My son got a Predator 50 from Santa. It is a well running machine. He weighs 50 pounds, and it appears he has bent the swing arm assembly. I think it occurred when he got a small sapling caught in the chain (chain came off rear sprocket). The right rear tire hub is one inch closer to the front than the left rear. Upon re-adjusting the chain, and inspecting the swing arm closely, it seems to be slightly out of square. My questions are these--is it possible the engine power alone bend the swing arm? Has anyone had a similar problem? The atv has not been rolled or crashed. I have the power dialed way down while he learns to ride, and just cannot imagine that engine power alone could bend the swing arm, even with a sapling caught in the chain. Local dealer said to bring it in, but were skeptical about how it got bent, and said Polaris prob would not cover it under warranty. Any thoughts?

 

we hope your dealer will take care of you right thoughbut if your warr. will not cover it i would see about a +4 chrome one with square tubing. there much stronger than the stock round swing arm. but there higher in price but it will not bend so easy next time. we hope your dealer will take care of you right though.

 

I've read many posts stating the Swing Arm and A-Arms on the Pred-50 brand appear to be very weak. For racing on MX tracks, many Pred-50 racers "immediately" upgrade these arms with longer and stronger metal. If your dealer &/or Polaris head office had a large number of customer returns &/or complaints on the Pred-50 arms, I'm sure they would replace a broken one - while the unit is under warranty. But I bet a box of donuts that such statistics aren't tracked on a micro level. Most dealers would immediately say "rider fault for rough riding - customer replaces it. Period!". And, the customer dishes out the cash to replace the part. Thus, every mini with a broken part doesn't get tracked by their dealer and/or their head office.


Couple of options...

1 - Engage your Dealer and determine if he/she will replace your Swing Arm. They may or may NOT replace the bent part. Or, they could possibly split portion of the replacement cost with you.

2 - If the part bent once (on your unique riding conditions), it will probably bend again. Investigate replacing your bent Swing Arm with a) 3rd party performance part b) ask your local welder if he can clone it. Some welders are great a cloning things for the "near price" of purchasing the stock replacement part.

* It would be nice if you could obtain a factory replacement (even at 1/2 cost) to get your young rider back on the seat, and continue to investigate option 2. As mentioned above, you may also want to consider a longer Swing Arm as well. Not too sure if +4 is required for your unique riding conditions but a +2 would certainly give it more suspension movement and thus, less immediate stress on those "bump / jump" conditions that sometimes sneak up on any driver.

* If you do go with a factory Swing Arm replacement and/or longer Swing Arm, also consider installing a Spring Loaded Chain Tensioner (if it doesn't already have one) and a possibly a rear skid plates. These items reduce the chain from coming off and stop those high ground objects from nailing your rear brake drum, rear sprocket and/or rear axle assembly. A Swing Arm skid plate can be created by your local welder and/or purchased from: - Press Here -

Hope this helps...

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