Grassfirebob
Pro
Just got back from 4 days in Ironwood/Hurley area. My son had a brand new '03 holdover RX, and I have a brand new '05 RX-ER. Great chance to do a side-by-side, 0 mile, totally stock test.
We only put on 350 miles (trails went from "not good" to "not rideable" over the course of the 4 days).
There is a HUGE, HUGE difference in the sleds (as there ought to be for the nearly $2,000 difference in the price).
For me and my style or riding, if God created the perfect sled.... I'm riding it!
I'm just a trail rider, and my own built in "rev-limiter" causes me to let go of the throttle at 80mph! However, I wanted a dependable sled, smooth ride, good handling, and awesome acceleration. The '05 delivered it all! (Especially the acceleration. I just couldn't get enough of snapping and lifting the skis at just about any speed). It was a little light in the front end and a bit tipsy coming out of the corners but if that's the sacrifice for the "ski lift" I referred to earlier I'm leaving it that way.
I swapped my son on several occassions and I can tell you that his '03 has nowhere near the acceleration that I do. Not even close. That really surprised me since I thought the engines were basically identical. The '05 snaps through the complete power curve. The '03 is a bit boggy on the low end and doesn't really come to life until near mid-range. After a couple hundred miles his loosened up but still nowhere near mine. He did make one run on a flat trail where he hit 108 and he was happy with that.
There is no ski-lifting on the '03 as on the '05 but perhaps once we start playing with his suspension that will change.
Likewise, the suspension is a world of difference. The trails were very bumpy and the '05 shined in comparison to the '03. However the on-the-fly adjustment of the '05 seems more like a marketing gimick than anything. I played with it by changing the settings from "HARD" all the way to "SOFT" and frankly I barely noticed a change.
Don't get me wrong, the '03 is a great machine and he's pretty happy with it - I'm just saying that the '05 is a quantum leap ahead.
We rode them straight from dealer setup and haven't had a chance to play with the suspensions yet. Perhaps that will change my opinion.
Had I been able to test both ahead of time, I'd have helped him so he could've got the '05 as well. Oh well.
He's thinking of putting the ECP/HH kit on the '03 and hopefully that will give him the same, if not better, performance as my '05.
We only put on 350 miles (trails went from "not good" to "not rideable" over the course of the 4 days).
There is a HUGE, HUGE difference in the sleds (as there ought to be for the nearly $2,000 difference in the price).
For me and my style or riding, if God created the perfect sled.... I'm riding it!
I'm just a trail rider, and my own built in "rev-limiter" causes me to let go of the throttle at 80mph! However, I wanted a dependable sled, smooth ride, good handling, and awesome acceleration. The '05 delivered it all! (Especially the acceleration. I just couldn't get enough of snapping and lifting the skis at just about any speed). It was a little light in the front end and a bit tipsy coming out of the corners but if that's the sacrifice for the "ski lift" I referred to earlier I'm leaving it that way.
I swapped my son on several occassions and I can tell you that his '03 has nowhere near the acceleration that I do. Not even close. That really surprised me since I thought the engines were basically identical. The '05 snaps through the complete power curve. The '03 is a bit boggy on the low end and doesn't really come to life until near mid-range. After a couple hundred miles his loosened up but still nowhere near mine. He did make one run on a flat trail where he hit 108 and he was happy with that.
There is no ski-lifting on the '03 as on the '05 but perhaps once we start playing with his suspension that will change.
Likewise, the suspension is a world of difference. The trails were very bumpy and the '05 shined in comparison to the '03. However the on-the-fly adjustment of the '05 seems more like a marketing gimick than anything. I played with it by changing the settings from "HARD" all the way to "SOFT" and frankly I barely noticed a change.
Don't get me wrong, the '03 is a great machine and he's pretty happy with it - I'm just saying that the '05 is a quantum leap ahead.
We rode them straight from dealer setup and haven't had a chance to play with the suspensions yet. Perhaps that will change my opinion.
Had I been able to test both ahead of time, I'd have helped him so he could've got the '05 as well. Oh well.
He's thinking of putting the ECP/HH kit on the '03 and hopefully that will give him the same, if not better, performance as my '05.
Mighty
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Glad to hear that you are pleased with your 05. I personally believe the difference you feel in engine performace is actually due to the Mono shock rear skid transfering weight better on the 05. Both engines are identacle and should give identacle performance.
I have also heard some reports of the mono shock equipped sleds not seeing the top end numbers of the pro-action equipped sleds. Kinda makes me wonder if the mono shock skid scrubs off top end like an M-10 does.
I have also heard some reports of the mono shock equipped sleds not seeing the top end numbers of the pro-action equipped sleds. Kinda makes me wonder if the mono shock skid scrubs off top end like an M-10 does.
Grassfirebob
Pro
Yes, I did have the track swapped out - we both have ripsaw tracks.
The only difference that I expected would be in the suspension and the clutching (the '03 clutch "rattles" a lot louder than the '05 especially at idle).
Hopefully he'll put an ECP/HH kit on his and it'll match mine.
I still kind of wish I'd have spent the $2k and got another '05 but oh well.
The only difference that I expected would be in the suspension and the clutching (the '03 clutch "rattles" a lot louder than the '05 especially at idle).
Hopefully he'll put an ECP/HH kit on his and it'll match mine.
I still kind of wish I'd have spent the $2k and got another '05 but oh well.
Mighty
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If he does those mods his will beat yours :ORCGrassfirebob said:
Have him install Heavy Hitters first, I bet those alone will do the trick.
welterracer
TY 4 Stroke God
Are you sure his 03 is running good... Mr sled ran his 05 agains two stock 03 and got beat pretty badly, He told me...
Im sure the reason you think yours is soo much faster is because of the rear suspension...LIKE MIGHT SAID!!
Ive been told the adjuster is more for eliminating ski lift than changing ride soo much.. The harder you tighten the adjuster the less weight transfer you have...
Im sure the reason you think yours is soo much faster is because of the rear suspension...LIKE MIGHT SAID!!
Ive been told the adjuster is more for eliminating ski lift than changing ride soo much.. The harder you tighten the adjuster the less weight transfer you have...
Grassfirebob
Pro
I think we're going to just spring for the $700 complete ECP/HH kit.
weltracer... I think his is running OK. Neither one of us are "mechanics" by any means and until the RX's we both rode 10 year old V-max 600's so I really don't have much to compare to see if the '03 is running OK or not.
I outweight him by a good 40 pounds, plus mine is an ER (which probably adds more weight yet) but I really wasn't close. Bear in mind we just did a rolling start and backed off at 70 so it's not a scientific run. But both of us felt after switching sleds back and forth that the '05 rocked compared to the '03.
*** One big note. After 100 miles we played around climbing a hill (just East of Wakefield for those in the area) and shortly afterwards his machine ran like crap. Topped out at 8,000 RPM and 70mph. Also sounded DISTINCTLY louder when you punched it (although it idled and sounded fine). We checked all the plugs - everything good. Limped back to the motel and called the dealer. Head mechanic gave me some possibilities and it turned out simply to be that the air intake box had come loose off the carbs. What a stunning difference!
weltracer... I think his is running OK. Neither one of us are "mechanics" by any means and until the RX's we both rode 10 year old V-max 600's so I really don't have much to compare to see if the '03 is running OK or not.
I outweight him by a good 40 pounds, plus mine is an ER (which probably adds more weight yet) but I really wasn't close. Bear in mind we just did a rolling start and backed off at 70 so it's not a scientific run. But both of us felt after switching sleds back and forth that the '05 rocked compared to the '03.
*** One big note. After 100 miles we played around climbing a hill (just East of Wakefield for those in the area) and shortly afterwards his machine ran like crap. Topped out at 8,000 RPM and 70mph. Also sounded DISTINCTLY louder when you punched it (although it idled and sounded fine). We checked all the plugs - everything good. Limped back to the motel and called the dealer. Head mechanic gave me some possibilities and it turned out simply to be that the air intake box had come loose off the carbs. What a stunning difference!
welterracer
TY 4 Stroke God
The air box is NEEDED to create vacume for the carbs..
Old type carbs used throttle cables to pull the slides open.. THe carbs on the RX uses engine vacume.. THIS COULD BE THE REASON HIS SLED WASNT AS FAST AS YOURS...
THe 05 definitly ROCKS..... SO doe the new vector.
Old type carbs used throttle cables to pull the slides open.. THe carbs on the RX uses engine vacume.. THIS COULD BE THE REASON HIS SLED WASNT AS FAST AS YOURS...
THe 05 definitly ROCKS..... SO doe the new vector.
Snorover
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Well guys here is my take on comparing my o5 vs 03.
I can't at this point say that the 05 ride is better than my setup on the 03.(LB's setup) However there was better cornering with the 05. It really sticks to the trail with no ski lift. I ran the small bumps to the giagantic and my impression was that the seat made a difference.
The first day out it would not idle very well and didn't want to go above 8000 rpm(rode 73 miles). Found that the next morning I had left the choke on about 1/3. Idled nice after that. Still did not want to go above 8000, untill I had about 200 miles on it, when some guys thought that they could just blow by me. It went up to 9600 pretty fast--scary. Sure is hard to very the rpms especially the low rpm riding, it just wants to go faster.
Maybe with some more miles I'll see a difference.
I can't at this point say that the 05 ride is better than my setup on the 03.(LB's setup) However there was better cornering with the 05. It really sticks to the trail with no ski lift. I ran the small bumps to the giagantic and my impression was that the seat made a difference.
The first day out it would not idle very well and didn't want to go above 8000 rpm(rode 73 miles). Found that the next morning I had left the choke on about 1/3. Idled nice after that. Still did not want to go above 8000, untill I had about 200 miles on it, when some guys thought that they could just blow by me. It went up to 9600 pretty fast--scary. Sure is hard to very the rpms especially the low rpm riding, it just wants to go faster.
Maybe with some more miles I'll see a difference.
