I had the opportunity to test drive the 800 XT today. The dealer has a field to the side of his dealership that is completely flat and nicely mowed. It's approximately two acres in size. The XT that I rode was was completely new, no miles. I realize there are doubters in here so if you're one you can call Jaimie @ Ajax Kawasaki/Bombardier at (405)634-8400 and he can tell you about the ride as well. I don't claim to be THE AUTHORITY so you can take from this review what you want.

First off, the sound of the XT at idle is AWESOME. It sounds tough. I've read in three magazines that the power delivery is smooth and that the low end is mildly tuned for technical riding applications. I did not find this to be the case. It wheelies with NO difficulty whatsoever from a stand still in high gear. Every bit as easy or easier as a BF. I think it will at least stay with a BF in a drag or maybe beat it. It wasn't broken in, it had 0 miles, so who knows. I don't believe the XT I drove would go 0-75 in 10 seconds as reported. Maybe it would when it's broken in.

I figured it would be like a DS650, mild low end and then mad mid-range. The opposite was true. The low end was wild and then it tapered out. It is smooth as reported, but almost too smooth. I felt the mid-range was a little disappointing. Of course, I only made four runs that took about 5 minutes so I didn't have extensive time on it.

Where this machine shines is in comfort and the IRS system. It's at least as comfortable as a Polaris. The seat is VERY soft and well cushioned. The IRS system is the best I've ever been on. However, I've never been on a Rincon, which is the only big bore I haven't riden. It powerslides easily for an IRS equipped quad. Not as easy as a Prairie but far better than a BF, Grizzly or Sportsman.

Bottom line, I think it's the big bore to have. I personally want the regular model, not the XT. I don't need a winch or the extra racks, etc. The aforementioned dealer is selling the XT for $9,099. I just think that's too steep a price to pay for a quad. I'm going to wait for the regular Outlander that scheduled to arrive in late August. It's going to be about $800-$900 otd cheaper.

If you have any questions feel free to ask, I'll do my best to answer them.

 

I talked to jamie friday and it wasn't there yet. I see you and I are on the same page again. I told him I wanted a Red std mdl. I am not wild about yellow and the extra bucks could go for some better looking rims.

I figured as much on the power sliding thing, I didn't think there could be anyway a IRS even a class leading design like the Bomb that could slide around as well as a power packed SRA like the Prarie. The rest almost can't slide at all so I am sure that its better than the rest. I jamie called and left me a message saturday and I had not got a chance to call him back.

I was wondering if you were the other guy he said he had sold allot of machines to that wanted the first one. You should buy it and bring it to the dunes when we meat up down there. We can bring allot of quads and have our own little shootout.

 

I'm the other guy. LOL

It's a bad machine, but to be honest I don't know if I would even buy the regular one unless the price comes down. Your SP800 is not far behind it, even in the powersliding department. I'm still STRONGLY considering your offer, especially after riding the XT today. If I were choosing between a new regular 800 and a new SP800 though I would DEFINITELY choose the Outlander.

 

Sounds like the 800 is living up to the hype. It stinks that there sending out the XT first, as I don't need all the extra's either. It is good to know that the 3 year warrenty will still be around when they do sell. So if I can get a standard with a 3 year warrenty for under $8500, it will be a done deal. Just sold the SP800 Sunday, so it stinks to have to wait for the standard one's in Aug or Sep. Well it gives me time to see what Polaris will put out for 06.

 

I think the tires on the XT might have also come into play when trying to slide it around on the grass, The std mdl has a less agressive tire, I was thinking might make a difference when trying to kick the a$$end around. Thoses meats on the XT I would think would have to bite harder and hince make it harder to break loose and the added weight of that tire would also hender wheel spin needed to get kicked out there. You are the lucky one who got to ride it, what do think about that thought.


PS. No big deal on the Sportsman what ever you want bud, I want you to buy what you like and will be happy with.

 

It lives up to the hype, no doubt. I'd would have liked to have a BF to drag the 800. I only had about 4 passes on it so I wasn't able to get a real good gasp of the acceleration characteristics. I heard a lot of hype about it going 0-75 in ten seconds and it "smoking" BF's. I don't believe either one of those claims after spending some limited seat time on it.

Another thing I wonder about is the magazine reports that it has a mild low end. I can tell you this, it's got VERY impressive low end. I also read it wakes up shortly after take off and really goes but I just didn't see that. The mid-range was not that impressive. I feel the BF's was at least as good. Maybe it was because the unit hadn't been broken in. Overall, it feels like a faster and better suspended SP800.

 

You bring up a good point cc1999. I didn't even think about that. I bet the less aggressive tires of the regular 800 would make a big difference because the XT has pretty aggressive tires on it. I was able to powerslide it fairly easy with those tires so I bet the regular one would powerslide better.

 

A guy on atvfrontier did drag a BF. He got to use if for a weekend and went to the drag races and smoked everything.

 

See, I'm not saying that it wouldn't beat any stock utility big bore available today. I'm reasonably sure it's faster than anything out. But it won't "smoke" a BF. There's no way.

Another thing to think about, besides the fact that it was fast even though it wasn't broken in, is how much weight will the 800 loose if you drop the winch, steel bumpers, hand rails and tires that the XT comes with. I bet it makes a difference, maybe even a big difference. Then I might concur with it the statement that it will "smoke" a BF. But, we'll just have to see, it's all speculation until someone actually drags them and all of the drag conditions are favorably quantifiable (stock vs. stock, break-in equal on both machines, weight of riders, etc.)

I'm reasonably confident in making the following statement:

A stock Outlander XT will not "smoke" a stock Brute Force. The race would be close with the EDGE going to the XT. However, the other attributes of the Outlander absolutely "smoke" the BF such as comfort and the IRS system.

 

I like the seat being soft and comforatble. The Prairie's have a seat on the stiff side. That soft seat on the sportsman is one of its best features.