ive got an 03 predy with tons of mods and i have to say it isnt slow by any means, i cant keep the front end on the ground, at first it was the bigest wheelie machine ive ever seen i could ride a wheelie the whole length of the drag strip on some launches but i got all that figured out with lowerd front end and what not. my pred doesnt owe me a thing it beats many other bikes and has had its times of being beat also. the only thing i would change on it would be the seat its close to sitting on a yfz. (a piece of 2x4)

 

i have an 07 predator 500, it is wicked fast, it will walk down raptors (660, 700) i was doing an open field turnaround, in 3rd 0r 4th gear, the rear end had almost come all the way around, i slid on to the dirt path when she caught traction, the front end came off the ground about a foot, i gave it more gas rode out the low wheelie finished shifting through the gears, now i don't know of any utilities that can do that.
on the track she is a beast, i am still getting used to it, (just had knee surgery, so it will be a while before i can hang on some more) on the drag strip i raced my 400ex (416 big bore and stage 2 hot cam) we took off she stood straight up, i backed off so the front end could settle, and still whipped the 400 bad, the 400 never got the rear tires past my front tires, even letting off to settle the front down,
i think that is pretty darn fast
andy proud owner of an 07 predator 500 (may even sell my cr250, just because i enjoy the predator so much)

 

They don,t sound slow according to this Off Road.com review. 2003 Polaris Predator 500 ATV - Tested by Off-Road.com: Off-Road.com

 

I have a polaris 500, and it's fast. Wheelies are amazing and it's a great atv , I absolutely love it

 

Main thing on the Predator as well as the Outlaw is that you have to keep on top of the maintenance! It comes quicker on these two than any other Polaris atvs. Most problems I had with the Predator was that people would not keep the valves adjusted. It's a pain at times to adjust on this shim under bucket system unless you have a tray full of shims, plus I lost count on the ones that quit running and were dragged into the shop only to find that valves were too tight.Got em adjusted and fired right up.

 

check out my youtube channel below for some videos of a pred. I got one in march and so far i love it, power wise its great, it holds pretty good with my bro's 450r thats modded (cams, full fmf, air filter etc..). for wheelies all you need is a little clutch when sitting otherwise stand up and if you have good traction it pulls great. its really a great machine from what iv road it so far and i love it having a little more wait then the 450 because it makes the ride so much better and more smooth.

 

ALot of people do talk crap about the predators and they are fast for sure but i own best of 3 worlds, a 03 predator 500, 03raptor 660 R special eddition and 02 honda 400ex and a couple yamaha 4x4s, my preddy is bored out .60 over chain sprockets are aftermarket exaust and headers and re jetted it is deffiantly a bad *** beast and defiantly beats my raptor its alot faster but as every one says it is heavy iv had a couple issues with it as well like my front ball joint just fell out on me (that sucked!!) rear axle bearings and front hub bearing but i also ride really hard so that could be just my fault but the 660 and 400ex are so nice and light really easy to wheelie and jump for sure my buddy owns a banchee i personly dont like it that much its fast but sounds like a crotch rocket its really weird but as someone else was saying its the owners that havent had them that long that says they are the best quad and is probably there first quad if any one has any questions you can deffiantly ask i have lot of knowledge one all of these quads

 

The banshee stock is in the top 10 fastest quads ever made.. modified its always #1 check atv drag records the top 500 1/8 and quarter mile records are all banshees lol maybe ride one and educate yourself