Don't know your experiences with Bombardier but every time I have called them I have came away satisfied so I live not in a dreamworld as you suggest. As for setting down for coffee with them I have on a couple of occasions and as recent as yesterday - so get real not everyone is out of touch with the manufacturer as you suggest. While the coffee was with our area representative of BRP and not the president it was still coffee with BRP. The success of the DS is due to enthusiasts is a statement driven by no knowledge of the product - in the years it has been out the DS has been refined as much if not more than any comparable competitors bike while keeping the platform the same as originally intended. The success of any product is a direct relation of how dealers treat the public so the statement is not very well thought out to say the least. As far as manuals have you ever read a owner and service manuals from another manufacturer they all say you should not treat your ATV like an off road vehicle or a sport bike like a sport bike. This post like the one above it I read with skepticism - I still work at a dealer who has sold in the past Polaris, Artic Cat, Honda, Yamaha, Cannondale and Bombardier and out of all those brands Cannondale, Honda and Bombardier view thier warranties with the most interest in the failure and usually ask for the part to be returned if it is out of the ordinary. And out of all of the Above brands Polaris, Cannondale, Artic Cat and Bombardier are by far the superior brands when it comes to making sure the customer was taken care of. All it takes is a dealer willing to get on the phone and calling the correct contacts.
The particular quad being addressed here will have like all brands will experience growing pains like anything new. Engineering can plan for anything but until it is in the real world they do not know what other forces or pressures will be placed upon the machine by the end user (case in point Kawasaki recalled the steering knuckles on the 400 Prairie one time before same design as those on the current bikes, now they are recalling over 150 thousand bikes due to the fact the knuckle still has an issue). I have seen the twins from Polaris experience a host of issues but does that make Polaris junk (not in the least) as we see them with over twenty thousand miles on them all the time. Every quad in this country no matter the brand is registered with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission if at any time you feel you have an issue with that quad that makes it unsafe for use to the general public then you have the right to notify them.
While not fully defendent of any manufacturer as they are going to do whatever is in their advantage to keep making a profit I hate it when someone stirs trouble by making very broad and misleading statements to further confuse us the end users. While a person may or may not be having a problem with an 800 Outlander it still makes me wonder how valid this arguement is considering that everytime this post is started it is edited or deleted by the author for differing reasons. If it is due to the reasons he states then he needs to realize that with every brand there is going to be backlash or loyalist to every brand and deleting information only makes the entire thread skeptical at best. I am not bashing the original author just asking questions to try and get a clear understanding of this post.

 

I think you should try reading an entire post before making arguments to the contrary 'dustin'.

I read most of your post, only on a few of its merits will I agree. It sounds to me as if you have an intimate knowledge of B's workings or at least friendships with dealers/reps. This in itself is enough to prove what I said earlier, and invalidate your observations with respect to B's 'friendlyness'. The absolute end user (I.E. me) who has absolutely no interest in the people who sell/fix the product is the person that is neglected. It shouldn't matter if you don't know the difference between a vv carb or a butterfly carb, the same as it shouldn't matter if you ride with 'the boys' or not. A product is a product. Suffice to say, don't you think it would be a whole other level of product commitment if B at least released suitable product knowledge to people who support older products (and that is assuming you want to call a machine that is only 2 years old an older product)? The cost of a factory service manual is ridiculous!

My experience is this. I called B 3 times. Each time it was stated, "We dont take calls regarding our products, we will connect you to your nearest dealer." Which is OK. No body is stupid here, what you know is at stake is money. To support an older product they will most certainly charge a large premium so they can afford to keep stock at the risk of loss (the reason why you can purchase an aftermarket CDI cheaper than a stock unit). The dealerships have very few instock components for anything other than the DS (at least around here) which again reinforces my point. The support for the DS is a result of the customer, not Bombardier. (this illusion is often used by companies) The DS is an extremely popular machine. Why? Because for its stint as the fastest stock ATV you can buy people bought it in large numbers. This large number of ATV's of course requires a logistic support, which permits parts for the DS to be available at nearly anytime and in stock. At the dealership, it also allows parts to be in stock for part switching (a quick way of diagnosing a problem). As I said, all of this is due to the popularity of the machine which started because of its capability, which then transcended to quantity (which ends unavoidably in a large customer knowledge base). All this (including your familiarity with B reps) which may make it appear that Bombardier is so customer oriented, when they really are not. They RODE the success of the DS. Technically, whats wrong with that? Nothing.

Your 'working' for a dealership gives you an opportunity to understand their inner workings and how things are done. This is an advantage to you. The 'dreamworld' I can say you live in is a metaphor for having a different perspective from your experiences. I know how to operate a wide range of machinerey (as do you I'm sure) but to a person with no experience might look at the 6 handled valve body of a backhoe and say to themselves, 'Thats impossible!'. How preposterous does that sound to you and I? We DO it. You operate from an entirely different perspective, and that is going from 'how does it work' to 'what can I do with it'. I might be trying to be a bit methodical here, but I'm only trying to illustrate a point and maybe help you gain an insite as to what it is to be on the 'outside looking in'. I am a competant mechanic. I saw no reason I should be forced to taking a machine to the dealership to pay a large sum of money to repair a machine I JUST BOUGHT. My own estimate of repair for the thing was around a grand after learning the prices of parts and finding out that the dealerships in my area had never touched a Quest 650. Not that these aren't great guys, but is it unreasonable to have shaken confidence with people that admittadly say they've never worked on one? Is it unreasonable to believe the price of a mistake might fall to me, the customer? Nope, its not. I'm glad I work on my own machine, and recently, I'm glad I fixed my own machine. Bombardier has no support for the 'do it yourselfer'. Even the factory service manual is supposed to be sold to dealerships only. MY opinion of Bombardier customer support is that its awful if you don't go by the dealer.

As far as the thread topic, you must have not read my post in its entirety. While it appears the 800's construction looks minimalistic, and in my own opinion 'cheesy', I didn't say that it didn't appear 'useful'. Or at least capable of handleing its task if only barely.

I'd still never buy one, 10 g is ridiculous for a machine you will trade off in around 4 years. I prefer to 'own' my machines and have the satisfaction of operating them in the 'black'.

 

While I read your post in its entirety I still do not know of a single manufacturer that circumvents its dealers in regards to technical information. I understand now however what you are stating and to a degree I somewhat agree with the information being limited to the end user. One thing to consider however there are companies that have taken the initiative and put information out for the end user no matter the product. I can think of several companies one in particular that comes to mind is riva racing their website offers oem parts for several major brands out on the market. I do have associations with dealers of about every brand on the market as I live in an area that is lucky I assume in being all brands of quads and off road bike within thirty minutes. If I have a technical problem I usually get it answered with this particular brand by calling customer support and usually not in the capacity of being a dealer but heck I never thought I may have a number and I will check and if it is not dealer only support I will pm it to you as they have always been free to answer any of my questions not matter how out of the ordinary it may be.

BTW I picked up a copy of ATV Rider today they have a pick of the Outlander 800 on the cover jumping a dune..In their article they talk about it taking the sort of obstacles that this post originally claimed damaged the quad in question on here. I still wonder about these claims as I have been riding one now for a couple of weeks and believe it to be pretty stout. But opinions are like heads - everybody has one.

 

Thank your for reading my post. I'm sorry that it takes me a while to feel that I've presented my thoughts adequately. Good thing its electronic or there would be a lot of dead trees. There is no customer support number on B's website. The people I talked to (sounded like one guy actually) would not give me a customer support number. I even wrote to rotax twice. They always routed me back to the main number, where they would always connect me to RT sales in Zulu, Indiana.

What you said about customer support through the dealership is right. From my side of the story, tough, it was absolutely absurd to purchase a machine, then have it break just after the time period where I can't take it back. I felt taken advantage of, and at the mercy of Bombardier and its dealerships. Especially with how they talked to me on the phone. All this lead to me doing a lot of reading and research. At one point, I really wanted to make my own computer and pickup assembly (I program microchip's pics as a hobby). The pickup assembly may be a reality, because a solid state version of the same thing can be purchase for dollars AND I can make it cheaply. I could probably sell one for less than half what B sells its part for.

In anyevent, the magazine cover might demonstrate the 'toughness' of the 800, but get out your usermanual that came with the 4wheeler and read its operation guidelines. It will tell you that the 800 is not to be rode like that (I'm sure all manufacturers ship that claim). A disclaimer in other words. Even though the metal looks like the same stuff they make 'tonkatoy' dump trucks out of, I'd ride one if I could afford to buy it outright. My Quest has double wishbone made from steel tube, and the front is very soft. I think the soft front end is intentional in these 'treking' machines, that have to have a soft suspension to accomodate large obstacles.

I'd still like to see that rut he ran into.

 

Let me start by saying that I have 280 miles on a 2006 800 outlander XT. I have been in EVERY type terrain available here in WV with it, and with the exception of sand dunes, that covers about everything. I have jumped it without any issues that "up" is talking about, and this is a UTILITY quad by all meens and is by no meen a DS, raptor, 400ex, etc. I set back watching everyone talikng about price on this machine, but what I have NOT read very many times is the fact that this is NOT a 10000 us dollar quad. It is a 8499 MSRP US dollar quad. The XT is 9399 MSRP Quad, and for that matter please everyone stop the price bashing when you will pay just as much for a polaris 800 that is not a TRUE 800cc quad, and wieghs a little over 100 pounds more without the bomb suspension, or the bomb power, even the headlights dont compare for that matter.

The video is a JOKE! I can go out on my 04 trailblazer and do the same thing to metal parts on the suspension when it is disassembled.

I am not bragging about it because I own one at all. I just really like it and so does everyone else that has been on it and gave it a good ride. There is NOWAY that anyone can convince me that this guy bent his frame by hitting a 4-6 inch ditch/rut in the trail. I hit worse than that just last night on mine and went back for more loving it all the way. Seriously guys get a grip on this, ONE guy is complaining.... ONE!!!

I am here as a 800 owner and am telling you guys that this bike is AS tough as anything out there (I was riding a honda foreman 450S before this new 800) in the same category, and nothing is ever built to be as good as everyone would like it to be built stock. Thats why there are aftermarket businesses out there making millions every year on accesories and "upgraded" parts for ATV's.

As far as contacting bomb for whatever reason, I haven't had to and will burn that bridge when I get there. But I would expect them to tell me to get in contact with a dealer and give me the closest one to my location.

The 800 DOES need better bottom skid protection for sure, and I plan on getting a skid package to cover that department of things. I for one am not going to cry the sky is falling if I flip my quad and bend the frame and say "bombs gonna hurt em" to try and steer sales one way or another, I could go on and on but I refuse to stoop to the level that others do when they make a mistake after modding there machine and dismembering it and try and sell it afterwards, giving great reviews for there own purposes to make a resale and get there money back.... (there is some credibility for ya right there)

To each his own, and may all you guys get what you want and/or need in a utility quad. Have fun and be safe out there!

 

well said

 

take a breathe there WVRider LOL - how was your ride this weekend?

 

The ride was great Dustin, thanks for asking. The outlander did have to eventually get pull back up out of a ditch that I creeped into to test the 4x4 system (by a honda that later was winched out by me lol) it was just bottomed out on the frame and the wheels had nothing to grab for traction, we all been there huh! LOL

The outtie performed well and my rear wasnt as sore as the 400 ex guys(I LOVE the seat its very comfy), they was worn out, and I was wanting to go longer. But after the clock struck 2:00 a.m. we all headed back to the ol homestead for a nice night of sleep. The only compliant about the bike so far is that I have to keep getting off of it!!! 300 miles in 2 weeks is quite a bit of seat time though so I am not going to complain, although I think the wife has wondered if I left home and am not coming back at times LOL.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]hey west vir rider how is the sterring on the 800 bomb.thinking about buying one i have rode a grizzly a lot and they steer easy. just wondering how the arms was after a long day of riding. hey what do you think the top speed would be on that machine not that i would be going that fast but was wondering if the law got after me well you know how it goes,i do sometimes haft to travel on the highway[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] thanks
robby:[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Well the arms feeling fine after a good days ride. Its not a hard machine to push through the hills. The suspension is plush and very smooth, the best I have ever rode, but then again my last 4x4 was a foreman 450S and it was 4x4 all the time (that sucked I dont miss it at all) so it was very ahrd on steering. If that is a 10 then this is a 2 and about a 3 when four wheel drive is engaged. Its just a really fun easy atv to ride IMO. I weigh in at 240 and 6'5 tall so this is no little bike to me [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Its is actually the best fit a guy my size has ever set on. The seat is very comfortable, and easy on the rear end, and you really dont seem fatigued with this bike.

Now top speed take the figure of my size on this machineand keep in mind that mine is completely stock.
The best speed I ever seen on about a 2 mile straight of asphault, which is MORE than enough room for this bike to achive top speed IMO.

78mph on the digi reading.

Now I never heard a rev limiter or anything like I have heard guys saying about the 400, but keep in mind it has about 300 miles on it and it IMO isnt fully to its potential yet, but I could be wrong because this is a very peppy machine here as I type. I had the wife on there and was riding around with her and hit 65 before I knew it, and her reply was that didnt feel like 65 on a four wheeler, it felt like a car or something going down the road, ROFL, sorry.... It was funny. Any way we didint ride that way at all I just wanted in the right spot on the backcountry road that we could run at speed like that and I never reccomend it to anyone[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Its is a very strong machine, it advertised 62 HP and I believe every bit of it, and 57fpt, it will spin the back tires on the dirt for as long as your giving it gas, if you are not watching you will tear up the front yard, bad... ahem.... It will pull the front end up easily in any range except reverse. But not at a high rate of speed, just when you costing and wanna get on it, it will come up for ya if you wanted it too. I personally dont like riding a utility quad in that manner be everyone one else can. I meen I have rode a wheelie or 2 on it just to see it do it but I dont do it all the time. I just dont like the fact of wrecking it. It was alot of money to go and tear up trying silly things to prove a point to me. I get it already, its fast it will climb anything you have the skill to climb it with, it will tear up the trail and make it through as fast as your willing to go. It couldnt be much better IMO.