Hey, sorry if i sound dumb but i was just wondering, my friends love predators, i love predators (even though i have the raptor yes i know its a major shock) ok my raptor beats the 2003 stock predator all the way around, i never lost to that bike. then my friend has the 2005 tld, and i have to be pinned in order the beat that bike by even a little, i have to be power shifting, pretty much the stock and stock tld pred and raptor are the same, maybe the raptor wins by a tad, but why? what is the difference between the tld other than gears? and if the tld beats the predator in accel, how does it have the same top speed?

 

The '03 Preds don't have the best trannies, shifting under power as in a drag race is not its strong suit. That plus normal production variances and rider skill may account for the differing results. The Newer Preds have much better shifting trannies, as well as the tld having better gearing for drags. Acceleration and top speed are not necessarily linked. Top speed is going to be a combo of gearing, power, wind drag, and probably a few other things. At speed, there comes a point when you really need to pump up the power output to overcome wind resistance. That and most stock quads run out of gearing when you get up around mid 70mph.

 

if i am not mistaken this is why...

the predators all had the standard trannies up until 05'.... at that point the TLD's got a new "short" gearbox... basically their 1st through 4th is like the standards 1st through 3rd. so the 05' TLD's have mad acceleration... but they didn't change the 5th gear, its the same. so the 05' TLD's have a short 1-4 and a wide 5th that way they keep the top speed. If you put the 2 predators next to each other or take a ride on each you'll feel the difference... they are like two completely different machines. hope that helps explain things a little better.

cheers!