Polaris Predator

[Woody_YZF]

Has anybody actually ridden one of these? A local pro that I am acquainted with races a Honda 250r and is sponsored by a Polaris dealership and they wanted him to race the predator, so they hooked him up with a demo and he went out to ride it and when he jumped off a jump that lands on a downhill, the front shocks went so low that the front bumper hit and endoed him and he ended up with a broken collar bone and some broken ribs and a sprained wrist. It was my understanding that this bike is supposed to be awesome, especially the shocks (Fox Shocks). I am just looking for some other opinions of people who own these. What's the word on the streets?

[2fun]

Haven't ridden one yet, but I tend to ignore the hype till I see it and experience it in person.

Seems everyone hypes up their "new quad" when its first produced, but a few years out in the "real world" will show the real truth of the matter.

[Rockey]

From what I hear, the Predator has a sweet motor. The shocks are supposed to be top quality also. Maybe it was a prototype fluke? Maybe the guy jumped wrong? I hope to learn more about this machine.

[Woody_YZF]

He is a pro rider, so I think I'll wait and see before I jump on the bandwagon.

[Blitz393]

i have not actually ridden one, but while at the races the polaris Big Rig was there, and handed out demo's for people to ride. most (2 of 3)of them won their classes, even on the MX track, the other the TT track. from what i saw, they were great machines, but like i said earlier i didn't get to ride it.

-Rob

[Woody_YZF]

I badly want to ride one of these. I kind of like the idea of getting one, but I'm just not convinced. I bought a couple Raptors their first year and ended up replacing a couple transmissions, so I'm just not sure, especially with Polaris lack of experience in the 5 speed category. All of their other machines are automatic.

[Woody_393]

The tranny point is a good one.

From an article I read they said you couldn't speed shift the tranny at all (shift without the clutch). You HAD to use the clutch.

[Blitz393]

i wouldn't suggest shifting WITHOUT the clutch anyway. it's just a habit for me to hold the throttle pinned and blip the clutch long enough to shift, and in between shifts it gains RPM's. this technique was learned trying to get the most out of racing my TT-R in the 80 class :

[Woody_393]

I personally don't do it either, but you would be surprised how many other racers do.

[2fun]

Originally posted by Blitz125
i wouldn't suggest shifting WITHOUT the clutch anyway. it's just a habit for me to hold the throttle pinned and blip the clutch long enough to shift, and in between shifts it gains RPM's. this technique was learned trying to get the most out of racing my TT-R in the 80 class :

Well said!
I would NEVER try to shift without using the clutch.
It can be done, but only at the expense of premature wear and tear on all parts involved. Me, I like to try and make things last as long as possible.

Woody is correct, there are actually many people who shift with no clutch when racing.

I just hope I'm not one of those people who buys their quad when the go to sell it!

[Woody_YZF]

Come to think of it, it would actually be nice not to shift when you don't want to because I just bought some boots and I am shifting all over the place when I don't mean to. I'm getting used to it though.

[2fun]

Originally posted by woody_raptor
Come to think of it, it would actually be nice not to shift when you don't want to because I just bought some boots and I am shifting all over the place when I don't mean to. I'm getting used to it though.

LOL! Been there done that!!

[Woody_YZF]

I'm going out again tomorrow, we'll have to see if I'm any better at it.

[SandDiegoDuner]

Ok guys I've ridden the Predator and let me say if I was going to buy a new bike that wasn't a 2 smoke I'd have a tough time picking either the Cannondale, DS650, Raptor, or Predator. Money wise the predator can't be beat. It's got decent suspension out of the box as does the rest except for the Raptor which is too narrow and tall feeling. The motor was ok and in stock trim will keep up with a piped and jetted raptor in a drag race up the sand hills at Glamis. I didn't like the way the controls were period. The levers need to be adjusted and the peddles just don't feel right. Your feet feel like they are behind you and up kind of high (even for a short 5'-7" person such as myself). The seat is really hard but the suspension if setup correctly will make up for that. Power comes on pretty smooth but it's meat is in the midrange. If you try to lug it too much it just makes noise. Coming from my Banshee that's been worked up a lot lately I'd give it an overall good score. If I ever sell my Banshee (I won't ever sell it) I'd probably take the Predator due to it being inexpensive and all the money you save could be used to make it that much better than the rest.

[Woody_393]

Seems to me that most of that stuff could be fixed quite easily. Adjustments is all. Some of it would be a little tougher, but for the most part it seems like it would be a sweet bike.

My question for you is how does it turn? did you notice a difference compared to other quads?

[2fun]

Originally posted by SandDiegoDuner
Ok guys I've ridden the Predator and let me say if I was going to buy a new bike that wasn't a 2 smoke I'd have a tough time picking either the Cannondale, DS650, Raptor, or Predator. Money wise the predator can't be beat. It's got decent suspension out of the box as does the rest except for the Raptor which is too narrow and tall feeling. The motor was ok and in stock trim will keep up with a piped and jetted raptor in a drag race up the sand hills at Glamis. I didn't like the way the controls were period. The levers need to be adjusted and the peddles just don't feel right. Your feet feel like they are behind you and up kind of high (even for a short 5'-7" person such as myself). The seat is really hard but the suspension if setup correctly will make up for that. Power comes on pretty smooth but it's meat is in the midrange. If you try to lug it too much it just makes noise. Coming from my Banshee that's been worked up a lot lately I'd give it an overall good score. If I ever sell my Banshee (I won't ever sell it) I'd probably take the Predator due to it being inexpensive and all the money you save could be used to make it that much better than the rest.

Wow!
Sounds like a pretty good report for the Predator! Probably the best one I've heard so far!

I noticed you did not mention the Z400.
Any reason in particular for that!

[Woody_YZF]

Finally somebody who has actually ridden the Predator. My story earlier on the Predator was on a track, which is what I'm most interested in. Has anybody ridden on a track? Ditto Woody_CRF, how does it corner?

[Rockey]

I want to see one in person, hopefully it will drop the reliability problems associated w/ polaris.

[Woody_YZF]

That's a good point. The five speed can't be worse than their automatics. I know tons of people who have had troubles with their autos.

[SandDiegoDuner]

How does it corner... it actually corners pretty level. The designers took some time working with the suspension company (Fox) to make it more race like with a decent amount of sag but still soaks up the bumps. You'll notice once you climb on or see one sitting still with someone on it that the A-arms are pretty much level with the ground keeping the COG center of gravity low. The steering effort is a tad heavy but with the weird linkage system they have I can see why. I tooled around on it a bit more last weekend (2-1 to 2-2) and I still have the same complaints. It's a fast machine if you remember to let off the gas and to pull in the clutch to shift it. If you don't it doesn't want to come out of gear. I looked at the shifter closer and about the only thing you can do is to get a new lever that's in a better position. The foot pegs need to be moved about 3 inches forward as well. These are not easy tasks but I'm sure someone can do it if they have some time and money. Polaris has an aftermarket slip-on silencer for it but don't get it until they figure out some baseline jetting info for it. The silencer is made by whitebro's and it's loud and annoying like everyother piped 4 stroke out there. With all the money I put into my Banshee I could have 2 predators sitting in my garage.... but I still love my Banshee too much to do that.