First impressions, the paint job and clear coat is very much subpar, but I knew that going in.

 

I always thought that with Revo's but had hoped the JDM versions had been better made for a more demanding customer.  Are you seeing the clear coat separating? The paint look thin?

My finesse machine, bfs xg, hedgehog air bearings, zpi offset bfc handle, zpi knobs/bearings. Still pretty shocked how fast ems shipping is from japan. That handle came in two days  

 

 

          

            A terminal disease with no known cure

   

                                       PATHETIC!

 

Roger

My collection:

Dx with Revolution Premier

Coalition with Chronarch

Crucial with Curado

Premier with Stradic Co

I'd give those spool bearings a good cleaning and see what she has. I wonder if some of what you are feeling is related to the braking system. I love those knobs, any chance you could post the P/N from the schematic for those when you have a chance.

Got to fish it this weekend, performance wise its easily a match for the Aldebaran BFS. I didn't fish them side by side but I used the same lures. The lightest one I was throwing was a 2.3 gram lipless crank and a 2.4 gram SK bitsy minnow which equates to about  3/32 oz. Hard to say about distances but Id say about 40 feet with a nice deliberate side arm swing. I did backlash a lot dialing it but they were really easy to pick out since the spool is so shallow lol. As far as the knobs, they are actually the ZPI BFC light finesse knobs. The schematic doesn't even list them but heres more info for you http://www.office-zpi.com/httpdocs/jpn/15_knob/knob_lightfinesse.html

JDM Abu Garcia NEOS 2500 - for sale on ebay $285 brand new!

Spinning from left: 5'  2pc shakespeare ultralight combo, 6'6" M 2pc Acadia rod/ Pflueger Trion, 6'8" MXF Tec Spec Elite/Pflueger President, 7'M 2pc Ugly stik lite pro/Gander Mountain metal spinning reel

Casting from Left: 6'M Ugly stik/Ardent c400, 6'6" M Fenwick Goldenwing/Lews Speed Spool, 6'6"MHF St croix Avid/BPS Carbonlite, 7'M Ugly Stik Lite Pro/Curado 200E5, 7'MHF St Croix Mojo/Team Diawa Advantage 150H, 7'MH 2pc Acadia rod/Abassaduer c4 4600, BPS Bionic Blade 7'6"H MF/Ambassaduer C3 6500.

 

Not as nice as some collections, but it gets the job done for me. The 6' ugly has a cracked reel seat, I think I want to replace it with a 2 pc st croix Premier. I also wouldn't mind either adding a spinning combo or replacing the ugly stik spinning rod with a 2 pc Avid. 

My Conquest 51 came in today, has some battle scars but its in alright condition. Put on an 80mm zpi cf handle, zpi knob bearings, and zpi gold nut. Did a thorough cleaning and added hedgehog air bearings. Very smooth, and casts further then my bfs xg....

Forgot to mention its paired with a 6'8 medium cumara. This will be my small crankin combo this year...

Matt I think you may have a problem..   Nice. 

Matt I think you may have a problem.. Nice.

Haha, its an addiction !!

Should have never sold that Conquest 51 in the first place! Now you are back in business!

Should have never sold that Conquest 51 in the first place! Now you are back in business!

Yea yea... Well you live and learn. My chances of finding another mint 51s is pretty slim but this one will happily fill the spot for now.

I am just messing with ya Matt! You know how much I love my 50 sized shimanos! Good looking outfit my friend!

My Conquest 51 came in today, has some battle scars but its in alright condition. Put on an 80mm zpi cf handle, zpi knob bearings, and zpi gold nut. Did a thorough cleaning and added hedgehog air bearings. Very smooth, and casts further then my bfs xg....

You gotta love the 50 size,one sweet little gem.

New Curado I

Sweet !!

Nice Curado I Booty! You have posted some great looking reels in this thread.

Thanks... The new Curado cast a lot better than it looks!

Viewing all these cool.pics made me head and get a new setup. Gander Mtn has a pretty good sale going on. Picked up an Abu Garcia Revo SX and 7' MH Veritas rod to add to my beginners collection. Just now getting into bass fishing, spent most of my time trout, walleye and northern fishing.

Took it out in the backyard to practice and I'm still amazed at the distances I was achieving can't. Wait to get it on the lake. I'll try to post a smaller size pic once I figure it out.

Just scooped a new 6:3 Daiwa Tatula today.  Can't wait to give it a shot!  d**n BPS classic and their reel trade in…..

Here's some of my Ambassadeur Collection,plus a few of my "Customs" IMG_20120719_131546.jpg IMG_20120701_141409.jpg IMG_20120523_143559.jpg

I love all that gunmetal blue!

My "finesse" bait cast combo.  Use this for light worm fish, jerkbaits, senkos, etc.  This one has the custom anodized star drag and cast control knobs from a Curado 200E7.   Blue anodizing matches the accents on the Dobyns Champion rod (704C) very well.

 

If I didnt have to pay for gas/boat gas/lodging and everything else I would have enough money to outfit my champion and tournament pro the same way. Ordering a 765cb glass for my bb1 pro tomorrow

Im going to try the swimbait thing this year, started by picking up a used calcutta 251. Ripped it apart and gave it a good cleaning.

 

 

Put a set of boca os bearings in, an 85mm zpi handle, and some extra eva knobs i had laying around. I will be putting some septons on when they come in. Have to figure out what line im going to use, seems like the pline cxx is very popular in the swimbait community. Also considering since this is a smaller reel to go with 50lb braid and flouro leaders, any opinions ?

 

Im going to try the swimbait thing this year, started by picking up a used calcutta 251. Ripped it apart and gave it a good cleaning.

 

 

Put a set of boca os bearings in, an 85mm zpi handle, and some extra eva knobs i had laying around. I will be putting some septons on when they come in. Have to figure out what line im going to use, seems like the pline cxx is very popular in the swimbait community. Also considering since this is a smaller reel to go with 50lb braid and flouro leaders, any opinions ?

 

Looks like you are well on your way to SwimBaiting....25 lb. Trilene Big Game will do the trick also.