i dont think the renegade gained 200 lbs wet (gas etc). Thats like 25 gallons of fuel? DW sometimes is ridiculous. If it wasnt for the readers rides i wouldnt bother with it. quad is a better mag. the atv sport now is not the same atvsport (formerly 3wheelin) back in the late 80s-90s. it was the BEST ever. showed gear ratios, top speed, way better tests, comparisions, shootouts, news...an A+ mag. the new atvsport sucks compared to it.

as far as the renegade goes i have to admit its growing on me- especially the hybrid sport concept which i do think is the next phase in atvs.... i still think its too heavy and a little pricey, but IF its stabil and you dont feel its MASS, then i wouldnt mind riding/testing one. i was a little critical of it and Can AM when it was annnounced, but after seeing some impressive vids of it on youtube of it just tearing things up and out accelerating some other machines, wheelies, donuts, etc, it looks like a fun machine to ride with plenty of power. it seemed fairly maneuverable (not like a 250R or anything) ...i wonder how the renegade 500 will compare? i dont forsee it weighing much less though. i would rather have one of these than a grizzly though. for pure sport i think the 700R is doing its purpose.

 

I guess a DS650 would be better in the trails, assuming the trails are groomed, very wide and smooth, otherwise, I can't see a DS650 getting over the trails I ride on without a whole lot more work put into shifting, slipping the clutch and getting it unstuck. Having an auto and low range, makes crawling over obstacles at very slow speeds a breeze. Not too mention what happens if you need to turn it around without having reverse or four wheel drive when you did get it stuck. No, I think a Renegade is far superior when it comes to trail riding in comparison to a DS or a Raptor. Then again unless you only ride on perfectly wide open groomed trails. You may not need a real four wheeler, ha ha.
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Uh. . . yeh. . .

 

And that 4x4 option REALLY comes handy at times!

 

it does, I loved my Raptor and would've been able to go almost anywhere anyone else did, except for when I did get it stuck, 90% of the time it was because of the poor ground clearance under the rear sprocket which was mostly attributed to the 20 in rear low profile tires. I think Yamaha had a good idea with there 350 Wolverine, that has alot more ground clearance, now that I think about it, it's very similar to the 700KFX. I don't see anything wrong with putting larger rear tires on a sport machine and giving it a CVT transmission with good engine braking though. The engine braking on my Renegade is phenomenal, but from what I understand, the KFX 700 has none. Side bar, I noticed my friends 800 Polaris not only has crappy engine braking but it also only actuates the rear wheels in 4wd, whereas my Renegade does all four in 4wd, hence he uses his brakes to, alot. End side bar. If Yamaha took their 350 Wolverine and replaced it with all their 660 motors they had left over, that would be an interesting machine, to compare to a Kawasaki 700, even without having four wheel drive. Honestly, four wheel drive is nice, but as long as you have pretty good ground clearance and aren't trying to go though snow deeper than 8", four wheel drive is rarely needed. I rarely need to use it on my Renegade. Just rambling on and on. Boy I love my Rengade, what the hell is wrong with the DW staff.

 

To answer your private question about the Renegade, here is a copy of the private message i sent ya. "Sure no problem, to answer your question, I just brought a Wolverine 450 for the g/f, by comparison the Renegade feels alot more stable, feels real stable in fact. It doesn't feel overly heavy either, while it doesn't compare to a Raptor 660 I was use to, it feels real sporty for a big 4wd. You have the same concerns I did before I bought one. The steering is real precise, compared to a Polaris that feels like you're not even turning the bars. Honestly, I think you wll be happy. I traded a 03 Raptor in, they gave me 3700 for that, and took another 500 off the Renegade's $9200, more than fair I thought. If you're not trading one in, I dont see why a dealer can't take at least that much off it, if they aren't, then there betting that you want it bad enough you will pay more, or there waiting for someone else who will. A few things I didn't like about mine, when I first rode it, it was real cold and the front brakes didn't seem to actuate. They worked fine after it was kept in a warm garage over night. The aluminum foot well supports are a little on the weak side, I bent the front support a little the second day from a rock or log, a set of Richochet sids will prevent that. They'll also protect the front bottom of the main spar frame a whole lot better than that weak stock skid plate that comes on it. First time I hit a rock there, also on the second day, it put a good indentation in the main spar frame right through the stock plate that seems to be paper thin. The rims are also a little on the weak side, I put a pretty good dent in mine the 2nd day as well, now even after banging it back out, it still loses a little bit of air over a week or two. The splash protection is a little worse than it could be too, the protection on my Wolverine seems to do a better job. The torque is great, the engine braking is phenomenal, and low range works wonderfully, I'd suggest keeping it in low range when riding at very slow speeds or over very rough terrain that requires careful negotiation. The transmission selector is a little bit of a pain, usually have to shift your weight back and forth before it easily slips into the the gear you want, for some reason my friend's new Outlander 800 seems easier. I've got a little over 250 miles now, and so far I haven't had a problem with punctures in the tires. Between the tires and the stiff suspension, the ride is a little bumpy over rough and rocky terrain, not as bad as my Wolverine though, and the seat is alot softer too on the Renegade. The only other mecanical fault I've experienced, is the overide allowing you to start it in gear while holding the brake didnt always work. Haven't had a problem once the weather got above 25 degrees, incidently it has something to do with the same mechanism that actuates the brake light because that didn't work either when it wouldn't start in gear. My check engine light came on once recently too. I turned it off and back on and it was still on, turned it off again for a minute or so till the electrical system was completely shut down, then tried it again and it stayed off. Brought it to the dealer and they said there was an oil sensor that set it off. Never came on again, so I guess it was just a glitch. Didn't run any different either. Coincidenty it came on right after I was splasing around for a few moments in a river, wondering if that did it for some reason. Overall, it's a hot buggy, seems to be well made to, despite the criticism the SST frame recieves. I think it's a good idea. Nothing else out there will beat it as for power. The 2wd sport bikes are more nimble, but when you hit and open field you'll probably pull ahead of them every time, and then when they're stuck you'll definitley pass them too and out accelerate every other 4wd out there too except for maybe an Outlander 800, in the long run, you'll edge past him too. I did against my friends brand new xt800. Any more questions. "

 

I bought that dirt wheels magazine for the first time yesterday. Because i saw that article on the renegade and I will never by it again, they should at least try to be fair. 800 lbs! They have to be kidding Did they weigh it with a rider on it? Then when they said it flipped over so it sucks, maybe the rider sucks? He was probably used to the Yamaha horsepower and couldn't handle the Vtwin.

 

It really is the most bias ridiculous article I have ever read. What they failed to mention among other things is that the same kind of damage would've happened on any other quad from rolling it over. I'll still read it if I see it in the store, will never pay for another subscription nor will I buy it at the store.