At first if your a SRA guy, it will take a little adjustment to the IRS. But once you have it down, you can ride it just like a SRA but without the harsh ride. This guy will never have another SRA again.

 

No way, not until they do something to stabilize the rear ........

It does not track flat in turns like a straight axle machine, and it won't unless they find some way for it to imitate a solid axle.

And they absolutely suck on jumps unless the face is perfectly straight. In the rough whoops or off-camber chop they walk away from you. When you have power going to wheels that are not even inertia will carry you to the side that is getting traction first. With a solid axle this does not happen because both wheels are still flat and even even if only one is touching.

You cannot control the machine with throttle the same way, using the "hold it wide open until you straighten out" is not possible on the IRS system. It works on cars because they are designed to not break traction. While riding an ATV in the dirt aggressively it is imperative that you can break traction at the times you need to in oder to control the times you don't mean to.

The IRS has it's benefits, but aggressive riding is not one of them. Talk to Matt Smiley sometime and he will tell you the same thing.

 

How much ride time have you got on one? Last time I asked you you said very little. Well that is one heck of a review from someone with not much seat time. I raced mine all last year and the Outlaw does awesome for aggressive riding. I got my first ever win on it. Most of your coments are not factual. Smiley is just mad at Polaris and most likely will never say anything good about them. But look at every other Outlaw racer last year and they all did real well. For every Outlaw racer, it took time to adjust to the IRS from a SRA. Once you got, you will be able to ride it like a SRA. And that is a fact. Come to a AGP xc race and I will show you. Your near most of the tracks.

 

If I still lived back east, I would buy a used 400ex and do some very minor upgrades. They are bullet proof. They are air cooled which is one less thing to worry about and they get the best gas mileage. Depending on how tight the trails you ride on are, it might even me the fastest. I also like the Z400 and it's siblings but they sit a little to high for me and they are water cooled which is something else to worry about.

On our cross country / MX / Woods loop back in Indiana, the 3 fastest times ever recorded were in this order:

3. My CT 440ex in XC trim

2. Trenga 265 Blaster - Full XC bike

1. Curtis Sparks 390 [?] something 300ex - Full XC bike.


I have ridden stock YFZ's and 450R's on it since and am about 10 seconds of my 440ex time.

Just goes to show you, you don't have to have the latest to be the fastest.

 

I got another chance to ride the same machine since the last time you asked. And I stand by what I said then and now...... It is factual based on my experience which is obviously not the same as yours.

As far as Smiley goes, it had nothing to do with being mad at Polaris for anything other than them trying to MAKE him ride the Outlaw. After he did extensive testing and even a few races he came away saying he could not ride one and compete with the top guys like he could on the Predator.

As far as the Outlaw winning the XC races, that is not happening at the Pro level from what I can find. Follow several ATV series each year and I did not see one major race go to anyone on a Outlaw. That is not to say it did not or cannot happen. I'm sure with the right rider the Outlaw could be very competitive in the woods.

There are certain aspects of the IRS that I personally did not like. Seat-bouncing for jumps or whoops simple did not produce the same results you get from a SA quad. Getting it to slide the correct way proved to be impossible for me, I could not get the back end to snap around, it only wanted to roll or slide minimally in the wash. After a turn when you are slung low onto the inside peg, the machine wants to keep turning until you get back up straight. On a SA machine you go where the handle-bars are pointing not where the rear end wants you to. The IRS shoves power to the side that is getting more traction, and the machine wants to turn. On a SA quad you can have the back end sideways but the quad will still be going straight forward. The Outlaw wants to drive you in the direction the rear wheels are pointing, and not where the front wheels are pointing..... in essence you are getting too much traction for the maneuver.

Don't get me wrong, like I said, with the right rider I'm sure the Outlaw could win races. I just don't think anyone who has been racing on straight axle machines their whole life is going to do it. Of course we are talking woods and not MX..... No way any IRS machine is going to compete in MX.

 

I hear where your coming from, but like I said, you can't just hop on the Outlaw and do what you do on a SRA. It will not work. But with seat time and a feel for the IRS, you can do just as much as a SRA. But it takes seat time.

As far as Smiley goes, he said he could not race the Outlaw and be competative like the Pred. We he went back to the Pred and didn't do any better. So he didn't prove anything. Last year was the first year with the Outlaw, and Smiley was the only pro. But Todd Rothermal who raced the stock A class got as high as 22nd overall on a bone stock Outlaw. And with refinements and the KTM525 engine, this year should be better. But it's all in what your willing to try and get used to.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

they ran the 525 in a gncc race but can`t remember which one but bone stock it took 5th.my neighbor has a 500 outlaw and in the woods that thing rides like a caddy.it keeps up with my friends 450r on the straits and leaves him in the choppy sections of woods.i`ve ridden it and its weird at first but after a hour of riding it i was doing the same things i was doing with the sra quads.my only down side to the quad is i don`t like how it feels ergonomicaly because i`m a short (5' 7").as for matt smiley....the dude to me holds no weight in what he says because of his lack of results before AND after ring the outlaw.so it sounds like to me he is wanting to post blame on the machine and not his riding skill.here are some good trail quads..

700 raptor or 660
z400 or its cousins
outlaw (525 preferably)
raptor 350 or a warrior if money is tight
400ex
2005 or newer predator because of reverse
kfx450 when its released.
all these quads keep up fine with a 450...some better than others.some are slower but if running like a 450 is a priority than getting a 450 is a must.

 

I think honda is a good machine for trials. But It's what ever your heart desires.... to ride..