Opinions
Bryan Nylander
The three megabores may be within a mere 50cc of each other, but their personalities are much more varied than the displacement belies. BRP's Outlander just walks away from its peers and was even more nimble and easier to ride than some of the smaller (650-700cc) utes on the market. It had bundles of power, yet the chassis handled the performance without doing anything scary or weird and was simply fun to ride-fast or slow.
Polaris' Sportsman 800 was a big cushion. Not only was the power smooth, its silky ride will no doubt make it a favorite of casual-paced folks looking for big power. Its immense size made it a challenge when the trail closed in, and the weight handicapped its flying capabilities-where the rest would leap, it only unloaded the suspension. Lose some weight and trim the girth of this beast, and it'll have a fighting chance against the Outlander.
The Brute Force was the most appropriately named machine when it comes to describing turning effort. It has an awesome motor trapped in an ill-handling chassis. Anyone looking for a good upper-body workout just needs to take this Kawasaki through a tight, twisty course in the trees. Personally, I think it's ideal for mud and bog junkies who will love this machine because the power and ground clearance won't be inhibited by its hard-to-turn nature.
Billy Bartels
Specialization at the highest level. In one corner you have the Outlander, a sporty 4x4 that still has the power and suspension to be versatile occasionally and be used for work applications. In the other corner is the Sportsman, the ultimate sportsman/outdoorsman's machine, with tons of storage, plush suspension and, despite being slower than the others, tons of power to motor your way through anything. In the third corner we have the Brute Force, with no real advantage compared to the others. Power? The Bomb has it covered.
While our most aggressive testers would keep the front end light by staying on the throttle then drag the front brake to get the front end to bite and actually force the ill-handling Brute to steer, it just wasn't any fun for me to try to do that whole drill. Add to that extremely bouncy, oversprung and underdamped suspension and steering that feeds back every pebble on the ground, making the bar waggle forcefully in corners, and I just didn't want to spend any more time on it than I absolutely needed to.
Polaris' big Sportsman is a great machine but suffered in this test with an environment it was just not suited for. Coming at the end of an uncharacteristic dry spell, there just wasn't any give to the ground-it was hard and tacky like dirty concrete. One look at the big-lug tires on the 800 will tell you that's not the best place for it. I love this machine! With all that storage, super-plush suspension and a go-anywhere attitude, I still think it's justified in being ATV RIDER's 2005 ATV of the Year. But then the Outlander 800 showed up...
Endless power, yet controllable. Plush suspension, yet extremely controlled and sporty. Good storage. What's not to like? In fact, when I tested it previously in Utah, I was thinking this might be the first utility ATV to really be suited to life on the West Coast, where higher speeds and greater power needs (sand) make most 4x4s feel pretty lame. To quote one tester, "Game over." Not only is the Outlander 800 at the top of its game, I have no idea what anyone else can do to challenge it. Honda has declared it is never joining the megabore wars (so the sweet-handling Rincon will never have more than 40 horsepower), and every other powerful machine out there is stuck with some significant handling issues.
Brad Bowlin
To me, the BRP is on another planet. It has 800cc of fuel-injected fun! If I were going to lay down the money, this would be the quad I'd buy. The Outlander needs no modifications except for hand guards (and you can get them with the XT). Well, maybe different tires and a separate front brake on this machine, too! The linked brake system is annoying. The power and suspension are a match made in quad heaven. The seat could use some stiffer foam but still felt nice. Ergos are top-notch. Speaking of notches, the gear selector could use a little attention. At times, more effort than I'd have liked was involved in putting it in gear. That said, I still rank it first place-by a long shot.
Surprise! The Brute force comes in second. I'm an aggressive ute rider, and the Brute satisfied my need for speed. Power delivery was great and the suspension never bottomed. Come on Kawi, get the steering straightened out. Too much effort is involved at lower speeds. At speed, I used the power to steer with the rear end, but I shouldn't have had to. The seat foam is a little stiff also. Fuel injection has spoiled me. The Brute Force's carburetors are stone age. It was a distant second.
In defense of the Polaris, this quad wasn't built for me. I don't cruise or work when I'm on a quad. This quad was meant for a more work/casual pace. That said, I love the underrack storage and comfort the Sportsman features. This is a great quad for the, uh, sportsman. The power is good, just not as rambunctious as the others. In a pure utility environment, the Polaris would be at the top. That said, the suspension felt mushy and the power lacked the hit the others provided-great for the less aggressive. For me, it ranks third.