im about 50/20/30 (50 being wanting a predator, 20 being a cannondale and 30 being a 450r) but i know im going to need to do some mods to the predator to get it where i want it. are there reviews or dyno sheets on the various pipes? air boxes? big bore kits? (where to get them, how reliable they are, how much HP, and price) and then N02 kits? (price/reliability/safety for engine etc etc) also, what carbs are out there? price/performance? (is there one that is easy to tune and has an easy thumb pull?)

also, what aboug cdi's? do they all have advanced timing? (the advanced timing on my big gun on my ds is what made my starter gear and sprag clutch go out, costing me like 400+....the advanced timing also made it sound like crap while trying to start it (sometimes it would grind, and the piston would snap back down if it didnt fire)

one thing to add, the big bore and no2 are probably not goign to be considered for a LONG time if i get one (probably not for at least a year...) i would probably be spending about 1k on the predator at first... (maybe a set of tires,pipe/filter, airbox? cdi?) maybe a carb if it somehow fits in the budget) but i dont want to lose ANY reliability! (i do NOT like going out to ride not knowing if my quad will run right, or if i will have to make a parts list lol)


any info is appreciated!

 

Roost.......my first piece of advice is for you to give Doug Nicholas a call(www.nicholascycle.com number on site).....he is more than willing to talk about anything, and he knows everything about the stuff you listed......

Now for my own opinion......If you are looking for a full system exhaust, plan on spending in the range of about $450.....and right now, the top exhaust system is the one from Rath Racing(pm jengirl about it).......with HPD comming in second(in my opinion, possibly HMF too.....) If you want a slip on exhaust, because the pred's stock header is great, then the only option(IMO) is the WB/pure polaris pipe.....

As for the airbox, I still have the stock one(with a K&N in it) and it works great.....here is what you do....in the back, below where the filter seals, drill 4 1" holes in the box, and the pred will wake up.....other people are buying new airboxes from places like CFM(www.cfmracing.com)....and also a lot of guys are going with a clamp on(directly to the carb) K&N or Uni....which I will be doing soon too, because it is more power(or equal) and you loose the airbox.

As for the carb.....if you want to use the stock one, I reccommend sending that sucker immeadiately to Doug, and it will come back jetted correctly and will be much more responsive too(one of my best mods yet).....if you want a different carb, talk with doug about it.......He uses lectron carbs usually, but is in the testing period on some FCR carbs.......so that is cool too......I would stay away from the eldabrock carbs(some have had problems).....

As for a CDI, I don't have one of those either, but Doug sells them........his own, and I think another brands(HPD....www.hpd-inc.com).....and Doug's will allow you to run N2O.....so that is something to consider too........

As for big bore kits......Doug is the only one to talk to......everyone in the performance industry is sending people to him, so just go strait to him and cut out a step.......he has his own kits, and he is working on some really big kits too(like 627cc)......


Well I hope I have covered everything........ask if I missed something......Also remember that the pred really wakes up after a simple carb mod, and possibly a small gearing change.......

 

alright, ill keep the lower power thing in mind when i go to test ride. (i have a test ride on a used 2003 worked out at a dealership, a test of a cannondale moto, and hopefully a test of a 450r if i can find one.)

im actually hoping i like the predator...seems it should fit my style the best... (more or less a smaller ds650, closer to a trail bike than a flat out racer that cant comfortably do anything else lol)

 

true.....they are pretty nice, I love mine, and so do most people on here........I wouldn't do a cannondale, do they even make parts for them anymore??? And aren't they pretty expensive??? A 450r is a good choice too......

 

ya the dirtbike company called ATK is producing cannodnales again (well 3 different models, but VERY similar to the old cannondales) they are also making all the aprts for them.

about the carb...does he just swap jets/needle positions? i have the same bsr42 mikuni on my ds, and it is a bit hard to tune, but i made the mistake of paying 50 bucks the first time to have it jetted (by al ocal shop) but after a few hours on the boards (and about 10 hours trying to jet) i realized that was 50 bucks wasted....lol

unless of course he does some sort of secret work on it that makes it flow/operate better?

 

He does way more than just rejetting it.......he does stuff to the spring and everything else.....it will come jetted appropiately though too......call him up, he might enlighten you about what he does.......It is 50 bucks, but well worth it in my opinion.....

 

what did you do to lighten the predator by 30 lbs? (is that 30 lbs off stock, even with your nerfs on there and other add ons? or just 30 lbs off the total?)

since the rpedator is a bit chunky i would be interested in what you did.

how does your predator compare against yfz's 450rs? (and anything else you have dragged)

i just dont want to have to dump a TON of money in the thing just to barely beat a piped yfz

 

Roost, now I don't like to lie and tell stories, so take my word as what actually happened.....it could be due to me being a better driver and having better tires, which I'm not real sure of, but hey....

With my mods I had(basically carb mod, airbox, filter, pipe...no weight dropped) I raced a totally stock yfz, and both of us had sand tires.......and I beat the yfz by about 1/2 to 1 link.....the person running the yfz was also about 40lbs lighter than me too......Now I think I could put about 2 links(or atleast a full link) on a stock yfz....

If you start talking to Doug, you will have a fast quad.......and have the top of the line stuff too.....Also consider the prices of quads you are buying.....generally the pred is about 1k less than the others.......and the pred comes with some pretty good stuff(good tires and wheels, brake lines, axle, swing arm, etc.) so you might would be putting some of these mods on a yfz or whatever other quad.....basically what I'm saying is, take the price of the other quads - pred price, and that is about how much you could mod the pred(that saying that you wouldn't put and mods on the other quad)......most likely it will end up being about 1k to 1.5k......which if you look on Doug's site....you can have a pretty nice pred and pretty fast for about 1500 bucks.......

As far as the weight issue: You don't really notice the weight....because it does have a lot of power.....but I dropped as much as I could(this is how much weight I have taken off, I have put a little back on, with bumpers and springs, but not more than about 5lbs) Anyways, these are things you can take off....if you want to...


Bumpers, lights and assemblies, extra wiring assemblies, heel gaurds, cut plastic(big one there), lighter battery, plastic knee pieces, handlebars(have to get new), and a few other odds and ends things.......

You also have to consider that the pred is really built to not fall apart(for mx/xc racing).....and the tires and wheels are really heavy....you can drop some major weight there.....Also you have to remember that the pred has electric start.....which is a plus, but if you don't like it, you might be able to find a kickstarter somewehre(don't have any idea about this).....

 

does the 05 have rezzies on either front/rear? i see it says fully adjustable rear, but does it have fully adjustable fronts too? (compression/rebound/sag?)

also, about the price thing, sadly the 05 tld is pretty pricey @ 6500 msrp....
the yfz is only 400 bucks more
and the 450r is actually the same price as the predator @ 6500

assuming i can bargain each quad down equally... (say 300 off MSRP out the door....) that still makes it even with the 450r (yfz isnt in my "possibles" list anyway)

with 450r i think i would probably do cam/pipe/filter and maybe one or two other small things.
but with predator to make them about even its pipe/filter/airbox mods and probably a carb (and even with carb i dont know if it could take the 450)

hmmm decisions, decisions.....

 

Roost......yes on the 05's tld the front's are adjustable too(I think anyways).....so the suspension of the pred is by far the best on these quads......Also the pred will stand to the 450r better than you think.....the yfz is a little faster than the 450r, and the pred isn't too far from the 450r......the pred will respond equally, if not better, to the mods......plus you don't have to put in cams, if you don't want to......An airbox mod is easy(no money), pipe(250-450)(same on each quad), and the stock pred carb is really pretty nice(if you do Doug's mod), but otherwise(a fcr or lectron carb will probably be about 400)......I would test ride em too....see what you think.....


Also does the electric start matter to you or not??