Polaris Preadator???

[Bryan_D]

Ok so I am almost posetive that I will buy a TRX450R in the next month or so and possibly a Z400 for the wife, but when I was looking at the 400s they had a new Troy Lee Polaris with all this hoopty stuff done to it which the "sales" guy says he think will get quad of the year. Is this true, is it really a nice quad. The TLD version has a closer gear box, fox resi shocks and douglas rims to start out with all for 6500.00+ reverse. Is this a good quad or was the sales person doing just that??? Thanks

[Disco_Chief]

My friends dad has one and he got rid of his 04 to get it it is suposed to be closer gear ratios and faster thatn the 04's. It does ride very very nice and has good power, but he was still breaking it in so we could not get to crazy or race the bikes yet. I would buy that bike over anything else right now for myself. Even though I the yamaha 450's are faster. But for wifey you can't go wrong with the z400

[therail]

id skip on the polaris. they are heavy and slow compared to a red or blue 450. the yamaha is the fastest one of the three, no doubt. it has a few features that are desirable, e start, dry sump and build potential. the honda is kick start, which i prefer, has a cool split case oiling system, and also has build potential. its really a toss up between the yamaha or honda on the 450. if you want the honda get the honda and vice versa. but if you havent tryed the forward kicker yet, it takes a few tries to get used too. and wear boots too, if it comes back and smacks ya in the shin it hurts like a mofo.

[Bryan_D]

Thanks for the help. About a half dozen of my buddies have the Yamaha 450s and I cant stand to be so much like the rest of the pack and I know that they are close so I am going to ride red/black and the wife is gonna get the Kawi version of the z-400 with white plastics for her cause the yellow and orange and green are ugly to her, so if it keeps her happy. Any mods for the wife bike besides paddles???

[elcaprerunner]

Anyone know the weight differences between the Predator's and the Honda's?

We have had both Honda's and Polaris and both have been great bikes. We sold the Honda (it was small) a while ago and still have 2 Polaris'. The ones we have are the slowest, most heavy bikes I've ever seen (it takes 3 people to lift the ass end of the Trailblazer 250 into a truck) but they can take a beating like nothing I've ever seen, and they are so reliable, you wouldn't believe. We have beaten both of these things to death and nothing has ever gone wrong with them accept when my Dad barrel rolled one down a hill, all it did was break the plastics and bend the steering stem.

I would pretty much be riding 95% desert and trails, obviously I have had experience with both makes but I think I might choose the Honda 450 over the Po. How is the wheel base on the 450? On the 400ex it is real short and I am not comfortable with it at speed, but I know the Po is longer than a 400ex. I've also read the 450 is more of an MX/track bike than the Predator and would be a little harsh in the desert? While this might be a factor, nothing could be worse than the stock strut suspension of the old Polaris' and the HORRIBLE rear shock they had.

So wheelbase, weight, and suspension are what I am looking for, if anyone can help :)

P.S. I won't have the money anytime soon, I plan on buying something new by next December so I can get a low price on a brand new '05 while they are trying to get rid of them for the '06 models.

[therail]

polaris' suspension has come a LONG ways. they still have struts on the TB's, but the pred is a A-arm with C/O design. the wheel base on the red 450 is a little tippy to me. it feels taller and narrower, a bad combination. the honda seat is 1.1 inches taller than a yamaha 450, and the yamaha also has a 1.2 inch wider wheel base. if youre used to riding a yamaha, and get on a honda, you will feel quite uncomfortable. the 500 has a seat height of 32 inches, right in the middle of the two 450's. however it is substantially narrower than either one, at 47.5 inches. the blue 450 being a full 3 inches wider. all of these numbers were pulled from their respective builders' sites. ive personally never ridden the polaris extensively, just the 450's. if i was gonna buy one itd be the YFZ, hands down. but for now, ive got the banshee.

[racer_dude]

I am going to ride red/black and the wife is gonna get the Kawi version of the z-400 with white plastics for her cause the yellow and orange and green are ugly to her, so if it keeps her happy. Any mods for the wife bike besides paddles???


the suzuki ltz400 is with white plastics, not the kfx400....

we have paddles on our ltz400 and if you arent going to race anyone then they are perfectly fine stock

[Bryan_D]

I realize that the Kawi isnt white but on the orange ones it has white coils and then we would change to white plastic. Reason being is the Honda dealer has Kawi not Suzuki so we could finance them together. I was actually looking at the kfx 700 v-twin that is auto that might be the best for her I think due to it being fully auto with reverse so it would be basically get on and go and then if I needed something with more torque or a cruise I could take it. What do you guys think about the 700?? Granted it weighs 150lbs more than the 400.

[Kbach66]

Stay away from the 700 kawi. It's basically a utility quad disguised as a sport quad. If you're looking for something auto.....check out the brute force 650. It's auto, lotsa torque, fast, but has some nervous handling characteristics.

About the predator.....stay away....don't let the bling bring you in. They have gotten better in the last few years, but they still can't compare to the others.

[Disco_Chief]

Why do you say stay away from the predator? My friends have both bikes the yamaha 450 is much faster but is a very harsh ride in the dez. The predator is like a caddy in comparison (sp) maybe because it does weight a lot more too. The predator and the 450 are both really quick with some pipes and tuning. I don't see a whole lot that is wrong with the predators, but maybe that is because my friends don't ride hard enough. :)

[Kritter]

Stay away from the 700 kawi. It's basically a utility quad disguised as a sport quad. If you're looking for something auto.....check out the brute force 650. It's auto, lotsa torque, fast, but has some nervous handling characteristics.

About the predator.....stay away....don't let the bling bring you in. They have gotten better in the last few years, but they still can't compare to the others.

A kawi has been racing D37 lately and the one time I was around the finish when it came in it was 2nd...and the d37 quad racers are no slackers!

[elcaprerunner]

What is everyones opinion of Team Alba? I know they have been around a while and I have never heard anything bad about them, but I haven't heard much about them in the first place either. They are offering TRX's and YFZ's done up with graphics, pipes, filters, carb jetting, and other stuff for the same price as retail, no extra $$. I figure if their stuff is worth the money, it is worth the drive to the SD area, no? They also offer financing on everything.

http://www.albaaction.com/atv/teamalba-yfz450.htm

http://www.albaaction.com/atv/teamalba-trx450.htm

[Bryan_D]

I just talked to them and for the trx with all the alba stuff shipped to Az is 7692.00 and for the z-400 alba version is 6992.00 shipped so thats not a bad deal being is has on both:

Brushed Stainless Alba Performance Pipe Kit
Custom Team Alba dyno tested jetting
Pro Flow Filter Kit
(K&N filter, Max-Flow billet Adaptor, Outerwear)
TAG Metals Aluminum Bars
Team Alba Graphics
Matching Team Alba Gripper Seat Cover

[BOLT Performance]

Get the Honda... People say the Yamaha is faster when what they MEAN is it's quicker off the line. But it should be, it's geared for it. Actually, the Honda is faster overall. Drop the spocket one tooth in the FRONT and BACK of the Honda and Yamaha is NO LONGER quicker. and Honda is still faster. Honda is also far more plush to ride than the blue machine and will still be worth more than 2 Polaris quads in 5 years if you need to sell and upgrade.

Make sure to get the Honda hop up kit. Opens pipe and replaces cam to improve exhaust valve timing. Buy a skid plate and a twist throttle and you are done.

Just one man's opinion... Good luck and enjoy the new ride!

[Bryan_D]

Well right now in Phx the hondas are 6300 out the door stock. Then for the 1400 I could do alot of stuff being that the HRC kit is 280.00. There is alot of stuff for them also. The z-400 is what my wife is now gonna get with the white with blue frame. These are like 5400 out the door and she doestn want a bunch of stuff done to it which is cool with me cause then I get to spend more on mine. If anyone does talk to alba talk to a guy named Tony aka Ponch, very cool and was helpful to me. If I get one from Alba and they ship it I dont pay sales tax, but the shipping is almost the same amount so they are 50-50 on that aspect.