well i made my first trip to one of the local (well...45 minutes) dealer. I mainly went because they ahd a used 2004 dale earnhardt and i wanted to test it. (they also had a lot of other 2004's with one 2005, non tld)

first impressions.... Seat is an awkward shape... i can def feel the "hole" that people talk about. Also, bars def seem low (2005 has the inch higher bars right? when isat on it, it felt higher)

i felt a little bit on top of the machine (instead of "in" ) but itsp robably because im not used to it. they are next to a large road, but had maybe 200 yards of grass up front. I could only get into 3rd gear. the low end power was definately weak [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] but once it picked up rpms the midrange and top ned had a pretty nice hit) (i assume a tooth lower on the front, or maybe a tooth or two up in teh back would solve this, and a pipe/filter/airbox mod/rejet should def help....are most pipes for predator low end gains or high? )

suspension was pretty nice, all of it was a mild ditch, and there was a small culvert half way down that was recently dug up. It had some rpetty large clumps of dirt ( 3-10 inches tall) i just nailed it.... and suspension soaked it up nicely! (i would def be in favor of the 2005s adjustable rezzy fronts on the tld)

now i need to find somebody at the badland willing to let me ride up a few hills.... (its pretty hard to get a feel for a machine on grass...lol)

about the closer ratios on the 05...its just on the tld correct? i was at the understanding that first gear and 5th gear were unchanged?( and 2-4 were closer together)

but then i read dirtwheels review, and they said 5th gear is also lowered (mentioned somthing about how top speed was under 70, and the red 05 model was a better machine for wide open areas)

im thinking this could be bad.... if i wanted to drop a tooth in the front for quicker power in first... and if 5th is already dropped, my top speed would be liek 65...lol

or is it not necessary to drop the front a tooth with pipe/filter mods?

i also noticed while sitting on the 05 the seat felt a tiny bit taller (more foam) was softer, but still had a bit of that "hole" in the middle*

anyway, just wondering if someone can clear up the 05 issues for me....

o by the way, i know tld stands for troy lee designs (i like his helemets but cant afford them..lol )

but the dealer kept calling it a TOMMY LEE predator...lol sorry had to throw that in (the guy had like 0 knowledge of predators...he knew they were 500s and were GOOD, and thats it lol) you think they will come out with red baywatch plastic, and call it the pamela anderson special* lol [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

thanks guys

 

TLD= Troy Lee Designs

 

*someone didnt read the entire post*

 

Nope, I just answered the question you asked. Why ask a question when you know the answer.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

its called humor.... thought most people understood it buy i guess im wrong....

 

That's what stinks about reading on the computer, you can't tell what the other person is thinking about. I'll read before I answer next time. Have a good one.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

lol ya... alright well at least now i have some responses to my thread [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

tommy lee pred... lol!
when i bought my pred the salesmen knew nothing, except "ITS THE FASTEST THING ON THE MARKET!!!"

 

ya the guy that called it tommy lee said it is faster than the yfz.... i told him no it wasnt and he just kind of stared at me....

 

LOL! they dun like it when you say another brand is faster... i love going to teh honda dealer and talkin bout the 450r. its fun having friends work at every dealer around...