I have ridden my friends brand new Polaris 800. I've only sat on an 800 Outlander but own and ride a Renegade with the same motor. If the power is about the same between the Outlander and Renegade, I'd have to choose an Outlander. The Polaris is comfortable, and attractive, but the handlebars felt like I was holding on to twigs, the engine braking was awful, and the steering made me feel nervous. I also felt like it was tall. Between the feeling of riding a tall machine with wishy washing steering I would probably rather have an Outlander. I agree, just sitting on an Outlander felt more stable. Did I forget to mention the power from the Can Am in my Renegade is a lot more exhilarating than it was on my friend's Polaris 800. I do think the Polaris Stealth looks good though. I only wish Can Am had made the Renegade in the same color scheme they did the DS650. Go with a Polaris if that's what does it for you. I have a few friends who all love them. By the way, as far as them not being used for racing because they're 4x4's, having that extra power is exhilarating, whether you're racing them or not. I love, love, love the feeling the back tires of my Renegade ripping it up underneath me gives me.

 

I own and Outty 800 Max and have about 100 miles on a Polaris 800 Sportsman. Capt Quint's report is excellent and pretty much nails it, but I've got a couple of additional points. IMO the reason the OVERALL handling of the OL feels better is the Polaris' handling is a little "darty." You get used to it, but after riding the OL the Polaris doesn't feel as "planted" on the trail. It is very comfortable, however.

The Polaris' front rack is an excellent idea, but very poorly executed. With a little effort it could have had a very nice under rack storage area. As it is, it's just for odds and ends that fit in nooks; just awful. The OL racks are much better. But that said, my AC racks beat them both hands down. One area not mentioned is fuel economy. The Polaris is a real GAS HOG. I mean REAL GAS HOG. If you go on short (40-60miles) this is not normally a problem. I don't like to use rack space carrying extra gas unless I'm doing an overnight,and although the tanks are the same size, my OL is easily good for 110-120 miles on a tank. The light doesn't come on until 90-95 miles. Long after the Polaris is out. Same for the Polaris 700 EFI.

Bobby, if you EVER ride two-up please look at the two-up machines of both makes. My OL was my first two-up machine and I won't buy another that isn't. There is little or no loss turning radius and in a 1000 miles of riding I've only had to back up one or two times when the others on the ride did not. The extra WB only adds to an otherwise very stable and comfortable platform and increases load room when riding one up.

Cost. Yup, the OL is expensive, but shop on line for price and take that price to your local dealer. Three of the four machines I've owned in the past four years I bought on line, including the OL. I saved 1,500 on the OL. To save even more I'd also consider buying a 650 EFI over the 800. Won't be quite as fast as the other 800s, but will do everything the 800 will do for significantly less money at the expense of some bragging rights. In fact I'm considering replacing my AC 650 with a OL 650 Max.

 

Bobby, ask riders of BOTH machines before you decide. as for kawiyowee, you need to get out more..... the rally we go to every year has the quad pulls after the muddy day and the quads are all washed off. the bikes are all weighed on the same scale and sand is added to the lighter machines to equal out the traction advantage of the heavier machines. i can tell you right now that my machine with a full tank and nothing in the boxes compared to the same 800BRP was only about 45lbs different. NOT the 165 you and every other guy on this forum seems to find on the web. they are both good bikes and yes the outy is a little faster but we dont buy large bore 4x4's for racing now do we? we all love the mud, save the racing for street bikes and sport quads. just my two cents[/quote]Where I and 'every other guy on this forum' get the weights is from the site specs. I guess you and your podunk sled pull would know better than the mfrs though.

'we dont buy large bore 4x4's for racing now do we?'.....Man, this is almost too smart-alecky to answer, but, 'you are the only guy on this thread talking about racing, now aren't you?'

 

look into the brute force 750 if you cant get the outty. i think the kawi is better then the polaris

 

Dont forget guys when you're talking about the dry weights the manufacturers publish, they are just that DRY no fluids. 150lbs or more is a big difference in the actual weight of the machine. I cant believe that the two machines are only 50lbs difference myself.

 

Have you ever had to pick a polaris up off of a rider who flipped his 800 on top of himself I had the misfortune of doing that this year and it took like 6 guys to get it off of the guy it didn't die though it was still running.

 

If both quads hold about the same amount of gas and oil, which they do, then the difference in the weights is still the difference in dry weight.

 

true but I was referring to the guy who dragged them claiming there wasnt that big a difference. More or less in in each could account for some of that difference. A full tank on the can am and an empty tank in the polaris could bring the weight of each closer. Probably not going to make the difference btween 165lbs and 45 lbs though. I was looking at the weights on the Polaris site and I see different weights for the 800's. The deluxe, standard and limited editions are all different so maybe it was also a stripped down Polaris, not necessarily a machine that is 165lbs more. Point is, you would have to know more about the exact machine he was comparing the 800 Outy to before assuming what the difference in weight should be. I just re read what he wrote and did mention having a full tank so, I cant imagine where the weight difference is. As far as I know there would be at least a 118lbs difference from comparing the dry weight specs of the lightest 800 Sportsman. So is Can Am printing specs about the Can Am 800 Outlander that aren't true?

 

Totally agree with you kas. We could sit down and drink and not argue, I quit doing that anyway. Too hard on the bod [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img], the arguing I mean.

 

the weight published can be affected by wheather it is a XT or non xt.......bumpers, winch, hand guards and tires.......