As noted elsewhere, we recently picked up a 2003 Predator 90 as an upgrade from our son's 2002 Suzuki LT-A50. So far it's been an excellent upgrade. While we really liked the LT-A50, we had reached the end of its usefulness given our son's increasing age, weight, and skill level. (I would still recommend the LT-A50 as a great first ATV for kids.)

Experiences:

The single best improvement over the LT-A50 is having a CVT transmission. Driving the rear axle directly off the engine limits the LT-A50's ability to trade speed for torque. We had started to run into hill climb limitations on the LT-A50, but the P90 is climbing everything. Having a transmission changes everything.

The LT-A50 had several engine restrictors plus a throttle screw that limited the throttle lever's travel. The P90 has a single engine restrictor - a jumper on the CDI module - plus a similar throttle screw. The CDI restrictor limits RPM's too severely in our opinion. Meanwhile, the throttle screw doesn't begin to have a measurable limit until throttle travel is so restricted that it's almost useless. The only real answer is to run the machine unrestricted, which means training and supervision become all the more important.

The unrestricted (and rejetted, and more opened airbox and exhaust) LT-A50 topped out at about 18-20 MPH on level ground. We've clocked the unrestricted P90 at 33-34 MPH, a huge increase for our son and one that demands diligence and observation. Since he always rides behind one of us we can control his top speed, but still - that's a lot of velocity. Be careful out there.

The P90's electric start with kickstart backup is really nice. Our son struggled with the pull start on the LT-A50. The P90 makes him a bit more self-sufficient.

The P90's hand brake levers are quite a bit farther away from the handlebars than were the LT-A50's. I'm working on bringing them a bit closer so it's not so much of a reach.

The one thing I wish the 2003 version of the P90 had is reverse. I believe they introduced that in 2004-2005. If the 2003 version had reverse it would be perfect. Still, our son doesn't have any trouble getting off and pushing/pulling the machine around when necessary.

The P90's service manual says that the CVT has a sight glass to check oil level. However, this unit has a nice brushed brass plug in that hole - no glass at all. Not sure how to check oil level, but I'll probably find out when I fully service it.

As noted by others, the P90's cooling fan tends to suck up lots of debris. I cleaned out quite a bit of weeds, grass, etc. when going over the machine. It's worth keeping an eye on that to make sure the engine is properly cooled.

There are rumors that the P90's stator also accumulates debris, leading to failure. I blew this one out with compressed air and released lots of dust but nothing major.

Mods:

The only thing wrong with the P90 when we purchased it from its original owner was a broken bracket for a heat shield above the right footrest. The resulting two pieces of metal vibrate against each other and generate a really irritating rattle at anything above idle. Since the broken ends don't overlap I cannot just screw or rivet them together. The OEM replacement is nearly $20 (!!!) so I removed the two pieces, created a metal "splice", and assembled everything using JBWeld and clamps. Worked perfectly for about 2-3 operating hours and then it broke again at precisely the same place. I'm now thinking about a splice with drilled holes, bolts, and nuts.

Soon after obtaining the P90, my son didn't negotiate a turn properly and ran it into a wire fence (not barbed, thank goodness!). One of the wires ran up the front plastic and into the space between the plastic and the handlebar pod. There are a lot of wires and cables there, and the fence sliced right through the wire bundle coming off the keyswitch. This rendered the unit inoperable until I did a "trail splice" on the black (ground) wire that permitted the engine to be kickstarted and ridden home. I have since cleaned, spliced, soldered, and heat-shrinked all four of those wires and then heat-shrinked the four as a bundle for extra security.

In addition to the black ground wire, there is a 12VDC wire in that bundle that comes straight off the regulator. The wire fence apparently shorted those two together because it blew the 7.5A fuse that comes off the battery's positive terminal. Turns out that fuse is an oddball - no one, not even NAPA, had an AGX sized fuse in anything close to 7.5A. Worse, standard AGC fuses are too long to fit into the P90's fuse holder. As a result, I replaced the OEM inline fuse holder with a ruggedized AGC fuse holder, soldering and heat-shrinking all connections. Now we can use off-the-shelf 7.5A AGC fuses available anywhere.

Those rumors about failing P90 stators also suggest that the negative connection to the battery is undersized. I sure thought so when I first examined it - it feels like 12 gauge wire at most (perhaps even 14 gauge). Keep in mind that ALL current in the machine passes through that wire, including starter current. Therefore, I built an 8-gauge negative cable with crimped and soldered ring terminals on both ends. One end goes to the battery. The other goes to a mounting lug on the starter motor, which is the path of highest current flow (and a solid electrical connection to the engine and frame).

So far, the P90 is a great little machine!