I am trying to decide what quad to trade my Brute for. I have pretty much narrowed it down to the Polaris Outlaw 525IRS, the Raptor 700, and the Kawasaki KFX450R. My concern is that the trails are real ruff and can have some very large rocks and rutts or washouts. If I go strait axle I will be putting 22 inch tires on it and good skid plates. I like the Raptor and Kawaski for the fuel Injection. I like the Outlaw for the IRS. I am not sure about the outlaw for Dune and fast desert riding. I also worry about jetting issues as I ride elevations from under 4000 feet to over 10,000 feet, sometimes on the same ride. What are your experiences with sport quads on mountain trails and which quad do you guys think performs the best over all terrains.
I posted this in several sections trying to get feel for this. I have never owned a true Sport Quad want something lighter and more fun than my Brute

 

for your elevation changes i'd go with the raptor for the efi. the 09 z400 is efi also. i think a couple of 450's are efi too. polaris is making some changes for 09 but i don't know what they are and the models being changed.

 

Another thought is the new Honda 700xx. It has fuel injection and an IRS rear. It's gotten decent writeups in the ATV press too.

 

Good point, Moose.

 

sorry i forgot the 700xx. i'm not use to honda's with irs yet.

 

I was hoping some of the Outlaw riders would see this and tell me how their rides handle the elevation changes and how difficult the carbs are or aren't on them. Also there experiences comparing the Outlaw to straight axles. I appreciate everyones input. Thanks.

 

The Outlaw works great out in the desert and dunes for me. in one race there was this huge rock on this hill it had aluminum all over I went over like it was not there

 

It sounds like you have two things working against you, but at the same time it does help you narrow down your choices! LOL! You change elevation from 4k to 10k in the same ride and you like to ride in the sand. That pretty much eliminates the outlaw, imo, and I do like the outlaw. The raptor would be my next choice, efi, lots of power, great on trails and sand, not much ground clearance, which can be fixed. I think the honda they mentioned would be worth looking at, too! Sorry to see you get rid of the Brute, those are good quads, but there's always a need for speed and some of us seek more than others!

 

I like my brute a lot except I get in trouble trying to Ride the brute like a sport quad. I worry about giving up the 4x4 and ground clearance. I just really sometimes have to ride fast and love to slide around corners. In a perfect world I could just own different quads for different riding areas. (My wife doesn't believe that world exists) I have thought about a Renegade 800R X model but $10,000.00 is a lot of money for a quad. And it still weights over 650 pounds with fuel. Right now I am leaning towards the Raptor SE
Thanks

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>In a perfect world I could just own different quads for different riding areas.</end quote></div>

I am pretty lucky.....after jumping my 800 and breaking a few things, my wife bought me another preddy. She quickly realized I couldn't stop the aggressive riding style I am accustomed to. So I do have the best of both worlds and that is the only way I know to accomplish both habits. I don't know of one atv that can replace both the ute and the sporty, yet....I think that time will come soon and I really like the direction the mfr's are taking with them. I often wonder myself if I just should have bought the outlaw irs in lieu of the 800 and 500, but I would miss the ability to putt around with the wife and have the use of 4wd and all it's advantages. I think you may regret offing the brute for a sporty, even the raptor, if trails by you are like mine....not much mud (doesn't rain much here), but heavily wooded, tight trails with large rocks and deep ruts. I've had a raptor and a z400. Both work well in the woods, but the clearance was always an issue and there were areas I just couldn't go without thrashing them, hence the purchase of the ute. Even if you add skid plates (highly suggested), you're still going to beat the sh*# out of a sporty. Now, I can keep my preddy looking good by using my ute to ride in the non-accessible areas. Have you thought about keeping the ute and saving for a good used sporty? You can pick up a z400 used for 2-3k? Otherwise, that renegade is certainly impressive....good luck, it is a tough decision and you will probly wonder if you are making or have made the right one....I often do!