Polaris Predator 500

The mum who wouldn't climb onto a dirt bike under any circumstances feels safer on a quad, precisely because it has four wheels, not two, and most of the time is quite happy to putt around doing her own thing while hubby and the grommets do theirs. Quads are family-friendly, and these days that counts for a lot.

Polaris is known worldwide for its work and sports ATVs, its watercraft, as well as snow mobiles and even a twin-cylinder cruiser motorcycle, sold, as far as we know, only in the United States. The object of this particular exercise, the Predator 500, had already copped a bunch of press awards in the US before we got hold of it, so the Americans must have liked it. It also received a number of styling and mechanical updates for this year.

It's a gorgeous hunk of metal, you can't deny that. Modern sports ATV styling suggests an angry wasp, and in silver metallic the Predator is king of the hive. Its stance is aggressive, even menacing, an impression created by the high-mount guards, chunky tyres, bright red shock springs, and twin headlights that, if you stare at 'em long enough, resemble eyes. Wrapped up in a single package, this is everything the four-wheel petrolhead wants, and a whole lot more once he learns to ride with attitude.

The bloke who owns this Predator, Chad Gillard, showed irrational generosity when he said we could borrow it for a few hours, only a few hours after he'd bought it as a matter of fact, from Graeme Boyd at Suzuki Newcastle. Graeme organised the caper, which was very good of him, seeing as he had to line up Chad and another bloke, their girlfriends, and take another quad out there so he could ferry stuff around all day. Meanwhile, the rest of us thrashed around in the dunes, having a marvellous old time and paying back Chad's kindness by running-in his brand new quad for him. It was a win-win situation. I thought so anyway.

To anyone who's ridden a motorcycle, the controls are familiar. No auto gearbox here; it's one down, four up and blast off. The clutch is conventional, as is the front brake control, but for the handbrake lock built into it, an important safety item on any ATV. The throttle is a push-tab rather than the barrel-type throttle you'd find on a bike, and that's about the only familiarisation you need. The engine was nowhere near run-in, so it still had loosening up to do, but the DOHC, 499cc thumper felt much like a modern dirt bike engine to me. The donk is made by Fuji Industries, and although it looks something like a Yamaha dirt bike engine, superficially anyway, its design owes nothing to Yamaha. You get the most out of this engine by revving it, and although the gearing felt a little short to me, the mill certainly pulled hard. It had more work thrown at it than was fair to be honest, given the trail tyres we were using; serious ATVers prefer "paddle' tyres on sand.

The power is very progressive, again, much like that of a big bore dirt bike, so worrying about the engine "lighting up' when you least expect it is something you don't have to worry about. This thing's as easy to ride as any four stroke trail bike, and will be a lot easier for a lot more recreational riders to get used to. It's fast without being scary and is certainly not intimidating.

The Predator has a wider track than the Yamaha Raptor (so has the Gas Gas ATV) so the immediate impression for me was how stable the thing felt. The Predator was right out of the showroom so the suspension hadn't been dialled in, but the machine seemed very sure-footed on big slides and fast turns.

Riding on sand all day is all well and good but I reckon on private land the Predator would be one hell of a trail weapon. On terrain that suits it, fast swoopy stuff with no horrible obstacles like rocks or deep ruts, and with a good rider aboard it would leave all but the most insanely committed dirt riders chewing grit. 

Q. How old are you, Chad, and what do you do for a living?

A. I'm 25 years old and I'm a boiler-maker.

Q. Had much experience on other ATVs or bikes?

A. Yeah, I started riding trikes when I was a kid. Dad always had a couple of 'em, and we had the dunes just across from our house so that's how it all started. I've always been out there. All my mates ride too.

Q. Ever had a dirt bike?

A. Nah. Half my mates do though, and I get to ride theirs. When we ride we usually swap around so I've ridden a few bikes. Q. How come you bought a quad?

A. This is the first one I've ever had actually. I wanted another trike, but they stopped making them in the Eighties so I went for one of these. I wanted a four-stroke, because I reckon they're more reliable. I heard a few blokes braggin' about how good the Yamaha is, but when I heard about this one and all the extras on it, I thought, you know, I might as well go for the Polaris. It was the same price as the Yamaha too..

Q. Have you ridden your Predator yet?

A. Only for an hour or so. It spun me out when Graeme asked me to bring it here for you guys, but no, I haven't spent much time on it yet. You've ridden it more than I have.

Q. Yeah, sorry about that. You've ridden at Stockton dunes now, so what's your first impression of the Predator? Do you like it? A. I reckon it's better than I thought it would be, shitloads better. It's really fast and really powerful. Yeah, I like it!

Okay. You can have it back now.

Q. Hey, Graeme, are the people who buy quads the people who buy bikes?

A. They're very similar. Blokes who buys performance quads want them it for the buzz, and in terms of performance, the thing we're riding today is the top of the buzz tree.

Q. So you reckon most quad owners have had some bike experience?

A. I think so, yeah. The fella who buys a 500cc performance quad is the same one who'd probably be riding a 450 Husaberg or a KTM525. He's done his homework and he wants the trickest thing he can lay his hands on. He's also getting good value for money with a Predator because it has everything. You don't have to throw $1500 at it to make it handle.

Q. How do ownership costs of quads and dirt bikes compare?

A. Slightly less for the ATV I'd say, because you're not paying for registration and so on. The tyres look expensive but in the sand they don't wear out. If you ride in the bush all the time, yes they will wear, but in sand the tyres will just keep going. I've seen (Honda) Odysseys 10 or 15 years old and they've still got the tits on the tyres, because they've always been in sand.

Q. Can you jump straight on a 500cc performance quad like this, or should you buy something smaller first?

A. No, you can jump straight on it. Because it's an electric-start four-stroke, if you've had any experience on a trail bike at all, you're away. Sand is very forgiving too, so out here's a good place to start.

Q. Did this bloke get a discount for bringing his Predator out here? Sorry. Rude question.

Having ridden ATVs only twice in my lifetime obviously qualifies me as a novice, and the fact that those two quads were basically farm bikes leaves me without any experience on a performance machine at all.

My long held view of ATV's is that they seem to be limited in application when compared to their two-wheeled cousins. The fun factor is obvious, but unless I was riding with or against other people I could see myself getting bored, so I was keen to see if Polaris's new crotch rocket would change my perception.

At first glance this thing looks a little like a giant insect from a Japanese monster movie. It actually looks intimidating to ride, which may put some people off, but it really is all part of the fun.

The Predator blasts from a standing start like a jet ski and is happy to rev its bollocks off till the sun goes down, yet even for someone of my limited ATV riding ability, the power felt smooth and predictable.

The Predator's brilliant handling is probably its greatest asset from a novice's point of view. Powersliding is a buzz on anything, but on the Predator it could become an obsession The Pro Steering System, coupled with Fox shocks soak up bumps big and small without a hint of the nervous nasties or surprises. After just fifteen minutes, I was surprised how confident I felt on one of the most powerful quads on the market.

I still think the greatest downfall for quads is the lack of appropriate places to ride, due partly to the fact that you can't get them registered. But riding a performance quad that has power to burn, loves to slide, and was so much damn fun, softened my dim view. This is a serious ATV that will probably help you become a better quad rider no matter what level your at.