2011 Apex SE Riding Impression

DaJudge said:

I was on the first ride of the day and we put about 40 miles on the demo sleds. The changes Yamaha made to the sleds were the best for the sleds. The EPS was OUTSTANDING. Who would have thought that just that one change would make such a gigantic improvement to the line. After just a few minutes on the sled, you just felt more confident of your and the sleds ability to do what ever you wanted to do. Words do not do justice to the Apex SE. We all could tell everyone how great it ate up the bumps and the "feeling" of the power and how it "worked" on the trail but you really have to drive one to appreciate everything that this sled is. Now we all know what Mr Sled was trying to tell us in his post about this sled. One word comes to mind------AWESOME.

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Rockmeister said:

Had the opportunity to ride a good number of miles on a 2011 Apex SE today.

Following is my impression.

The snow conditions were good to very marginal, with a few big slush holes.


This sled is awesome!!!
From the moment I climbed on it, it inspired confidence.
Super plush through stutters, the power steering really shines in the stutters & the twisties.
Gives you just a touch of feedback, enough for feel of the trail, but not enough to wear on your arms.

The engine on this thing is sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!
VERY crisp throttle response with that cool Apex engine sound.
The exhaust note is slightly different & cool.

It pulls and just keeps pulling, much more so than prior Apexes.
I know the top HP rating is about the same, but can tell you that the seat of the pants feel is much more.
Feels like at least 10+ HP more.

Can say the SE handily won every drag race I was in on it & every one that I saw it in.
There is no question that mods were made to the motor, and they are good ones.

I threw the sled into a big slush hole and expected the slush to throw me around or at least have to fight the steering...
Instead, nothing!
It only slowed me down a bit, the sled tracked perfectly right through it!
Way cool...

I can honestly say, this is one great sled, no surprises.
Well, no bad surprises.
Not once did it do anything that I didn't want it to do.
Not one single bad surprise at all.

On the other hand, there were alot of GOOD surprises!
I was flying across some pretty good stutters, and the Apex made tiny bumps of them.
The most surprising thing was the fact that the handlebars barely moved!!!
I was hitting some big bumps and nothing... It just "glided" over them almost as if they weren't there.

Weight wise, is probably the same as prior Apexes, except that it rides easier.
And that easier riding makes it feel lighter.

This is about as close to a "point & shoot" sled as I have ever ridden.
You tell the bars where to go & press the Happy lever & it does it!
Required little body english, and then when you DO put body english into it, it only gets BETTER!

Only wish I could order one right now.
Hadn't considered buying a brand new sled for a long time, until now.

I WANT ONE!!!

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srvfan said:

I rode them all but unfortunatly over a short few miles of really bad slushy trails and a lake blast here's my take. My point of reference is an 05 Vector i have never ridden an RX1 or older Appex to know how hard they are to steer. all my buddies have Cats or Doos. The Cats handle great but are loud stinky and they all own 2 one for back up!

Apex sans air shocks: Steering was pretty easy and precise effort to turn the bars about like my 05 vector which is setup light in the front. Motor outstanding pull and very very smooth through bars and feet. However power delivery at slow speeds was very herky jerky. We had to negotiate some tight turns and huge holes at 10-20 mph and i found it very difficult to modulate the throttle smoothly.

vector LTX: i liked this allot better than the Appex like my sled it was very easy to put-put around stuff just off idle it grabs the belt without drama and just goes. Quicker throttle response than mine easy pull throttle. the rider forward thing felt good on my back and knees you can get more leverage on the bars. BUT it made me feel like i was sitting on the sled not in it very tippy feeling Not sure if i can get used to that or not??? it also felt extreemly heavy when turning. I don't get that maybe Yammie guys set it that way on purpose to make the EPS Appex shine?? thought the db2 was supposed to feel lighter on the nose than my 05 and it clearly didn't.

Nytro 144: i was shocked by this sled everyone says how twitchy Nytros are but it went straight as an arrow was stabe through huge bumps easy to turn and rips of the line with that big track hooking up. Not enough wind protection for me but suspension wise i was very surprised i liked it!!!!

Phazer: Great pull for a little motor fun through the huge slushy bumps to launch around on. but very unstable rocked ski to ski at just 45 on the lake 0 wind protection felt extreemly tippy. wife would love a small engine 4 stroke but if i bought her this she'd be going 10mph all day scared to death. She locks her toes into her 2000 phazer and as long as it's not too bumpy she feels very stable and will crank the little sucker up and hang with the boys. we pull away on straights but as soon as it's twisty again she's right on our #*$&@. No way that would happen with the new one.

800 ETec renegade: ok guys this is gonna be painfull. i was floored by this sled. the older revs i did not like they felt way too twitchy and nervous. Not anymore this thing went arrow straight through the crud it felt like there was 14" of front suspension travel very plush font end. For a 2 smoke it was very quiet and very little smoke or smell. it felt great!!! i was right at home on it very comfortable for my 5'9" 180lb body
800cc more than i need but the 600 i suspect would be just right. I really wanted to try a 600ACE for wifey but they had none of those available to ride.
Rear suspension not quite as good in the studders as the mono but it felt pretty close.
I love the 4stroke motors but you wouldn't have to twist my arm very hard to get me on one of these injected Doo's they just have to prove the thing will be reliable.

Of the Yammies my choice would be a new LTX Vector i just can not justify $4k more for the Appex I like but don't need the power the EPS is great but i can only ride 6-8 weekends a year as we drive 4-8hrs to get to snow now with global warming or whatever you want to call it. That's $4K towards retirement, kids school, tow vehicle etc. $4k on a 50 grand car ok no big deal but that's about 40% more on a sled way too much percentage wise.

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