I have an 01 ds that i have an 11.5 to one piston and a tm45 carb and odp end cap on. The bike runs very good and i love it. BUT I just got another ds to add to the garage and it feels extremely fast. It just hangs the wheels all the way thru 3rd and into 4th.....And thats with me trying to keep it down. As soon as it starts to come down you grab a gear and back up it comes!!! Its an 03 red and i am just not sure about this thing. It has a pro circuit slip on BUT other than that it is 100% stock all the way down to the air box lid. I have ridden lots of fast bikes and i couldnt believe this thing. Maybe its just a different feel or maybe its just playing tricks on me. I dont know, i let a friend ride it and he was very impressed as well. He didnt believe me when i said it was stock. Hopefully i can get someone experienced to come ride it and we can line em up. I sure hope my yella dont get beat by no stone stocker.

Has anyone else experienced a FREAK ds? What about changes for 03? Any of em worth anything in a drag race?

 

In 03 is when they first went with the -1 swing arm she would stand on que.My 05's felt even better out of the box.they may have done some internal tweeking on the newer bikes i know the 05's were definetly not the same in out of the box power as the 00-01's for sure.

 

It could just be the feel of a new bike, but it sounds like it runs real good.

 

there are a few mods like a lighter sprocket star( less rotating mass) the gear on the fly wheel is lightened(again less rotating mass) the swing arm is shorter and lighter, the front lower engine mount brackets are made of aluminum, not steel. It's just lighter, so the power that is there, has less to pull around, oh yeah that means better horse power to weight ratio. The stage two I had was challenged real well by the 03 stock ds.

 

Yes Eddie or bajapilot had an 03 red ds with only a pipe and carb it would give one of my 02 yelllow ds's stage three a good run. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

04's were the first year of the shorter swingarm. My buddy bought a new 04 at the start of 2005 and it was as quick or quicker stock than my 2000 Stage 1!

 

Dingo is correct. 04 is the first year they made all the little changes (-1 swinger, lighter hubs, AL engine mounts, AL upper A-arms, etc). I have two 04's (one stage II and one stock with the exception of ODP endcap) but neither I would say hang the front wheels out in 3rd or 4th gear.

Are you claiming it to be an 03 based on what previous owner told you, or by the build date sticker on the frame? Both my 04's have an 03 build date. The easiest way to tell 03 vs 04 is to compare the items above.

 

the first 04 also had aluminum upper a-arms there is about a 6 pound savings there

 

Bottom line i don't quit remeber when they made the changes but if its a red ds it has a -1 swinger.

 

Yeah I don't think they made the red Viper DS until 04 model year. Weren't 03's black/orange?