I bought my first Yamaha sled yesterday.

[ratman]

With my old artic cat, i did not know what would break, and when.
With the Apex, maintenance is still required, but it is more of the preventative maintenance type, not the oh crap..not now type.

With an Apex maintence includes
Throwing away single carbides, go woodies duallies as a minimum...eliminares darting
Throwing away standard sliders, go duponts...they do not wear out . Note..I heard one guy actually did wear out a set.
Throw out the stock fuel pump relay(the one that clicks by your left foot when you turn key to position one) if you ride in -20C temps. Get new red one.
Change out the exhaust donuts as soon as possible. If you hear backfiring, you may be too late, and will need to replace exhaust y pipes.
Grease the speedo , jackshaft, and wheel bearings
Wash out your airbox and filter if the sled has been tipped over. Alternate maintenance : keep rubber side down.
Never start the sled from cold for less than 5 minutes.
Drive it over 110 mph often to keep the carbs clean and to cause happiness.

 

[small-bore]

With my old artic cat, i did not know what would break, and when.
With the Apex, maintenance is still required, but it is more of the preventative maintenance type, not the oh crap..not now type.

With an Apex maintence includes
Throwing away single carbides, go woodies duallies as a minimum...eliminares darting
Throwing away standard sliders, go duponts...they do not wear out . Note..I heard one guy actually did wear out a set.
Throw out the stock fuel pump relay(the one that clicks by your left foot when you turn key to position one) if you ride in -20C temps. Get new red one.
Change out the exhaust donuts as soon as possible. If you hear backfiring, you may be too late, and will need to replace exhaust y pipes.
Grease the speedo , jackshaft, and wheel bearings
Wash out your airbox and filter if the sled has been tipped over. Alternate maintenance : keep rubber side down.
Never start the sled from cold for less than 5 minutes.
Drive it over 110 mph often to keep the carbs clean and to cause happiness.

Thanks for the tips. It has single carbides on it. I will put Duallies on it for next year. I haven't checked the fuel relay yet. I will check the airbox tomorrow as I tipped it over yesterday.

 

[ratman]

You mention that it overheats too much.
It should not do that
Apex's have 3 cooling systems
First is the heat exchanger at the front of the track. Second is the extra heat exchangers under the running boards.
Third, as backup (low snow or such), if the heat gets above a certain temperature, a fan will start up to cool the radiator (like a car)by your right foot.
I have only had this fan start once....strangly it was also right after a tip over at a road bank.

Is the fan coming on. Or is it going straight to red overheat light.
It could be lack of coolant, the thermostat, or (hopefuly not )the water pump.

There are some who sled in low snow areas. These guys will add on an extra rear heat exchanger. There is info on this site on installing such.

 

[CaptCaper]

You mention that it overheats too much.
It should not do that
Apex's have 3 cooling systems
First is the heat exchanger at the front of the track. Second is the extra heat exchangers under the running boards.
Third, as backup (low snow or such), if the heat gets above a certain temperature, a fan will start up to cool the radiator (like a car)by your right foot.
I have only had this fan start once....strangly it was also right after a tip over at a road bank.

Is the fan coming on. Or is it going straight to red overheat light.
It could be lack of coolant, the thermostat, or (hopefuly not )the water pump.

There are some who sled in low snow areas. These guys will add on an extra rear heat exchanger. There is info on this site on installing such.

Ha..I've had 2 Attaks and there is a reason yami came out with rear coolers in 09 as standard equipment. Big motor. That little rad doesn't cut it. Both of mine over heated often until I got the coolers in. Unless you ride in a fair amount of powder all the time. Hard packed and icy trails as well as warmer days. And better get some ice scratchers for those lean powder trails. These will save your Hyfax on trails of hard snow and low snow.

 

[thor452]

A few things first and most important when you tip a apex over with no roll over valve in it you can and will get oil in the airbox this can be a little or alot. in some rare cases there was so much it got sucked into the motor on restart and caused engine failer either get a rollover valve if you play off trail or if you roll it open the air box and inspect when you roll it.also it is normal for it to be hard to start after roll over. give it a few and she will start again and run just fine if you take the time to get the airbox open that is most times enought time for it to be able to start again. second check the antifreeze in the machine yamaha sent them out with straight glycol back then and it dont cool as well as 50/50 will also many have added water wetter to the mix and that helps cool as well. my 07 the light would come on during long pulls regularly then i got a tip up thru a heat exchanger(long story) and replaced with 50/50 and my light almost never came on after that. and last but certianly not least if you want the best possible front end handleing get a set of snowtrackers go agressive they are expensive but will out last woody's 2-1 and will out perform anything else on the snow.

 

[small-bore]

I checked my coolant and it was low. I topped it off and went for about a 30 mile ride. I checked it again and the little tank was emty. I topped off again, it only needed a couple of cups to top it off. I went for another ride and checked it again. It was emty. I checked all over but I cant find a leak and there isn't any antifreeze on the ground. I did a search here and found a few places on the heat exchanger that are known to crack. I will check it over again when I get home. On a side note the two ride I went on after topping it off the light never came on.

 

[small-bore]

I found the leak. It is right where the suspension bolts on. It was hard to see because it was such a small leak. I'm going to try and patch it up and hope it lasts the rest of the season. Some of the mounting tabs are broken off but it's still solid. I might price new ones and replace them over the summer.

 

[CaptCaper]

The over flow tank doesn't hold the coolant. This is a known factor on these machines. When cooled down open you main coolant tank cap (not the over flow) and if it's full then your good.
This has been with my old 07 with 10000 miles on it and as well with my new 07 with 800 miles on it.
You will over heat at some point without a rear cooler and or scratchers. go for it.

 

[small-bore]

The over flow tank doesn't hold the coolant. This is a known factor on these machines. When cooled down open you main coolant tank cap (not the over flow) and if it's full then your good.
This has been with my old 07 with 10000 miles on it and as well with my new 07 with 800 miles on it.
You will over heat at some point without a rear cooler and or scratchers. go for it.

The tank with the rad cap was only down two cups yesterday when I got back from a ride. The heat exchangers on both sides are cracked where the suspension is bolted on. Someone tried to fix it with silicone.

 

[CaptCaper]

I've read some posts on those cracking. I had 10000 on my Attak I sold this winter and no cracking..They must of rode it hard. Real Hard.
Good luck