[usmcquader]

How does the Predator ride in these areas for trail riding and such? What kind of gear ratios/ tires are people running for hill climbing torque and good trail riding power?

Excluding deep mud, how does it compare to a scrambler 500 for trail riding and light mudding? How about rocky areas?

I surely like the conveniece of the automatic ( I am not sure I like the manual and no reverse) and pushbutton 4wd of the scrambler, but the lightweight, awesome handling, and speed of the Predator is definately tempting.

How well will the Pred do a little bit of mud (with better tires like REALTORS or MUDSHARKS) and trails. I must ride in southern WI trail systems and Badlands in Attica, IN. Also, during the off farming season, the snowmobile trails on the farm systems of north IL, which can get pretty muddy when they melt.

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[tmoreau]

I live in Batavia and ride the badlands and central wisconsin trails with my predator. I dont know what trails your riding in southern wisconsin but there isnt much of anything better than a predator for the badlands. There is plenty of mud in central wisconsin (black river falls mostly) and about all sport quads are the same in mud, which is not too great. Everybody I ride with has gotten through the muddy sections though with a little finesse and nobody has mud tires. If your just talking about a little slop on an otherwise solid trail then no problem, its when the mud is deeper or there are ruts that your really screwed. If thats the scenario the scrambler wont help all that much, you really need idependant suspension, 4wd, and a winch.

About the manual transmission, I had a sportsman before and I didnt think I wanted to do all that clutching and shifting etc... I LOVE IT! Give me a manual or give me death. Reverse just isnt needed that much, I rarely find myself nose up to some impassible obstacle. The predator is light and can be lifted/pulled out of mud or back away from a tree if needed much easier than the scrambler.

Rocks, well that depends on what kind of rocks. Anything that I have ever found in illinois/indiana/wisconsin is a far cry from rock crawling and the pred would do fine. Its a rough ride though and if your going to ride through boulder fields often a plush riding (non-sport) quad would be easier on your body.

Do you own a scrambler now or are you trying to choose which of these that you want to buy? The predator handles trails so well, its impossible to describe how fun it is to have this kind of power handling and stability right there literaly at your fingertips. This is a riders machine for sure, I see a scambler as more of a compramise, a cruiser that can play a little.

 

[usmcquader]

Thanks for responding tmoreau!

Actually, I have a well modded Scrambler (02 500 4x4) that I love. The 4x4 can be a lifesaver, but only becuase I tend to go to hairy places becuase of it.

As for rocks, I was reffering to the situation in badlands in the streambeds where by the pipes. I have seen some 400EX's get centered or otherwise stuck. How is the predator in the lower badlands mud trails and the green or orange trails? What is the deepest mud you have navagated?
How did it do up and down some of the muddy hills in badlands (steep ones) and the steep sand/pebble hills? Climbing, digging, speed, etc?

The cheese log (spelling? name correct?) in souther wisc just over the IL border to the West. It is about 2 1/2 hours from Chicago. We are going there in 2 weeks and after that I will probably make the final decision.

Any other info would be great!

Thank you!

 

[tmoreau]

Have you been to the cheese country trails before? 30mph speed limit on the whole trail, 10mph near houses or in town. They are aparently fairly well policed also. You might have fun there if you ride that little 90...

Mud
I got stuck in some mud so deep my skipplate was sitting on it and it was so thick I had to pull myself out (on foot) using a tree. I also got stuck when I high centered the rear skidplate in some deep ruts. Other than those types of situations it seems that with a little expirience you can get through a surprising amount of goo. I rode the sportsman with several groups of sport quads and they almost never failed to make it through the nasty muddy spots on the trails. I wanted to show off where my 4wd would take me but ended up embarassed that a 2wd could make it too, although they had to work much harder.

Hills
I have climbed everything I have pointed it at so far except once I didnt have enough momentum for second gear, downshifted near the top of the hill and couldnt find the throttle position between wheelie and stalled motor fast enough. It was so steep that my brakes couldnt even come close to holding me so I went backwards REALLY fast. I now aproach those types of hills in first or with some more speed in second. The other bad thing that has happened to me on loose gravely hills is spinning the rears and digging them in. You fix this by hopping off and picking the back end up and out of your holes or by going faster in the first place with less tire spin. Overall, it takes a little more skill but I like climbing hills with this much better than the sportsman, hard to describe it really.

I havent been right at the bottom of the pipes but I have gone down the stream from 50yds downstream all the way to the end, no problem at all. Sport quads are light and the rear tires tends to float in really deep water making it difficult to get traction. You also get humg up on ruts or a giant rock under your skidplate but thats easily avoided by picking a better line. If your picking your way through a bunch of really big rocks like that, the ride is very rough but you more than make up for it when you open it up on the trails, slide the corners, and blast up the hills.

Really the question is HOW do you ride? Fast and agressive? Conservative, taking in the scenery? Do you look for mud or would you be ok with going around the deep sections?

 

[usmcquader]

Thank you for all the information. As for how I like to ride... I still havent figured that out yet...

 

[mid_life_crisis]

USMC,
I just spent four days in the westerrn UP riding in the deep woods country.I just got the Pred in June. I have a lightly modded Traiboss 325 that my buddy used while we were there. The Pred was great except for 2 things: River crossings and serious boondocking.
Where my bud's cabin is required crossing a shallow rocky river, in and out. The Trailboss walked through it. EASILY. The Pred's rearend liked to float. Even with my fat ass plopped as far back on the seat as possible with a gal gas-can/six-pack cooler grab bar. Plan on getting wet! Second, the electronics under the battery HATE getting wet on mine. I'd start spinning in the 12" deep water and stall. We had to pull it out and dry it off twice. Wet, squishy boots...I plan on some dialectric grease and liberal silicone spray attention soon.
Slow speed sucks. We ran some old logging trails. All grown up with grass and deadfalls. The Pred is seriously overgeared for this.Clutch slip city... Def. plan on adding the smaller front sprocket. Might even consider a set of taller rears for "backwoods" style riding.
This bike shines on everthing else though. The suspension just soaks up the washouts. It' a far better hill climber than my Trailboss (gravel pits). With some practice, it 'll be a good tree hopper. Shifting takes some practice.
Hope this helps!

 

[foxracingpredator321]

i went from riding a heavley modified Polaris Scrambler 400 4WD to a Predator and love it....the change was the best decision i think i have ever made..the predator can handle everythign and it is very easy to gte the shifting down..i does great on any trail or any race trcak....much better than the scrambler