I am looking into buying a Pred 90 for my daughter. I am wondering if anyone out there has any experiences with these. I was looking at the E-Ton, I liked how the 70 looked but reading some reviews wasn't to impressed.

 

Don't know what reviews you were reading but the 70s have always had great reviews in anything I've ever seen...Our 04 90 has been bullet proof so far as well..The Polaris is a good machine,a little bigger feel to it than the Viper.Biggest complaint I hear about the polaris models is they are plagued with more than their fair share of electrical gremlins.

 

Had ours for a year now with no problems, even withstood a summer of racing with a couple good hits.

 

Radmrf,

As a suggestion, use the Search feature of this forum and look for "E-Ton" / "ETON", "Pred90", Pred-90" and "Predator" to find historical posts.

We have a Predator 90 and for my son's water / deep mud riding experience, I wished we picked a different brand. On the Pred-90, its open CVT tranny gets filled with water, its "expensive to fix" Stator system is exposed to water and its front hubs fill up with mud too quickly. Many have told me a Pred-90's Swing Arm "can" snap when driving above normal riding conditions and its frame is weak - compared to other brands. For above normal riding conditions, do gusset its frame - for proactive reinforcement. Yes, the Pred-90 has a really cool look. The look that many young riders want. But if you look past the plastic and cosmetics, there's better build minis out there.

If your family is into deep water / mud riding, do look at the Honda TRX 90 brand. More expensive then others but its 4 stroke engine / semi-auto tranny has a reputation of being "near bullet proof". If you are into 2 strokes, do look at the LT80 and the AC brands as well. They have better air intake systems - compared to the Pred-90 / E-Ton 90s. If you do decide on the AC-90 brand, its factory restrictors can be removed in order to release its "trapped in power". If you plan to pass the mini down to a younger brother / sister in the future, then do focus on construction and long term reliability. Otherwise, focus on a "drive for 3 years then sell it" type construction.

While comparing brands, do focus on "features" first. Hydro disc brakes are better then cable drum brakes. Many young riders adapt to Foot Brake control better then hand levers. With or without Reverse, auto tranny or semi-auto with "bull low" 1st gear and if DRLs (Daytime Running lights) are important to you. Thick chain with Spring Loaded chain tensioner is important, running boards or nerf bars are more important then foot pegs, affordable maintenance parts (like brake pads, air filter material, etc.) is also important.

Many brands are available on the market. Unfortunately, there's currently NO PERFECT brand. Each has their construction pros / cons, different control features and parts availability to upgrade for your unique riding conditions.

For future mods for trails (or "around the house" riding) , I'd immediately install DRLs, widen their front end (1.5-2.0" via wheel spacers - 3" wider A-Arms would be much better), change sprockets to have more bottom end (and less top end speed), install rear push bar (if one does NOT exist), install nerf bars instead of open foot pegs, etc.

Regardless of the brand, do focus on "body fit" first. Many say that a mini should be bought with an expected 3 year life span. A little too small on year one (with its throttle turned way day), perfect fit on year 2 and on year 3, the rider is starting to get a little too big for it. Sizing is one of those debatable areas. But if you ask 5 dealers to help you in this area, you'll obtain "the average" feedback on what a good body fit is.

Hope this helps....

.

 

Bud, we've had one for 6 months now and only prob was the horn didnt always work. One day in the shop and it was back.

 

Well, thank you for the input. I live in the high desert in norther nv, so water/mud is not to much of a problem here. I did look at the e-ton 90R and the difference between that and the pred 90 w/ rev was $100. I am able to get the pred for $2400 out the door + gear, the E-Ton was $2099 + tax+freight+ etc....My wife and I will be going down today to get it. It will be so hard not to take home a Pred 500 TLD also...LOL....

 

Get one or the other quick so you can ride it in the snow. I was thru there wed. night and couldnt believe it was snowing in reno. I'd get the eton90 if you havent already.

 

hey everyone .i have two 04 polaris predators .my son is 8 and has been racing one for over a year .with many upgrades its fast.problem is it isnt strong we have had all kinds of problems i would never buy another one to race .the frame broke in three places cant keep sprocket bolts in it.rear shock broke .kick start works somtimes somtime it dont the rear shock is so weak the chain gets in to the frame.im not impressed and im still fighting the rear end problems if any of you have dealt with this please email me with your ideas .kaolinperrodin@hotmail.com.im lookin fro any ideas we have took 2nd in one series and 3rd in another .the bike is fast it just needs to be stronger and i need ideas if any one else is haven trouble with the strocket bolt shearing off .weld it it cheat to replace and it holds good .please send ideas.my daughter is 6 she rides not races no real problems with it if you8r not racin there a good easy riden quad but be prepaired to spend some green if your racing it.oh and hard as heel to start in the winter.if any polaris people see this .get ahold of me ill tell you how happy i am i might give you some ideas

 

Hey kkahne, welcome to this forum.

I sent an email to you. If you don't receive it within a few hours, please let me know.

thanks.

.

 

thanks for the reply spike i havent got your email yet but lookin forward to it.anyone lookin to upgrade the exahust .i got a fmf titanium pipe and we have loved it greatest improvment yet .also did away with oil injector open air filter with outer wear.this thing will fly i just need some help with the rear end problems