Question

[Radski30]

Thinking about purchasing an Apex Turbo with a BD Turbo on it. Anyone know what kind of Track Speed these things put out?

How many Miles, and how reliable are they?

Any input would be great.

Thanks in advance.

 

[twsandrew]

For the money the BD kit is very hard to beat. at 17-18lbs they scream and lots of people have seen track speeds above 90 with 162.

Here are my thoughts.
The ones I have seen with the shim have not been that strong and somewhat laggy. I know going shimless is a risk but lots of people have done it on the BD kit with good fuel. I ran mine with JE pistons and it ran really well. It took about 3-4 more pounds of boost on my sled to keep up with Zeb's Impulse kit which you are familiar with.
The oil tank is junk and with higher boost you will push oil out the breather. People have diff ways to solve this but it will always be a problem.
The header flanges will warp so check this. There are people selling fat gaskets to solve this.
I have seen one of these kill rod bearings and have heard about others doing it due to oil starvation. Not sure all the reasons but I would buy a lower mile one if poss.
The way they keep the intercooler in place is nearly worthless. Use yamabond and really good clamps and watch it or just use a ratchet strap like Rhett.

Bottom line is for the value its way hard to beat. All the issues are solvable and for 8-10k they will beat most everything out there.

 

[sledfvr]

Exactly what he said. I was getting 88mph track speed at 14lbs of boost on my RX, but that was with a maverick. It would have been a little less with an extreme.

 

[Mean Yamaha]

A guy I ride with has a BD turbo and his apex. Head shim and runs straight race gas(being Safe) and has not had a problem. He is running 15# and has two seasons on it. His title is TurboT if you want to pm him and ask some questions, he might be able to help you.

 

[TApeX_07]

I wouldnt buy the BD kit.. Go with an MCX or Impulse if you can. To many motor failures with guys running the BD.
.02

 

[Radski30]

Thanks everyone for your input. It is kind of iffy on whether or not I will buy one or not. If the oil tank is not very good and the bearings go out, that can be a disaster waiting to happen. I already have to wrench on my M7 Turbo after every ride. I want to buy something that I don't have to wrench. Aparently the sled I am looking at has 500 miles stock, and 1000 miles boosted at 16PSI. I guess it is worth taking a look at it. I am just very infamiliar with the 4 stroke world. Two Strokes I know a thing or two about, 4 strokes, I know very little.

 

[julio]

?

big thing is find out how well he took care of it, the oil gets really hot due to tank placement (my opinion) so the oil breaks down fast. bds should have the oil changed 300 if you ride-500 miles if you cruise. If he has 1000 on one oil change I would be leary unless he just rides trails. Other than lots of oil changes they are low maint. belts last forever (compared to other sleds) and the sled itself is built to be handed down to your kids..
oil change every 300, belt 800-1000, drive chain and shaft bearings 2000. over 4000 miles. **i did spin a rod bearing at 4200 but I attribute that to a leaky head gasket, they dont last long with margarin for lube.. julio

 

[zebiraross]

It's hard to beat the price of the used bd Apex's out there. And they run very well. But I have seen A LOT of seized rod bearings out of these kits.

 

[JSCC]

3100 miles on mine when I sold it, who knows how many now. All I did was change the oil once a season........? Seems pretty reliable to me as far as sleds go.......

On another note, Zeb and Andrew are gay!

 

[Radski30]

Are they really worth purchasing? I am and have been wrestling with this all day today. Many have said that they are way to heavy to ride. I talked to Brad Story, and even he said they were to heavy, in his opinion. So the debate of purchasing the yami turbo goes on...

Honestly, How reliable, do they keep up with M1200, are they to heavy to ride somewhat technical? These are the questions that are driving me and my descision making processes crazy.

Any input would be very beneficial to me. I just don't spend dollars on something that I will hate.

 

[thinksnow]

I love mine. I have the 28 kit.

I only run it at 12# on straight 100LL. This year I plan on turning it up to 15# on race fuel.

I change the oil once a year. So far it has been gas and go(knock on wood-LOL).

I also have a Bender stage II RX-1 running 12#. I haven't ran them side by side, but I think they will be very close. The BD kit has a little better throttle response. The RX-1 is fast. I ran in a poker run with 17 sled and it was by far the fastest sled in attendance. There was even two of Tucker Hibert's old race sleds running.

 

[JSCC]

Are they really worth purchasing? I am and have been wrestling with this all day today. Many have said that they are way to heavy to ride. I talked to Brad Story, and even he said they were to heavy, in his opinion. So the debate of purchasing the yami turbo goes on...

Honestly, How reliable, do they keep up with M1200, are they to heavy to ride somewhat technical? These are the questions that are driving me and my descision making processes crazy.

Any input would be very beneficial to me. I just don't spend dollars on something that I will hate.

They are heavy. If you are concerned about that dont buy one. As far as running with a 1200, what does it matter? It's all relative. If you want it to be faster, it can be. Just takes money.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

considering you seem to really like your tm7... or so it seems. why not just pick upa PG m8?? you know the sled, not gonna be insane fast, but very reliable and what you want.. seems like you happy with 2 stroke boost.. why not stay with it.. for the money, the yamis will be faster, by quite a bit.. but if you want all around.. might not be what your looking for, especially coming off a very light nimble sled..

who am i to say thought..

 

[Radski30]

considering you seem to really like your tm7... or so it seems. why not just pick upa PG m8?? you know the sled, not gonna be insane fast, but very reliable and what you want.. seems like you happy with 2 stroke boost.. why not stay with it.. for the money, the yamis will be faster, by quite a bit.. but if you want all around.. might not be what your looking for, especially coming off a very light nimble sled..

who am i to say thought..

Thanks for your advise!!! I purchased a BD Apex today. Cheep. 4500.00

1000 miles. It only has the 25 series turbo. I bought it for a backup sled and reliability. I am quite excited. This thing will definetly be a pig, but with the right components and set up, (like Zebs) it will run like a sled should run. It kind of takes me back to the old thunder cat days (1993) Those things felt just like this Apex. Effective Immediatly, a KMOD Gen 2 suspension, 174 3" Track, and a VE Tunnel is going to be installed.

I am excited, especially talking to Paul at Impulse. This thing is going to rock

 

[julio]

Are they really worth purchasing? I am and have been wrestling with this all day today. Many have said that they are way to heavy to ride. I talked to Brad Story, and even he said they were to heavy, in his opinion. So the debate of purchasing the yami turbo goes on...

Honestly, How reliable, do they keep up with M1200, are they to heavy to ride somewhat technical? These are the questions that are driving me and my descision making processes crazy.

Any input would be very beneficial to me. I just don't spend dollars on something that I will hate.

will they keep up with an m1200?? they will beat the pants of a m12 unless boosted. the fastest sled I have seen was brads 12 turbo. but if you want to compare it to a punched 1000 turbo for reliabilty they are not even in the same park. a m1000 is problematic, big bore is worse throw a turbo on it and you have a bomb with a lit fuse. but that is my personal experience..


how big a fella are ya, the apex is a great sled for bigger guys. I think if you are under 180 its going to be alot of sled to move around. they can be ran in technical terain, tight trees on a slope if you can resist the urge to open it up. I love mine enuff to have two and wish they were not a dieing chasy, but i am 6-2 250.

 

[Radski30]

will they keep up with an m1200?? they will beat the pants of a m12 unless boosted. the fastest sled I have seen was brads 12 turbo. but if you want to compare it to a punched 1000 turbo for reliabilty they are not even in the same park. a m1000 is problematic, big bore is worse throw a turbo on it and you have a bomb with a lit fuse. but that is my personal experience..


how big a fella are ya, the apex is a great sled for bigger guys. I think if you are under 180 its going to be alot of sled to move around. they can be ran in technical terain, tight trees on a slope if you can resist the urge to open it up. I love mine enuff to have two and wish they were not a dieing chasy, but i am 6-2 250.

I am 6'0 225 LBS. I know Brad and his 1200 T. That thing is really fast. I bought the apex mainly to get me in and out of bedford and smith fork. I have a Wicked Fast M7 that Brad has helped me out with, but I haven't been able to gain the confidence in it yet. When it can go 1000 miles without burning down, then I will have full confidence in taking it back there. for now, I am definately going to ride the Apex I bought.

Are you Julio from TS? I know a lot of the guys there, Doug, Brad Wes, Jim, All are very good people IMHO.

 

[Radski30]

...And yes, I ment Boosted M1200. NA 1200 are like the thing of the past GOTTA BOOST BABY!!!