Well, for the 2003 year I decided to try something different for my riding and casual racing season. I reluctantly sold my 2000 Honda 400EX for the Polaris Predator you see above. I did break two of my rules when getting a new quad... Staying with Yamaha or Honda and buying a first year model. Usually, the first year of anything has it's problems, and smart buyers usually wait until the next model year before plunking down the cash. This was the case for Honda's 400EX, Yamaha's Raptor and Suzuki/Kawasaki's 400 with it's frame problems.

On paper the Polaris is very impressive. Braided steel brake lines, scalloped and vented front brake rotors, heavy-duty axle and chain, water cooling with a heat activated cooling fan, a wide aggressive stance and a high-revving 4-stroke powerplant. I already has many of the aftermarket items I want and Polaris has quite a selection of Pure Polaris accessories to keep things interesting. It's even pre-wired for a tether kill switch showing Polaris is serious about the Predator's intentions.

At the time of this writing I have only had about 4-hours of seat time on the Predator but I figured I would give my early, first impressions of my experiences I have had so far and how it compares to other quads I have ridden.

I went to my local Polaris dealership to purchase my quad and was happy to find out Polaris has a 6-month, same as cash deal going on. Even though I had saved enough to purchase it I decided to go with the 6-month plan in case anything else came up that I needed quick cash. Andy, at Team Polaris, was extremely helpful in setting me up and after an hour or so wait I was loading up my new Predator in my truck and off I went looking for a place to unload and ride.

OK, enough of this boring stuff... I know you really just want to know my impressions of how this quad stacks up so I guess I'll get right to it. I am judging this quad from my previous quads I have owned and my buddy's 2002 Yamaha Raptor and 2004 Yamaha YFZ 450. These are just my opinions and nothing more so others may disagree. For most of my review I will be comparing it to the 400EX.

Continued