i agree with tbsleeper, on the new '05 tld pred they upgraded to a close ratio tranny and replaced the shocks with lighter shocks equipped with piggy back rezzies. oh yeah, they also added reverse.

 

pudl, I highly suggest going and riding a new pred. I guess they have changed them quite a bit. They shift smoother, have a softer seat, have closer gears, better tires(itp on tld), tld has good shocks and rezzies, and now they have reverse. You can easily drop 20lbs, with taking off your heelgaurds and lights. Go try it out, before you buy. Come into the polaris forum, and read all about the new one. Hopefully, and its supposed to, be able to keep up with the 450's pretty well, and if not....you have a little extra money still to help out. I wouldn't overlook the pred anymore.

 

Sounds like your dealership may not have the greatest mechanics working on your machine. My experience with dealer mechanics has been better with shops that race and have enthusiasts for employees (Great River Powersports 90 miles south of here) instead of greasemonkeys who simply turn wrenches for a living (Brenny's here in town).

 

what did you expect from yamaha. They have outstanding (sarcasm) customer support since day one...

 

Pudljumpr,
Check out the new 05 TLD preds they are amazing!!

Here is a list of the upgrades made by Ken(modquad):


You want reverse, stop askin', they gotcha covered.

You wanted a different seat, it's not only flatter, but the foam density is changed...comfy.

You wanted smooth shifting....sitting in place (engine off) you can sooo smoothly ratchet through the gears.....then once the machine is up and going, same silky smoothness (serious homework was done here! )

You wanted and LED taillight...gotcha covered. But unlike others, this is a compact slick unit which doesn't feel the need to totally cover the entire back of the machine.

You want closer 2-4 gearing ratios.....Feels more like a 4 speed with an overdrive.

You want higher revs on the CDI.....they gotcha covered, less bouncing off the rev limiter.

You want front shock rezzi's stock....on the TLD unit they're there.

You want better ergos.....steering stem raised 1".

By the way, that orange TLD plastic explodes in person!!!!




Hope this helps

 

if you want to look for sarcasm from yamaha,just watch their 2005
snowmobiles DVD promo cd,all 2 strokes owners are typically not well put in...

 

Myself I'd rather have the Pred than either 450. However I still think the 450's are unique in being marketed as a mx type lightweight racer. Where the Pred is more of a premier sports quad. There is a subtle difference there. Yes maybe the Pred is as fast in a straightline but can it compete in a race type environment with either 450? Without more mods to the Pred I doubt it. The Pred may be the best trail quad made made. In fact with reverse I'd take a Pred over the Z400 & family. But the 450 is another type of quad IMO marketed more at a racer. Still love the new 05 "angry mosquito" though[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Pudl's machine is not a lemon, just a very bad deal. After the motor blew they should have replaced the whole engine with a new one. Instead they rebuilt it with ALL new parts, only reusing the flywheel, clutch, and a few other parts. It was a "NEW" engine, put together by a trained YAMAHA technician. It should have a new warranty as well. Now it's blown up again and Yamaha will not stand behind it nor the dealer. This is BS. The problem needs to be found, not just covered up.

I work for John Deere and this would never happen. It would be called re-work, in other words the dealer should pay up. Pudl should get a new quad for free and you all know it.

He has missed over half of his racing season due to these engine problems. His quad has $$ invested in shocks, steering, ect. and now due to repeated engine failures he wants to switch brands.

YAMAHA....get your head out of your a$$ and do something about this.


03 Raptor
PRM grab bar and rear skid
Pro Design billet shifter

 

Heck no, Deere just might have the best customer support I've ever seen. Ever see any other dealer drive to someones house on a week-end night around 10pm to help a guy out? Deere does.

 

Ive never heard anyone complain about them.