Got my money ready to throw down on a 2005. I was set on the GSX but now I'm thinking Renegade. need the ups and downs before I do.

I would also like to know how the 05 gade is compared to 04. I love my 04 but it has hard steering at slower speeds. I wonder if wider track will aggravate this tendency? If steering got even more difficult I wouldn't buy an 05. I guess I don't understand why
doo would mess with success they had on 04 gades?

the new 16" powdermax track is sweet. its a great machine! IF I was not already getting the machz 1000 I would get a gade.

Check out Hardcoresledder.com. Rob Lyons, the guy who runs the site, bought an 05 Renegade and gives excellent reports on it. He tells it like it is, good or bad, and seems to love it. I think he put on 900 miles the first weekend he had it.

Thanks guys. I thought I would get more responses here.

A friend of mine was considering getting out of sledding due to his age (68). Then he bought a 03 Rev, and he was a rocket on the trail. He thought that was the best sled he's ever been on, until the trade in for the 05 Renegade. The sled is just awesome and now it's hard to catch him. The track is great and He says it handles better than his 03. Hope this helps a bit.

I bought mine the day it arrived at my local dealer.As I have never rode any other or with any other rev yet , I cant compare it to other revs. BUT im sure the with that longer, wider, powdermax 1.25" track, they too can not catch me on the trail. I get looked at very hard because you'll only see me for(---oopps---dont blink---or you'll miss me ----)a second, or try to catch me at the next bar stop for a druelling look at it.
complaints: 1)belt and brake dust on cowling in the leg areas, makes it look dirty
2)steering IS at times (hard pack snow) too heavy/percise/tiring
at the end of the day.
3)would have prefered more windshield like the GSX's
4)no belt holder due to SDI
but these are minor,the rest of the sled makes up for it . ive also added the 1+1 seat and ride with my significant other. cracked the suspension up on the back and ride like its a caddilac. bottomed it out only in the deeper ruts when riding hard solo or with significant other. never thought we'ed have snowmachines that ride like this. ive riden older 1990's polaris's , owned 1998 F-III 700, currently own 2002 XCR800 and 2005 600SDI renegade. rode xcr this year total 400 miles. bought gade and rode it 1100 miles already. XCR is lonely and forsale. have not seen Mr. Lyons report yet so im going to check it out to see if I concure with him and ill let you know soon, but so far the 2005 renegade is highly recommended by me.

You mind telling us what you payed for it, i saw one at the dealer yesterday and they wanted 8300 for it plus tax. Do they all come with electric start? looked really nice but i to was wondering how it would be on the trail with the longer track.

Where can i look at the 2005 ski-doo lineup?

just found and read 2 topics from rob lyons at hardcoresledders.com in reference to the 2005 rev renegade. I AGREE WITH ANYTHING HE HAS POSTED!!! u can find one on the floor and i think there is another still in the box at sovie's cycle shop in potsdam ny. phone # is (315) 265-4297. i paid $7500+ tax for mine,no extras. ski-doo did not install electric start on this model and dont know why. if anyone has the answer please post , im curious!! i just ordered a gsx windshield and mirrors for my 05 renegade after seeing pixs of robs sled, nice touch.

The dealer i stopped at in Upstae New york had two of them and they both had electric start.

if they do have e-start ,they were installed by the dealer. these perticular models were not preped with it from the factory. the rer/start button may have been the culprit in miss leading you into believing it has e-start. the button comes labeled with rer and start on it whether or not the machine had e-start installed at the factory. please take another look at it under the cowling to see or ask your dealer directly if it has it ,and if it is installed ,ask if he installed it. my 2005 renegade has the button labeled both but does not actually have e-start. snowmobilenews.com also has an artical about the 2005 early release which also backs me up. -----its still worth it or have one for about $523 +labor extra.
oh - becareful , its got a battery too, but thats strictly for the sdi models anyhow. push that rer button once prior to starting the machine and youll hear the fuel pump start up to pressurize the sdi. most of the time it starts on first pull and stays running. if not ,it re-primes itself for the next start attempt.

Where are the articles in hardcore sleds? I could not find them.

I think the renegade is the shiznit. I gotta have one now. SDI and reverse for sure.