AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
That’s all great, but there’s still more push in the corners than we’d like, especially in bounteous fresh snow conditions. Granted we put about 180 Snow Stud 1.38-inch Warthog studs in the track so that will make just about any sled push a little, but we offset that with 10-inch runners up front to help it dig into the snow better and give us more responsive handling. The carbides helped a lot to be sure.
For 2012 Yamaha goes with a new trail ski and moves the mounting point to put more of the keel behind the spindle. Early tests on 2012 models ridden out West showed an improvement to the cornering.
We also like the soft seats on the Apex when taking a long cruise. Aggressive riders might wish for a taller seat so standing is easier, or moving up on the bars. But for long rides the seats are great and wind protection is better than that provided by most standard trail sled windshields.
Ease of operation is good too. There is key start and we had no issues with cold starts all season. Yamaha’s improved cooling efforts (front, rear and side heat exchangers and a radiator and fan under the hood) work perfectly and we never had an overheating light come on.
We would like to see an easier reverse on this luxury sled. Cat figured it out on its big 4-strokes! At the very least an easier lever system like Ski-Doo has on its 1200 4-TEC would be better. Riding position is better than previous models with a 2-inch higher seat. Taller riders said another half inch would help even more, but Yamaha is moving in the right direction.