Nothing againt Polaris, but I would honestly go with the 450R before the Pred. Or maybe even give the 05 YFZ a shot. JMO

 

I agree, everyone I know has only had trouble with all Polaris's when ridden in harsh conditions that bikes like the Z400, YFZ, and 450R handle with ease. JMO but I don't think you would be happy going to a predator.

By the way craZ400, Yamaha has now changed the Warrior to a Raptor 350

 

A friend of mine bought an '04 Raptor and an '04 YFZ on the same day for him and his girlfriend to ride. With regular maintanance (dealership) they were both having major problems within 6 months. The Raptor lost the one way bearing in the starter twice and the YFZ broke the cam sprocket on the intake side causing the chain to fall into the case, causing the crank to seize. Yamaha "fixed" the YFZ and within 30 minutes of riding it was knocking and rattling in the top end. He took them both and traded them off for a Honda Shadow. He swears he'll never buy another Yamaha, which I hear from alot of people. IMO, Yamaha has lost a bunch of business in their rush to produce the newest technology. Take Honda for instance. Maybe their stuff's not the fastest, (250R was slower than the LT250, 400ex isn't a rocketship, 450R lags the Yamaha slightly) but in the long run their products are well thought out and damn near bulletn proof!

 

No dount. I heard that's why Honda went kickstart only. They knew if they used a wee little lightweight starter like Yamaha they'd have problems...like Yamaha.

About the new technology, no doubt. The 01 Raptor was the "Edsel" of the quad world.

 

KInda sounds like when they rebuild the top end of your bike they screwed the pooch . I would almost bet the tolerences some where in the oiling system were to wide . This would lower your oil pressure and volume . It would basicly run out some where else and not deliver it to the valve train like it should .
Second was it still under warranty? If yes and there denying claim ask them to deny it in writing and state the reason for denile .
Do you have a e-mail address for the dealer ship ?
We should all send them a standardized e-mail stating how we are dissapointed in there representation and US the 1000's of member would like to see you taken care of .
United We Stand

What the e-mail addy Pudl????

 

The dealer has been extremely helpful, and he has good mechanics. But it's Yamaha that is being a pain in the ****. I went to a dealer of every brand today and sat on every "race ready" sport quad out on the market. The 450R fit me best in stock form. The seat is definately much more comfortable than my yfz seat. It may not be quite as fast, and kick starting might be a pain, but at this point, those are 2 very little imperfections against reliability!! I'm pretty sure the honda won't let me down!

 

It seems like everyone that take's their bike in for maintance has problems. I have never had a problem with my 7 yamaha's i have owned but i have never taken them back to the dealer for maintance.

Imo get an 05' yfz and try it out or the 450r.

 

have u checked out the new troy lee pred!!! its got a sweet new tranny in it

 

I don't really get why polaris in general gets bashed constantly. They got efi before any other major manufacturer did. They can be modded to go very fast. They are made in america. The reliability has gone up quite a bit in the last few years. They make a sport quad to compete with the other manufacturers and it gets bashed by everyone except the people that ride it. I would take a predator over a raptor anyday. I don't really care if it is a whole 10 pounds heavier. And believe it or not, there are some fast preds out there. Check this one out. link This bike runs 7.2's on nitrous. Any four stroke that gets into the 7's in the 1/8 mile is very fast. The owner of this quad is on this forum. His forum name is dragpredator. UBETRUN will confirm how fast this bike is for the raptor owners that refuse to believe. For comparisons sake, a piped raptor will run in the 9.2's and most 686's run from 8.5's-8.3's.

 

i believe thats doug nicholas of www.nicholascylce.com and he doesnt run nos on his pred!! nor does he run alky. look at trailrider500 sub pro he has a video of it dirt dragging and beating a modded crf450