I checked out trailrider500's video and he did beat all the quads he raced (505ex,450r Honda,Raptor). He did line up against a CRf 450r (motocross bike) and took him out of the hole,but it looked like the the 450r reeled him in by half track,but hey,it's a dirt bike not even half the Predators weight.I was impressed needless to say.Check it out for yourself!

 

Is the Predator the only decent Polaris? I know the Scramblers are junk from personal experience with several of them, and we know Polaris as a whole has a terrible reputation for durability, but the Predator is the only Polaris I haven't heard horror stories about. It's also the only Polaris that doesn't lose 90% of its value as soon as you leave the dealership with it. Heck, if it wasn't so damn ugly I might even think about getting one!

 

I haven't heard of Polaris's breaking all of the time. The sportsman line holds up real well, and so far so does the pred.(or when it doesn't, polaris will actually help you out on it). I don't think you know too much about what you are talking about, because the scrambler(or in 2x4 version, which I think is still called a scrambler now, used to be a sport) was a very nice machine. It was heavy, but could be dropped easily. The motor is a powerhouse, and most guys in here will say that. You can mod that motor to get plenty of power(80-85hp pretty easily). Anyways, I think you need to look into what you are saying . You guys should all jump on the polaris website(www.polarisindustries.com) and check out the new preds. Polaris has stepped up, they are still heavy, and 500's but they are getting nicer by the minute. A very reputable guy told us that the orange(tld) pred looks very nice in person, and the picture doesn't do it justice. The regular preds this year, are red. They have a fixed seat too.

 

I think the utilitys dont break as much as the pred, because they are not ridden as hard. Both of my poolaris' (tb 250 and xpress) never broke. I never rode them as fast as I rode any other quad, because I do would not live to tell about how I did!

I beat a fat guy with a piped pred, on my stock raptor.


You people have to give more credit to the raptor, because of it, pretty much every quad has a raptor look alike front end. There are even little 90s that are made by like pandahantoki that are called mini raptors.

 

I think it is funny how you raptor and predator guys argue all the time. The fastest four stokes still are slower than the fastest true 350 banshees out there. Maybe yall should unite and try to take down the real competition. The two strokes aren't getting slower. In fact they are getting faster. There is a 500cc 250r cylinder in the making as well as badder and badder banshees getting built everyday. There are a few nitrous 350's that will run in the high 3's. I haven't seen a thumper do that yet.

 

too each their own. I prefer the smooth reliable power of a 4 stroke.

 

Several of my friends got 500 4x4 Scramblers in 99 and 00 because it appeared to be the perfect machine, basically a Warrior with more power and four wheel drive. Then every one of them had repeated major failures that left them stranded deep in the woods. Things like chains breaking, belts breaking, a arms falling off and starters going out. Chain and belts breaking was the big problem that happened the most, but when two of these guys had a arms fall off (one of them was in the air when it happened, imagine the landing!) that was the last straw. The real kicker was when they tried to trade them in on Hondas and Yamahas and the dealerhips would only give $800-1500 for their one year old machines! One of my friends still has his Scrambler sitting in his barn and the rest Ebayed them or pawned them off on suckers locally for about $2K.

Just to give you an idea of the name Polaris has earned in eastern IA/western IL, three dealerships have closed in the last couple of years and you NEVER seen them out on the trails at Solon, down at Montrose or especially being raced at Flint Bottoms, Mt. Pleasant or in Kahoka, MO. I think the only people who buy them are farmers who absolutely refuse to buy Japanese.

That said, I am still a huge fan of the Predator after riding one around the Flint Bottoms (by Burlington, IA) MX, TT and oval tracks. It feels heavier than my Raptor, but it's such an incredible improvement over any other Polaris and I'd like to see US manufacturers be more competitive with the Japanese ATVs.

 

Polaris had a notoriously horrible reputation for reliablility for a very long time. Since 01 they have really cleaned up their act. That bad reputation is the reason that so many people dislike polaris. They were burnt by one, or thier friends/family was. And we all know that bad news travels farther and lasts longer than good. Lets just all hope that polaris continues to improve the quality of their machines and listen to the customers.