I see lots of Z400 owners crying after they run across a raptor on the track or trails. They were led to believe that there Z was the best by the magazines only to find out in the real world that they are slow compared to a raptor. They cannot run and hide from a raptor on the trails and the Z's swing arm gives limited travel while on the gas due to incorect geomentry. As sergent friday would say- Just the facts. There is a reason that ALL quads are compared to the Raptor. Raptor is simply the best all around and what few flaws it has CAN be fixed.

 

well thanks to all who answerered my question.

BTW, the suzuki still has weak frame welds and other flaws that need to be corrected. Have a nice day.

 

As far as raptor being the benchmark goes. Speed and power wise sure, everything else I think it has trailed the competition some and hasn't been the performance target. As far as stockers go, I think the predator would be the bike to beat in the "all around" dept. It will take some time for the non-believers to accept it though.

 

Thumper- You may be right but IT IS a poopalaris. That is its worst enemy. lol

 

thumper400ex,

Let me light something up here and then I will read your post 10 times and then I might believe.

cough [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Pooplaris? personally, I like craptor. Only time will tell if Polaris has addressed their quality issues. Personally, I think they have. I've had about 60 hours including mx races on my 03 pred and its running stronger and smoother than it did just a couple weeks ago. I'm still shocked that I can take a $6000 quad off the showroom floor and competitively race MX.

Problems: the big goose egg, nada! Put that in your bong and smoke it!
Big *** Grins: Too many to count!!!! I especially love it when craptors come out to play on the track. Hee Hee

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Knock on wood I don't lose my tranny tomorrow...ahemmm wait a second I forgot the predator isn't made by Yamaha. LOL!!

 

but doesnt that shifter just annoy the hell outta u? Its a nice ride, but that and the seat position is kinda weird. Enjoy your pooplaris predator.lol

 

Thumper- be careful on the poopalis predaturd. The left the bolts loose on the left side and the chain roller self destructs. The predator is okay but i polaris is the LAST person to be picking on raptors. I do not think that are going to take the hammering raptors take. But if you bought a polaris you probably do not ride hard. We played with one all day taking turns on it. At the end of the day it was a nice quad but it can never be built to run to my standards for 8500 dollars. Buy a polaris and add a pipe and be happy. If you want more than that you bought the wrong machine.

 

14mins- I don't like to fiddle with the internals on the engine. I stick with bolt ons. In the end its more reliable and I've got a little extra change in my pocket going jing a ling a ling. I think Polaris with the help of Fuji achieved more with a 500cc factory engine than Yamaha did with 660cc and an extra valve. Sure, its got a hotter cam, better port work, and a higher comp piston which some people will argue that means the engines almost maxed out and theres less head room for performance tinkering. Personally, I love it when it gets done right the first time right from the factory because it means I don't have to spend the extra money to do it right myself. No doubt, the craptor will always win with all mods equal simply because of the displacement. In the end I don't want a muscle car for a qaud -I want something thats very well rounded without having to throw a lot a dough to get it there. The predator hits that mark better than any other quad.

BTW, I lost about three bolts off my Honda the first month I rode it. So far, its zero for the Predator and I have yet to see the chain roller problem. Trans is noticeably smoother than when new but it still isn't where the Honda is. Not a big sacrifice given the performance I get in return.

As for the comment "But if you bought a polaris you probably do not ride hard." LOL!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] I have a few bones that would tend to disagree with that comment.

Enjoy that Raptor 14mins, It sounds like you've put the money into it to get it where it needs to be and then some. I just hope you widened it up so you don't barrel roll on the turns.

 

i wouldn't say the predator hasn't had any problems, i've heard of a couple problems from predator owners.

like the seat likes to come off when jumping, or something along those lines.
and if you are crossing water it stalls, and they have had to push it out of the water and restart it, but there is suppose to be a fix for this one.

when i was making my decision on which quad to buy i was deciding b/t the LE raptor and TLD predator, i chose the raptor and got it for the same price or less than you did. i got my 03 LE raptor for 5999, didn't have to pay tax.

i know the raptor is a great quad, and from all the "talk" i would assume the predator is also. I would say they are the two best 4 strokes on the market today. but i would still take a raptor over the predator, no doubt.