I was at a Motorcycle shop today...buying parts for my predator that I just wrecked.... and the the guy at the dealer told me that Polaris is coming out with a 700cc version of the predator next year. Anyone heard such a thing? This place is a Polaris dealer too, but he didn't have any more info on the subject.

 

i highly doubt it, considering KTM and Polaris are partners, and KTM has 2 versions of the predator with a 525 motor and a 450 motor. the 525 could kick the crap out of any quad on the rack right now im sure

 

I cant tell you anything on the subject, but also, you cant tell me that you would be THAT suprised if Polaris came out with a Pred 700 (probably EFi), They always want to be on top, so if they come out with that Pred 700, i think it would be great, and they need a lil bit bigger Sport Quad.
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2004 Polaris Sportsman 700 (Green)
'27 ITP 589 M/S Tires
on ITP Type 5 Wheels
3000 lb. Warn Winch
3-Way Headlight Mod
High Lifter Lift Kit

2004 Polaris Sportsman 500 Mossy Oak - STOLEN
2001 Honda Rancher ES 350
Sold

 

Just got the July Dirt Wheels mag. Bombardier is changing their name back to Can-Am (on the ATV's anyways) just as they did on their motorcycles back in the 70's. They also are releasing the "Renegde 800" sport-ute for 2007, so yes, Polaris better get their butts in gear, lighten their frames and increase displacement and horsepower or they will lose out in this big-bore sport-ute class. They know what they need to do , and it may very well be in the works. If anyone has any "07" Polaris news please fill us in. In the same issue I was pleased to read they felt the Scrammbler" 10+ year old design could still hold it's own against the Yamaha"s Wolverine. Though I don't always agree with their "opinions"this article on these 2 machines seemed to be unbiased and stuck to factual experiences that matched the attributes of both machines. maybe Polaris will build us a killer sport-ute that will still be at the front of the class 10 years from now.

 

the fact is to sell a 700 to consumers it would have to be soooooo detuned that a properly tuned 550 could tear it down. (remember the detuned 660r vs. the predator?) If they made a 700cc but built it as hard as the Predator, i would buy it in a heart beat! but if they want to avoid law suits... they can't do that... it's not likely, and if it does happen, it will be very detuned. Still, that detuning does yield reliability... would probably make a heck of a Baja motor... but i've been told there's not EFI in baja, which is why the DS650 is still carb... oh well... speculation is always fun!

 

I definitely agree that Polaris can make leaps and bounds by lightening up their products. I don't know if it was biased at all, but Dirt Rider Mag did a head to head with the Outlaw vs the Raptor 700. The Raptor beat it in just about every category. The only thing they recommended the Outlaw for over the Raptor was slow riding on technical trails with lots of big rocks and obstacles because of the ground clearance the Outlaw offered. The Outlaw outweights the Raptor quite a bit for giving up 170cc's. I think they will enter the land of displacement, as will Honda. For the Weekend Warrior who wants power, but also wants a reverse gear, electric start, foamy padded seat, and a wet bar on the back.... displacement can make up for the weight. Not to mention our fat butts on the machine!

 

i think it may be an avenue for them to make a big bore,but they already hit 75 mph+ with an standard
500 thumper so that mean a 700 should be heavily detuned to pass the emissions laws,efi is the way to go
but that is old technology i would't have that in my power sport vehicule,a lot too finicky to fine set,and you cannot get the whole power out of the motor,the new ktm engines are coming i thing there a new line-up
coming with smaller higher efficient motors.

 

They have to shed some weight. More cc's is not the complete awnser. Weight hurts you're jumping, speed, and handeling! If they put the 450KTM motor in and lighten it up a little the predator will be in the mix as far as that class.

 

I was told by a Polaris rep who called me about my Outlaw, and he said they went to KTM for the engins to compete with the others and Fuji is being taken out. He also said the KTM 450 is 30lbs lighter then the Fuji 500 which is in the Pred. So just swapping engins would put the Pred at 385lbs. Then if they put the same Dunflops that are on the others, they would get the weight to 372lbs. So it would not take much to match the others.

 

speakin of the KTM motor...a guy from another site did a ktm motor swap already on the pred. looks pretty sweet