Last night I tore apart my new predator abit to examine it more closely cause it was too cold out to ride and I didn't want to watch movies with the gf and her parents.

The air box is cool as in different but you can't drill the lid cause the filter is under it and fresh air is drawn from the bottom of this flat auto type filter to the the top which is then sucked into the carb.

Second thing it is way to restrictive the intake tube is very small around. A Honda 400ex is big enough that you can block it with a spray paint cap the Predator is only half as big.

With the right boot and aftermarket round filter you could do away with the air box completely. Not great for everyone but works for some of us. You could build your own air box around this new filter and boot for more pretection I'm pretty sure it could be done easy enough.

The Head flow on the Intake side looks awsome very little if any work could be done here to improve flow from what I can tell at first look, second look is sometimes better...
But yeah it's large and clean. Nothing like the rough and small intake my EX use to have.

The suspension is excellent for stock also, with the 8 postion resi and the 20 clicker bottom on the rear shock plus the adjustablity at the top of the rear shock and the front one's also you can easily adjust it for your style.

In less than 10 minutes not knowing what I was doing really I was able to add a little sag to the rear end. It's much easier to adjust the bottom clicker on the rear shock by removing the rear skid and you don't have to remove the air box to adjust the top of the rear shock either. But do remember to lift the wheels of the ground when adjusting the suspension cause it's that's much easier.

The rear grab bar I thought seemed to high for my likeing so I flipped it upside down to lower it and it's now much easier to lift.

I also removed all those pesky warning stickers with no problem. The parking break works the front brakes not the back and works awsome so you can lock all four wheels by putting it in gear also. Some people said there seat was hard but mine was built on a Saturday when the guy's where having a beer and it's nice and soft, atleast compared to my ex.

Dry weight is heavy at 416lbs but when compared to a 399lb Raptor you have to remember it is a bigger machine it has a wider width, longer wheel base, heavier tires, really strong rear axle and the steering adds alittle weight but is worth it. When riding a Pred it doesn't feel any heavier or bigger then a 400ex or Z the ergos are very close.

I have never ever been a Polaris fan and always loyal Honda and my second choice being Yamaha, but after having alot of seat time with every performance model available the 2003 Polaris TLD Predator is my winner and the best quad for my style of riding and it is a quad that all the other brands will have to take a second look at when releasing a new quad.

Anyways, I'm writing way to much sh it, I'll be posting more pic's here soon.

 

If you take a close look at the outside of the air-tube, right off the carb, the diameter expands. This looks like an air inlet system that should only need a K&N to become ultra effecient.


Ken