I put on about 500 miles so far on my 07 RTX, and i agree totaly with your thoughts on the handling. The darting is my main issue . You can rip on Yamaha, but my firecat had the same problem from day one. I ended up replacing the skis, but i dont want to on this one. I think one of the problems is the tall rider forward riding position these days on sleds. To much weight on front of an already heavy sled. I find it strange that when the apex first came out you didnt hear anything about darting, but now every mag says to replace the skis on an 10g sled. It didnt seem like the old rx1 had to many issues , makes me wonder about the laid back , sit down riding position being better for straight tracking. I also never had this much darting with any steel skis from the old days compared to plastic. I know plastic has too many advantages .but it makes you think. Other than these problems its amazing how many of us still love these sleds. I guess the pluses out weigh the negatives.
JERSEYJOE
Expert
DARTING
JUST TO ECHO OTHERS. I WAS ALSO PISSED IN 2006 WHEN I FIRST RODE MY APEX GT. I WOULD GO SO FAR AS TO SAY THE HANDLING WAS DANGEROUS. COULD NOT KEEP IN ON THE TRAIL. AFTER A WHOLE SEASON AND CHANGING THE SWAY BAR, RUNNERS, SHIMMING, LOWERING THE FRONT END AND SUCKING UP THE LIMITER IT HANDLES LIKE ITS ON RAILS. HAD THE CHANCE TO RIDE WITH A BUDDY IN CANADA WITH THE EXACT SLED STOCK ON THE SAME TRAIL. THE DIFFERENCE WAS NIGHT AND DAY. YOU WOULD THINK THESE WOULD BE DIALED IN FROM THE FACTORY.
JUST TO ECHO OTHERS. I WAS ALSO PISSED IN 2006 WHEN I FIRST RODE MY APEX GT. I WOULD GO SO FAR AS TO SAY THE HANDLING WAS DANGEROUS. COULD NOT KEEP IN ON THE TRAIL. AFTER A WHOLE SEASON AND CHANGING THE SWAY BAR, RUNNERS, SHIMMING, LOWERING THE FRONT END AND SUCKING UP THE LIMITER IT HANDLES LIKE ITS ON RAILS. HAD THE CHANCE TO RIDE WITH A BUDDY IN CANADA WITH THE EXACT SLED STOCK ON THE SAME TRAIL. THE DIFFERENCE WAS NIGHT AND DAY. YOU WOULD THINK THESE WOULD BE DIALED IN FROM THE FACTORY.
Metallicat
TY 4 Stroke God
Re: DARTING
Yup, my 2008 Vector was set up the same way...Dangerous and annoying in the corners! Sucking up the limiter 1 hole, taking all of the preload off of the front springs, decreasing the weight transfer, and adding the full Bergstrom ski setup made this sled handle. I can't believe they come setup so poorly from the factory. The average guy who just gets on his sled and rides without really knowing the ins-and-outs of suspension tuning would probably hate any of these sleds in the corners.
With the Bergstrom ski savers, carbides, and shims this is the most stable sled I have ever been on in hardpack, loose snow, or rutted-out trail conditions. Absolutely ZERO darting on the trails. I rode an XC600 and it darts badly while my sled doesn't even notice another ski's lines in the snow. 4 wheeler tracks, no problem either. Just smooth and stable and very, very safe.
Yup, my 2008 Vector was set up the same way...Dangerous and annoying in the corners! Sucking up the limiter 1 hole, taking all of the preload off of the front springs, decreasing the weight transfer, and adding the full Bergstrom ski setup made this sled handle. I can't believe they come setup so poorly from the factory. The average guy who just gets on his sled and rides without really knowing the ins-and-outs of suspension tuning would probably hate any of these sleds in the corners.
With the Bergstrom ski savers, carbides, and shims this is the most stable sled I have ever been on in hardpack, loose snow, or rutted-out trail conditions. Absolutely ZERO darting on the trails. I rode an XC600 and it darts badly while my sled doesn't even notice another ski's lines in the snow. 4 wheeler tracks, no problem either. Just smooth and stable and very, very safe.
JERSEYJOE said:
Kevin Garceau
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
One th ing to consider...if Yamaha put better skis on be it their own or some other brand from the factory. They advertised it and pushed it but charged us 350.00 more would we still by the sled? Of course we would. So what really changes?
JERSEYJOE
Expert
STOCK SKIS
I AM NOT SAYING THAT THERE IS A BENEFIT TO INSTALLING BETTER SKIS ON THE APEX BUT LOTS OF PEOPLE INCLUDING MYSELF HAVE MADE INPROVEMENTS AND STILL USE THE STOCK SKIS. MY APEX IS AS STABLE AS ANYTHING I HAVE EVER RIDDEN. IT MAKE ME WONDER IF IT WOULD CARVE BETTER WITH A SET OF AFTERMARKETS??????
I AM NOT SAYING THAT THERE IS A BENEFIT TO INSTALLING BETTER SKIS ON THE APEX BUT LOTS OF PEOPLE INCLUDING MYSELF HAVE MADE INPROVEMENTS AND STILL USE THE STOCK SKIS. MY APEX IS AS STABLE AS ANYTHING I HAVE EVER RIDDEN. IT MAKE ME WONDER IF IT WOULD CARVE BETTER WITH A SET OF AFTERMARKETS??????
Re: STOCK SKIS
I also did have the stockers working decent last season but I have 6.9 pilots and I find them a safer ski for different conditions......especially crusty snow. I rode with some revs the other day and they have 5.7 pilots. There skis kept braking through the crust and my tank stayed right on top. They both enjoyed riding my sled that day. It does carve and steer much better in the deep snow now tooJERSEYJOE said:
