Hey all - A newbie here to ATV's. I want to use one to hunt in colorado and ride trails w/ the lil gal. I have been looking at the polaris H.O. and eiger. Someone said the Bobardier outlander outclasses them all. I had not heard of the outlander and the Rotax engine until today. Is it that good and why?

Mac

 

I was in the same position back in March. Some of my family had ventured into quad riding last year and among the brands they own are Hondas, Polaris 400s, Suzuki Eigers and a Kawasaki. I had done some research and settled on either a Honda or Polaris. I, along with my wife was supposed to meet the family one Saturday morning and test ride the different quads, but we missed the connection and decided to go on over to a dealership in another town that carried 4 of the major brands of Honda, Yamaha, Polaris and Bombardier. The owner of the dealership patiently listened to us and what we thought we wanted. I had committed to buying a Banshee from my son for sport riding, but for my wife and for the times I want to go hunting, I wanted a comfortable trail machine. I told him my brother who owned the Polarisess said the only complaints he had was they were heavy, and the shifting could be hard. The other parts of my family had no complaints with their quads. My wife and I both said we would get the Polaris 400 and told him to go ahead and write one up. He said he would like to show us one more machine that he really liked, but did not want to pressure us as the Polaris was a fine machine. I told him to go on, and he proceeded to show us the unique features of the Outlander 400XT HO. He said it weighed over 100lbs less than the Polaris but had a stronger engine, he pointed out the position of the disk brakes, he told us about the frame and best of all, he showed us the trailing link suspension that was the kind used on motorcycles. Being a dirt bike rider, that sold me! My wife liked the very comfortable seat and the fit of the quad. The only things the Polaris had was more storage and a handle bar mounted light. So we had him write it up and it has been a very good machine for us. I would also recommend looking at the Suzuki Eiger as I have read some comparisons to the Outlander 400 and it is very close. The price is a 1000 bucks less, but it does not have that TTI suspension of the Outlander and the other features that are unique to the Outlander. Lastly, when I was building a homebuilt airplane some years ago I heard that Bombardier was the number one builder of aircraft engines in the world (not just ultralight engines), and the Rotax was very reliable.

Hope this helps,

Chips2000

 

recently got the a 05 Polaris Sportsman 500 H.O. limited edition, we had a 95 sportsman 400 before this one and we beat the crap outa the thing, my uncle has 2 and they goto hell and back, still kicking, Polaris has a lot of minor problems but the engines never kicked on us so i was not hesitant to buy another. my uncle also has 2 Prairie's, 1 650 and 1 700, real nice machines, wheelie on command for a 4x4 which is cool but i am a big fan of the true 4 wheel drive, none of that diferential stuff, plus the sportsmans are the coolest looking, specially the limited editions! My uncle didnt think my 500 HO would pull my Dodge Ram 1500 up a paved hill....you should the seen the look on his face when i popped that baby in 4x4 low range and pulled it with ease, i was surprised at how easy it was. I do like the Outlanders, Bomb's rotax bulletproof engines are a huge plus and i hear they r quick as some twice their size. I suggest goin and ridin each to find the best suited one for you

 

Yeah, I think one could line all of the top brands up and blindfold yourself and point and you would be happy with whatever you started riding (as long as it fit your needs). Over the years, I have owned Honda street bikes, a Bultaco dirt bike, Yamaha dirt bikes, Yamaha Banshee, Sea Doo PWCs, Kawasaki Jet Skiis, Suzuki Outboard motors, and now a Bomb Outlander 400, and so far they all have been excellant and reliable machines (for their times) and ran good until they were either crashed or sunk or otherwise abused! As I mentioned in my previous posts, my family at this point owns Hondas (both trail and sport), Yamahas, Suzukis, Kawasakis and Polaris quads, so eventually I will have the opportunaty to ride them all, and I will report back my impressions as unbiased as possible.

Chips2000