Owned one for more than 2 years and I think it's still a great bike. But I recon some mods can improve it a lot:
-Some offset bussings in the shock can slack the head angle by one degree and lower the bottom bracket one centimeter.
-A stiff rear wheel with a 10 mm axle will improve the stiffness of the bike, since the rear stays tend to flex a bit.
-The frame was designed to be used with a coil shock.
I owned a 2006 6.6 for a couple years then sold it to a buddy who rode it hard for another three before finding a small crack ath the bottom of the seat tube at the bb junction. He got it repaired and is still using it.
Good durable all around bike. I think he's asking too much for it based on its age and current prices on used bikes but it probably hasn't seen a lot of downhill abuse living in Florida. Lower to mid-level components for the most part (729 rims the one exception). You might have to switch the fork out. I was never too impressed with any fork from Manitou.
I agree with the Amukinado, with a few updates to lower the bb and slacken the HA a bit it will match up well with most other current 6" AM/Trail bikes.
I don't know if it was designed for a coil shock but it behaves better with one.
Rear end can be flexy but a through-bolt rear axle and fresh bearings stiffen things up to acceptable level.
Really no significant changes occured during the 4 or 5 year run that this bike was produced.
Offer him $1500.
