How are the Predator 500's?????

[RNL]

I was wondering if I could get some info on the Preds. I'm currently shopping for a good used quad, and I came across an 06 predator in great shape with a Yoshimura full exhaust, bar riser with X bars, procom rev box, k&N air filter, nerf bars, front and rear bumpers, full skid plates, ITP baja, full set of sand paddles, and only used a couple times in the summer. Can I get some info on them? The quad guys I know all ride 450's, Can Am and Honda, and all say Preds suck. They say they're slow, heavy and handle like crap. These guys are pretty one sided in their views usually so I was wondering if I could a good oppinion. How do they compare power wise to the 450's? I'm just a weekend warrior trail rider, not an mx guy, and was wondering if a Pred would suit me well???

[waloud]

I ride an 05 Predator on the trails and love it. One of my buddy's had a Raptor and I kept up with him anywhere we went. The Predator have a great suspension set up from the factory.

[bulldog diesel]

Yes I agree I have a 04 Pred and I love it! bought it new and never had any trouble, we ride 100% sand and the susp. is awesome, yes it is a heavy bike but it has a ton of TQ to move that weight,

[Flynbryan19]

Your buddys, though a tad extreme are actually not far off. It IS a heavy quad, it does not handle as good as the 450's available today, but it does have a decent amount of bottom-end torque.

Unfortunately the predator's have/had alot of cheap wear item parts on them that wore out way to prematurely in my opinion. Things like ball joints, bushings, valves, etc. It was an "ok" quad at best, but the motor was VERY reliable. Unfortunately my predator was just NOT on the same level of the jap quads when it came to build quality.

If you get one make sure you get it CHEAP and when I say cheap I mean NO more than $2200 as you will never get good resale value out of it. The Predators were Polaris' first attempt at a true sport quad and though its not unrideable there are ALOT better options available today for equal pricing...

[royalt67]

Equal NEW pricing maybe. Preds in general run cheaper in price used, so if you can get that one (nice mods BTW) for a good price, go for it. I enjoy the hell out of my 03.

[Flynbryan19]

Exactly and there is a reason they do not hold their value in resale.......

[polaris04predtl]

I have a used 04 Pred TLD 500 and I was in your similar position last Spring. I run mostly trails/xc and wanted to hit the mx track at ATV parks, etc. and be competitive with all the 450's, Raptor 660s, and on... I wanted reliability #1 and the 04 Pred TLD I feel gave me that. This thing is built tough. I ride it hard every other weekend and have raced it XC. I have yet to break anything on it. It may be a little heavy, but for trail guys it's not quite as important as mx guys. With the mod's you mentioned, I would not feel bad at all scooping it up for $2,100-$2,400 right now 6/21/10. If you're not sure, trying riding your buddies 450's and then test out this Pred. I didn't go with any 450's for my purchase as I couldn't find any at the time in this $2,100-$2,400 range. With the down economy yet, you may be able too though. Good Luck!

[RNL]

$2100-$2400 for a 06? Is that really realistic? The reason i was looking at pred was because I was told they are better trail quads than the 450's.....as in suspension comfort and power delivery. I dont do any mx, just powerline riding and up north trails in Michigan.

[boosted660]

Originally posted by RNL
$2100-$2400 for a 06? Is that really realistic? The reason i was looking at pred was because I was told they are better trail quads than the 450's.....as in suspension comfort and power delivery. I dont do any mx, just powerline riding and up north trails in Michigan.
i paid $2000 for my 06 troylee and still had OE tirs on it

[boosted660]

i very disappointed in the predators low rpm power but it realy has lots of high rpm power its hard to keep the front wheels on the ground when going from 1st to 2nd and even 2nd to 3erd it a very enjoyable ride, but i love my 660.

[Flynbryan19]

Originally posted by RNL
$2100-$2400 for a 06? Is that really realistic? The reason i was looking at pred was because I was told they are better trail quads than the 450's.....as in suspension comfort and power delivery. I dont do any mx, just powerline riding and up north trails in Michigan.

In stock form the 05-06' quads w/ the reservior fronts were MUCH better suspended than the 03-04' models. My 03' was very rigid and not plush. I was much more impressed w/ the 05' TLD that I rode. Also keep in mind the Preds are almost 48" wide (47.5" at the rear). I really fought this quad in the tight stuff.

[luigi]

I have a 450r honda and a 04 predator. For trails the predator is much more comfortable. The honda is fun but is much more "high strung" if you know what I mean. When I am feeling really frisky I jump on my banshee.......

[RNL]

After much searching, I decided to make an offer and he's mulling it over. On a side note, just got done watching a few quads drag racing down the side dirt road next to my house. One, 450r Honda, a KTM 525, an older banshee with FMF pipes, and a black Predator with what looked like a Yosh pipe. The KTM beat everything....the 450r and Pred were next followed by the Shee. Wow does that KTM get out of the hole fast!!!!!!!! That thing is unbelievable. The pred and 450r were right there tho to, and the Pred appeared to be a tad faster than the 450r. One thing is for certain, none of these machines are slow!!!

[preddy brian]

I got an 04 pred 50th anniversary edition and really like it. We don't race, we just trail ride and this thing will climb almost any hill you want to try.

[justin.hughes]

I only paid $1350 for my wife's 07 Outlaw 500 IRS. I agree with everyone on if its in good shape then 2100 to 2400 is a very good price.

[ford_tech66]

i have a 2006 troy lee and when i got it , it had a big gun rev box and that cost me lost of money so i would recomend a stock cdi box or at least one with the factory timing retard feture, not to sure if procom has it!

[ford_tech66]

oh and i paid $1,600 and it was knocking

[boosted660]

ford tec did you fix the knock? and i have notetested when i try to race my yfz vs the predator, the praddy want to rev higer the it will let it. does your rev box make a big diff?

[ford_tech66]

ya lol tha rod went threw the bottom of the case lol, never use big gun , get a dynatec or factory

[katch26]

Originally posted by boosted660
ford tec did you fix the knock? and i have notetested when i try to race my yfz vs the predator, the praddy want to rev higer the it will let it. does your rev box make a big diff?

unless youre going to drop big coin on the rev box its best to leave it out of the equation. Revability doesn't equal power, its the same as your 660, even though its revving higher its only will make power to (x) rpm. The jap bike are different because they make power higher up.
think mustang v. honda civic or crotch rocket v. harley.....not in terms of performance but how the motor makes power.

In fact the preddy will be faster if you short shift the gears vs bouncing of the limiter.

[uchi]

ive got an 04 thats got a 530 and an 03 honda 400. the honda is alot more fun on the trails i find, its narrower so it fits through tighter stuff, but the 530 makes so much god damn power the holy **** factor out weighs its inability to fit through things and its other flaws. come up to a hill at a low speed in 3rd pin it and itll blow apart the tires up that hill. hell mine will roast 4th down the park i live near :D

its a good machine but parts are hard to find when you break something and they just arent built as good as the jap machines. my honda even though older feels light years ahead of this thing

[boosted660]

i got all my jetting probs worked out on my stock 06 predator, now if i race my 01 rappy 660 the rappy will pull on it tell about last part of 2nd the the predator will be sis by side not bad for stock.