the HP was.

They also claimed there research has shown that the weight of the Apex was of very little concern to the guys who own and ride them. They believe the weight issue is being driven by guys who have never been willing to give the Yamaha a good honest try.

While other manufactures are spending there time and money trying to build lighter sleds, Yamaha is putting their time and money into building sleds that handle better so that the weigh can be easily handled by the balance and smooth HP band.

Yes, I did ask them about getting stuck. They laugh and said if you get stuck enough times in a day to worry about it, you better get a few more friends or ride a Ski Doo.

I don't even know if these guys where for real, but they were on sleds with no paint or color and they looked very similar to an Apex. The front ends were shorter and the skids were different then anything I have ever seen. They were not rude, but they actually ask us not to ask questions about the sleds they were riding."

If this is true looks like Yamaha has no real plans on cutting mega pounds if it means reliability. I say Yamaha will have the single ply tracks next year, seems like most companies are going that way. Also I am happy with the chassis Yamaha has out now. I would like to see a engine that can match or beat the E-tech in the MPG category.

 

[yamaouch08]

Yamaha is just getting a little closer to dry wieght, the 09 rear cooler is not that much heavier. just my .02

 

[SledFreak]

Looking at the Yamaha Website and they say that the my sled, an 06 is 548 lbs while the 09 is 575lbs. http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelspeccompare/434/1229/0/compare.aspx
is this true, or is Yamaha now just telling the truth about the dry weights?

Also ran into this on snowest about 2010 Yamahas
"I ran into some Yamaha engineers on the hill this year. (so they claimed) Ask them about any plans to built lighter sleds. Interesting response.

They said the same thing we have been hearing from guys riding the Apexes for a couple years. In their opinion once you get above 300 pds, very few people if any have the strength to manuver a sled around. In other words as far as human strength goes you can't lift 300 pds and better then you can lift 700 pds. Any ability to throw it around after that comes from the HP created by the sled, and the balance of the sled. They were convinced that the future of sleds was not in how much they weigh, it was in how well they were balanced and how smooth the HP was.

They also claimed there research has shown that the weight of the Apex was of very little concern to the guys who own and ride them. They believe the weight issue is being driven by guys who have never been willing to give the Yamaha a good honest try.

While other manufactures are spending there time and money trying to build lighter sleds, Yamaha is putting their time and money into building sleds that handle better so that the weigh can be easily handled by the balance and smooth HP band.

Yes, I did ask them about getting stuck. They laugh and said if you get stuck enough times in a day to worry about it, you better get a few more friends or ride a Ski Doo.

I don't even know if these guys where for real, but they were on sleds with no paint or color and they looked very similar to an Apex. The front ends were shorter and the skids were different then anything I have ever seen. They were not rude, but they actually ask us not to ask questions about the sleds they were riding."

If this is true looks like Yamaha has no real plans on cutting mega pounds if it means reliability. I say Yamaha will have the single ply tracks next year, seems like most companies are going that way. Also I am happy with the chassis Yamaha has out now. I would like to see a engine that can match or beat the E-tech in the MPG category.

Great research and Yes, that does look strange. You should post that on the Blog for Yamaha Canada and see what they say about it.

 

[welterracer]

Doesnt surprise me.. they way the economy is going, it wont mattery anyways as no one will be able to afford a $12K sled anyways

 

[whitedust1]

The 2009 Apex has rear cooler maybe 15lbs at most. My 2007 Attack GT never overheated so I don't need it. My take they are more accurately reporting weight. The Apex LTX is a well balanced sled & does not ride heavy. I can lift front & rear of sled to horse around trailer so the weight is not an issue to me. Doo may pick up the riders that want 4s lightweight 130hp but Nytro in there weight wise with better shocks plus proven engine. I'm not sure where Yam is going with future Apex 150hp but weight is an important marketing issue & Yamaha would be dumb to ignor weight loss.

 

[rxwhopper]

drive a heavy sled in tight trails and then a light one and tell me that weight dont matter.

 

[apltx08]

The 2009 Apex has rear cooler maybe 15lbs at most.

No way, at the most 4 to 5lbs, it holds an extra .9 litre of coolant on a 136" the larger cooler plus the actual weight of a ALUMINUM cooler...I'm probably even on the higher end of the actual weight.

 

[SledFreak]

drive a heavy sled in tight trails and then a light one and tell me that weight dont matter.

I agree.

 

[yamaouch08]

drive a heavy sled in tight trails and then a light one and tell me that weight dont matter.

I agree.

+ 2 on that!!

 

[Tippylake]

Thats one reason I ordered an XTX I love my 06Attack on the big trails but in the woods/trees and tight curvy trails it can be some work. I hope the XTX is going to be alot less work.

 

[apltx08]

Drive a heavy sled (APEX) all day touring and cruising lakes,rail beds and GROOMED trails, I'm talking like 500kms a day plus and compare a light 1 that bounces you all over and unstable at high speeds...I'll drive my APEX 136" anyday over a light bouncy 1...

I'm a semi aggresive rider and can't really complain of weight being a problem, l find the sled is so well balanced, yes I agree in certain situations lighter COULD be to my advantage but so far I like the ride QUALITY, I've had others try out my sled coming off "XP'S" as a exemple I'm not putting "DOO" down or bashing them, but guy's riding them on long TRIPS seem to complain on COMFORT and not wanting to get off $#^% APEX LOL...

I think its all about what you like as a RIDE and for its RELIABILITY and SMOOTHNESS that YAM delivers...

my .02

 

[cutlass7]

Does anyone know what the weight of a new RS Vector 136 is, can't seem to find it on the Yamaha site.

 

[silversurfer]

Drive a heavy sled (APEX) all day touring and cruising lakes,rail beds and GROOMED trails, I'm talking like 500kms a day plus and compare a light 1 that bounces you all over and unstable at high speeds...I'll drive my APEX 136" anyday over a light bouncy 1...

I'm a semi aggresive rider and can't really complain of weight being a problem, l find the sled is so well balanced, yes I agree in certain situations lighter COULD be to my advantage but so far I like the ride QUALITY, I've had others try out my sled coming off "XP'S" as a exemple I'm not putting "DOO" down or bashing them, but guy's riding them on long TRIPS seem to complain on COMFORT and not wanting to get off $#^% APEX LOL...

I think its all about what you like as a RIDE and for its RELIABILITY and SMOOTHNESS that YAM delivers...

my .02

Good post. If I lived where you did and rode those galactic-sized trails, I'd have an Apex too. I would definitely want something heavier + faster. Heavier is definitely nicer on wider trails, I don't like feeling like a pinball, either.

For smaller twisty trails (Western Me, Tug Hill from what I've seen), you can put me in with the +1 people. Couldn't own a 600 lb dry sled there, it is more tiring, and that hp makes little difference thru the woods.

 

[ahicks]

Drive a heavy sled (APEX) all day touring and cruising lakes,rail beds and GROOMED trails, I'm talking like 500kms a day plus and compare a light 1 that bounces you all over and unstable at high speeds...I'll drive my APEX 136" anyday over a light bouncy 1...

I'm a semi aggresive rider and can't really complain of weight being a problem, l find the sled is so well balanced, yes I agree in certain situations lighter COULD be to my advantage but so far I like the ride QUALITY, I've had others try out my sled coming off "XP'S" as a exemple I'm not putting "DOO" down or bashing them, but guy's riding them on long TRIPS seem to complain on COMFORT and not wanting to get off $#^% APEX LOL...

I think its all about what you like as a RIDE and for its RELIABILITY and SMOOTHNESS that YAM delivers...

my .02

Good post. If I lived where you did and rode those galactic-sized trails, I'd have an Apex too. I would definitely want something heavier + faster. Heavier is definitely nicer on wider trails, I don't like feeling like a pinball, either.

For smaller twisty trails (Western Me, Tug Hill from what I've seen), you can put me in with the +1 people. Couldn't own a 600 lb dry sled there, it is more tiring, and that hp makes little difference thru the woods.

This kind of string starts to explain why each manf has so many different models. Here in Mi. we have the big hopefully well groomed railroad right of ways, along with a bunch of the much tighter more technical woods trails. As a bigger rider coming off many years on bigger machines, I think the 121" Apex is a good compromise on the trails I run.

I have to say though, I have a lot of time on sleds set up for woods riding. A light sled in the woods is a complete blast. I generally will have a back up sled, and that's generally how it's set up. Currently a 600HO Fusion, but a 400 lb sled with good shocks on it sounds pretty good to me right now..... FWIW -Al

 

[Daranello]

You should post that on the Blog for Yamaha Canada and see what they say about it.

I did last March:

Daranello says:

Hey Chris,

For 2009 the Apex LTX listed dry weight is 20lbs more (597 lbs vs. 577 lbs) than 2008 LTX and the 2009 Apex GT is 15 lbs more (575 lbs vs. 560 lbs) than the 2007 Apex GT.

So for 2009 what were the improvements that cause more for weight or was this just more realistic weight?

Little bit of both actually, we added the extra heat exchanger (and coolant) to Apex (and Vector) variants plus the fuel tanks were made of thicker plastic to meet EPA regs and weight measurements are no longer the ‘dry-dry’ method as has been common in the sled industry. I think we just got tired of being out-fudged and have come squeaky clean on the numbers… cheers cr

March 19th, 2008 at 11:45 am